For White· 6 lines

Beat the Caro-Kann: Two Knights - Two Knights: 3...Nf6 & Sidelines

The trendy 3...Nf6 with 4.e5 leading to French-style positions, plus the rare 3...d4 (4.Ne2) and 3...e6 (transposes to French) sidelines.

Position after 8. Nexd4

Main line

The chapter's main line, with the comments from the course.

1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3
Two Knights Variation, developing naturally while keeping our pawn structure flexible.
3... d4?
Black pushes forward aggressively, but this goes against typical Caro-Kann logic. We'll grab the initiative while Black wastes time supporting that advanced pawn.
4. Ne2
Going straight after that overextended pawn. Let's make Black regret this premature advance.
4... c5
Black requires only one additional move, Nc6, to reach a completely satisfactory position.
5. c3
Hitting the center before Black can comfortably defend it.
5... Nc6
Black can't try d3 because after Nf4 the pawn just hangs.
6. cxd4 cxd4
We play Nxd4 next and then Qa4+ scoops the pawn.
7. Qa4
Black cannot protect the d4 pawn through normal means, since the diagonal pin from a4-e8 prevents e5.
7... Bd7 8. Nexd4
We've won a pawn!

The free lines of this chapter, each one trainable move by move.

Main Line
1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 d4 4. Ne2 c5 5. c3 Nc6 6. cxd4 cxd4 7. Qa4 Bd7 8. Nexd4
3...Nf6
1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e5 Nfd7 5. d4 e6 6. Ng5 Be7 7. h4 h6 8. Nxe6 fxe6 9. Qh5+ Kf8 10. Rh3 Kg8 11. Bd3
3...Nf6
1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. e5 Ne4 5. Ne2 Qb6 6. d4 e6 7. Ng3 c5 8. c3 Nc6 9. Bd3 Nxg3 10. hxg3 cxd4 11. cxd4 Bd7 12. Kf1
3...e6
1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 e6 4. d4 Nf6 5. e5 Nfd7 6. Ng5 Be7 7. h4 h6 8. Nxe6 fxe6 9. Qh5+ Kf8 10. Rh3 Kg8 11. Bd3
5...d3
1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 d4 4. Ne2 c5 5. c3 d3 6. Nf4 c4 7. Qa4+ Nc6 8. Qxc4 e5 9. Nd5 Be6 10. Qxd3
5...dxc3
1. e4 c6 2. Nc3 d5 3. Nf3 d4 4. Ne2 c5 5. c3 dxc3 6. Nxc3 Nc6 7. Bb5 Bd7 8. Bxc6 Bxc6 9. d4 cxd4 10. Nxd4

The trainer plays the opponent's moves and waits for yours, line by line. Free to start.