The Catalan Opening is a chess opening where White plays d4 and c4 and fianchettoes the white bishop on g2. A common opening sequence is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3, although various other openings can transpose into the Catalan. The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings lists codes E01–E09 for lines with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2; other lines are part of E00.
In the Catalan, White adopts a combination of the Queen’s Gambit and Réti Opening. White combines the space-gaining moves d4 and c4 with g3, preparing to fianchetto the king’s bishop. This places pressure mainly on the queenside while hoping to keep the white king safe in the long-term. The c4-pawn can become vulnerable, however, and White might have to sacrifice a pawn.
Black has two main approaches to play against the Catalan: in the Open Catalan Black plays …dxc4 and can either try to hold on to the pawn with …b5 or give it back for extra time to free their game. In the Closed Catalan, Black does not capture on c4; their game can be somewhat cramped for a while, but is quite solid. Additionally, Black has ways to avoid the Catalan.
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PGN OF THE STUDY IN THE VIDEO:
[Event “Cote d’Ivoire Blitz 2019”]
[Site “Abidjan CIV”]
[Date “2019.05.11”]
[Round “8.5”]
[White “Ding Liren”]
[Black “Topalov, V.”]
[Result “1-0”]
[WhiteElo “2805”]
[BlackElo “2740”]
[Variant “Standard”]
[TimeControl “-“]
[ECO “E10”]
[Opening “Indian Defense: Anti-Nimzo-Indian”]
[Termination “Normal”]
[Annotator “lichess.org”]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 { E10 Indian Defense: Anti-Nimzo-Indian } d5 4. g3 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Bg2 O-O 7. O-O Nbd7 8. Qc2 c6 9. Bf4 b6 10. cxd5 cxd5 11. Rc1 Ba6 12. Nc3 Nh5 13. Bd2 Nhf6 14. Bf4 Nh5 15. Be5 Nhf6 16. e3 h6 17. Qd1 Nxe5 18. Nxe5 Bd6 19. f4 Bb7 20. Rc2 a6 21. Rac1 Qe7?! { (0.27 → 0.92) Inaccuracy. b5 was best. } (21… b5 22. h4) 22. Na4 Qd8 23. Qd3 Ne4? { (0.96 → 2.39) Mistake. Rc8 was best. } (23… Rc8) 24. Nc6 Bxc6 25. Rxc6 b5 26. Nc5?! { (2.32 → 1.15) Inaccuracy. Nb6 was best. } (26. Nb6) 26… Nxc5 27. dxc5 Be7 28. e4?! { (1.60 → 0.80) Inaccuracy. f5 was best. } (28. f5 exf5) 28… dxe4 29. Qxd8 Rfxd8 30. Bxe4 Ra7 31. Rc2 g5 32. Rb6 Rd4 33. Rb7 Rxb7 34. Bxb7 Bd8?! { (1.00 → 1.69) Inaccuracy. gxf4 was best. } (34… gxf4 35. c6) 35. fxg5 hxg5 36. Bxa6 b4 37. Kf2 Kg7 38. Ke3 e5 39. Bd3?! { (2.54 → 1.53) Inaccuracy. Rd2 was best. } (39. Rd2) 39… Rd5? { (1.53 → 3.32) Mistake. g4 was best. } (39… g4 40. a4 bxa3 41. bxa3 Bg5+ 42. Ke2 Bd8 43. Rc4 Rxc4 44. Bxc4 f5 45. Kd3 Kf6 46. Ba6) 40. c6 Bb6+ 41. Ke2 Bc7 42. g4?? { (3.98 → 1.62) Blunder. Rc4 was best. } (42. Rc4) 42… Rd4 43. Rc4 Rxc4? { (1.66 → 3.30) Mistake. Kf8 was best. } (43… Kf8 44. Ke3) 44. Bxc4 e4?! { (3.31 → 4.94) Inaccuracy. Kf6 was best. } (44… Kf6 45. Bd5 Ke7 46. Kd3 e4+ 47. Bxe4 Be5 48. Kc4 Bxb2 49. Kxb4 Kd6 50. Kb5 Bd4 51. a4) 45. Ke3 Bxh2?! { (4.87 → 6.32) Inaccuracy. Kf6 was best. } (45… Kf6 46. Kxe4 Ke7 47. Kd5 Kd8 48. Kc5 Be5 49. Kxb4 Kc7 50. Kc5 Bxb2 51. Bxf7 Ba3+ 52. Kb5) 46. Kxe4 Kf6 47. Kd5 Ke7 48. Kc5 Bd6+ 49. Kb6 Kd8 50. Bxf7? { (8.00 → 3.86) Mistake. Kb7 was best. } (50. Kb7 Bf4 51. a3 bxa3 52. b4 Ke7 53. b5 f5 54. b6 fxg4 55. c7 a2 56. Bxa2 g3) 50… Kc8 51. Be6+ Kb8 52. Bf5 Bc7+ 53. Kc5 Be5 54. b3?? { (4.32 → 1.53) Blunder. Kxb4 was best. } { Black resigns. } (54. Kxb4) 1-0
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