Caissa Codex
A05

Zukertort Opening 1. Nf3 Nf6

Chess diagram: Zukertort Opening after 1…Nf6

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

18,562,771 games: White 49.1% / Draw 6.5% / Black 44.4%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
5,416,6825.4M
Indian Defense: Knights Variation 5,034,7825M
English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, King's Knight Variation 4,330,3404.3M
Nimzo-Larsen Variation 1,131,1771.1M
804,650805K
710,528711K
Quiet System 660,954661K
Lemberger Gambit 164,853165K

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 9, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.22 The position is about equal

Best play: 2. d4 e6 3. c4 d5 4. Nc3 Bb4 5. Bg5 h6 6. Bxf6 Qxf6

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

By rating

Rating changes little here: Black scores 49% under 1400, 47% at 2200 and up and 44% in master games (wins plus half the draws).

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 2.8M
1400–1799 5.4M
1800–2199 10.4M
2200 and up 4.8M
Masters, over the board 136K

Master games

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

Overview

Zukertort Opening (ECO A05, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Zukertort Opening, reached after 1. Nf3 Nf6 (1 move).

In 18,562,771 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.1%, Black 44.4% and 6.5% were drawn. White's most played move here is 2. g3, in 29% of those games.

It branches into 10 named variations; the most played are King's Indian Attack and King's Indian Attack: Symmetrical Defense. In all, 22 named lines continue from it.

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How to answer 1…Nf6

2. c4 (English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense, King's Knight Variation) scores best for White: 54.0%, with White winning 50.5% and Black 42.5% of 4.3M games. The most played, 2. g3, scores 53.6% in 5.4M games, and 2. d4 scores lowest: 51.2%. Stockfish's first choice is 2. d4.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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

This line peaked in 2018 at 0.89% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.71% in 2025.

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20160.66%236,753
20170.76%417,661
20180.89%702,688
20190.87%1,089,173
20200.82%2,413,641
20210.68%2,652,003
20220.67%2,500,780
20230.67%2,529,643
20240.68%2,448,379
20250.71%2,468,603
2026 (Jan–Apr)0.73%800,113

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 (10)

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 1…Nf6, the position after Zukertort Opening also goes on to:

Transpositions

From here, a move transposes into another named line:

All 22 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Zukertort Opening (A05)”. Lichess data as of 9 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/zukertort-opening-2

https://chesscodex.org/openings/zukertort-opening-2