The Catalan is a sophisticated opening system which is popular at all levels of chess, and is an excellent choice for players who are keen to improve their overall understanding of the game. In recent years it has been catapulted into the limelight by the former World Champion Vladimir Kramnik, who has revitalized it with many new ideas. He has utilized the Catalan with enormous success against the world's strongest players - on occasion making it look like a forced win for White!

In this book, Grandmaster Nigel Davies presents a major study of this important opening. Using illustrative games and drawing upon his wealth of personal experience with the Catalan, Davies provides a reliable and dynamic repertoire for White, covers the main plans for both sides, and tackles crucial modern day issues such as move orders.

• Grandmaster analysis of a world-class opening
• Provides coverage of all the main lines
• Highlights essential tactical and positional ideas

Nigel Davies is a Grandmaster, a winner of numerous international tournaments and a former British Rapidplay Champion. He's a renowned coaching expert and is the author of many successful books. Previous works for Everyman Chess include his Gambiteer series and the highly acclaimed Play 1 e4 e5!.

Content:
004 Bibliography

005 Introduction

009 Move Orders

The Main Line

011 1 Main Line with 10.Bd2

025 2 Main Line with 10 Bf4 and Others

035 3 Main Line with 8 a4

046 4 Main Line with 7 Ne5 and Others

061 5 Main Line with 6 Qc2 and 6 Nc3

The Closed Catalan

076 6 Closed Catalan with 7 Qc2

091 7 Closed Catalan with 7 Nc3

102 8 Closed Catalan with 4...Bb4+

The Open Catalan

114 9 Open Catalan with 5...Bb4+

130 10 Open Catalan with 5...c5

144 11 Open Catalan with 5...Nc6

156 12 Open Catalan with 5...a6

170 13 Open Catalan with 5...b5 and Others

181 14 Open Catalan with 5 Qa4+

188 Index of Variations

192 Index of Complete Games