Indian · a plan for White

Catalan Opening: Closed, Main Line

15/15
1.d4Nf62.c4e63.Nf3d54.g3Be75.Bg2O-O6.O-ONbd77.Qc2c68.Nbd2
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Catalan Opening: Closed, Main Line159k games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
Catalan Opening: Closed Variation, Traditional Variation37%59k43%
19%30k39%
9.4%15k35%
8.1%13k37%
6.8%11k38%
5%7.9k37%
4.9%7.9k39%
2.1%3.3k37%
1.8%2.9k41%
1.8%2.9k39%
Famous games in this line1.7k master games
So, Wesley (2765) – Firouzja, Alireza (2726)20201–0Yu Yangyi (2751) – Le Quang Liem (2737)2017½–½Gelfand, Boris (2723) – Adams, Michael (2707)20061–0Wang Hao (2737) – Fedoseev, Vl3 (2680)2019½–½Vachier Lagrave, M. (2758) – Gledura, B. (2652)20221–0Tabatabaei, M. (2686) – Maghsoodloo, Parham (2712)2024½–½Deac, Bogdan-Daniel (2679) – Maghsoodloo, Parham (2701)20220–1Le, Quang Liem (2728) – Hansen, Eric (2613)2022½–½
Heroes of this opening So, Wesley · Gelfand, Boris · Vachier Lagrave, M. · Maghsoodloo, Parham
Family
Catalan Opening
Category
Indian
First move
1.d4
ECO
E09
Line
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O Nbd7 7. Qc2 c6 8. Nbd2
FianchettoPositionalHypermodern
★ Read the guide: Catalan OpeningExplore all 32 Catalan Opening lines →
Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
Catalan Opening: Closed Variation, Traditional Variation8…b6
Nearby lines in the family
Catalan Opening: Closed, Botvinnik Variation3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O …Catalan Opening: Closed Variation, Rabinovich Variation1…d5 2.c4 c6 3.Nf3 Nf6 4.Qc2 …Catalan Opening: Closed, Zagoryansky Variation1…e6 2.c4 Nf6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 …
From the archives

The move order had been seen before, but the NAME was commissioned: at Barcelona in 1929 Tartakower blended 1.d4 with a kingside fianchetto and named it for Catalonia. Kramnik took it into the 2006 world championship and Carlsen made it a main weapon — one long-range bishop, endless quiet pressure.

Study this opening
Videos on YouTube ↗Wikipedia: Catalan Opening ↗