Learn the The Catalan

E01-E09 · a repertoire for white · 4 chapters · 47 annotated lines

"The fianchetto that squeezes for fifty moves"

The Catalan is the professional's queen's pawn opening: 1.d4, 2.c4 and 3.g3, putting the bishop on g2 where it stares down the longest diagonal on the board for the whole game. World champions from Kramnik to Carlsen have used it as a lifetime weapon because it wins the same way at every level — not with a knockout, but with a squeeze: Black's queenside never quite develops, the c- and d-files never quite free themselves, and the g2 bishop never stops aiming at b7. This course gives you the full repertoire: the Closed Catalan squeeze, the Open Catalan where you always regain the c4 pawn with interest, the refutation of Black's greedy attempts to keep it, and the sidelines. Every line engine-checked; every plan explained.

What's inside

• Chapter 1: The Closed Catalan — The Slow Squeeze
  Lines: The Main Squeeze — Qc2, Nbd2, e4!, When Black Releases with ...dxc4, The ...b6 Setup — Break the Center with cxd5, The ...c5 Break — Trade into a Better Structure, The ...Ba6 Pin — Just Defend c4 with b3, The ...b5 Lunge — Clamp with c5, The ...Bd6 Setup — Same Plan, Same e4, The ...a5 Space Grab — Break Anyway, The ...Re8 Break — e4 First, Nxc4 Recapture, The ...Nc6 Block — b3 and the Long Squeeze, The ...Ne4 Lunge — Trade and Win a Clean Pawn, The ...c5 Break with ...exd5 — The Nxd5 Trap
• Chapter 2: The Open Catalan — Regaining c4 with Interest
  Lines: The Main Line — Qc2, Qxc4 and the Bd2 Squeeze, Main Line — Black's ...Bd6 and Bg5, Main Line — Kramnik's ...Ra7, The ...c5 Counter — Qa4 and dxc5 On Time, Punishing the Pawn Grab — 5...b5? 6.a4!, The 5...Nc6 Line — Qa4 and Bxb4, The 5...Bb4+ Check — Bd2 and the Good Bishop, The 5...a6 Line — e3 and the Slow Recovery, Holding with ...b5 — a4! On Time, The ...c6 Hold — Qxc4 and the Rook to d1, The ...Nc6 Try — Qxc4 and Chase the Queen, The 5...Bd7 Idea — Meet ...Bc6 with Ne5, The ...Nbd7 Recapture — Qxc4 and ...c5 Break, The 5...b5 Grab with ...Bb7 — axb5 First, The ...c5 with ...Nd7 — dxc5 and Regain Both, The ...Na5 Chase — Qc2 and the Ne5 Octopus, Main Line — ...Nbd7 and the Ba5 Clamp, The ...a6 and ...b5 Hold — Ne5 and b3 Crack It, The ...Nbd7-b6 Guard — Trade It Off, Take c4 Back
• Chapter 3: Sidelines — The Check and the Trades
  Lines: 3...Bb4+ — Block, Retreat, Squeeze, 3...Bb4+ with the Trade — The Good Bishop Stays, 3...Bb4+ and ...a5 — Undermine with a3, 3...Bb4+ and ...Qe7 — Develop and Keep the Bishop, 3...Bb4+ and ...c5 — Take the Bishop, Keep the Structure
• Chapter 4: Move Orders — Reaching Your Tabiya
  Lines: The 3...c6 Slav Order — Ne5 Refutes the Grab, The 3...c5 Center Strike — Fianchetto and Grind, The 3...b6 Slide — Bxb7! Punishes the Routine Bishop, The Tarrasch Strike 4...c5 — cxd5 and Bg5, The Semi-Tarrasch ...Nxd5 — Qb3 and the Big Center

