Caro-Kann Defense: Massachusetts variation
99% of serious chess players know what the caro-kann defense; it's one of the most popular openings. Although, almost no one knows what about the Massachusetts variation within the Caro kann. I found out about this absurd variation by accident while exploring my Caro-Kann repretoire online. Why is this variation not known? It gives white a +1.6 edge after move 2. So black is basically in a losing position right out of the opening. The move order to reach this variation is as follows: 1 e4 c6 2 d4 f5?! I did more research on this niche idea and there is only one known game in this variation in Chessbase' mega-database. I assume that this single game was played in Massachusetts, my home state. I have to love it just for the name, I grew up in massachusetts so it holds a lot of personal value to me. But there is more to this than a personal connection to the variation name. This is a great blitz weapon! No one knows about this opening so if you play this in a blitz/rapid game your opponents will be immediately confused on move 2 and won't know how to counter it properly since they've never studied it. Although, at 1800+ I don't recommend playing this since it is not very sound. I'm also proof this works, I have a
