page 1 of 6; games 1-25 of 138  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Flohr vs Fine   ½-½ 23 1937 Kemeri E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 2. Alekhine vs Euwe ½-½ 65 1937 Euwe-Alekhine World Championship Rematch E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 3. Flohr vs W Fairhurst 1-0 39 1937 Hastings (England) E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 4. C H Maderna vs Alekhine   ½-½ 37 1938 Carrasco (14) E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 5. V Petrov vs Alekhine 1-0 34 1938 Margate (05) E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 6. Flohr vs Euwe   ½-½ 29 1938 Amsterdam E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 7. Flohr vs Fine   ½-½ 19 1938 It, Amsterdam (Netherlands) E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 8. V Petrov vs Alekhine   ½-½ 30 1939 Buenos Aires ol pr-B (02) E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 9. Flohr vs Bogoljubov   1-0 45 1939 Kemeri (Latvia) E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 10. V Petrov vs V Mikenas   1-0 59 1939 Rosario E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 11. Panov vs V Makogonov   ½-½ 32 1939 URS-ch11 E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 12. Tolush vs V Makogonov   ½-½ 20 1939 URS-ch11 E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 13. Alatortsev vs Goglidze   1-0 44 1939 Leningrad/Moscow E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 14. V Petrov vs Kotov 1-0 42 1940 URS-ch E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 15. V Petrov vs V Mikenas   ½-½ 51 1940 URS-ch E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 16. V Petrov vs V Makogonov   1-0 33 1940 URS-ch12 E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 17. Euwe vs H Kramer   1-0 46 1941 NLD m ;HCL 28 E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 18. Fine vs Pinkus   0-1 51 1941 New York Marshall CC-Manhattan CC m, USA E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 19. Keres vs Bondarevsky 1-0 41 1941 Lening/Moskva ch-SU (11.04.41) E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 20. Alekhine vs B Rabar 1-0 27 1942 Munich E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 21. K Junge vs Alekhine 0-1 51 1942 Munich (09) E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 22. K Junge vs Keres 0-1 32 1942 Salzburg (Austria) E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 23. K Junge vs Keres ½-½ 31 1942 Munchen (25.09.42) E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 24. R Keller vs J Dobias   1-0 38 1942 Chocen E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4 25. R Keller vs M Katetov 0-1 29 1942 Chocen E02 Catalan, Open, 5.Qa4  page 1 of 6; games 1-25 of 138    REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2)

Aug-26-03    rochade18: The open catalan is not that famous, seems to me like nobody uses it. Is it because of the Qa4? Is it refuted? Aug-26-03    Dustin J.: I've played it not knowing not what it was and I like it though. But I don't play it much I'm sticking with the English. Dec-02-04    EnglishOpeningc4: Qa4 is not refuted, but it forces positional players into an open game so most people have gone to the english or reti Feb-26-05    Backward Development: Zzzz....This is a very dull opening indeed. Just look at it's 'practicioners'-Ulf Anderssen at the top of the list. Here's a bit about this system by the fine book 'the catalan' by Raetsky and Chetverik. <After 4...dxc4 White can regain the pawn back immediately. This continuation was popular during the infancy of the Catalan. In particular world champions Capablanca, Alekhine, Botvinnik and Smyslov played this line, but much has happened since. When white regains the pawn with the aid of the queen check he is also assisting black's development. more over, the queen is subject to attack on c4. These days 5.Qa4+ is seen less often than 5.Bg2, and is usually played by those looking for the edge which brings with it little chance of losing. Not surprisingly the main adherant is GM Ulf Anderssen, a peace loving man with superb endgame technique...The main line is 5...Nbd7 6.Qxc4 a6 7.Bg2 b5 8.Qc6 Rb8 9.Bf4. Black can sacrifice a pawn in order to activate his pieces with 9....Bb4(Morozevich). After 9...Nd5 10.Bg5 Be7 11.Bxe7 Qxe7 the chances are approximately even.> I would wholly recommend this book to a CATALAN DEVOTEE. I almost feel bad with this book, since it is so dedicated to the opening, and i am not. It is the only book you'll ever need on it, and it's very impartial<for example, in the line 1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 dxc4 5.Bg2 b5 they say "Perhaps black should play 6.a4 c6 7.0-0 Bb7 8.Ne5 a6, when white has control over the center, while 9.b3 is less effective-prompting the conclusion that there is no guarantee of an advantage." Try to find any 'Winning with the ...' type of book that will give an assement like that!>. Apr-08-05    get Reti: After Nc3 is played, why can't white play e4? Apr-24-05    Ron: My latest thoughts on the opening: After the line: d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4.Bg2 dxc4 5. Qa4 Nbd7 6. Qxc4 a6 here is a suggestion for White: 7. e3. I have not found this position in the database of chessbase.com nor chesslab.com. One of ideas is to develop the knight at e2 to keep the diagonal open for the bishop at g2. One continuation could go 7. ... c5 8. Ne2 Nb6 9. Qc2 cxd4 10. Nxd4 e5 11. Ne2 .... The variation beginning with 7. e3 seems fine for White. Apr-25-05    misguidedaggression: For one thing, you close in your QB. Also, sometimes the e2-e4 push can be achieved in one move; playing e3 loses a tempo (and usually any hope of advantage). There are also some tactical shots that can't be played here. Your line is fine for white, butit's also fine for black. Some might even say black has a slight advantage due to the pawn on e5. True, there's still pressure on the long diagonal, but the game has now opened up, and white is behind in development. Black may even consider giving away the b pawn for more time. and white winning the exchange is almost out of the question! If the g2 Bishop is exchanged for the a8 Rook, White's light squares will be too weak to defend (especially with the knight on e2 instead of f3). Of course, black could just play 11...Nbd5 followed by ...b5 and ...Bb7 and enjoy a nice space advantage. May-05-05    WorldChampeen: Some recommend, if you play a strong opponent, the Catalan is good for drawing opportunities. I note to Qc2 is a move seen in the Queen's Gambit Accepted sometimes as well as 5. Qa4+ Mar-27-07    WTHarvey: Here are some winning combinations from E02 miniatures: http://www.wtharvey.com/e02.html

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