Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Catalan Opening
The Catalan is a chess opening where White adopts a combination of the
Catalan Opening
Queen's Gambit and Réti Opening: White plays d4 and c4 and fianchettoes
the white bishop on g2. A common opening sequence is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 a b c d e f g h
3.g3, although the opening can arise from a large number of move orders 8 8
(see transposition). ECO codes E01–E09 are for lines with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6
7 7
3.g3 d5 4.Bg2, and others are part of E00.
6 6
Black has two main approaches to choose between: in the Open Catalan he 5 5
plays ...dxc4 and can either try to hold on to the pawn with ...b5 or give it
4 4
back for extra time to free his game. In the Closed Catalan, Black does not
capture on c4; his game can be somewhat cramped for a while, but is quite 3 3
solid. 2 2
1 1
The Catalan is generally seen as a safe way for White to get a small
a b c d e f g h
advantage.
History
The Catalan derives its name from Catalonia, after tournament organisers at the 1929 Barcelona tournament asked
Savielly Tartakower to create a new variation in homage to the area's chess history. It had been played a few times before
Tartakower's usage in the tournament, however: Réti–Leonhardt, Berlin 1928, for instance, transposed into an Open
Catalan.
The Catalan came to prominence at the top level when both Garry Kasparov and Viktor Korchnoi played it in their
Candidates Semifinal match in London in 1983: five games of the eleven-game match were Catalans.
In 2004, Ruben Felgaer won a tournament celebrating the 75th anniversary of Barcelona 1929 and the birth of the Catalan
Opening, ahead of Grandmasters Viktor Korchnoi, Mihail Marin, Lluis Comas and Viktor Moskalenko and International
Master Manel Granados. Each game in the tournament, which was also held in Barcelona, began with the moves 1.d4 d5
2.c4 e6 3.g3 Nf6.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_Opening 1/3
3/2/2019 Catalan Opening - Wikipedia
With its use by Vladimir Kramnik, the Catalan has recently gained a good deal of attention by high-level GMs. Kramnik
played the opening three times in the World Chess Championship 2006. The Catalan was also played four times by
Viswanathan Anand in the World Chess Championship 2010; in both instances the opponent was Veselin Topalov, and in
each instance White scored two more points than Black.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catalan_Opening 2/3