Caissa Codex
E08

Catalan Opening: Closed, Zagoryansky Variation

Chess diagram: Catalan Opening: Closed, Zagoryansky Variation after 9. a4

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

405 games: White 49.1% / Draw 6.7% / Black 44.2%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
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Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Sep 26, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.10 The position is about equal

Best play: 9... Ba6 10. b3 Rc8 11. Bb2 Qc7 12. Nbd2 c5 13. Rac1 Qb8 14. Qb1

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

Overview

Catalan Opening: Closed, Zagoryansky Variation (ECO E08, Indian Defenses) is a chess opening that starts 1. d4 e6 2. c4 Nf6 3. Nf3 d5 4. g3 Be7 5. Bg2 O-O 6. O-O Nbd7 7. Qc2 c6 8. Rd1 b6 9. a4.

In 405 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.1%, Black 44.2% and 6.7% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 9…Bb7, in 61% of those games.

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Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Catalan Opening: Closed, Zagoryansky Variation (E08)”. Lichess data as of 26 Sep 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/catalan-opening-closed-zagoryansky-variation

https://chesscodex.org/openings/catalan-opening-closed-zagoryansky-variation