Zukertort Opening: St. George Defense
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Statistics from Lichess
187,722 games: White 52.3% / Draw 5.0% / Black 42.7%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 54,88355K | ||
| 47,70348K | ||
| 29,12229K | ||
| 23,16923K | ||
| 8,4508,450 | ||
| 6,5766,576 | ||
| 6,1966,196 | ||
| 5,5415,541 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 27, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.60 White is slightly better
Best play: 2. e4 c5 3. c4 Nc6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 e5 6. Nf5 Nf6
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 45% under 1400, 46% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 80K | |
| 1400–1799 | 128K | |
| 1800–2199 | 98K | |
| 2200 and up | 26K | |
| Masters, over the board | 24 |
Master games
- Keymer, V. – Erigaisi, A.
- Pantsulaia, L. – Fedoseev, V.
- Mendonca, L. L. – Bernadskiy, V.
- Wen Yang – Tabatabaei, M.
- Teske, H. – Bellon Lopez, J. 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 27, 2026
Overview
Zukertort Opening: St. George Defense (ECO A04, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Zukertort Opening, reached after 1. Nf3 a6 (1 move).
In 187,722 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.3%, Black 42.7% and 5.0% were drawn. White's most played move here is 2. d4, in 29% of those games.
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: St. George Defense
2. g3 scores best for White: 56.1%, with White winning 53.4% and Black 41.2% of 48K games. The most played, 2. d4, scores 54.3% in 55K games, and 2. e4 scores lowest: 54.0%. Stockfish's first choice is 2. e4.
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: St. George Defense has gained ground since 2016: 0.0081% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.0067%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0067% | 2,403 |
| 2017 | 0.0072% | 3,971 |
| 2018 | 0.0073% | 5,756 |
| 2019 | 0.0081% | 10,080 |
| 2020 | 0.0064% | 18,826 |
| 2021 | 0.0063% | 24,685 |
| 2022 | 0.0066% | 24,870 |
| 2023 | 0.0073% | 27,279 |
| 2024 | 0.0081% | 29,137 |
| 2025 | 0.0081% | 28,270 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0084% | 9,170 |
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Zukertort Opening: St. George Defense (A04)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/zukertort-opening-st-george-defense