Zukertort Opening: Reversed Grünfeld 4. d4 Nf6
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
335,670 games: White 51.2% / Draw 6.5% / Black 42.3%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 253,593254K | ||
| 29,57230K | ||
| 20,48520K | ||
| 13,42413K | ||
| 8,5938,593 | ||
| 3,1313,131 | ||
| 2,1072,107 | ||
| 1,3361,336 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 29, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.29 The position is about equal
Best play: 5. O-O e6 6. c4 dxc4 7. dxc5 Qxd1 8. Rxd1 Bxc5 9. Nbd2 c3
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 worse this line does for Black: Black scores 49% under 1400, 45% at 2200 and up and 42% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 12K | |
| 1800–2199 | 209K | |
| 2200 and up | 87K | |
| Masters, over the board | 704 |
Master games
- Ding Liren – Caruana, F.
- Giri, A. – So, W.
- Vachier Lagrave, M. – Anand, V.
- Ding Liren – Wojtaszek, R.
- Nepomniachtchi, I. – So, W.
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 27, 2026
Overview
Zukertort Opening: Reversed Grünfeld (ECO A08, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Zukertort Opening: Reversed Grünfeld, reached after 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c5 3. Bg2 Nc6 4. d4 Nf6 (4 moves).
In 335,670 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 51.2%, Black 42.3% and 6.5% were drawn. White's most played move here is 5. O-O, in 76% of those games.
It continues into one named variation.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to answer 4…Nf6
The most played answer, 5. O-O, also scores best for White: 56.5%, with White winning 53.1% and Black 40.1% of 254K games. Of the main answers, 5. dxc5 scores lowest: 44.6%. Stockfish's first choice is also 5. O-O.
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 has gained ground since 2016: 0.014% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.0081%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0081% | 2,896 |
| 2017 | 0.01% | 5,581 |
| 2018 | 0.011% | 8,935 |
| 2019 | 0.012% | 14,612 |
| 2020 | 0.012% | 35,666 |
| 2021 | 0.012% | 45,153 |
| 2022 | 0.013% | 49,578 |
| 2023 | 0.014% | 50,888 |
| 2024 | 0.014% | 50,593 |
| 2025 | 0.014% | 49,928 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.015% | 16,384 |
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 (1)
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Zukertort Opening: Reversed Grünfeld (A08)”. Lichess data as of 29 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/zukertort-opening-reversed-grunfeld-2