Catalan Opening

13. Closed Catalan with 7.b3 b6 8.Ne5

With 8.Ne5 White threatens Nc6, against the Queen and the Bishop. Black parries with 8...Bb7; after 9.cxd5 exd5 the jump 10.Nc6? no longer works, because the b7 Bishop takes it and White cannot recapture.

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O Nbd7 7.b3 b6 8.Ne5 Bb7 9.cxd5 exd5

Move by move

1. 1.d4 – White occupies the center with the Queen's pawn: it controls e5 and c5 and prepares c4, the first step of the Catalan.
2. 1...Nf6 – Black develops the Knight and controls e4: it postpones the choice between ...d5, ...e6 and the Indian defenses.
3. 2.c4 – White gains space with the c-pawn: it controls d5 and prepares Nc3 or the g3 fianchetto.
4. 2...e6 – Black opens the f8 Bishop and prepares ...d5: this is the structure of the Queen's Gambit Declined, against which the Catalan is designed.
5. 3.g3 – The Catalan: White prepares the fianchetto on g2, from where the Bishop will aim at d5 and the whole Black queenside.
6. 3...d5 – Black occupies d5: now the g2 Bishop will have a pawn in front of it, but the c4 pawn attacks it and the tension remains.
7. 4.Bg2 – The Bishop settles on the long diagonal: it presses on d5 and, if Black captures on c4, it will hit b7 and a8.
8. 4...Be7 – The Closed Catalan: Black does not take on c4, develops the Bishop and prepares castling, keeping the d5 pawn in the center.
9. 5.Nf3 – White develops the Knight and prepares castling: with the Bishop already on g2 the King will be safe in one move.
10. 5...O-O – Black castles and still leaves the possibility of taking on c4.
11. 6.O-O – White castles: now the Queen and the b1 Knight can support the push e4.
12. 6...Nbd7 – Black develops the Knight on d7 before deciding the structure: it supports ...c5 and ...b6.
13. 7.b3 – White protects c4 with the pawn, so ...dxc4 gains nothing, and prepares Ba3 or Bb2.
14. 7...b6 – Black prepares ...Bb7 and control of the long diagonal.
15. 8.Ne5 – The Knight jumps to e5 and threatens Nc6, which would attack the Queen and the e7 Bishop: the c8 Bishop does not control c6 yet.
16. 8...Bb7 – The Bishop goes to b7 and controls c6: the threat Nc6 is parried.
17. 9.cxd5 – White exchanges on d5 and opens the c-file against the c7 pawn.
18. 9...exd5 – Black recaptures with the e-pawn: d5 is solid, but the b7 Bishop is shut in behind the pawn.

How to exploit the position

Equal position: Black has the solid d5 pawn, but the b7 Bishop is shut in and the c7 pawn is on the semi-open c-file.

• Do not play 10.Nc6?: after 10...Bxc6 the g2 Bishop does not recapture, because the d5 pawn closes the diagonal.
• Develop with Bb2, Nc3 and Rc1: the pressure on the c-file ties Black to the defense of c7.
• If Black exchanges on e5 with ...Nxe5, dxe5 drives away the f6 Knight and gains space.
• With Nc3 and Qd3, followed by e4, prepare the break against d5.

Master tips

The c6 square

When Black plays ...b6 without having developed the c8 Bishop, the c6 square is undefended: Ne5 threatens Nc6 against the Queen and the e7 Bishop.