It has been established that a cationic Rh(I)/(R)-H8-BINAP complex catalyzes the one-pot intermol. [2+2+2] trimerization/asym. intramol. [4+2] cycloaddn. of two aryl ethynyl ethers and 5-alkynals to produce annulated 1,4-cyclohexadienes possessing two stereogenic centers. E.g., rhodium-catalyzed reaction of 2-(ethynyloxy)naphthalene and MeC竕。CCH2NTsCH2CHO gave 64% annulated 1,4-cyclohexadiene deriv. (I). [on SciFinder(R)]