The Catalan: the bishop that crosses the board

The key idea

The g2 bishop is the whole opening. If Black keeps the c4 pawn, White doesn't run after it: he collects it slowly with Qc2 and a4, and meanwhile the bishop works for free along the longest diagonal on the board.

Example 1 · The Open Catalan: the pawn you lend

Black takes on c4 and keeps it for a while. Watch White win it back without chasing it for a single move.

1. dxc4 Black takes the pawn. It's the main line and it isn't greed: capturing on c4 clears his own diagonal and gets rid of the pressure on d5, which is what the Catalan lives on.
2. Qc2 And here's the gesture that defines the opening. I could try to win the pawn back straight away; instead I put the queen on the diagonal where my bishop already lives, both of them aiming at the same square. I'm going to get the pawn back anyway — the question is what position I'll be in when I do.
3. a6 Black prepares ...b5 to hold the extra pawn. It's his best try: if he manages it, he's a pawn up and I have to prove the compensation.
4. a4 A hard stop. Without this pawn, ...b5 props up c4 and the game changes hands. Note the pattern, which is worth far more than the Catalan: when your opponent prepares a pawn advance to consolidate extra material, you stop it with a pawn, not with pieces.
5. Bd7 The bishop comes out looking for c6 to contest the long diagonal. It's the piece Black cares most about in this opening, precisely because it's the one that can block my g2 bishop.
6. Qxc4 And now, the pawn back. Count it properly: I've recovered the material and along the way I've put queen and bishop on their best diagonal, stopped his expansion on the wing and never moved a piece twice. Recovering late and well is worth more than recovering early and badly.
7. Bc6 Black plants the bishop on the diagonal to neutralise mine. It's his correct plan, and the whole game revolves around this pair of bishops.
8. Bf4 I develop the last bishop and the position is ready. The valuation: about a third of a pawn for White, so nothing decisive and a comfortable position for the next forty moves. That's exactly what the Catalan promises — not a knockout, a small edge that never runs out.

Example 2 · The Closed Catalan: Black holds the centre

With ...c6 Black holds d5 and gives nothing away. Solid, with a drawback he pays for all game long.

1. Nc3 Normal development, pressing d5. Black has chosen the solid road: he props up the centre with ...c6 and gives me nothing. In exchange, look at his c8 bishop — with his own pawns on c6, d5 and e6, it doesn't have one decent square to come out to.
2. a5 Black makes room on the queenside before solving the bishop problem.
3. Nd2 An apparent retreat and a move with a plan behind it: the knight steps aside to clear my g2 bishop's diagonal and to support the e4 advance. In closed positions, stepping back to prepare an advance doesn't lose time, it invests it.
4. Nbd7 Black finishes developing inwards, which is what his structure allows.
5. Re1 The rook onto the file I'm about to open. All my pieces are pointing at the same square before anything happens — that's how you prepare a break.
6. Re8 Black copies and waits. There are no tactics here yet; there's preparation.
7. e4 The break. This advance is White's plan in the whole closed variation: if Black takes, my g2 bishop swings wide open; if he doesn't, I push to e5 and take his air away. Against a solid structure you don't look for a blow — you prepare the break for six moves and then you play it.
8. e5 Black closes the centre and defends well. Honest balance: I still have a small edge, a bit under half a pawn, and the game I want to play. Against the Closed Catalan you're not going to steamroll anyone; you're going to squeeze for a long time, which is different and also wins games.

Practice

Black has just taken the pawn on c4. Win it back — but not with the first move that comes to mind: get into position first and collect it once you're better placed.

1. The queen onto the diagonal where your bishop already lives. Both aiming at the same spot, and the pawn can wait. Don't chase the pawn. Put the queen on the same long diagonal as your g2 bishop.
2. A hard stop. Without this, ...b5 props up his extra pawn and the compensation evaporates. He's preparing ...b5 to hold his pawn. Stop it with a pawn, not with a piece.
3. Now. Material recovered, queen and bishop on their best diagonal and his expansion stopped — all in the same move. You're in position and his advance is stopped: collect the pawn.
4. Last piece out and a small, permanent edge. That's how the Catalan is played: no hurry and no letting go. Bring the bishop that's still at home to an active square.

Pawn recovered without chasing it once. Keep the mechanism, which works in any opening where you give up material for position: when your opponent keeps a pawn he can't hold, don't run after it — stop the advance he wants to prop it up with, put your pieces where you like them, and collect it when collecting also improves you. And if you're on the other side, now you know what your problem is: the c8 bishop, shut in behind your own pawns.