The Catalan [Anglais] [Broché]

A fine and detailed account of the Catalan Opening, including fascinating theoretical games. The authors interpret their topic very literally, and exclude transpositions and hybrid opening lines, such as the Bogo-Indian variation that usually starts from the Catalan (...d5, Bb4+, Be7) and the Semi-Tarrasch and Semi-Slav lines with g3 by White. Given the likehihood of transpositions, there should be more explanatory prose about when they work, and ideas about middlegame and even endgame strategies, since these can be determined early. I don't like the Everyman complete-game organization much, and here its deficiencies really show. The authors' German work, which this title updates significantly with many games from the last couple of years, was organized by variation and has a detailed variation index. The reader of this new English-language book will get lost looking for variations in the thickets of transpositions that aren't indexed anywhere. That being said, the chapter-concluding summaries partly make up for the deficiency of the format by being more detailed than those in many Everyman titles. This book is essential for anyone who already plays the Catalan, but won't help newbies develop a Catalan repertoire. Dunnington's repertoire book is a much better introduction to the ideas behind the opening.

I think this book is excellent for very strong players with a sound background in the Catalan and related openings.

However, as an average club player this book left me feeling seriously out of my depth in the forest of variations presented by the authors. The book in no way provides a complete repertoire so that numerous transpositional possibilities are mentioned without being discussed. Indeed the book doesn't even consider all the possibilities in the Catalan itself.

I would recommend players new to the Catalan (especially those rated < 1600 like myself) to first read Angus Dunnington's excellent book 'Winning with the Catalan' before tackling this complex book. Although Dunnington's book is older it is more of a repertoire book from the white side and he he expertly discusses key strategic themes and opening structures the Catalan player needs to know.

I have therefore awarded this book 4 stars simply due to its limitations for most chess players.

The last book my Raetsky & Chetverik that I read was a shallow Starting-Out book on the Ben-Oni.
I was concerned this book would be the same. However, it is very different. "The Catalan" is an in-depth book, full of words and wisdom. The amount of variations are just right for a player of my level (2000), and the strategical motifs are well explained.

The book consists of sample games, 95 games on the 190 pages. For each new chapter there is a brief introduction and afterwards a brief summary. The games are analyzed to the end which I think is very important and too often ignored, and they are also full length games with endgames. Evaluation of positions is done with words rather than Informator-style, which I think every book below grandmaster should do. All in all, what better way is there to learn?

The Catalan is quite a beautiful opening. It has the deep strategical idea to make some fundamentally good moves, and enter into a comfortable endgame. Such a way of playing is not to everyones taste, but I think that anyone who enjoyes to play with the king's bishop fianchetto can appreciate it. As the authors say in the beginning: "Between the authors there exists almost a lifetime of dedication to the Catalan Opening. This positionally oriented opening fits our classical style perfectly and has brought us much pleasure in our chess careers."

A review by a writer on another site suggested the level for this book is 2200+. I disagree. Not only do i think 2000 is sufficient, I also think that anyone with an interest in these type of positions will be happy to read the book and benefit from it.

Still, the Catalan can also be used for more aggressive play, if the position allows it.

I think it is very telling that the authors know what they write about very well. The main variations always gets the most coverage, and no important side variations are ignored. Important games are included, as far as I can tell. The players are usually strong GMs, from Alekhine to Kramnik.

Another thing I value very much is that the book doesn't take sides. It does not pretend to give the reader a way to play with either side that is safe, easy to learn, fun, and a real killer (strangely, many books are written like that). I estimate the win ration of the included games to be 50 (white) -30 (draws) -20 (black), quite normal.

There are hardly any books on the Catalan out there. That may be a main reason to give this book the highest grade of 5 stars, since it is probably the best one currently.