Zukertort Opening
1.Nf3, the Zukertort Opening, is named after Johannes Zukertort. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
93,377,152 games: White 50.8% / Draw 5.6% / Black 43.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| A06 | 31,753,83431.8M | |
| A05 | 18,576,25218.6M | |
| Sicilian Invitation | 10,022,34210M | |
| Queen's Gambit Invitation | 7,013,8137M | |
| Black Mustang Defense | 6,143,4876.1M | |
| Pirc Invitation | 4,742,8574.7M | |
| Kingside Fianchetto | 4,422,7744.4M | |
| Slav Invitation | 3,810,6753.8M |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 5, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.17 The position is about equal
Best play: 1... Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 d5 4. d4 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
The stronger the players, the better this line does for White: White scores 51% under 1400, 54% at 2200 and up and 56% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 34.1M | |
| 1400–1799 | 50.4M | |
| 1800–2199 | 51.4M | |
| 2200 and up | 14.5M | |
| Masters, over the board | 293K |
Master games
- Aronian, L. – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Nakamura, H.
- Carlsen, M. – Ding Liren
- Carlsen, M. – Ding Liren
- Kramnik, V. – Carlsen, M.
Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 26, 2026
Description
1.Nf3, the Zukertort Opening, is named after Johannes Zukertort. It is the third most popular first move, behind 1.e4 and 1.d4. It is sometimes called the Réti Opening, although most sources keep that name for 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4, the Réti Opening proper.
The idea
1.Nf3 develops a piece, controls d4 and e5 and stops ...e5, without committing a central pawn. Aron Nimzowitsch called it certainly the most solid move, while 1.e4 and 1.d4 commit White. Edmar Mednis called it a "perfect and flexible opening".
That flexibility is the point: White waits to see Black's set-up and only then chooses a structure. Many games transpose into openings that usually begin with 1.d4 or 1.c4:
- the Queen's Gambit and the Catalan Opening after d4 and c4;
- the English Opening after c4 without d4.
Independent lines
- The Réti Opening: 1...d5 2.c4, attacking Black's centre from the side.
- The King's Indian Attack: g3, Bg2, d3 and e4.
- The Nimzo-Larsen Attack ideas with b3 and Bb2.
Black's main answers
In order of popularity: 1...Nf6, 1...d5, 1...c5 (the Sicilian Invitation), 1...g6 (Kingside Fianchetto), 1...e6 and 1...f5. 1...Nf6 and 1...e6 are as non-committal as White's move, so the real opening is often decided only on move two or three.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- Very flexible, and hard for the opponent to prepare against.
- Avoids many sharp lines after 1.e4 and some after 1.d4.
- Lets White steer into familiar structures by transposition.
Weaknesses
- Black can also choose freely, for example the symmetrical 1...Nf6 or 1...d5 set-ups.
- Transpositions need knowledge of several openings, not just one.
Who should play it
1.Nf3 suits positional players who know the typical structures of the 1.d4 and 1.c4 openings, and those who like to keep the opponent guessing about which opening is coming.
The numbers
On Lichess White wins 49.2–51.2% and Black 42–46.3%; Black does best under 1400 (46.3%). Draws rise from 4.2–4.4% below 1800 to 8.3% from 2200 up. In master games over the board, White wins 33.3%, Black 22.2% and 44.5% are drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Zukertort Opening
1…c5 (Sicilian Invitation) scores best for Black: 47.7%, with Black winning 44.9% and White 49.4% of 10M games. The most played, 1…d5, scores 45.9% in 31.8M games, and 1…Nc6 scores lowest: 45.2%. Stockfish's first choice is 1…Nf6.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings
Popularity by year
The Zukertort Opening has stayed between 3.3% and 3.9% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (3.8% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 3.3% | 1,189,669 |
| 2017 | 3.5% | 1,946,525 |
| 2018 | 3.9% | 3,066,335 |
| 2019 | 3.9% | 4,862,469 |
| 2020 | 3.7% | 10,889,156 |
| 2021 | 3.4% | 13,280,260 |
| 2022 | 3.5% | 13,085,467 |
| 2023 | 3.5% | 13,277,373 |
| 2024 | 3.6% | 12,985,453 |
| 2025 | 3.8% | 13,048,591 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 3.8% | 4,177,894 |
Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling
Variations (20)
- A04 Zukertort Defense: Kingside Variation 1…Nh6 2. d4 g6
- A04 Zukertort Defense: Sicilian Knight Variation 1…Na6 2. e4 c5
- A05 Zukertort Opening 1…Nf6
- A06 Zukertort Opening 1…d5
- A04 Arctic Defense 1…f6
- A04 Basman Defense 1…h6
- A04 Black Mustang Defense 1…Nc6
- A04 Drunken Cavalry Variation 1…Na6 2. e4 Nh6
- A04 Dutch Variation 1…f5
- A04 Herrstrom Gambit 1…g5
- A04 Kingside Fianchetto 1…g6
- A04 Pirc Invitation 1…d6
- A04 Polish Defense 1…b5
- A04 Queen's Gambit Invitation 1…e6
- A04 Queenside Fianchetto Variation 1…b6
- A04 Ross Gambit 1…e5
- A04 Sicilian Invitation 1…c5
- A04 Slav Invitation 1…c6
- A04 St. George Defense 1…a6
- A04 Ware Defense 1…a5
All 99 named lines that continue from here
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Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Zukertort Opening, version of 2 September 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Zukertort Opening (A04)”. Lichess data as of 5 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/zukertort-opening