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Catalan Opening: Open Defense is a chess opening that arises after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2. It is classified E01 in the ECO system, and the position after these moves has black to move. The Catalan combines a queen's gambit pawn structure with a kingside fianchetto, aiming the light-squared bishop down the long diagonal at Black's queenside. The pressure it generates is slow but persistent, and it has become a mainstay at elite level.
This position can also be reached by 4 other move orders, including 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 dxc4.
Positional and patient. White often sacrifices the c4 pawn temporarily for lasting pressure, and many games are decided by long-term positional bind rather than by tactics. Black's main question is whether to hold the pawn or return it for development.
Positional players comfortable playing with compensation rather than material, and willing to grind out long games.
This line is a variation within the Catalan Opening family. The strategic ideas above describe the family as a whole; this particular line reaches them by the move order 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2.
Each of these is a named opening reached by playing on from 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2. Open any of them to load the position on the board.