Zukertort Opening: The Walrus
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Statistics from Lichess
203,111 games: White 52.4% / Draw 4.1% / Black 43.5%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 61,98062K | ||
| 53,66654K | ||
| 34,93935K | ||
| 15,06215K | ||
| 14,31314K | ||
| 9,6859,685 | ||
| 6,9026,902 | ||
| 4,6174,617 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+1.63 White is clearly better
Even so, Black scores 45.6% here in practice: wins plus half the draws in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500.
Best play: 4. d3 Be6 5. Nd2 Qd7 6. e4 O-O-O 7. Be2 Kb8 8. O-O h6
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 48% under 1400, 45% at 2200 and up (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 91K | |
| 1400–1799 | 154K | |
| 1800–2199 | 109K | |
| 2200 and up | 12K | |
| Masters, over the board | 1 |
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 27, 2026
Overview
Zukertort Opening: The Walrus (ECO A04, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Zukertort Opening: Ross Gambit, reached after 1. Nf3 e5 2. Nxe5 Nc6 3. Nxc6 dxc6 (3 moves).
In 203,111 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.4%, Black 43.5% and 4.1% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. d4, in 31% 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: The Walrus
The most played answer, 4. d4, also scores best for White: 57.3%, with White winning 55.1% and Black 40.5% of 62K games. Of the main answers, 4. e4 scores lowest: 51.2%. Stockfish's first choice is 4. d3.
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: The Walrus is played more than four times as often as in 2016: 0.0096% of Lichess games in 2025, up from 0.0021%.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0021% | 750 |
| 2017 | 0.0022% | 1,190 |
| 2018 | 0.0028% | 2,212 |
| 2019 | 0.0036% | 4,502 |
| 2020 | 0.0048% | 14,021 |
| 2021 | 0.0078% | 30,428 |
| 2022 | 0.0091% | 34,162 |
| 2023 | 0.0094% | 35,250 |
| 2024 | 0.0093% | 33,398 |
| 2025 | 0.0096% | 33,261 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.0099% | 10,824 |
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: The Walrus (A04)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/zukertort-opening-the-walrus