Openings · B12

Caro-Kann, Advance

The Advance French's structure against a defence that gets its bishop out first — which changes what it is worth.

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5played as White

Play it through on the board below.

Practise the line

You play White; the other side answers on its own. Nothing here is saved or graded.

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Your move 1 of 30/3
  1. 1.e4c6
  2. 2.d4d5
  3. 3.e5

Your move. Drag a piece, or tap it and then its square.

The idea

The pawn chain is the same as the Advance French, and so is the extra space. The difference is 3…Bf5: Black's light-squared bishop leaves before …e6 shuts the door, so the long-term plus of the French version is simply missing.

White plays against the bishop instead. The modern main line is the Short System — 4.Nf3, Be2, O-O — a quiet game where the pressure comes from c4 against d5 and h4–h5 against the bishop, rather than from space on its own.

Common mistakes

Three that come up again and again below master level: named traps and the errors every coach corrects.

Offering to trade the good bishop

After 5…e6
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
The mistake
Playing 4.Bd3 to exchange the bishop that has just come out.
Why it costs
It is the wrong bishop to be pleased about trading. The one on f5 has already done its job by escaping; the one on d3 is White's attacker on the b1–h7 diagonal, the piece that makes the extra space mean something. After the trade Black has no bad pieces at all.
Instead
4.Nf3 and 5.Be2, or 4.Nc3 hitting the bishop. Ask it a question rather than buy it out.

Chasing the bishop while d4 hangs

After 6…c5
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
The mistake
Spending moves on g4 and h4 to hunt the bishop with the centre still unsupported.
Why it costs
…c5 is Black's counterplay in every Caro-Kann structure, and here it arrives while White's pawns are on the other wing and the king is still in the middle. Kingside pawn moves are only free when d4 is not being attacked.
Instead
c3 or Be3 first. The bishop on g6 is not going anywhere, and it can be chased later with the centre nailed down.

Treating it like the French

After 7…c5
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
The mistake
Playing for a slow squeeze on space and never touching d5 or the bishop.
Why it costs
In the French, space alone is enough, because Black owns a piece that cannot move. Here Black finishes with …Ne7, …c5 and …Nc6, every piece on a sensible square, and the extra room turns into nothing whatever.
Instead
Pick a target: c4 against d5, or h4–h5 against the bishop on g6. The Short System is quiet, not passive.

In real games between beginners

  • 1 in 58games end with White giving checkmate by move 15. In all openings: 1 in 33.
  • 1 in 160games end with White getting checkmated by move 15. In all openings: 1 in 54.

From 4,446 Lichess games in this opening between players rated under 1200, blitz and slower, September 2026. How we counted.

What the engine says

After 1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.e5, these are Black's six best moves according to Stockfish, with the bar showing Black's chance of winning. The whole list sits within 3 percentage points of win chance: none of them is a mistake, and the choice is about the positions you want to play.

  1. Bf5+0.4
  2. c5+0.4
  3. e6+0.6
  4. a6+0.6
  5. Bd7+0.6
  6. Qc7+0.7

The engine's main line from Bf5: Bf5 h4 h5 c4 e6 Nc3 dxc4 Bxc4.

Stockfish 18, depth 24. Scores are in pawns from White's side. Another engine or depth will move individual numbers a little; the picture does not change. How we check.

Where it fits

The Caro-Kann, Advance is a variation of the Caro-Kann Defence, whose page covers the ideas this one takes for granted.

Analyse a game you played in itAll openings