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Most dangerous system by white (Catalan)

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ThrillerFan
watcha wrote:

What is this 7. Ne5 thing?

The correct move is 7. Qc2, after which black's best play is 7. ... a6 8. Qxc4 b5 9. Qc2 Bb7 10. Bd2.

 

Black looks smart to develop the bishop with tempo but its position is in reality very vulnerable. Since by 10. Bd2 white threatens Ba5 black should consider playing 10. ... a5 here instead of the main line.

watcha - 7.Ne5 and 7.Qc2 are equally correct, and actually, in the 7.Qc2 line, White has better winning chances in the 8.a4 line than 8.Qxc4.  Back in the day when everyone responded to 7.Ne5 Nc6 with 8.Nxc6?! bxc6 9.Bxc6, it was thought that 7.Ne5 was absolutely useless, and everyone played 7.Qc2, and while 8.Qxc4 was viewed as the "simpler" line for White, it's also the simpler line for Black as well, and I've even had some nice wins from the Black side of this line.  8.a4 creates more issues for Black.

In my humble opinion, of White's three main options (7.Ne5, 7.Qc2 and 8.Qxc4, and 7.Qc2 and 8.a4), I find the line with 8.Qxc4 to be the weakest of the three, and leads to mere equality.

Derekjj
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