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Should i play the catalan?

They say you shouldnt play catalan as a begenner. You judge shoud i play the catalan or not.

CHess.com: <700
lichess: <1400
FIDE: 1599

They say you shouldnt play catalan as a begenner. You judge shoud i play the catalan or not. CHess.com: <700 lichess: <1400 FIDE: 1599

You should play it.

You should play it.

@Gravija said ^

You should play it.

By what did you JUDGE?

@Gravija said [^](/forum/redirect/post/pjdgIkN0) > You should play it. By what did you JUDGE?

@Deshichele said ^

They say you shouldnt play catalan as a begenner. You judge shoud i play the catalan or not.

“They say...” The only person who can say yes or no to an opening is YOU.
Without more information about your strengths, weaknesses, playing style, etc., it is difficult to assess.
The Chess Insights can be very helpful to get some information, but they are not available on your profile.

If this opening is new for you i would suggest the following steps

  • Study the opening (the basics)
  • Play this opening against SF. Start with level 4.
  • Analyse your feelings about the outcome of the opening. Do you have a good feeling, continue
  • Search for games in the database (your rating level, not GM games). Analyse them with SF.
  • Play games with humans and analyse again your feelings and the games
  • Solve puzzles from the theme Catalan Opening
  • Search studies and blogs about this opening

Short answer: Try it!

@Deshichele said [^](/forum/redirect/post/eVR5nBVg) > They say you shouldnt play catalan as a begenner. You judge shoud i play the catalan or not. “They say...” The only person who can say yes or no to an opening is YOU. Without more information about your strengths, weaknesses, playing style, etc., it is difficult to assess. The Chess Insights can be very helpful to get some information, but they are not available on your profile. If this opening is new for you i would suggest the following steps - Study the opening (the basics) - Play this opening against SF. Start with level 4. - Analyse your feelings about the outcome of the opening. Do you have a good feeling, continue - Search for games in the database (your rating level, not GM games). Analyse them with SF. - Play games with humans and analyse again your feelings and the games - Solve puzzles from the theme Catalan Opening - Search studies and blogs about this opening Short answer: Try it!

@Viohl said ^

I guess my strength and weakness is clear from #1

@Viohl said [^](/forum/redirect/post/HxCrMIpX) I guess my strength and weakness is clear from #1

It's like any other opening, a mix of sharp (e.g. black plays dxc4 and b5 holding on to the pawn) and quieter (e. g. black plays c6 and Bb7) lines.
Why did Tartakover play it? He was an inventor of opening systems and the organisers of the Barcelona tournament asked him to create a new one that they could name after the region. He came up with a queen's gambit followed by g3 and they got their wish.
Why do grandmasters play it now? They feel it's easier for black to equalise in the regular Queen's Gambit. Plus, it gives black fewer options.
Should you play it? Try it and see!

It's like any other opening, a mix of sharp (e.g. black plays dxc4 and b5 holding on to the pawn) and quieter (e. g. black plays c6 and Bb7) lines. Why did Tartakover play it? He was an inventor of opening systems and the organisers of the Barcelona tournament asked him to create a new one that they could name after the region. He came up with a queen's gambit followed by g3 and they got their wish. Why do grandmasters play it now? They feel it's easier for black to equalise in the regular Queen's Gambit. Plus, it gives black fewer options. Should you play it? Try it and see!

"... I want to talk about how to build an opening repertoire that matches your rating goals in chess. ... Your goals are to get to 2200: ... I don't like Catalan type structures as laid out in Avrukh’s book until one is at the 2200+ level. The positions are too subtle, require too much memorization in some variations to hope for any advantage against a prepared opponent, and I believe players should be learning more classical chess until they are higher rated. I have similar feelings about the English opening. Save these hypermodern approaches for later in your career and don’t start out with them unless your ambitions are modest. ..." - By IM Greg Shahade (2012)
https://www.uschess.org/index.php/February-/Greg-on-Building-an-Opening-Repertoire.html

"... I want to talk about how to build an opening repertoire that matches your rating goals in chess. ... Your goals are to get to 2200: ... I don't like Catalan type structures as laid out in Avrukh’s book until one is at the 2200+ level. The positions are too subtle, require too much memorization in some variations to hope for any advantage against a prepared opponent, and I believe players should be learning more classical chess until they are higher rated. I have similar feelings about the English opening. Save these hypermodern approaches for later in your career and don’t start out with them unless your ambitions are modest. ..." - By IM Greg Shahade (2012) https://www.uschess.org/index.php/February-/Greg-on-Building-an-Opening-Repertoire.html

The thing is I don't want to play an opening that i didn't play before in a FIDE tournament. So thats why I may play it online. Yes, I can play it OTB friendly. But i dont think that will be very helpful. Cause people I can play friendly easily (Friend, coach) are way better then me/worse then me/I havent played a full game yet/Just plays the englund aggainst d4. So I think playing online should've been the better option if......... My online play wasn't sh¡t

The thing is I don't want to play an opening that i didn't play before in a FIDE tournament. So thats why I may play it online. Yes, I can play it OTB friendly. But i dont think that will be very helpful. Cause people I can play friendly easily (Friend, coach) are way better then me/worse then me/I havent played a full game yet/Just plays the englund aggainst d4. So I think playing online should've been the better option if......... My online play wasn't sh¡t

@Deshichele said ^

The thing is I don't want to play an opening that i didn't play before.

That's somewhat limiting...isn't it?

@Deshichele said [^](/forum/redirect/post/J7OhxeXO) > The thing is I don't want to play an opening that i didn't play before. That's somewhat limiting...isn't it?

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