by Lars Schandorff, 256pp. (Quality Chess, 2010)

Read an excerpt here

In chess the Caro-Kann opening is one of Black’s most reliable answers to 1.e4. It is a regular favorite of elite players, who know that computer-aided preparation now threatens the sharpest lines of the Sicilian or Ruy Lopez (at the very least with a forced draw). The Caro-Kann is less susceptible to such forcing lines – Black sets out to equalize in the opening, and win the game later. Grandmaster Lars Schandorff reveals a bulletproof chess opening repertoire and lucidly explains how Black should play the middle and endgame

Lars Schandorff is a chess grandmaster from Denmark who is renowned for his opening preparation. His first book for Quality Chess, Playing the Queen’s Gambit, received superb reviews.

"In the good old days the main line Caro Kann (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5) was a drawing weapon. That image is destroyed by Lars Schandorff in his excellent new book The Caro-Kann. It is published under Quality Chess' series Grandmaster Repertoire - a series that keeps its pledges. At least I don't have anything prepared that the book does not deliver an answer to. Terrifying!" - GM Sune Berg Hansen, Politiken

"The Caro-Kann has long had a reputation as being solid but a trifle dull, especially the main lines with 4...Bf5. That might have been true in the past when Black met the main lines where White castled queenside by following suit, but things started to change in the early 1980s when Bent Larsen started castling kingside. This approach didn't catch on in a big way until the last decade when players like Bareev, Motylev and Jakovenko started using it regularly and even the elite (Kramnik, Anand and Topalov) gave it a try. Danish Grandmaster Lars Schandorff's new book is based on this new interpretation of the Caro-Kann as a dynamic weapon...

"This is primarily a theoretical work but Schandorff provides plenty of lively prose to explain what is going on. The clean layout, two to three diagrams per page and sturdy binding make The Caro-Kann easy to use like other Quality Chess books. This book can be strongly recommended to players rated 1800 on up who play the 4...Bf5 Caro-Kann or interested in learning it. The Caro-Kann can also be recommended to Caro-Kann players who prefer 4...Nd7 or 4...Nf6 as two thirds of the book is devoted to non-3.Nc3/Nd2 lines. This book will hold some interest for those who don't play the Caro but find themselves in Panov-Botvinnik or 2.c4 lines - likely by transposition via 1.c4 c6." - IM John Donaldson