(Ebook) Grandmaster Repertoire - The Catalan by Boris Avrukh

(Ebook) Grandmaster Repertoire - The Catalan by Boris Avrukh

More than six years have passed since Quality Chess published my original contribution to itsopening series, appropriately titled Grandmaster Repertoire I - J.d4 Volume One, which wasfollowed by its companion Grandmaster Repertoire 2 - 1.d4 Volume Two early in 20 1 0. (Theseworks will henceforth be abbreviated to GM I and GM 2 respectively.)To my great surprise and satisfaction, these volumes were extremely successful. The recommendedlines were employed by players at all levels, and demand grew to such an extent that the volumeswere translated into several languages. Chess players took to referring to these texts as "TheOpening Bible" and the term "to Avrukh" became part of the chess lexicon, meaning to haveeasily obtained an opening advantage after employing one of my novelties or recommendations.Six years is a lifetime in the evolution of opening theory, especially in a battleground such as theCatalan, where ideas are constantly being tested and refined by the world's top players and theirpet computers. I do not claim to have refuted Black's various defensive tries, but I have strived tooffer fresh, challenging ideas that an opponent will find difficult to face over the board. That isthe approach I take when working with my students, including some of the world's top players.Series StructureGM I and especially GM 2 were hefty books, numbering well over a thousand pages betweenthem. Many of my original recommendations have since been tested and scrutinized by topgrandmasters and correspondence players, making this new repertoire not so much an updatededition as a complete reworking, using the original repertoire as a loose template. In view ofthe many new games and discoveries that have occurred since the previous 1 .d4 works, it wasnecessary to divide each book into an 'Nand a 'B' volume, with some slight reorganizing in termsof the grouping together of certain systems.The opening moves 1 .d4 lllf6 2.c4 e6 3 .g3 provide the starting position for the current…