The Catalan Opening is a variation of the Queen’s Gambit where white fianchettos the light-squared bishop. The starting moves may be 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3
White’s light-squared bishop will be a great protector of the king, and exert influence along the long diagonal. The Catalan Opening is often considered to be a positional opening where white plays for long-term pressure rather than an immediate attack.
There are two broad variants of the Catalan Opening – the Open Catalan, where black takes the c4 pawn (either with the intention of trying to hold onto it, or buying some time to free up black’s development), and the Closed Catalan, where black tries to maintain their stronghold on d5 to blunt white’s light-squared bishop.
Closed Catalan
One main line of the Closed Catalan continues 4…Be7 5. Bg2 0-0 6. 0-0 c6
Both players finish their kingside development, and black adopts a “triangle” setup with their central pawns.
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White can now finally defend their loose c4 pawn with 7. Qc2, which also prepares a future e2-e4 central pawn break. After 7…Nbd7 8. Nbd2 b6, white can break in the center right away with 9. e4
White has tried slower set-ups (such as 9. b3 and then 10. Bb2), but the early e4 is probably the most ambitious way to exploit black’s passive set-up. White has scored well here in practice, though the black position is very solid.
Taking on e4 is a little risky, and not black’s most popular move: 9…dxe4?! 10. Nxe4 Bb7 11. Rd1 gives white great positional pressure. White controls the full center, and it’s not easy to see how black can break with …c5 or …e5. If the queen tries to vacate the d-file by coming to c7, white is ready to kick it away with Bf4!
Instead 9…Bb7 is the main move, allowing white to advance with 10. e5 if he so chooses. After 10…Ne8 11. cxd5 cxd5, we reach the following position:
White has a small but persistent position advantage. 12. Re1! is almost always played here – following Nimzowitsch’s “Overprotection” principle! This move discourages the liberating …f6 pawn break, because the e6 pawn would become a target on the backwards file.
4…Bb4+
Black has another option in the Closed Catalan that I wanted to make you aware of. Instead of the usual 4…Be7, black can play 4…Bb4+.
After 5. Bd2, it wouldn’t make much sense for black to exchange on d2. After all, why would black go on a two-move operation to exchange off their “good” bishop and develop one of white’s pieces for them? (5…Bxd2+ 6. Nxd2 and the c4 pawn is already defended)
But that’s not what black has in mind. The surprising 5…Be7 can be played!
At first glance, this maneuver seems absurd. Instead of coming to e7 in one move, black took two moves to get there, and let white develop a piece along the way! This is true, but black could argue that the bishop is misplaced on d2. Often, the knight will want to come to this square, and for the time being this bishop also prevents the queen from watching over the d4 pawn.
I cover a sample line in the video above. There are pluses and minuses to inducing Bd2 from white, but this maneuver isn’t as crazy at it first looks!
Open Catalan
Maintaining the pawn on d5 isn’t the only way to handle the Catalan Opening. Black can play an early …dxc4, freeing up the center for piece play.
For example, 4…dxc4 5. Bg2 c5:
This idea is known from some other Queen’s Gambit lines. Black takes on c4 and then strikes at the center with …c5 before white regains the pawn. White is likely to get their material back, but in the meantime black can fight for space and development.
Of course, there’s a significant downside. Without the pawn on d5, white’s light-squared bishop has much more power on the long diagonal.
Play might continue 6. 0-0 Nc6 7. Qa4. This is a common response from white in the Open Catalan. White threatens the c4 pawn, and Ne5 is also a major threat, piling up on the poor c6 knight.
After 7…Bd7 8. Qxc4, black has a nice answer in 8…b5!
Taking the pawn would allow for a discovered attack against the queen, so white usually declines to do so. Next turn, black can play …Rc8. That’s one way to reduce the power of the light-squared bishop – vacate all the targets in its path! Black will just need to be careful to get their king to safety before the center opens up.
5…Nc6
Another Open Catalan line is 5…Nc6, intending to meet 6. Qa4 with Bb4+
This move gains a tempo and cuts the white queen off from regaining the c4 pawn. Black can meet 7. Bd2 with 7…Nd5.
The position of the black knights might look a little precarious after 8. Bxb4 Nxb4 9. 0-0, but black can play 9…Rb8!
Black threatens to play …b5, kicking the queen away and stabilizing the c4 pawn. White will generally prevent this with 10. Nc3 or 10. Na3, but then black can play …a6 to double-down on the idea – an exciting battle is sure to follow!
Conclusion
The Catalan Opening is rich in positional and tactical ideas. Whites slow approach might look unambitious at first, but it can be difficult for black to liberate his cramped position without making a concession. If you like positional, maneuvering chess, the Catalan Opening might be right for you!
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