ABC of the Caro Kann Mentioned by Polerio as early as 1590, it was Horatious Caro of Berlin and Markus Kann of Vienna who introduced 1...c6 into competitive play all the way back in the second half of the nineteenth century. At that time, swashbuckling attacking play usually connected with gambits was very popular and so it was hardly surprising that this defense was regarded as dry and boring. After Steinitz, when defensive principles began to be more fully appreciated, we saw an upsurge of interest in defenses such as the Caro-Kann. It was no less a figure than Jose-Raul Capablanca who would use our defense as one of the main weapons in his armory. It suited his outstanding positional style very well. Later adherents included, Flohr, Nimzowitsch, Tartakower, Botvinnik, Smyslov, Petrosian, Karpov, Leko and Kramnik. Here we see a definite trend among fierce competitors of a similar inclination. Solidity above all, but solidity with promise! Andrew Martin is 49 years old and lives in Sa