Complete Defense to King Pawn Openings, 2nd Edition

The Complete Defense to King Pawn Openings is structured around the Caro-Kann defensive system and goes into great depth to show readers the primary ideas behind this defense. Schiller focuses on all the essentials; ranging from the early move orders to the fundamental pawn structures that ideally evolve from the Caro-Kann in the end game. With many great books on the Caro-Kann available, it is hard to go wrong with most as once you learn the main lines you will have a good opposition to e4. Understanding why some moves are better than others in this defense is paramount if you want to have a strong middle game with an eye toward the end game. This book covers the full scope and is more than adequate for any chess player up to the expert level.

I'm a +2000 USCF rated player who fought to keep his head above water with the Dragon. An expereinced chess coach recommended that I try the Caro-Kann. I never respected the opening because I did not understand it. This book is not comprehensive but it is about understanding. BTW by building a solid position first, I've added 50 points to my rating.

I have never played the Caro-Kann before, but after reading this book I began playing it and winning more than I had been. I was able to understand the ideas in the book and began to build a solid position every time I played the Caro-Kann. I was also able to beat an IM rated 2350 due to the understanding of the Caro-Kann that this book gave me. However, Mr. Schiller doesn't cover much in regard to the Advance Variation, but then again you can't have everything just one book. In my amateur opinion, this is an excellent book if one would like to learn the Caro-Kann.