Catalan Opening: Closed, Main Line
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Statistics from Lichess
260,514 games: White 56.6% / Draw 7.8% / Black 35.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Catalan Opening: Closed Variation, Traditional Variation | 120,421120K | |
| 45,04745K | ||
| 19,63520K | ||
| 18,87719K | ||
| 14,16514K | ||
| 10,17610K | ||
| 9,4559,455 | ||
| 4,7944,794 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.31 White is slightly better
Best play: 8... c5 9. Rd1 a5 10. cxd5 exd5 11. b3 b5 12. Ne5 Qb6 13. Bb2
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 410 | |
| 1400–1799 | 14K | |
| 1800–2199 | 149K | |
| 2200 and up | 100K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1,701 |
Master games
- So, W. – Firouzja, A.
- Yu Yangyi – Le Quang Liem
- Gelfand, B. – Adams, M.
- Wang Hao – Fedoseev, V.
- Vachier Lagrave, M. – Gledura, B.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026
Overview
Catalan Opening: Closed, Main Line (ECO E09, Indian Defenses) is a variation of the Indian Defense: Anti-Nimzo-Indian, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O Nbd7 7. Qc2 c6 8. Nbd2 (8 moves).
In 260,514 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 56.6%, Black 35.7% and 7.8% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 8…b6, in 46% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Catalan Opening: Closed Variation, Traditional Variation.
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How to play against the Catalan Opening: Closed, Main Line
The most played answer, 8…b6 (Catalan Opening: Closed Variation, Traditional Variation), also scores best for Black: 42.4%, with Black winning 38.0% and White 53.1% of 120K games. Of the main answers, 8…dxc4 scores lowest: 33.7%. Stockfish's first choice is 8…c5.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
The Catalan Opening: Closed, Main Line has gained ground since 2016: 0.012% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.0084%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0084% | 3,013 |
| 2017 | 0.011% | 5,855 |
| 2018 | 0.012% | 9,305 |
| 2019 | 0.011% | 13,221 |
| 2020 | 0.01% | 29,920 |
| 2021 | 0.0084% | 32,725 |
| 2022 | 0.0093% | 34,859 |
| 2023 | 0.0097% | 36,354 |
| 2024 | 0.01% | 37,541 |
| 2025 | 0.012% | 40,196 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.012% | 12,905 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (1)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Catalan Opening: Closed, Main Line (E09)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/catalan-opening-closed-main-line