The Catalan (White)
McDonald's positional 1.d4 weapon: pair the queen's pawn with the g3 fianchetto so the Bg2 rakes the long diagonal. Recover the c4-pawn at leisure and squeeze a risk-free, lasting initiative. A grandmaster favorite for good reason.
Step through the main line
The lines
Open Catalan Main Line
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Nf3 Be7 6. O-O O-O 7. Qc2 a6 8. Qxc4 b5 9. Qc2 Bb7
Closed Catalan
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. O-O c6 7. Qc2 Nbd7 8. Nbd2 b6 9. b3 Bb7
Open Catalan with 5.Qa4+
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Qa4+ Nbd7 6. Qxc4 a6 7. Nf3 b5 8. Qc2 Bb7 9. O-O c5
vs the ...Bb4+ Check
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Bb4+ 5. Bd2 Be7 6. Nf3 O-O 7. O-O c6 8. Qc2 Nbd7
Open Catalan with an early ...c5
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Nf3 c5 6. O-O Nc6 7. Qa4 Bd7 8. Qxc4 cxd4 9. Nxd4 Rc8
Open Catalan with 7.Qc2
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Nf3 a6 6. Qc2 b5 7. Ne5 Nd5 8. Nc3 c6
How this guide is made: the lines and explanations come from the authored Strong Squares repertoire curriculum. Automated checks verify legal move sequences and required teaching fields. Independent chess-editor approval remains a private-preview release gate. Read the teaching method.