The Catalan

I have recently picked up the Catalan as one of my main weapons and so far I really like it.  As a newcomer to the opening, can experienced players with the opening give me some advice?  Are there any good books for me to look into about it?  Do you know of any articles online that I could check out in my spare time?  Thanks.

what is the catalan?

This is the Catalan.

Apparantly one of the volumnes of the new edition of "Opening according to Kramnik" will cover the catalan. See  www.chess-stars.com

there is also the catalan closed variation

Actually the Closed Variation is this.  I just need help understanding the middlegame plans and ideas for White after theory ends.

Umm that's one of the open variations that Karpov played alot as black. The closed is where black avoids playing d5xc4, and usually supports d5 with c6.

Hate to put my foot in anything, but I believe twomove is correct. To address your main question.  Assuming black does not blunder, white does not go for a quick kingside kill.  He puts pressure on the queenside and hopes to pick up a pawn or so, and wins the endgame. Study games for how white protects (or trades) his queen pawn and uses the c file. 

I'm a big fan of Catalan and tried to find many books or resources available. Here is what I've found so far:

1. “Winning with the Catalan” by Angus Dunnington

This is a very good overall introduction book.

http://www.amazon.com/Winning-Catalan-Angus-Dunnington/dp/0713480211/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226940933&sr=8-1

2. “The Catalan” by Alex Raetsky

This book is bit more advanced and more modern then Dunnington’s book and it’s also pretty good.

http://www.amazon.com/Catalan-Alex-Raetsky/dp/1857443462/ref=pd_sim_b_1

3. “Strategic Chess: Mastering the Closed Game” by Edmar Mednis.

http://www.amazon.com/Strategic-Chess-Mastering-Closed-Game/dp/0486406172/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226941053&sr=1-3

I really love this book. Mednis has a collection of games for d4 openings and he has 3-4 games per opening (both for white and black). He has 4 very good and illustrative games for Catalan.

4. There is a Chessbase Training CD by Mihail Marin for Catalan. It’s VERY comprehensive and it’s aimed at the more experienced club players. I don’t have it but according to reviews it has hundreds of annotated games and goes over all variations you could think of. Marin is a very good author so I’m sure the CD should be good.

5. “Play the Catalan” by Iakov Neishtadt

I have this book in Russian and it’s seems to be very comprehensive. Mihail Marin used that book as the main reference for his Training CD.

http://www.amazon.com/Play-Catalan-IAkov-Neishtadt/dp/0080320767/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1226941420&sr=1-6

That is a good list of books! The catalan is one of a number of openings that I am thinking of looking into. Nice to keep in mind :-)

I learnt a different move order for the catalan via QGD

Look at the move list for the most use

Yep.  Qc2 is quite rare.  I also reach this via a QGD move order.

Qc2 is not rare at all. I saw it one of Kramnik's games so it can't be that old. In Mednis' book he says that Qa4+ is considered older and Qc2 is kind of the ""mainline".

It's a lovely opening.  And it's for those who thrive on positional play, as I've experienced.

Marin also has an excellent Chessbase CD for the English Opening which has many similar lines to Catalan.

Isn't this puzzle draco_alpine posted very similar to the queen's gamit declined?

yes its quite well

Why not? First of all, why always the random cutoff point of 2000? 2200 is master level. Secondly, as someone who plays the Catalan I see no good reason why 1600-2000 players can't play it. After all, the Ruy Lopez is common at this level, despite having more complex positional ideas than the Catalan. In the Catalan white is aiming to have the initiative, which you seem to be very fond of (as you recommend the Sicilian and Nimzo) - hence it seems inconsistent that you are dissuading people from playing the Catalan. True, it is a quiet opening, but it is a quiet opening with direct plans for white (paralysing black's Queen side with the g2 bishop, playing for the e4 pawn break while stopping black's pawn breaks - ideas that any amateur player can understand to some extent). Compare this to the Scotch for instance, in which white aims to convert a long-term advantage in the endgame, while black gets some piece activity in the open position - trickier to pull off at this level.