Yeah. Thanks for that Twomove... How ever,I'm not familiar with your way of giving move´s...
eks... 4... - pxp and the you tybe 5dg2.. Uhh?! It is tru that Black can take the game in to other lins with 2 c5 and so on.... But then. White can also play for a more close position with eks. 2.Nc3 - and even 3.Nc3 ... And wee can keep analysing all kind of things... :-) But thanks for the analyse.. Not that I understand it all, but I get the idea... :-)
TwoMove, I think the reason that most club players avoid dxc4 in the Catalan is that it's an unfamiliar set up that opens up lines for both sides. If they're playing the QGD as Black, they probably aren't comfortable with dynamic play.
In any case, the O.P. of this thread just copypasted an existing game, but changed the names... a 24-move coincidence?
If black is happy playing the Bogo line with exchange of bishops 1.d4 Nf6 2c4 e6 3Nf3 Bb4ch 4Bd2 BxB, he doesn't need to learn anything new against the catalan. It's line mentioned on first page of this thread, and FIDE 2700+ are having lot of trouble finding anything much against. It's main problem is that it's a bit dull, but a lot of club player's seem to avoid it because it's exchanging the good bishop.
What about b4 at some point? I mean, the Black's pawn on b6 is probably weaker than the White's pawn on the a-file. Or perhaps simply b4 followed by pawn takes on d5. It emphasises some weaknesses.
It's reasonable and has been tried in Topalov v Carlsen 2010, for example,
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1599388
Black still has a solid position, and it might be one of those positions were black can try a more active defense with Ba6.
I saw the game between Kramnik and Carlsen, I'm well aware of the problem.
Some people don't play dxc4 because they didn't prep for the Catalan as no one plays It
My favorite Catalan (by transposition from a Reti) is Reti vs Bogoljubov, New York 1924. It features one of the most beautiful moves ever played.
The Catalan opening system is becoming one of the most popular setups for White in tournament play.
Used extensively by Vladimir Kramnik during the World Chess Championships of 2006, 2007, and 2008, along with Gerry Kasparov and Victor Korchnoi at the London Canidates Tournament in 1983, the Catalan is easily one of the most flexibe openings available; it can transpose from a Queen's Gambit (either accepted or declined), a Ruy Lopez, or even a King's Indian Attack, all of which aim to fianchetto the light-squared bishop and begin adding tremendous pressure on the quuenside.
But how do you play the Catalan? Well, like I said, the Catalan system can arise from many openings. However, in this article, we will be reviewing the main line, which transposes from the Queen's Gambit Declined.
The light-squared bishop is definitely the most powerful minor piece in this opening, so much to the extent that now this bishop is known as the Catalan bishop.
Let's review some basic principles for the Catalan. Obviously, because we are fianchttoing our bishop on the kingside, and naturally because we are playing the Queen's Gambit, we will usually focus on attacking the queenside. As for King safety, we will generally focus on castling kingside, mainly because the Catalan is sub-characterized by thematic pawn breaks from the queenside.
In the Catalan, White sidestepps several aggresive ideas by Black and instead focuses on development, where you can play for an edge for little risk. The safe bishop on g2 can carve along the board, which usually can frusterate Black and push him into making a mistake.
Keep in mind, though, that we are willingly sacrificing the c4 pawn for a small advantage. The Catalan diverges from the Queen's Gambit in the fact that the pawn on c4 becomes a sacrifice, instead of a gambit, because our bishop has been removed from the f1 square, and we will not be able to recapture using the traditional e3, assuming that White decides to leave the pawn in exchange for extra initiative, which is, of the two, the best option. However, Black will find it increasingly difficult to hold on to this material, and if he attempts to, White will gain a lead in development and a more connected pawn chain than that of Black's.
Before I continue, let's look at a game I played using the Catalan. Try to imagine why I played each move. Stuck? Look at the notes bar to see my commentary.
See how my light-squared bishop, my Catalan bishop, helped in the trap of the Black Queen? I chose this game in particular because it shows just how powerful a single minor piece can be in the right position.
Anyway, this concludes the first article in our Catalan series. In the second article, I will go deep into the analysis of a few GM games using the Catalan, as well as some other main lines and objectives for both Black and White. Hope to see you there!
JERRY Kasparov my favorite German GM
gundamv wrote:
What are some good ways an intermediate player (around Class C or Class B) could handle the Catalan defense as Black?
Great question. I hate accidentally transposing into the Catalan and finding myself on the wrong side of it as black - which is precisely why I prefer it with white for a subtle, lasting, and very annoying edge. I recently looked at some wins by Carlsen with black, where he plays a Slav setup, exchanges dark squared bishops, then plays b6, eventually activates his bishop along the a6-f1 diagonal, and places pressure on white's center. The idea of playing a Slav setup to blunt white's bishop is interesting, but certainly white has a strong response: b4-b5 to break up black's fortress. Before white can do this, your best bet with black I'd say would probably be to play for the ...e5 break. You might want to trade you d pawn for white's c pawn before doing this, though, so that d5 does not become weakened by the advance (the Kramnik-Aronian blindfold game is a testament to that)! Another option is to simply copy white and fianchetto yourself...then white has to deal with the annoying diagonal. You'll likely be cramped and weak with a Dutch setup, and I love to break it up with a well timed e4! Good luck!
This is still an excellent short explanation of how to play the Catalan as Black. Again, the Slav set up isn't a refutation of the Catalan, but it does give Black close to equal chances.
Slightly confused as black can't play a Slav setup having already played e6 entering a QGD setup. Do you mean the Closed Catalan (i.e. 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Bd2 Be7 ?)
Anyway an interesting idea that not a lot of people seem to know about is transposing to the Classical QGA. After 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3, 3...dxc4!? is an interesting move, the point being that 4.e4 seems ineffective due to 4...b5 5.a4 c6 6.axb5 cxb5 7.b3 Bb7! 8.bxc4 Bxe4. This way of playing the QGA avoids the dangerous lines after 1.d4 d5 2.c4 dxc4 3.e4.
I'm sure he means when black plays c6.
I guess it wasn't obvious. The Slav is 1.d4 d5 2.c4 c6.
After 4...Nf6 it is a closed catalan, which for some reason, is the most common choice of club players against the catalan. I guess club players playing setups with d5, think d5xc4 is giving up the centre.
In the game move order black had other choices like 2...c5, and in the semi-slav setup after 3...c6 then 4...pxp 5bg2 b5 6Ne5, and 7...pxp. These are not necessary better than the game continuation but sharper play for black.
8...a5 has been played by very strong players and is ok if followed up by b6 and ba6. All game black did nothing about the bad bishop Bc8. Even setting up a stonewall with ne4, f5 is ok for black, but not with h6, and nh5.