Catalan Opening: Open Defense (3… d5 4. Bg2)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2
The Catalan Opening: Open Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO E01, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2. 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 1,130 times by this move order. White won 50%, 8% were drawn and Black won 42%. The most popular continuation is 4… Be7 (28% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.10 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 4… Bb4+ 5. Nd2 O-O 6. Nf3 dxc4 7. Qc2)
- ECO
- E01
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/ppp2ppp/4pn2/3p4/2PP4/6P1/PP2PPBP/RNBQK1NR b KQkq - 1 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 23 | |
| 1500-1999 | 325 | |
| 2000+ | 782 | |
| All | 1,130 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Be7 | 317 (28%) | |
| 4… c6 | 244 (22%) | |
| 4… dxc4 Open Defense (4. Bg2 dxc4) | 198 (18%) | |
| 4… Bb4+ | 172 (15%) | |
| 4… c5 | 84 (7%) | |
| 4… b6 | 42 (4%) | |
| 4… Nc6 | 21 (2%) | |
| 4… Bd6 | 17 (2%) |
Master games
3,742 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 30%, Black 32%). The strongest:
- Stockfish 20201225 (3592) – rofChade 2.309 (3423) 1-0 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2021-01-03
- rofChade 2.309 (3423) – Stockfish 20201225 (3592) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2021-01-01
- rofChade 2.321 (3467) – ScorpioNN 3.0.15.5 (3514) 1-0 · TCEC 22 Premier 2022 · 2022-03-16
- ScorpioNN 3.0.15.5 (3514) – rofChade 2.321 (3467) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 22 Premier 2022 · 2022-03-13
- GM Liren Ding (2791) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2863) 0-1 · Carlsen Tour Final 2020 · 2020-08-12
Search all games of the Catalan Opening: Open Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Sunrise34 (2891) – puziko52 (2885) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- Chess1Love0 (2819) – PumASan (2894) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- LuckyStar2011 (2834) – puziko52 (2863) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Catalan Opening (3. g3 d5) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5
Continuations
- Catalan Opening: Open Defense (4. Bg2 dxc4) E02 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 dxc4
- Catalan Opening: Closed (4… Be7 5. Nf3) E06 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 Be7 5. Nf3
- Catalan Opening: Tarrasch Defense E01 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 d5 4. Bg2 c5 5. Nf3 Nc6
More Catalan Opening lines (all)
- Catalan Opening (2… e6 3. g3) E00
- Catalan Opening: Hungarian Gambit E00
- 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
- Catalan Opening: Open Defense, Classical Line (6. O-O dxc4) E05
- Catalan Opening: Closed (6. O-O c6) E06
- Catalan Opening: Closed (8. Bf4 b6) E06
- Catalan Opening: Closed (9. e4 Na6) 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.