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OPENING
Catalan Opening
Positional mastery. The fianchetto bishop controls everything.
“The long diagonal is ours. The bishop controls everything.”
— Boris, your coach
35 lessons~5 hoursPlayed by Vladimir Kramnik
Progress0 / 35
What you’ll learn
- The Bg2 on g2 dominates the long diagonal
- Combines Queen's Gambit pressure with fianchetto
- Closed positions slowly squeeze Black
- Open positions unleash the Bg2
- Qa4 or Nbd2 recovers the c4 pawn if Black takes
- Rook doubling on the c-file is a main plan
Start the course
The Catalan Idea
The Long Diagonal Weapon
1
The Catalan Idea
The Long Diagonal Weapon2
Why the Fianchetto
The Identity of the CatalanThe Catalan Bishop
Your Star Piece on g2Complete Catalan Setup
Home Position DrillCatalan Pawn Structures
Open, Closed, and In BetweenWhen to Castle
Catalan Castling TimingThe Queenside Pressure Plan
Why the Catalan Wins on the QueensideThe Nf3 Move Order Trick
Dodging Benoni and GrünfeldOpen Catalan
When Black Takes the PawnClosed Catalan
When Black Keeps d5The Bogo-Catalan
Meeting Bb4+Open Catalan: a6 and b5
The Classical DefenseThe 7.Ne5 Line
Second Open Catalan MainlineSlav-Style ...c6
The Semi-Slav CatalanMeeting Early ...c5
Benoni-Style DeviationThe Chigorin ...Nc6
When Black Develops the Knight EarlyThe ...Nbd7 Modern Line
When Black Delays CastlingMeeting Queen's Indian ...b6
When Black FianchettoesAnti-Catalan Lines
When Black Plays UnusuallyThe e4 Break
Striking the CenterRecovering the c4 Pawn
Qa4 or Nbd2 TechniquesCatalan Endgame
The Long Diagonal in EndingsThe c-File Plan
Doubling RooksQueenside Minority Attack
b4-b5 to Crack the QueensideKnight Outposts
Ne5 as a Central PostKingside Expansion
When the Catalan AttacksMove Order for b3
When to Play b3 SafelyKeep the Central Tension
Don't Exchange cxd5 VoluntarilyTrap: Long Diagonal Shot
When Black Opens e-file WronglyTrap: Punishing the Pawn Grab
When Black Holds c4 Too Hard30 of 35 lessons loaded