What are some good openings to play at the 1800 level?

I normally play 1.e4 as white or sometimes the English. As Black I play the King's Indian, BEnoni, French and Sicilian.

French AND Sicilian seems like too much work to me.

Well yeah .. but just to keep stuff interesting.

A old player at my club plays Catalan. I think he even called it Queen Catalan. He is in the 1800-1900 area. I have played him twice and I can't figure out how to play against it-AT ALL. Seems like a slow opening, but his pieces cordinates very nice when he is ready to attack. I have played The Black Lion both times. The first time with a early attack from me. And the second time a wall of defence he came through.

I really like Catalan opening.

He said most players doesn't know how to play against it since it's not a common/popular opening. Maybe you could try it out.

I do play it. And yes the ideas behind it are not as well known as say playng against the Sicilian!

Play main lines.

I think a player development is a pattern. I'm a 1800-2000 players and I have played KIA. It seems common start with KIA and after that play something like Catalan. The idea is play something you know and opponent no.
'if you read what others people are reading you know just what others people know'.

Maybe the correct way to deal with that question is back to main lines you are playing and understand it. One cannot fear Sicilian (I think good players try run out Siciliana using KIA or queen pawns openings, but when find Indians  defence scary find Catalan the more solid).

the demand for comfort zone is perhaps the standard between players 1800-2000

I'm not an 1800, but I do have some experience with the Catalan, mostly bad. For lower rated players, it's easy to get into a bad position (from either side) without having done anything obviously wrong. Does that go away with more experience?

Those all sound good for 1800 level.

Catalan is about pawn play in the center. White need know many things about pawn structure, Catalan have tentacles in many others openings: tarrash, queen gabit accepted, slav, ortodox, caro-kan, scandinavian, etc.. etc.. Catalan can reach KIA typical postions...
What that means? That means if you study catalan you should know several others openings.. A slav player,, tarrash players, queen gambit accepted player, queen indian player, KIA player, etc.. Can understand Catalan.
When a player never play against queens gambit acepted he is not able to identify a typical queens gambit postion from center who still not show your face! That is the problem, with center dynamic we need stay waiting he define to some familiar postion from that openings above. For example, sometimes you note a typical KIA setup and you star thinking in KIA way and play h4 etc.. That is the secret, know all others typical oppenings lol!

Thanks! It sounds like I need to play more d4 games before trying the Catalan again.

same conclusion for me too. but is not forbidden try understand from catalan start point. But I'm have some 'chess culture' to identify that postions, if a 1800 players have not that culture maybe study a genéric opening book before is good. Watson or Yasser have moderns good books about all main lines from all main openings without a 'repertoire' sense...