The ...c5 Answer to Every Catalan Alternative
Not every Catalan player wants a theoretical duel. Many sidestep the sharpest main lines at move six, hoping a quieter set-up will hand them a small, nagging edge without a lot of memorization. Fighting the Catalan: A Complete Repertoire for Black – Part 2, by GM Michael Roiz and GM Petar Arnaudov, answers that hope with a single recurring counterpunch: the timely ...c5, striking at White's centre while his development still lags.
Where Part 1 covered the main lines after 6.O-O dxc4, Part 2 takes on everything else — the queen sorties, the early bishop developments, and the knight tours White uses to avoid the main paths. The unifying message is that none of these deviations changes Black's plan. Whatever White tries at move six, the central break is waiting.
The Idea Behind the Deviations
Roiz and Arnaudov don't treat these lines as a loose collection of sidelines, but as one problem with one recurring answer. Against 6.Qc2, 6.Qb3, and 6.Nbd2, Black answers with the immediate ...c5, and after 6.b3 dxc4 7.bxc4 the same break follows. Against 6.Qd3, the point is ...b6 and ...Ba6, using White's own queen placement as a target. And in the sharpest branch, 6.Nc3 dxc4 7.Ne5, Black willingly enters a pawn-down position where the light-squared bishop and the lead in development pose White practical problems on the light squares.
This is the second half of a complete package. Together with Fighting the Catalan: A Complete Repertoire for Black - Part 1, the two courses give Black a full, consistent answer to White's g3 systems — the main roads in Part 1 and the alternatives in Part 2.
Variation map
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O
6.Qc2 c5
- 7.O-O cxd4 8.Nxd4 Qb6 9.Rd1 Bc5!? → Chapter 7
- 7.dxc5 Qa5+ 8.Nc3 dxc4 → Chapter 6
6.Nc3 dxc4 7.Ne5 Nc6 8.Bxc6 bxc6 9.Nxc6 Qe8 10.Nxe7+ Qxe7 11.Qa4 Nd5
- 12.Qxc4 a5 → Chapter 9
- 12.O-O a5 → Chapter 8
6.Bf4 dxc4 7.Qa4 c5 8.dxc5 Qd5! → Chapter 1 (6.Bg5 also in Chapter 1)
6.Qb3 c5 7.cxd5 Qxd5 → Chapter 2
6.Qd3 b6 (…Ba6) → Chapter 3
6.b3 dxc4 7.bxc4 c5 → Chapter 4
6.Nbd2 c5 7.dxc5 Bxc5 → Chapter 5
What's Inside
- 9 Chapters
- 20 test positions
- Memory Booster
- To Go Version of every chapter
- Video instruction
- Multilingual PGN availability (English, German, French, Spanish)
Close the Door on White's Alternatives
The Catalan's quiet move-six tries are popular precisely because they are underestimated by the defender. This course removes that edge, giving Black one clear idea to hold in mind across nine chapters. Pick up Fighting the Catalan – Part 2, pair it with Part 1, and take the surprise out of White's alternatives.