Fight the Catalan Opening – Top-Level Repertoire for Black February 10, 2024

GM Arjun Kaljan keeps expanding his repertoire against 1.d4. This time he presents a complete repertoire against the Catalan Opening.

So far, GM Arjun Kalyan has published the following databases against 1.d4:

Queen’s Gambit Declined – Repertoire for Black after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5

Nimzo-Indian Defence – Top-Level Repertoire for Black – Part 1

Nimzo-Indian Defence – Top-Level Repertoire for Black – Part 2

This course, dedicated to the Catalan, completes Black’s repertoire against the main lines arising after 1.d4.

The course consists of 10 theretical chapters, 20 interactive test positions, a Memory Booster, and a Video Version (2h and 17min Running Time).

Additionally, we need to pay special attention to the position arising after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Bb4+ 5.Nc3. This position is examined in the database Nimzo-Indian Defence – Top-Level Repertoire for Black – Part 2. Nevertheless, we have included the related analysis to the current course.

Preview by the Author

The Catalan Opening is one of the biggest tests for Black after 1.d4. White gets his bishop to g2, and it is usually a very dangerous piece in the resulting middlegames. White does not mind sacrificing the c4-pawn in return for quick development and space in the center.

The main position of our repertoire arises after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Bb4+

This is my favourite response to the Catalan, and it fits in perfectly with our repertoire against the Nimzo. It is one of the main lines, and the point is to force one of White’s minor pieces on the queenside to go to the awkward d2-square.

At this point, White’s most common move order starts with 5.Bd2. This is the main move offering a trade of the dark-squared bishops, which would help White’s development. However, the bishop will later hinder the development of the b1-knight. The move 5.Nbd2 was covered via the move order 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Bb4+ 5.Nd2.

After 5.Bd2, my suggestion is 5…Be7. This is the most solid square for the bishop, similar to the QGD lines. We want to castle and slowly develop our queenside. We will take on c4 only if we can hold on to the pawn comfortably.

The first important tabiya of this line is being reached after 5…Be7 6.Bg2 0-0 7.0-0 

We have two options here that will likely transpose, but there are a few different independent options on the 8th move. The move 7.Qc2 is another possible move to reach the main lines, but it can also be an independent option in some cases. We will see this in the first chapter.

After 7.0-0, my suggestion is 7…Nbd7.

I feel this is more flexible as we retain the option of going c7-c5 in one go. The knight can also go to b6 to defend the pawn on c4. White’s main move is 8.Qc2. The continuation 8.Nc3 is a bold move, giving up the pawn on c4 to go e4 and get control over the center. We will see this along with a few lines in Chapter 2.

After 8.Qc2, Black continues with 8…c6.

We get a Semi-Slav type of structure, which is pretty effective against the bishop on g2. Our plan next is to go b6, Ba6 or Bb7. We can also consider going for the plan of Ne4 and f5 at some point, or a5-a4. Our position is pretty flexible.

Now, White faces a choice. The move 9.Rd1 is one of the main moves in the position and is the natural square for the rook; the other rook is likely to come to c1 in the future. In the database, I also examine 9.Bf4 and 9.Rc1. With a little bit of a knowledge, Black is doing fine against these continuations.

After 9.Rd1, the main line goes 9…b6 10.Bf4 Ba6 11.Ne5 Rc8 12.cxd5

Now, we have a choice between the solid 12…cxd5 and the more ambitious 12…Nxd5. I recommend taking with the knight if you remember the details. If you feel like your opponent is very well prepared or do not remember any ideas, you can take 12…cxd5.