E09 · Closed · a plan for White

Catalan Opening: Closed Variation, Rabinovich Variation

16/16
1.d4d52.c4c63.Nf3Nf64.Qc2e65.Nbd2Be76.g3Nbd77.Bg2O-O8.O-Ob5
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Catalan Opening: Closed Variation, Rabinovich Variation1.8k games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
46%83258%
24%42662%
17%30449%
9.6%17455%
2.8%5050%
0.8%1527%
0.4%838%
0.1%2100%
Famous games in this line94 master games
Balog, I1. (2539) – Vajda, Le (2594)20131–0Ostenstad, Berge (2482) – Carlsen, Magnus (2567)2004½–½Meier, Georg (2484) – Bischoff, Klaus (2533)2007½–½Bukic, Enver (2495) – Kovacevic, Vlatko (2500)1979½–½Anic, Darko (2415) – Spassky, Boris V (2565)1993½–½Ftacnik, Lubomir (2567) – Marangunic, Srdjan (2407)20071–0Christiansen, Larry Mark (2485) – Biyiasas, Peter (2485)19801–0Shneider, Aleksandr (2480) – Norwood, David (2460)19861–0
Heroes of this opening Balog, I1. · Ftacnik, Lubomir · Christiansen, Larry Mark · Shneider, Aleksandr
Family
Catalan Opening
Category
Closed
First move
1.d4
ECO
E09
Line
1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Qc2 e6 5. Nbd2 Be7 6. g3 Nbd7 7. Bg2 O-O 8. O-O b5
PositionalHypermodern
★ Read the guide: Catalan OpeningExplore all 32 Catalan Opening lines →
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Nearby lines in the family
Catalan Opening: Closed Variation, Traditional VariationE09 1…Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 …Catalan Opening: Closed, Main LineE09 1…Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 …Catalan Opening: Closed, Botvinnik VariationE07 1…Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 …
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
Videos on YouTube ↗Wikipedia: Catalan Opening ↗