A04

Zukertort Opening

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Overview

Zukertort Opening is one of the foundational chess openings, sitting at the root of an entire branch of theory under ECO code Flank Openings in the A04 group.

The Flank Openings group covers flank openings — systems that delay the central pawn break and instead develop pieces and pawns on the wings.

It is reached after 1 ply of play, with the move sequence 1. Nf3.

It is the root of 20 named variations, with Zukertort Defense: Kingside Variation, Zukertort Defense: Sicilian Knight Variation, Zukertort Opening, and others among the most studied.

Below the direct variations, the full subtree contains 99 documented sub-variations.

Step through the moves on the interactive board below, review the live Lichess statistics, or play this position against Stockfish at one of six difficulty levels.

ECO code: A04
Group: Flank Openings (A)
Plies: 1
Direct variations: 20
Total in subtree: 99

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Statistics from Lichess

93,377,152 games · White 50.8% / Draw 5.6% / Black 43.7%

Moves	Games	W / D / B
d5	31,753,834
Nf6	18,576,252
c5	10,022,342
e6	7,013,813
Nc6	6,143,487
d6	4,742,857
g6	4,422,774
c6	3,810,675

Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 00:35:18

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Variations (20)

Show all 99 sub-variations (full subtree)

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