Catalan Opening: Closed (4… Be7 5. Nf3)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3

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. It is a line of the Catalan Opening. Black is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.

In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 296 times by this move order. White won 52%, 9% were drawn and Black won 39%. The most popular continuation is 5… O-O (87% of games).

Engine evaluation: +0.13 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 5… O-O 6. O-O dxc4 7. Qc2 a6 8. a4)

ECO: E06
Moves: 9 plies
FEN: rnbqk2r/ppp1bppp/4pn2/3p4/2PP4/5NP1/PP2PPBP/RNBQK2R b KQkq - 3 5
PGN: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3

Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess

Results by rating

Average rating	Games	White / draw / Black
0-1499	1	100%
1500-1999	44	45%45%
2000+	251	53%37%
All	296	52%39%

Most played moves

Move	Games	White / draw / Black
5… O-O	257 (87%)	51%39%
5… c6	10 (3%)	60%40%
5… b6	9 (3%)	44%23%33%
5… Ne4	8 (3%)	63%38%
5… Nbd7	7 (2%)	57%43%
5… dxc4	2 (1%)	100%
5… a5	1 (0%)	100%
5… a6	1 (0%)	100%

Master games

2,866 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 30%, Black 28%). The strongest:

GM Vladimir Kramnik (2810) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2872) 1/2-1/2 · FIDE Candidates · 2013-03-25
GM Magnus Carlsen (2864) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2793) 1/2-1/2 · SuperUnited Rapid 2022 · 2022-07-21
GM Liren Ding (2799) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2847) 1-0 · Goldmoney Asian Rapid KO · 2021-07-04
GM Liren Ding (2799) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2847) 1/2-1/2 · Goldmoney Asian Rapid KO · 2021-07-03
GM Liren Ding (2799) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2847) 1/2-1/2 · Goldmoney Asian Rapid KO · 2021-07-03

Search all games of the Catalan Opening: Closed and its sub-variations

Highest-rated Lichess games

Chess1Love0 (2814) – NM Andrey11976 (2789) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Sunrise34 (2858) – IM J_Oneee (2722) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
BILLYS10 (2753) – NM Andrey11976 (2789) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s

Comes from

Catalan Opening: Open Defense (3… d5 4. Bg2) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2

Continuations

Catalan Opening: Closed (6. O-O Nbd7) E07 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. O-O Nbd7
Catalan Opening: Closed (8… Nbd7 9. Bf4) E08 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. O-O c6 7. Qc2 b6 8. Rd1 Nbd7 9. Bf4
Catalan Opening: Closed (9. e4 Na6) E06 · 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

More Catalan Opening lines (all)

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.