Opening Trends is an exciting series where IM David Vigorito examines how tournament chess is changing, nuances in the game are coming into play and exciting trends are being set.

In the Catalan opening, White adopts a combination of the Queen’s Gambit and Reti Opening. White plays d4 and c4 and fianchettos the white bishop on g2. A common opening sequence is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3. The Catalan derives its name from Catalonia—a nation inside of Spain. Used by Kramnik three times in the World Chess Championship in 2006, the Catalan has recently gained a good deal of attention by high-level GMs. It was also played four times by Anand in the World Chess Championship in 2010 against Topalov, Vigorito explains that game and others in this DVD.

Content: 108 minutes of instruction and analysis in a series of 4 lectures