Help me prepare an opening for a match! • page 1/1 • General Chess Discussion • lichess.org

So I have been learning the Catalan opening. I want to play it against my friend, but he usually plays the benko gambit. How can I choose an opening that will give me a Catalan type position while dodging the Benoni/benko gambit? Thanks in advance :-)

WassimBerbar

edited

#2

KIA (King's Indian Attack), you give up the center for king's safety and kingside development, with the same LSB fianchetto but you don't play d4 to commit the Benoni nor the Benko, but also having a very similar position as the Catalan. Soon you could strike with e4/c4 yourself.

Or just play e4.

KIA (King's Indian Attack), you give up the center for king's safety and kingside development, with the same LSB fianchetto but you don't play d4 to commit the Benoni nor the Benko, but also having a very similar position as the Catalan. Soon you could strike with e4/c4 yourself. Or just play e4.

Willem-II

#3

Here is a more complex answer, which assumes a commitment to building a full repertoire around some combination of Nf3, g3, c4 and perhaps d4: start with 1.Nf3, and be prepared for the great variety of opening schemes Black can throw your way: Catalan [E01-E09], Symmetrical English [A37], Closed Sicilian Reversed [A24-A26], Double Fianchetto & Hedgehog [A30], Anti-Grunfeld [A16], Old Indian [A53], Tarrasch Defense [D33], Queen's Indian Defense [E15-E19]. This is a lot of work, but will serve well for a lifetime.