Magnus Carlsen in the Catalan Opening

142 games of Magnus Carlsen in the Catalan Opening, 2001 to 2025: 56 wins, 65 draws, 21 losses. Every game can be replayed move by move.

Quick answer · Updated October 2026

Does Magnus Carlsen play the Catalan Opening?

Yes. Magnus Carlsen has played the Catalan Opening in 142 games in our database (2001–2025): 56 wins, 65 draws and 21 losses, a score of 62.3%. He had it 72 times with White (31–31–10) and 70 times with Black (25–34–11).

Type of event	Games	Carlsen won	Drawn	Opponent won	Carlsen score
Classical	45	16	24	5	62.2%
Rapid	48	17	24	7	60.4%
Blitz and bullet	34	17	9	8	63.2%
Knockout tie-breaks	1	0	1	0	50.0%
Armageddon	1	1	0	0	100.0%
Other events	13	5	7	1	65.4%
All games	142	56	65	21	62.3%

First game in our databaseJ Nilssen vs Magnus Carlsen · Nordic Championships · 6 August 2001 · 1-0

Latest gameMagnus Carlsen vs Marco Materia · Titled Tue 11th Nov 2025 · 11 November 2025 · 1-0

Classical games45: 16–24–5 (won–drawn–lost)

His most played move order1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Be7 (29 games)

Busiest year2022, with 22 games

Replay all 142 games Magnus Carlsen profile All Magnus openings Learn the Catalan Opening Practice it in the trainer

Source: the Rama Chess database of 7,484 Magnus Carlsen games, 2001 to 2025 (many of his games, not all of them). Opening names follow the ECO code of each game. The type of event is read from the event name.

The opening

The Catalan Opening: the starting moves

Catalan Opening chess opening position after 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3, board diagram — The Catalan Opening starts with **1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3**.

In his own games the line he reached most often is **1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.g3 Be7** (29 games).

Best wins

Magnus Carlsen's Catalan Opening wins against top players

Magnus Carlsen vs Fabiano Caruana, 1-013th Norway Chess 2025 · 5 June 2025 · Classical · 52 moves
Magnus Carlsen vs Anish Giri, 1-084th Tata Steel Masters · 16 January 2022 · Classical · 36 moves
Magnus Carlsen vs Richard Rapport, 1-084th Tata Steel Masters · 21 January 2022 · Classical · 31 moves
Magnus Carlsen vs Shakhriyar Mamedyarov, 1-084th Tata Steel Masters · 25 January 2022 · Classical · 27 moves
Magnus Carlsen vs Teimour Radjabov, 1-010th Norway Chess 2022 · 2 June 2022 · Classical · 36 moves
Ding Liren vs Magnus Carlsen, 0-1Croatia GCT 2019 · 4 July 2019 · Classical · 59 moves

Results by year

The Catalan Opening by year (2001–2025)

Carlsen wonDrawnOpponent won

Record · Updated October 2026

Magnus Carlsen's record in the Catalan Opening

The Rama Chess archive holds 142 games in which Magnus Carlsen played the Catalan Opening, from 2001 to 2025. He won 56, drew 65 and lost 21, a score of 62.3%. The games come from all time controls (classical, rapid and blitz).

He has had this opening on the board with both colours: 72 games as White (31 wins, 31 draws, 10 losses) and 70 games as Black (25 wins, 34 draws, 11 losses).

His most frequent opponents here are Ding Liren (13), Hikaru Nakamura (8), Vladimir Kramnik (7). The earliest game is from 2001 (Nordic Championships) and the most recent from 2025 (Titled Tue 7th Jan Late). The ECO code seen most often is E06.

Replay the games Magnus Carlsen profile All his openings Learn openings

By colour

With White and with Black

Carlsen played	Games	Won	Drawn	Lost	Score
White	72	31	31	10	65%
Black	70	25	34	11	60%
All games	142	56	65	21	62%

Year by year

Catalan Opening games by year

Year	Games	Won	Drawn	Lost	Score
2001	1	0	0	1	0%
2002	3	2	1	0	83%
2003	1	1	0	0	100%
2004	1	0	1	0	50%
2005	3	1	2	0	67%
2006	5	1	2	2	40%
2007	10	2	6	2	50%
2008	7	1	5	1	50%
2009	4	1	2	1	50%
2010	5	1	3	1	50%
2011	1	1	0	0	100%
2013	3	1	2	0	67%
2014	3	1	1	1	50%
2016	1	0	1	0	50%
2017	6	3	2	1	67%
2018	1	0	1	0	50%
2019	3	2	1	0	83%
2020	6	3	3	0	75%
2021	16	2	11	3	47%
2022	22	11	8	3	68%
2023	14	9	5	0	82%
2024	14	6	5	3	61%
2025	12	7	3	2	71%