Ponderchess / Openings
Play the guided film, or select a scene to pause and study its position.
Opening
The Catalan Opening in 3D
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3. White combines the Queen's Gambit with a fianchettoed bishop that bears down on Black's queenside along the long diagonal.
Rebuild the sequence yourself. The board responds to each move, and hints are available.
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Your turn · white to play
Select a piece, then its destination. Switch to 2D for a clear overhead view or rotate the 3D board to explore the position.
Catalan Opening: Closed, move by move: d4 Nf6 c4 e6 g3 d5 Bg2 Be7 …
The white pieces
Pressure the long diagonal and the queenside. Small positional edges are the goal.
The black pieces
Free the light-squared bishop and neutralise the g2 bishop with ...c6 or ...Bd7-c6.
Look a little deeper · 01
Black often takes on c4 and tries to hold the pawn, while White uses the bishop on g2 and the queen to win it back.
Look a little deeper · 02
Positions are strategic and slow, a favourite of Kramnik and Carlsen.
Catalan Opening: Closed, move by move: d4 Nf6 c4 e6 g3 d5 Bg2 Be7 …
Keyboard: Space pauses, the arrow keys step. Gold arrows are White's moves, violet are Black's, red rays are threats, green shows support, blue shows plans.
