E06 · Indian · a plan for White

Catalan Opening: Closed

9/9
1.d4Nf62.c4e63.g3d54.Bg2Be75.Nf3
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Catalan Opening: Closed1.0M games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
75%749k46%
9.3%93k43%
Catalan Opening: Open Defense, Classical Line4.8%48k42%
3.1%31k44%
3%31k43%
1.7%17k43%
0.9%8.8k42%
0.8%8.4k42%
0.7%7.1k41%
0.4%3.6k46%
Famous games in this line18k master games
Aronian, L. (2826) – Carlsen, M. (2872)20141–0Kramnik, Vladimir (2810) – Carlsen, Magnus (2872)2013½–½Carlsen, Magnus (2872) – Aronian, Levon (2809)2013½–½Ding Liren (2805) – Carlsen, M. (2875)20190–1Carlsen, M. (2864) – Firouzja, Alireza (2793)2022½–½Ding Liren (2799) – Carlsen, M.. (2847)2021½–½Ding Liren (2799) – Carlsen, M.. (2847)20211–0Ding Liren (2799) – Carlsen, M.. (2847)2021½–½
Heroes of this opening Aronian, L. · Carlsen, M. · Ding Liren
Family
Catalan Opening
Category
Indian
First move
1.d4
ECO
E06
Line
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3
FianchettoPositionalHypermodern
★ Read the guide: Catalan OpeningExplore all 32 Catalan Opening lines →
Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
Catalan Opening: Closed, Botvinnik VariationE07 5…O-O 6.O-O Nbd7 7.Nc3 c6 8.Qd3Catalan Opening: Closed, Sokolsky VariationE09 5…O-O 6.O-O Nbd7 7.Qc2 c6 8.Nbd2 …
Nearby lines in the family
Catalan Opening: Tarrasch DefenseE01 4…c5 5.Nf3 Nc6Catalan Opening: Open Defense, Classical LineE05 4…dxc4 5.Nf3 Be7Catalan Opening: Hungarian GambitE00 3…e5
From the archives

The 1929 Barcelona organizers literally commissioned an opening: Tartakower blended 1.d4 with a kingside fianchetto and named it for Catalonia. Seventy years later Kramnik and Carlsen made it a world-championship weapon — one long-range bishop, endless quiet pressure.

Study this opening
Open in the opening tree →Videos on YouTube ↗Wikipedia: Catalan Opening ↗