Bicycle Mechanics - Can I use any 9 speed chain on any 9 speed cassette?

Sorry for all the noobi mechanic questions.

Can I use my Tiagra HG53 chain on a Ultegra cassette? I ask because it says on the spec sheet for the CS-6500 cassette only to use HG92 or 7700 chains. Or is this just marketing?

I cant find it anywhere specifically. I have a feeling that yes, from varrious posts that say use THIS chain or THAT chain, that it does not matter much, as long as its a 9 spd for a 9 spd. Still, I need to confirm.
Thanks!

Nope. Using a Tiagra chain on an Ultegra cassette will result in a sudden implosion of the left chain stay on some poor kid's bike while in the middle of traffic, or the odd inability to know left from right.

Just kidding. It will work without any problems.

And the next time you buy a chain look at Nashbar or SRAM which have the
quick disconnect links that make it easy to install and remove chains and
not have to deal with those pesky shimano pins. Nothing wrong with KMC
chains.

bumping an old thread to ask a new question:

can I use any 9 speed chain on a 9 speed campy drivetrain?

Insanity can be defined as asking the same question over and over and expecting a different result.

;)

Insanity can be defined as asking the same question over and over and expecting a different result.

;)

;) yourself

campy and sram/shimano might as well exist on two different planets. I still think it's a legit question

Campy 9 speed cogs are spaced wider than Shimano, so if it works on Shimano it will work on Campy.

A chain basically have two determining characteristics:
1) pitch
2) width

Today all bike chains have the same pitch(= link length), and then you need different width depending on how many sprockets you have in the rear.

There are minor differences in side plate and pin design from one brand to another, but while that might affect smoothness it's usually not enough to significantly influence basic functionality as long as you've gotten the speeds right.

Campy 9 speed cogs are spaced wider than Shimano, so if it works on Shimano it will work on Campy.
Correct. In fact many riders successfully used Shimano 9-speed chains on Campy 10-speed drivetrains when they first came out due to the expense and fragility of Campy's first generation 10-speed chains.