Zukertort Opening (1. Nf3 Nf6)
1. Nf3 Nf6
The Zukertort Opening is a chess opening classified as ECO A05, reached after 1. Nf3 Nf6. White is to move. 10 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 57,686 times by this move order. White won 49%, 6% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 2. d4 (28% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.18 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 2. c4 e6 3. d4 d5 4. Nc3 Be7)
- ECO
- A05
- Moves
- 2 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pppppppp/5n2/8/8/5N2/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 2 2- PGN
1. Nf3 Nf6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 10,019 | |
| 1500-1999 | 22,914 | |
| 2000+ | 24,753 | |
| All | 57,686 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2. d4 | 16,066 (28%) | |
| 2. g3 | 15,958 (28%) | |
| 2. c4 | 11,678 (20%) | |
| 2. Nc3 | 3,846 (7%) | |
| 2. b3 Nimzo-Larsen Variation | 2,859 (5%) | |
| 2. d3 | 2,432 (4%) | |
| 2. e3 Quiet System | 2,334 (4%) | |
| 2. e4 Lemberger Gambit | 1,077 (2%) |
Master games
91,377 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 45%, draw 26%, Black 29%). The strongest:
- LCZero v0.24-sv-t60-3010 (3958) – ScorpioNN 3.0.7.1 (3812) 1-0 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-04-07
- ScorpioNN 3.0.7.1 (3812) – LCZero v0.24-sv-t60-3010 (3958) 0-1 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-04-03
- Fire 021819 (3752) – Stockfish 202003092246 (3936) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-24
- Stockfish 202003092246 (3936) – Fire 021819 (3752) 1-0 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-21
- ScorpioNN 3.0.7.1 (3812) – Houdini 6.03 (3854) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2020-03-30
Search all games of the Zukertort Opening and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- KnightCheckShadow (2993) – Drogono (2847) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- IM Kostik_Mostik (2902) – Nana_jede_cevape (2898) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- FM Guary1 (2800) – GM gmbrewchess (2964) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Zukertort Opening (1. Nf3) 1. Nf3
Continuations
- Zukertort Opening: Lemberger Gambit A05 · 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. e4
- Zukertort Opening: Nimzo-Larsen Variation A05 · 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. b3
- Zukertort Opening: Quiet System A05 · 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. e3
- King's Indian Attack (2. g3 d5) A05 · 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5
- King's Indian Attack: Spassky Variation A05 · 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 b5
- King's Indian Attack: Symmetrical Defense A05 · 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 g6
- Zukertort Opening (2. Nc3 Nc6) A05 · 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. Nc3 Nc6
- Polish Opening: Zukertort System A05 · 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. b4 g6 3. Bb2
- Zukertort Opening: Myers Polish Attack A05 · 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. a4 g6 3. b4
- Réti Opening: Anglo-Slav Variation, New York System (4. Bb2 Bf5) A12 · 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. b3 d5 4. Bb2 Bf5
More Zukertort Opening lines (all)
- Zukertort Opening: Arctic Defense A04
- Zukertort Opening: Arctic Defense, Drunken Knight Variation A04
- Zukertort Opening: Basman Defense A04
- Zukertort Opening: Black Mustang Defense A04
- Zukertort Opening: Drunken Cavalry Variation A04
- Zukertort Opening: Dutch Variation A04
- Zukertort Opening: Herrstrom Gambit A04
- Zukertort Opening: Kingside Fianchetto A04
- Zukertort Opening: Lisitsyn Gambit A04
- Zukertort Opening: Lisitsyn Gambit Deferred A04
- Zukertort Opening: Pirc Invitation A04
- Zukertort Opening: Polish Defense A04
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.