As White
Catalan Opening
The Catalan Opening is a chess opening for White that starts with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3.
A Queen's Gambit with g3 and the bishop on g2: it pressures d5 and the queenside from the long diagonal. Solid and positional.
Reviewed on November 6, 2026 · Prepared by Josep Serrano Ballestero
10 lines
2.c4 e6 3.g3 Bb4+
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Bb4+ 4.Bd2 Bxd2+ 5.Qxd2 d5 6.Bg2 O-O 7.Nf3 dxc4 8.O-O c6 9.Ne5 b5 10.a4
3...d5 4.Bg2 dxc4 5.Nf3
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 dxc4 5.Nf3 c5 6.O-O Nc6 7.Qa4 cxd4 8.Nxd4 Qxd4 9.Bxc6+ Bd7 10.Rd1 Qxd1+ 11.Qxd1
3...d5 4.Bg2 dxc4 5.Qa4+
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 dxc4 5.Qa4+ Nbd7 6.Qxc4 a6 7.Qc2 c5 8.dxc5 Bxc5 9.Nf3 O-O 10.O-O
5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O c5
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O c5 7.cxd5 Nxd5 8.e4 Nf6 9.Nc3 cxd4 10.Nxd4
5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O dxc4
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O dxc4 7.Qc2 a6 8.Qxc4 b5 9.Qc2 Bb7 10.Bd2
5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O b6
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O b6 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Nc3 Bb7 9.Bf4 Na6 10.Rc1
2.c4 e6 3.g3 c5
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 c5 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.Nc3 g6 7.Bg2 Bg7 8.Nf3 O-O 9.O-O Re8 10.Nd2
2.c4 e6 3.g3 c6
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 c6 4.Bg2 d5 5.Nf3 Be7 6.O-O O-O 7.b3 b6 8.Bb2 Bb7 9.Nbd2 c5 10.dxc5
1.d4 d5 2.c4
1.d4 d5 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2 Be7 5.Nf3 O-O 6.O-O Nbd7 7.Qc2 c6 8.Nbd2 b6 9.e4 Bb7 10.b3
3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 c6
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2 c6 5.Nf3 Nbd7 6.Qc2 Bd6 7.O-O O-O 8.b3 b6 9.Bb2 Bb7 10.Nbd2
Frequently asked questions
Is the Catalan Opening good for beginners?
It is better suited to experienced players. On OpeningCraft it is aimed at players with Elo over 2000. It suits players who prefer long-term plans and pawn structure.
How many lines of the Catalan Opening do you need to learn?
OpeningCraft teaches 10, in blocks of 5. They come from real Lichess games at each rating band, and the traps and opponent mistakes most common at your level come first.