Grandmaster Repertoire 1A - The Catalan by Boris Avrukh
http://www.qualitychess.co.uk/ebooks/GM1A-Catalan-excerpt.pdf
and Grandmaster Repertoire 1B - The Queen's Gambit by Boris Avrukh.
http://www.qualitychess.co.uk/ebooks/1BTheQueensGambit-excerpt.pdf
Grandmaster Repertoire 2A - King's Indian and Grunfeld
https://www.qualitychess.co.uk/ebooks/GM2A-KingsIndianandGrunfeld-excerpt.pdf
How To Be Good In Catalan Opening? What Are Its Strategic Goals? :))
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May 1, 2018
0
#43
riuryK wrote:
Smositional wrote:
Yeah, it's not a big deal to "lose" the pawn on c4. You mentioned that after Bb4+ you want to go Bd2 and after Bxd2 you want to recapture with the knight. Why not with the queen? My idea is to play Nc3 afterwards and then Qd3 or Qc2 to prepare e4. If dxc4 then maybe a4 followed by e4 or e4 immediately.
What do you think?
The main reason for me is that I'd lose a tempo with my queen since I want to place it on c2. From there I can play e4, exchange a central pawn recapturing with the knight, exchanging one knight to recapture with my queen, and from there to e2. It's a good plan that usually ends up with a structure of two pawns in c5 and e5 allowing you to infiltrate a rook on d6. I've won countless games with that plan. Let me illustrate it with a game:
Also an example of what I mentioned before about getting back the pawn via Ne5. Black is advised to return it, or he can get quickly intro trouble:
@riuryK In your second game posted- the 6...b5 'sideline' , 7...Qb6 is a theoretical line that does not lose unlike several other moves in that position. In Arvukh's book 1A, he recommends 8.Na5+ Nd5 (...Qxa5+ is a whole other story- 8...Qxa5+ 9.Bd2 c3 10.bxc3 Nd5 11.c4 b4 12.cxd5 and the theory continues...) 9.Bd2 and there are a variety of options- the real benefit is that Black is not down a rook 
May 1, 2018
0
#44
Kmatta wrote:
riuryK wrote:
Smositional wrote:
Yeah, it's not a big deal to "lose" the pawn on c4. You mentioned that after Bb4+ you want to go Bd2 and after Bxd2 you want to recapture with the knight. Why not with the queen? My idea is to play Nc3 afterwards and then Qd3 or Qc2 to prepare e4. If dxc4 then maybe a4 followed by e4 or e4 immediately.
What do you think?
The main reason for me is that I'd lose a tempo with my queen since I want to place it on c2. From there I can play e4, exchange a central pawn recapturing with the knight, exchanging one knight to recapture with my queen, and from there to e2. It's a good plan that usually ends up with a structure of two pawns in c5 and e5 allowing you to infiltrate a rook on d6. I've won countless games with that plan. Let me illustrate it with a game:
Also an example of what I mentioned before about getting back the pawn via Ne5. Black is advised to return it, or he can get quickly intro trouble:
@riuryK In your second game posted- the 6...b5 'sideline' , 7...Qb6 is a theoretical line that does not lose unlike several other moves in that position. In Arvukh's book 1A, he recommends 8.Na5+ Nd5 (...Qxa5+ is a whole other story- 8...Qxa5+ 9.Bd2 c3 10.bxc3 Nd5 11.c4 b4 12.cxd5 and the theory continues...) 9.Bd2 and there are a variety of options- the real benefit is that Black is not down a rook
I'm not following you. After 7...Qb6 how can white play 8.Na5+?
May 1, 2018
0
#45
He means 8Na5 there is no check, just a typo. In the Bd6 game, a more popular way to play that type of position as black, is including Bb4ch bd2, then bd6. Then white can't play Nf-d2 and a quick e4, which you didn't play anyway,
May 1, 2018
0
#46
Not sure if the game with 4...b6 was in response to my post, but I was suggesting b6 in a different position were white had played the rather passive early nd2.
Jan 4, 2022
0
#47
chessam1998 wrote:
in many lines, white keeps a slight advantage thanks to the pressure on the a8-h1 diagonal. in the open catalan, try to avoid black's c7-c5
It turns out 13...Be7 is a huge positional mistake in Kramnik v Carlsen. 13...Bd6 14Nd2 Rc8 15b4 a5 is quite ok for black here 16Ne5 allows c5. 15e4 Be7 16e5 Nd7 isn't a problem for black either.
Chess in a 100 years
The pure Catalan is risky for white
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=2122755
The pseudo Catalan first b3 may be an improvement
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=2127373
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