Catalan Opening: Closed (9. e4 Na6)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. O-O c6 7. Qc2 b6 8. Nbd2 Bb7 9. e4 Na6
The Catalan Opening: Closed is a chess opening classified as ECO E06, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. O-O c6 7. Qc2 b6 8. Nbd2 Bb7 9. e4 Na6. It is a line of the Catalan Opening. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2 times by this move order. White won 100%, 0% were drawn and Black won 0%. The most popular continuation is 10. a3 (50% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.16 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 10. Rd1 Rc8 11. b3 c5 12. exd5 exd5)
- ECO
- E06
- Moves
- 18 plies
- FEN
r2q1rk1/pb2bppp/npp1pn2/3p4/2PPP3/5NP1/PPQN1PBP/R1B2RK1 w - - 1 10- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. O-O c6 7. Qc2 b6 8. Nbd2 Bb7 9. e4 Na6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2000+ | 2 | |
| All | 2 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 10. a3 | 1 (50%) | |
| 10. e5 | 1 (50%) |
Master games
30 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 27%, draw 40%, Black 33%). The strongest:
- GM Zdenko Kozul (2594) – GM Luka Lenic (2624) 1/2-1/2 · 20th Vidmar Mem · 2016-07-03
- IM Juraj Druska (2515) – GM Lazaro Bruzon Batista (2615) 1/2-1/2 · 1000GM Hollywood Masters · 2022-10-27
- GM Peter Prohaszka (2607) – IM Frode Olav Olsen Urkedal (2507) 1-0 · TV 2 Chess International · 2015-12-31
- IM Georgi Orlov (2480) – GM Anton Kovalyov (2622) 1-0 · US Chess League 2014 · 2014-10-15
- IM Roman Kezin (2514) – GM Pavel Smirnov (2544) 1/2-1/2 · ch-RUS Blitz 2022 · 2022-10-14
Search all games of the Catalan Opening: Closed and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Ishmael67 (2499) – jheremiasc (2548) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Ishmael67 (2508) – jheremiasc (2524) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Catalan Opening: Closed (4… Be7 5. Nf3) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3
More Catalan Opening lines (all)
- Catalan Opening (2… e6 3. g3) E00
- Catalan Opening (3. g3 d5) E00
- Catalan Opening: Hungarian Gambit E00
- Catalan Opening: Open Defense (3… d5 4. Bg2) E01
- Catalan Opening: Tarrasch Defense E01
- Catalan Opening: Open Defense (4. Bg2 dxc4) E02
- Catalan Opening: Open Defense (5… Nbd7 6. Qxc4) E03
- Catalan Opening: Open Defense, Alekhine Variation E03
- Catalan Opening: Open Defense (4… dxc4 5. Nf3) E04
- Catalan Opening: Open Defense (5. Bg2 dxc4) E04
- Catalan Opening: Open Defense, Modern Sharp Variation E04
- Catalan Opening: Open Defense, Classical Line (5. Nf3 Be7) E05
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.