Free sample: the main line, move by move

• 1. d4 — Start with the queen's pawn — the Catalan is a 1.d4 opening wearing a fianchetto.
• 1... Nf6 — Black develops flexibly.
• 2. c4 — Stake the full queenside claim before showing your plan.
• 2... e6 — Black keeps it classical.
• 3. g3 — The Catalan move. Before developing a single piece, you promise the bishop the h1-a8 diagonal — the longest road on the board, running straight through Black's queenside.
• 3... d5 — Black takes the classical center.
• 4. Bg2 — The bishop lands. From here it pressures d5 today, b7 tomorrow, and a8 in the endgame. Every Black plan for the next thirty moves must first ask: what does the g2 bishop think?
• 4... Be7 — Solid development.
• 5. Nf3 — Natural development — the knight also covers e5 and supports the coming central play.
• 5... O-O — Black castles.
• 6. O-O — Castle. The opening promises are all kept: perfect king, perfect bishop, and total flexibility about where the pawns go next.
• 6... Nbd7 — Black chooses the solid closed setup, supporting ...c5 or ...e5 breaks someday.
• 7. Qc2 — The queen takes the ideal Catalan square: supporting e4, watching c4, and vacating d1 for a rook. You will play this move in nearly every Catalan game of your life.
• 7... c6 — Black shores up d5 and opens the queen's path to a5 or b6 — the standard closed wall.
• 8. Nbd2 — The second knight supports e4 as well. Notice what you have NOT done: released the c4-d5 tension or committed the c1 bishop. Everything waits for e4.
• 8... b6 — Black prepares ...Bb7 to challenge the diagonal.
• 9. e4 — The break, at the perfect moment. Every capture favors you: ...dxe4 Nxe4 opens the g2 bishop with tempo, ...dxc4 Nxc4 centralizes a knight, and standing pat lets you roll e5 next.
• 9... dxe4 — The principled release — leaving the tension lets you play e4-e5 and roll Black off the board.
• 10. Nxe4 — Recapture toward the center. The knight sits on e4 eyeing d6 and f6, and the c6 pawn keeps Black's bishop off the long diagonal.
• 10... Nxe4 — Black trades to relieve the cramp.
• 11. Qxe4 — The queen recaptures, perfectly centralized — hitting e6, watching the kingside, and daring Black to free himself. The c6 pawn still walls Black's own bishop out of the game.
• 11... Nf6 — Black gains a tempo on the queen while developing — and assumes you will retreat.
• 12. Qxc6 — Don't retreat: count first. Black played ...b6, so the b7 pawn no longer guards c6, and no piece replaced it — the knight that defended it from d7 has just gone to f6. Take the pawn. This is the single most-missed free pawn in the Closed Catalan, and at club level it is worth thirteen percentage points of score.
• 12... Bd7 — The critical reply: Black develops with tempo and hopes the queen has nowhere sensible to go.
• 13. Qb7 — The only move — and the whole point. Straight forward, into the mouth of the position. Two natural-looking alternatives lose on the spot: 13.Ne5?? Bxc6 drops the queen, and 13.Qxa8?? Qxa8 gives queen for rook. Play Qb7 and Black's rook has no safe way to hit you.
• 13... Rb8 — Black chases the intruder, expecting to trap it on the queenside.
• 14. Qa6 — Out through the side door. Greed loses everything here: 14.Qxb8?? Qxb8 is again queen for rook, and even 14.Qxa7 Ra8 15.Qb7 Rb8 is nothing but a repetition. From a6 the queen keeps the extra pawn and stays connected to c4 and f1.
• 14... Bc6 — Black grabs the diagonal and hopes the queen is still short of air.
• 15. Bf4 — Ignore the noise and finish developing — the queen on a6 has c4, a4 and b5 to breathe. The bishop hits b8 and prepares to trade off Black's most useful defender.
• 15... Bd6 — Black offers the trade to relieve the pressure on the b-file.
• 16. Bxd6 — Take. Every trade helps the side with the extra pawn, and Black's remaining pieces have no target at all.
• 16... Qxd6 — Black recaptures and finally coordinates — a move too late.
• 17. Rfd1 — The last piece joins, and the game is a technical exercise: a clean extra pawn, a healthy 2-vs-1 queenside majority, and no weaknesses. Ne5 comes next, the c-pawn rolls, and Black has spent the entire opening being a pawn down for nothing.

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