Pawn Clinging Variation Open Catalan

I have to confess that I possess close to contempt for chess players who try to "win pawns out of the opening" as though they were playing checkers. I guess the reason is that I too was overly materialistic when I first became hooked on the royal game.

The following position played by Aracaju out of Brazil at the Internet Chess Club is an example of Black trying to win a pawn and hang on to it at the neglect of his development. It strikes me as a tad too greedy, but some chess players do not mind dragging themselves through a sewer line for an extra pawn even if it means ignoring opening principles.

One can observe that Black has made four pawn moves to consolidate "his advantage" constructing a structure comprised of pawns at a6, b5,c4, and c6. His only developed piece is his b7 Bishop stuck behind said pawn structure!

With White to play, b3 is a logical and sensible move chipping away at the potentially over extended pawn formation.