Zukertort Opening (2. Nc3 Nc6)
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. Nc3 Nc6
The Zukertort Opening is a chess opening classified as ECO A05, reached after 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. Nc3 Nc6. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 957 times by this move order. White won 51%, 6% were drawn and Black won 43%. The most popular continuation is 3. e4 (48% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.22 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 3. d4 d5 4. Bf4 Bf5 5. e3 e6)
- ECO
- A05
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
r1bqkb1r/pppppppp/2n2n2/8/8/2N2N2/PPPPPPPP/R1BQKB1R w KQkq - 4 3- PGN
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. Nc3 Nc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 647 | |
| 1500-1999 | 286 | |
| 2000+ | 24 | |
| All | 957 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. e4 | 457 (48%) | |
| 3. d4 | 282 (29%) | |
| 3. d3 | 64 (7%) | |
| 3. e3 | 63 (7%) | |
| 3. g3 | 38 (4%) | |
| 3. b3 | 13 (1%) | |
| 3. h3 | 10 (1%) | |
| 3. a3 | 6 (1%) |
Master games
15 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 53%, draw 20%, Black 27%). The strongest:
- GM Arman Mikaelyan (2492) – FM Oliver Wartiovaara (2323) 0-1 · Titled Tue 6th May Late · 2025-05-06
- FM Ali Alper Celik (2277) – CM Podeneshko, E. (2135) 1-0 · Titled Tue 6th Jan 2026 · 2026-01-06
- WFM Irena Hertlein (1982) – FM Bartlomiej Rog (2277) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 7th Jan Early · 2025-01-07
- FM Maher Ayyad (1980) – Jaza Bakir Dyar (1927) 1/2-1/2 · Zonal 3.1 2025 · 2025-04-15
- Ib Skovgaard (2019) – Sigurd Kjelsbol Huse (1675) 1-0 · Politiken Cup 2014 · 2014-07-24
Search all games of the Zukertort Opening and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- CM JAIME_SONHO01 (2511) – bramami (2120) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 300 + 0s
- FM HenriqueRey (2348) – Kurosama35 (2256) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
- Veryweakplayer2024 (2361) – Belant1976 (2211) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Zukertort Opening (1. Nf3 Nf6) 1. Nf3 Nf6
More Zukertort Opening lines (all)
- Zukertort Opening (1. Nf3) A04
- 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
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.