Drawing line against the Catalan

I'm searching for a simple line against the Catalan opening. The closed def. is too heavy against stronger players and 3...c5 is not for my taste.

I have thought about 5...Bb4+ and playing something else than 6...a5 which is the move that GMs prefer. Please post if you have experience in this opening

I play the Catalan with white. 

The catalan is a kind of opening that gives white a small pull in pratically any setup. Although this pull is probably smaller than other white d4 opening setups it is also harder to neutralize. It is normal seeing white keep a small pull till far in the middlegame and even endgame.

In other words there are no variations that force a draw of quick equality against the Catalan. 

This is kind of logical else why would all the strong players play it. 

Aronian made a good show against Carlsen at the Candidates tournament. Some say Carlsen played longer than he should have but that's another story.

http://www.chesstape.com/index.php/advanced/carlsen-vs-aronian-catalan-2013-candidates-rd8

The line for black game in that game is quite straightforward, even though a main one. (Not necessarily with bd6 which is a new spin, popularised by Carlson). There is a book called "Beating the Flank openings" which explains it quite well.

Another robust line involves Bb5ch followed by BxB, used in game were Carlson was black.

In FIDE 2000ish games and below, think black's play is quite easy to understand, and white likely to lack the technique to get very far.

Your line is very dubious, specifically move 9.  Black should play 9...Rb8.  After 9...O-O-O, White's attack comes thru faster after 10.Qa4 h5 11.Nc3 h4 12.Nb5.  Also, this analysis is more recent than Avrukh's book as the book this comes from was published 14 months more recent than GM Rep 1.

10...Nd5 looks to be the common reply. At any rate it looks like it's been played quite a bit this year at IM level and there are some GM games from last year.

There is no sure way to equalize against such a world-class opening set-up for White.  If there was such a 'cure', you'd bet it would be played a WHOLE lot more often than not.

I am one that thinks that this is one of the openings for White where he plays with a whole lot of risk-free attributes in the resulting positions.  Openings such as this is a haven for strategic and positional players as white.

You can try the b6 system. It is simple and easy to learn, and one hardly needs any preparation to start playing it right away. Having learned the ins and outs of how to face the b6 system with the white pieces, I can honestly say that black can get very playable positions. Sure, in many lines, you will need to be willing to keep the game closed for quite some time, but that should not be a problem.

As a strong advocate of the White side of the Catalan, I do support this proposal.  I strongly recommend this system for Black because it is playable at any level and the ideas are more important than the specific moves.

Are you talking about the queen's indian? 1.d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 d5 is the same as 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 b6 5. Bg2 Bb7 and 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 b6 5. Nf3 Bb7. 

No. The b6 Catalan differs from the Queen's Indian because in the b6 Catalan black's pawn is committed to d5. This difference usually works against black:  Black's b7 bishop often remains passive, and white often gets to pin the d5 pawn against that bishop and apply pressure against the d5 pawn in ways that are seldom possible in the Queen's Indian. Many Queen's Indian ideas still apply, though.

Ok, but what position are you talking about? If it was the one at the end of the lines I gave chess 365 has it most likely to arise from a QID move order 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 and 5...d5 occured 325 times. 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. g3 and 4...b6 occures 236 times. The actual Catalin move order 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 and 4...b6 is played 74 times.

It does not matter what opening the position falls under, but people really have to know what you are talking about. 

I think he means the b6 lines of the Closed Catalan:  1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.g3 Be7 5.Bg2 O-O 6.O-O Nbd7 with the idea of playing b6 before moving the c-pawn.

The ultimate problem with that it gives White a favorable time to exchange on d5.  Once b6 is pushed, White takes on d5, and unlike the Tartakower (1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.Bg5 Be7 5.e3 O-O 6.Nf3 h6 7.Bh4 b6 8.cxd5 Nxd5 9.Bxe7 Qxe7 10.Nxd5 exd5 followed by 11...Be6 and the b-pawn push helps promote a c5 break), Black doesn't get the luxury of exchanging a pair of pieces to eliminate the cramping factor as White's Bishop is on c1, not h4.

Not all openings have a "drawing line" for Black.  As Anand once said, "If White wants a draw, White can force a draw."  Never did he say Black could.

White has the choice.  He can go into mainstream lines of the Queen's Gambit and Nimzo-Indian lines, and gain a slightly greater advantage, but with a great risk of having his position fall apart, or he can choose to go with a system that leads to a smaller advantage, but is safer with almost no losing chances with correct play.

So the choice is White's - Safe position with a "nagging" edge, or Higher risk but with a genuine "slight advantage".

I have played both many times as both White and Black.  Queen's Gambit and Catalan are my genuine strengths.  Other openings for me are hit or miss.  Two down, about 300 to go to get to GM! 

When I say Catalan, I mean a Queen's Gambit Declined position with a white bishop on g2. The reason why I make the distinction between the QGD/Nimzo move order and the QID move order is that black is best advised to avoid playing with 5. ... d5 in case of 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2.

So by "b6 system" you mean any catalan where black plays b6 or what?, it still isn't very clear what position you are talking about.  After 1.d4 Nf6 2c4 e6 3Nf3 d5 4g3 Bb4ch 5bd2 bxb 6 QxB 0.0 7bg2 nb-d7 80.0 c6 (This dull looking line has been used by Carlson as black to beat Topalov twice and Kramnik once), black quite often but not always continues developing with b6 and bb7. Playing b6 in any random position is not likely to be good for black though because the Catalan is quite a concrete opening. 

I play the Catalan as White as well, and I agree with moonie when he says that White gets a small edge in almost any setup (and a very good initiative I would add).

If you do not like the closed set up, I would just suggest to play a QGA and forget about the pawn on d4, that being one of the main mistakes of players facing the Catalan (and therefore running into unpleasant troubles on the long diagonal).

So, something like this:

...and play on with an open diagonal with your supposed-to-be "bad" bishop. I think that way you concede space in the center, but avoid all the subtle variations.

Good luck.

Thank you for everyone. 9...Rb8 is probably the best move. I have had good results with it. So, I will play this line until somebody nullifies it.