Zukertort Defense: Sicilian Knight Variation
1. Nf3 Na6 2. e4 c5
The Zukertort Defense: Sicilian Knight Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A04, reached after 1. Nf3 Na6 2. e4 c5. It is a line of the Zukertort Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2 times by this move order. White won 50%, 0% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 3. c3 (50% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.06 (Stockfish, depth 32; best line 3. Nc3 Nb4 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 d6)
- ECO
- A04
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pp1ppppp/n7/2p5/4P3/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. Nf3 Na6 2. e4 c5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 1 | |
| All | 2 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. c3 | 1 (50%) | |
| 3. Bc4 | 1 (50%) |
Highest-rated Lichess games
- NimzoStrikesAgain (2615) – IM HelloItsDmitri (2593) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- Ishanish (1500) – vrunrana (1500) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 1500 + 0s
Comes from
Zukertort Opening (1. Nf3) 1. Nf3
More Zukertort Defense lines (all)
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.