Stereoselective multiple bond-forming transformations (MBFTs): the power of 1,2- and 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds.

Although long known, 1,2- and 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds have recently come more and more to prevalence as ideal substrates for the invention of new stereoselective multiple bond-forming transformations (MBFTs). Herein, a critical appraisal is presented of some of the most spectacular of these MBFTs, which allow the formation from three up to six bonds in highly step- and atom-economical processes.