Zukertort Opening: Ross Gambit
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Statistics from Lichess
1,879,577 games: White 54.9% / Draw 3.9% / Black 41.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,198,7641.2M | ||
| King's Knight Opening | 188,310188K | |
| Hungarian Opening: Reversed Alekhine | 133,048133K | |
| Englund Gambit Declined: Reversed Alekhine | 102,440102K | |
| 90,20790K | ||
| English Opening: King's English Variation, Nimzowitsch Variation | 59,36959K | |
| 37,73738K | ||
| 32,99633K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 5, 2026
Engine evaluation
+1.59 White is clearly better
Best play: 2. Nxe5 Nf6 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 d5 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 44% under 1400, 43% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 2.8M | |
| 1400–1799 | 2M | |
| 1800–2199 | 887K | |
| 2200 and up | 70K | |
| Masters, over the board | 13 |
Master games
- Siikaluoma, A. – Raijmaekers, R. C. H.
- Biastoch, B. – Kollars, D.
- Civitillo, A. – Fuzishawa, R. M.
- Adly, A. – Salem, G.
- Paridar, S. – Zhao, X.
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: Ross Gambit (ECO A04, Flank Openings) is a gambit in the Zukertort Opening, reached after 1. Nf3 e5 (1 move).
In 1,879,577 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 54.9%, Black 41.2% and 3.9% were drawn. White's most played move here is 2. Nxe5, in 64% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Zukertort Opening: The Walrus.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Zukertort Opening: Ross Gambit
The most played answer, 2. Nxe5, also scores best for White: 59.5%, with White winning 57.6% and Black 38.6% of 1.2M games. Of the main answers, 2. e4 scores lowest: 50.9%. Stockfish's first choice is also 2. Nxe5.
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
The Zukertort Opening: Ross Gambit is played more than twice as often as in 2016: 0.081% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.039%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.039% | 14,091 |
| 2017 | 0.038% | 21,015 |
| 2018 | 0.042% | 32,987 |
| 2019 | 0.051% | 63,358 |
| 2020 | 0.06% | 176,883 |
| 2021 | 0.074% | 290,391 |
| 2022 | 0.081% | 303,209 |
| 2023 | 0.079% | 298,602 |
| 2024 | 0.079% | 283,569 |
| 2025 | 0.081% | 280,414 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.08% | 87,932 |
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)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Zukertort Opening: Ross Gambit (A04)”. Lichess data as of 5 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/zukertort-opening-ross-gambit