Catalan Opening
Fianchetto with pressure on d5. Grandmaster favorite.
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ArrowsAll
1. d4 › Catalan Opening
Change
Sequence
1.d4Nf62.c4e63.g3d5
Possible Variations5
4. Bg25 variations
About this opening
The Catalan Opening blends the Queen's Gambit with a g3 fianchetto: the g2 bishop exerts lasting pressure along the long diagonal and on the d5 pawn. White often lets the c4 pawn go for a while to develop a long-term positional initiative. The Open Catalan and the Closed Catalan are its two faces. Vladimir Kramnik and Garry Kasparov refined its strategy at the highest level.