Catalan Opening: Closed, Main Line 11…Nxe4 12. Qxe4
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
10,357 games: White 53.9% / Draw 10.6% / Black 35.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 8,7498,749 | ||
| 973973 | ||
| 358358 | ||
| 8787 | ||
| 5858 | ||
| 5454 | ||
| 3232 | ||
| 1313 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.21 The position is about equal
Best play: 12... Nf6 13. Qe1 c5 14. dxc5 Bxc5 15. b4 Be7 16. a3 Qc8 17. Qe2
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
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. Bf4 b6 9. Nbd2 Bb7 10. e4 dxe4 11. Nxe4 Nxe4 12. Qxe4 (12 moves).
In 10,357 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 53.9%, Black 35.5% and 10.6% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 12…Nf6, in 84% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to answer 12. Qxe4
The most played answer, 12…Nf6, also scores best for Black: 41.4%, with Black winning 35.9% and White 53.2% of 8,749 games. Of the main answers, 12…Qc8 scores lowest: 39.4%. Stockfish's first choice is also 12…Nf6.
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Catalan Opening: Closed, Main Line (E09)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/catalan-opening-closed-main-line-3