Catalan Opening: Open Defense (4. Bg2 dxc4)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4
The Catalan Opening: Open Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO E02, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4. It is a line of the Catalan Opening. White is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 198 times by this move order. White won 46%, 6% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 5. Nf3 (75% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.16 (Stockfish, depth 57; best line 5. Nf3 Bb4+ 6. Bd2 a5 7. Qc1 b6)
- ECO
- E02
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp2ppp/4pn2/8/2pP4/6P1/PP2PPBP/RNBQK1NR w KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 4 | |
| 1500-1999 | 52 | |
| 2000+ | 142 | |
| All | 198 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Nf3 Open Defense (4… dxc4 5. Nf3) | 148 (75%) | |
| 5. Qa4+ | 30 (15%) | |
| 5. Nc3 | 12 (6%) | |
| 5. Nd2 | 3 (2%) | |
| 5. a4 | 1 (1%) | |
| 5. e4 | 1 (1%) | |
| 5. a3 | 1 (1%) | |
| 5. Na3 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
247 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 40%, draw 28%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- GM Liren Ding (2791) – GM Alexander Grischuk (2777) 0-1 · Lindores Abbey Prelim · 2020-05-20
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2839) – GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2725) 1-0 · Esports World Cup D 2025 · 2025-07-29
- GM Li Chao2 (2691) – GM Ivan Cheparinov (2666) 1-0 · TCh-CHN 2019 · 2019-07-25
- GM Aleksey Goganov (2594) – GM Sergey Karjakin (2752) 1/2-1/2 · 73rd ch-RUS 2020 · 2020-12-09
- GM Illya Nyzhnyk (2658) – GM Aram Hakobyan (2620) 1/2-1/2 · SPICE Cup Open 2022 · 2022-12-23
Search all games of the Catalan Opening: Open Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- BILLYS10 (2744) – GladiatorDefence (2803) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Chess1Love0 (2783) – Meatloaf927 (2712) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- IM J_Oneee (2731) – GM jncool68 (2657) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 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: Open Defense (4… dxc4 5. Nf3) E04 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Nf3
- Catalan Opening: Open Defense (5… Nbd7 6. Qxc4) E03 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4 5. Qa4+ Nbd7 6. Qxc4
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: Tarrasch Defense E01
- Catalan Opening: Open Defense, Alekhine Variation E03
- 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
- Catalan Opening: Open Defense, Classical Line (6. O-O dxc4) E05
- Catalan Opening: Closed (4… Be7 5. Nf3) E06
- Catalan Opening: Closed (6. O-O c6) E06
- Catalan Opening: Closed (8. Bf4 b6) E06
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.