Catalan Opening: Open Defense 5. Bg2 dxc4
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Statistics from Lichess
265,440 games: White 54.4% / Draw 5.4% / Black 40.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 143,587144K | ||
| 62,90163K | ||
| 30,00430K | ||
| 11,56112K | ||
| 9,2369,236 | ||
| 4,5694,569 | ||
| 1,0451,045 | ||
| 601601 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.36 White is slightly better
Best play: 6. Ne5 Bb4+ 7. Bd2 Be7 8. e3 b5 9. Nxc6 Nxc6 10. Bxc6+ Bd7
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the better this line does for Black: Black scores 41% under 1400, 45% at 2200 and up and 49% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 8,245 | |
| 1400–1799 | 59K | |
| 1800–2199 | 174K | |
| 2200 and up | 49K | |
| Masters, over the board | 907 |
Master games
- Topalov, V. – Ivanchuk, V.
- Topalov, V. – Kramnik, V.
- Yu Yangyi – Caruana, F.
- Carlsen, M. – Keymer, V.
- Shankland, S. – Aronian, L.
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: Open Defense (ECO E04, 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 c6 5. Bg2 dxc4 (5 moves).
In 265,440 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 54.4%, Black 40.2% and 5.4% were drawn. White's most played move here is 6. O-O, in 54% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 5…dxc4
6. Ne5 scores best for White: 59.1%, with White winning 56.3% and Black 38.1% of 63K games. The most played answer, 6. O-O, scores lowest: 56.9% in 144K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 6. Ne5.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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
This line has gained ground since 2016: 0.011% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.0079%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0079% | 2,834 |
| 2017 | 0.0096% | 5,267 |
| 2018 | 0.011% | 8,365 |
| 2019 | 0.0098% | 12,282 |
| 2020 | 0.0087% | 25,590 |
| 2021 | 0.0087% | 33,948 |
| 2022 | 0.011% | 41,801 |
| 2023 | 0.011% | 42,039 |
| 2024 | 0.011% | 38,273 |
| 2025 | 0.011% | 37,666 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.012% | 12,762 |
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
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Catalan Opening: Open Defense (E04)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/catalan-opening-open-defense-3