4. Open Catalan with 5.Qa4+ Nbd7
White recovers the pawn with 5.Qa4+ and 7.Qxc4. Black gains time with ...b5 and breaks with ...c5; after 10.a4 cxd4 11.Nxd4 the White Knight attacks b5 and e6.
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 dxc4 5.Qa4+ Nbd7 6.Nf3 a6 7.Qxc4 b5 8.Qc2 Bb7 9.O-O c5 10.a4 cxd4 11.Nxd4
Move by move
- 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.
- 1...Nf6 – Black develops the Knight and controls e4: it postpones the choice between ...d5, ...e6 and the Indian defenses.
- 2.c4 – White gains space with the c-pawn: it controls d5 and prepares Nc3 or the g3 fianchetto.
- 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.
- 3.g3 – The Catalan: White prepares the fianchetto on g2, from where the Bishop will aim at d5 and the whole Black queenside.
- 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.
- 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.
- 4...dxc4 – The Open Catalan: Black takes the c4 pawn and frees d5, but opens the diagonal of the g2 Bishop. White will recover the pawn with Qa4+, Qc2 or Ne5.
- 5.Qa4+ – The check allows White to recover the c4 pawn at once: after the parry the Queen takes on c4.
- 5...Nbd7 – Black parries with the Knight, which from d7 supports ...c5 and ...e5 and does not shut in the c8 Bishop.
- 6.Nf3 – White develops the Knight before taking on c4: the pawn cannot be defended.
- 6...a6 – Black prepares ...b5, which will gain time on the Queen after Qxc4.
- 7.Qxc4 – The Queen recaptures the c4 pawn: material is level, but the Queen will be attacked by ...b5.
- 7...b5 – The pawn attacks the Queen and gains space: Black prepares ...Bb7 and ...c5.
- 8.Qc2 – The Queen leaves c4, where it was attacked by the b5 pawn, and retreats to c2: from there it controls e4 and stays on the c-file.
- 8...Bb7 – The Bishop faces the g2 Bishop and prepares the break ...c5.
- 9.O-O – White castles and prepares a4 against the b5 pawn.
- 9...c5 – Black breaks with ...c5: it attacks d4 and opens the c-file, against the c2 Queen.
- 10.a4 – White attacks the b5 pawn: if it falls, the Black queenside is left without support.
- 10...cxd4 – Black exchanges on d4 and opens the c-file.
- 11.Nxd4 – The Knight recaptures on d4, where it attacks b5 and e6 and opens the diagonal of the g2 Bishop toward b7.
How to exploit the position
White has a development advantage and the b5 pawn under attack; Black still has the King in the center.
- Attack b5 with axb5 and Nxb5: the pawn is defended only by a6.
- If Black exchanges the Bishops with ...Bxg2, recapture with the King: then the Knight can jump to c6, where it attacks the d8 Queen.
- If Black takes ...bxa4, recapture with the Rook: the a-file is open and the a6 pawn is weak.
- The Rook goes to d1 against the d7 Knight; the Queen on the c-file controls c6.
Master tips
The Black King in the center
After ...c5 and ...cxd4 Black has opened the game with the King still on e8: White must exploit the development advantage.