Play the Catalan – Part 1 – 2025 Edition December 2, 2025

The Catalan’s Second Coming: Dreev and Basso’s 2025 Revolution

When Alexey Dreev first championed the Catalan at the highest level, he didn’t just play an opening—he refined a philosophy. Now, in partnership with GM Pier Luigi Basso, that philosophy evolves. Play the Catalan – Part 1 – 2025 Edition arrives exactly one year after their original course, not as a replacement, but as a strategic evolution shaped by elite practice and theoretical earthquakes at the top level.

The catalyst? Modern chess has rewritten the Catalan’s script. Lines once dismissed as “old” now drive preparation in Candidates tournaments. Indian prodigies Erigaisi and Praggnanandhaa have resurrected forgotten variations. Elite players have transformed 5…Bd7 from an oddity into a sophisticated strategic concept. The 2025 edition responds with surgical precision: new recommendations where theory demanded them, preserved wisdom where it still dominates, and an entirely new Unit 8 addressing the ripple effects of changing White’s approach against 4…Bb4+.

What Makes This Course Essential

This update exemplifies how opening preparation should evolve. The authors retain the 2024 foundation while addressing what tournament practice revealed as critical. The shift from 5.Nbd2 to 5.Bd2 against 4…Bb4+ creates logical consequences throughout White’s system—consequences that demand independent treatment. Unit 1 now features two brand-new video lessons tackling 5…Nbd7, which has become a top-tier choice at elite level. Unit 2 includes “Dreev against the World,” a complete strategic blueprint neutralizing Gavrilescu’s recommendation from the Modern Chess Autumn Challenge. Against 5…c6, Dreev unveils 6.Ne5 as his official 2025 recommendation—more ambitious than the previous 6.0-0, which remains available for those who prefer it.

The course’s ambition reveals itself in Unit 3’s treatment of 5…c5. Rather than the traditional 7.dxc5 or 7.0-0, Dreev commits to 7.Ne5—a less conventional path that creates genuine winning chances. Meanwhile, Unit 8 tackles 6.Bd2 a5, where Dreev has discovered what Basso calls “a truly revolutionary new approach” to one of the Catalan’s most critical battlegrounds.

Course Structure

Technical Specifications:

• 8 Units, each divided into multiple chapters covering distinct variations
• 40 test positions for practical training
• 15-minute introductory video by GM Basso
• Memory Booster module for retention
• Overview of every chapter providing strategic orientation
• Video instruction throughout

Variation Map:

After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2:

• Unit 1: 5…Nbd7 (elite-level favorite, two new videos on critical lines)
• Unit 2: 5…Bd7 (modern light-squared bishop concept, includes “Dreev against the World”)
• Unit 3: 5…c5 6.0-0 Nc6 7.Ne5 (ambitious winning attempt)
• Unit 4: 5…c6 6.Ne5 (new 2025 recommendation; 6.0-0 also covered)
• Unit 5: 5…a6 (Black’s most frequent choice statistically)
• Unit 6: 5…Nc6 (second most popular, 2024 recommendation retained)
• Unit 7: 4…c5 5.Bg2 (avoiding the Tarrasch)
• Unit 8: 5…Bb4+ 6.Bd2 a5 (completely new unit addressing critical line, revolutionary approach)