Is catalan not suitable for under 1500 elos

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Avatar of goofygoompus

I felt like its a little too theorized maybe I should stop playing that ._.

Avatar of Bowser

I mean tbh at our level people usually play out of theory by like move 5-6. So I think as long as you understand the ideas behind the catalan it’s playable. 

Avatar of ItsTwoDuece

What's worth noting is that most people U1500 won't know the theory either. As long as you are comfortable in the position and know at least the basic ways to defend the most testing lines you should be fine. I play the najdorf at 1400, fully recognizing that I don't have enough theory memorized to call myself proficient at it to a high level player. (I know about two lines down 12 moves or so for each of the most common 8-ish variations at the tabia, but again I may have only seen two or three of these over 500+ games since very few know it at my level).

Avatar of Bowser
ItsTwoDuece wrote:

What's worth noting is that most people U1500 won't know the theory either. As long as you are comfortable in the position and know at least the basic ways to defend the most testing lines you should be fine. I play the najdorf at 1400, fully recognizing that I don't have enough theory memorized to call myself proficient at it to a high level player. (I know about two lines down 12 moves or so for each of the most common 8-ish variations at the tabia, but again I may have only seen two or three of these over 500+ games since very few know it at my level).

How do you like the najdorf? I play the sicilian dragon but I’ve been thinking about switching to the sveshnikov or najdorf.

Avatar of ItsTwoDuece
u0y wrote:

How do you like the najdorf? I play the sicilian dragon but I’ve been thinking about switching to the sveshnikov or najdorf.

I absolutely love it, but I think that you do have to do a decent bit of study before starting it, because there are some common developing sequences for White that require specific responses from Black to not be poor. Plus the developing moves and attacking ideas for Black aren't too intuitive, like when and where to move the queenside minor pieces and when to play b5, or e6 instead of e5. There are often specific things to look for before making these decisions, and some can be winning or losing. To be honest those are some of the reasons I enjoy the opening so much as well.

All that in mind I'd be glad to give you some resources and help you out if you have any questions about it!

Avatar of Chuck639

I enjoy it but play it thru transpositions to dodge tricks and steer the game.

I like the rich positions, improvisation, piece development and activity whereas all of my opponents don’t understand the subtle advantages that you can build up. 

I was already a dragon player for both sides so it wasn’t a stretch to understand the plans.

 

Avatar of PawnTsunami
goofygoompus wrote:

I felt like its a little too theorized maybe I should stop playing that ._.

The Catalan is a less forcing option, so White will end up playing a more strategic game.  At lower levels, this will be a bit chaotic because the players do not have the deeper understanding to make coherent moves.  That said, if you like the setups, stick with it and work it out.  As you get stronger, you will start to understand more and be able to play it better.  Just realize that there will be a learning curve and you will likely lose a lot of games before you start understanding some of the major concepts.

A bit of a shortcut may be to invest in Neil McDonald's move by move book on the Catalan.