The Catalan Opening
One bishop, one diagonal, and a pawn lent out for as long as it takes. The Catalan is the opening world champions reach for when they want a game with no risk and no draw offer - and it all runs through the bishop on g2.
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- First moves
- 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3
- ECO
- E00
- Best for
- White
- Style
- Positional
- Theory
- Heavy
- Level
- Advanced
The Catalan is a Queen's Gambit with the king's bishop pointed at Black's queenside instead of at f7. White plays d4, c4, g3 and Bg2, and that bishop looks down the longest diagonal on the board for the rest of the game - usually straight at the square Black's rook is standing on.
That is also the opening's one weakness. Committing to g3 this early tells Black exactly what is coming, so Black gets to choose the reply knowing the plan - which is why the Catalan is an opening for players who want a long, slow squeeze rather than a knockout.
The main line
The Open Catalan, the critical main line. Step through all thirteen moves and watch White give a pawn and take a diagonal.
Now play White's side of it.
You are White. Build the Catalan: two centre pawns, the fianchetto, the knight, castle - and then let the c4-pawn go.
The Closed Catalan
Black does not have to take. The Closed Catalan keeps the pawn on d5, blunts the bishop with ...c6, and settles in for a long game.
The Closed Catalan - Black refuses to capture, and White builds towards e4 instead.
Winning the pawn back
In the Open Catalan the pawn comes back on its own. Black's only way to keep it is ...a6 and ...b5 - and those two moves are what White wants.
Black tries to keep the extra pawn. Watch what it costs.
The trap: holding the c4-pawn too literally
Black can also take the pawn early, before castling, and defend it with ...b5 at once. That version does not survive contact with the diagonal.
You are White. Develop, ask the question, and open the long diagonal at the right moment.
Black has taken on c4 before castling. Develop, undermine the b5-pawn, and then open the diagonal your bishop has been waiting on.
The plans, for both sides
White's plans. There are three, and they are all the same plan in different clothes: play e4 and open the diagonal, play Ne5 and open the diagonal, or play Rd1 and d5 and open the diagonal. The pawn on c4 comes back when Black runs out of moves that defend it without weakening something. Do not hurry - the Catalan wins games in move forty, not move fourteen.
Black's plans. Two honest choices. Take the pawn and give it back on your terms (...dxc4, ...a6, ...b5, ...Bb7), which trades material for the light squares; or refuse to take at all (...c6, ...Nbd7, ...b6) and fight for e4 from behind a wall. What does not work is trying to keep the pawn without preparing it - the line above is what that looks like.
The tactics are diagonal ones. The skewer down a8-h1 is the shape every Catalan tactic is a version of, the pin on a knight that cannot leave the long diagonal is its cousin, and castling early is what buys White the right to be a pawn down without worrying.
If the Catalan appeals but the pawn sacrifice does not, the Queen's Gambit is the same centre without the loan. If the fianchetto appeals but the big centre does not, that is the Réti.
Try it
Move three. Play the move that makes this a Catalan rather than a Queen's Gambit.
The Catalan is the opening to learn once you have stopped counting pawns and started counting squares. Everything in it is one idea, repeated: put a bishop on a diagonal and spend the game clearing it. The lessons take the same approach to the rest of the board.
Common questions
- What is the Catalan Opening?
- 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3, combining a Queen's Gambit centre with a kingside fianchetto. The bishop goes to g2 and stares down the a8-h1 diagonal for the rest of the game. White is often a pawn down for a while - and that is deliberate: the pawn comes back once Black has been forced to spend moves defending it.
- Is the Catalan good for beginners?
- It is the hardest opening on this page for a beginner, and it is worth knowing why. Every move is easy to play - d4, c4, g3, Bg2, Nf3, O-O - and the hard part comes afterwards: you have to be comfortable being a pawn down for ten moves while your position slowly gets better. If that idea makes you uneasy, learn the Queen's Gambit first and come back.
- What is the difference between the Open and Closed Catalan?
- Open means Black takes on c4 (...dxc4) and tries to keep or give back the pawn on favourable terms; Closed means Black holds the pawn chain with ...c6 or ...Nbd7 and never captures. Open is the critical test and the main line here. Closed is solid, slower, and gives White a free hand to build with e4.
- How does White win the c4-pawn back in the Catalan?
- Usually with Qc2 (or Qa4), which hits c4 down the file or the diagonal while the bishop on g2 makes ...b5 hard to play. Black's most testing try is ...a6 and ...b5, holding the pawn at the cost of the light squares - and then White plays a4 or Ne5 and the diagonal decides it. The pawn coming back is not a plan; it is a consequence.
- Why is it called the Catalan?
- It was named after Catalonia: the organisers of the 1929 Barcelona tournament asked Savielly Tartakower to invent an opening in honour of the region, and this is what he produced. It is one of the very few openings whose name comes from a commission rather than from the player who first tried it.
- Can Black just avoid the Catalan?
- Yes, and most strong players do. Because White commits to g3 on move three, Black can go 3...c5, 3...Bb4+ (the Bogo-Indian) or 3...dxc4 immediately, and each takes the game somewhere else. That is the price of the fianchetto: it announces the plan a move early, and Black gets to choose the reply knowing it.
Ideas this opening runs on:
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