The Modern Caro-Kann Part 2: Playing for a Win Against the Advance Variation
In the main line of the Short System, most sources recommend ...Nc6 and the capture on b2. That path leads to a long theoretical endgame in which Black's task is to hold.
GM Szymon Gumularz takes the opposite path. He chooses the ambitious 7...c4!?, closing the centre and keeping the pieces on the board.
That decision is the foundation of The Modern Caro-Kann: A Complete Repertoire for Black – Part 2, and it sets the tone for the whole course.
Why the Advance Variation Deserves Special Attention
Today, the Advance is probably White's most critical try against the Caro-Kann. It is the line Black meets most often at every level, from club events to elite tournaments.
White also has an enormous choice after 3...Bf5. Quiet development, early flank pawn thrusts, knight manoeuvres aimed at stopping ...c5: every one of these has to be answered with precision. This course gives a concrete recommendation against each of them, organized across 15 chapters.
The Authors and Their Approach
GM Szymon Gumularz and FM Sebastian Reimann built this repertoire around one principle: Black should not settle for equality when a fighting alternative exists.
That thinking shows up well beyond the main line. Against 4.h4, instead of the well-trodden 4...h5, Gumularz offers his own idea, 4...h6!?, which keeps the position flexible. Against 6.c3 in the Short System, a line he once favoured as White, he recommends the surprising ...Bg4.
The same ambition runs through the treatment of anti-...c5 systems. Against 4.Nd2, White's knight heads to b3 to stop the break, and Black prepares ...a6 to achieve it anyway. Against 4.Be3, the immediate ...Qb6 exposes the drawback of developing the bishop so early.
Map of Variations
After 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5 Bf5:
4.g4 Be4 → Chapter 1
4.c4 e6 (with ...Bb4 to follow) → Chapter 2
4.Ne2 / 4.f4 → Chapter 3
4.c3 → Chapter 4
4.Nc3 e6 5.g4 → Chapter 5
4.Nd2 (White aims for Nb3) → Chapters 6–7
4.Be3 Qb6 → Chapter 8
4.Bd3 → Chapter 9
4.h4 h6!?
- 5.Bd3 → Chapter 10
- 5.g4 → Chapter 11
4.Nf3 e6 5.Be2 c5 (the Short System)
- 6.Be3 Qb6 7.O-O → Chapter 12
- 6.Be3 Qb6 7.Nc3 c4!? → Chapter 13
- 6.c3 (answered with ...Bg4) → Chapter 14
- 6.O-O Nc6 7.Be3 → Chapter 15
Premium Course Features
This is a Modern Chess Premium course, built as a complete training system:
- 15 theory chapters
- Video instruction throughout
- 30 test positions — critical moments with tactical and strategic solutions
- 5 training positions for interactive practice against the engine
- 3 model games — the ideas shown in high-level play
- 5 things to know — the typical patterns and concepts of the repertoire
- Memory File — the 15 chapters condensed into one, holding the most important lines
- Memory Booster — for long-term recall of the key ideas
- To-Go Version of every chapter — condensed files for fast pre-game review
- Multilingual PGN files — English, German, French and Spanish
- Full download access — all materials are yours to keep
Connected Course
Part 2 continues directly from The Modern Caro-Kann: A Complete Repertoire for Black – Part 1, where the same authors cover the Classical Variation after 3.Nc3.
Together, the two volumes cover the Classical and Advance Variations, two of White's main tries against the Caro-Kann.
Turn the Advance Into Your Weapon
The Advance Variation does not have to be the line Black fears. With a clear plan against every White setup and a fighting main line at its core, it can become the line where Black plays for a win.
Get The Modern Caro-Kann: A Complete Repertoire for Black – Part 2 and add a fighting answer to the Advance Variation to your Caro-Kann.