He can certainly give you pointers and key positions and/or key games.
Catalan Opening: Where Should I Start?
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Mar 1, 2019
0
#63
Coaches can teach nuances of whatever opening the student is interested in......
Mar 2, 2019
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#64
Damn, you guys are ruthless, aren’t you? I had planned to ask him about it- just wanted to get a feeling for what other people thought about it as well. I’d like to think I have some sort of independence and that my coach, despite being a very helpful source of knowledge, is not the be all and end all in my chess.
Mar 2, 2019
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#65
Let it be known that it was not me who said you should ask a coach before a forum.
Mar 2, 2019
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#67
Thanks! Best of luck with it! You might find some good games with it in "500 Master Games of Chess" by Tartakower and Dumont. It is a great book!
Mar 2, 2019
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#68
PawnstormPossie wrote:
novacek wrote:
Damn, you guys are ruthless, aren’t you? I had planned to ask him about it- just wanted to get a feeling for what other people thought about it as well. I’d like to think I have some sort of independence and that my coach, despite being a very helpful source of knowledge, is not the be all and end all in my chess.
I apologize for my stupid opinions and ruthlessness, it wasn't intended that way.
I didn’t say that your opinions are stupid- I apologise if it came across that way. I was just a bit taken aback by how an offhand comment was picked up on. Again, sorry for any offence caused- no hard feelings!
How Ulf Beats Black is an interesting book if you aren’t already familiar with Ulf.
There is a book on Chessable, coming out in paper book form in a month or two, called Keep it Simple 1d4. It recommends the Catalan with a delayed c4. I’ve been toying with it on Chessable, and I like it.
https://web.archive.org/web/20140627101228/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen131.pdf
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/9062a.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20140708093410/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/review812.pdf
https://www.newinchess.com/media/wysiwyg/product_pdf/7685.pdf
https://www.qualitychess.co.uk/ebooks/GM1A-Catalan-excerpt.pdf
https://web.archive.org/web/20140626221709/http://www.chesscafe.com/text/hansen127.pdf
https://www.chess.com/blog/HanSchut/first-look-keep-it-simple-1-d4-by-im-christof-sielecki
3 hrs ago
0
#71
Wojo's Weapons is a trilogy covering his white rep.
Volume 1 covers the Catalan, Slav, and Tarrasch.
Volume 2 covers the King's Indian Defense.
Volume 3 covers the Grunfeld and other misc opening.
I think Volume 1 is excellent in its coverage of the Catalan. Better than most Catalan dedicated books.
FYI, I am extra lazy and play the Barcza opening moves then d4 and c4 thus avoiding all kinds of tricks by black. Of course you have to pay attention and if black is setting up for an early d5 then you need to play d4 early e.g. Chigorin. 1.Nf3 2.g3 3.Bg2 4.OO 5.d4 6.c4...or something similar.
Wait...you have a coach?
What did your coach recommend for Catalan?
I haven't discussed it with him yet. He's not really a traditional coach, in the sense that I am free to play whatever I choose. Do coaches normally tell their students what to play? But yeah I'll definitely ask him about it.