Zukertort Opening: Ampel Variation
1. Nf3 d5 2. Rg1
The Zukertort Opening: Ampel Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A06, reached after 1. Nf3 d5 2. Rg1. It is a line of the Zukertort Opening. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 8 times by this move order. White won 13%, -1% were drawn and Black won 88%. The most popular continuation is 2… Nf6 (38% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.90 (Stockfish, depth 38; best line 2… c5 3. c3 g6 4. d4 Nf6 5. Bf4)
- ECO
- A06
- Moves
- 3 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/ppp1pppp/8/3p4/8/5N2/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBR1 b Qkq - 1 2- PGN
1. Nf3 d5 2. Rg1
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 3 | |
| 2000+ | 5 | |
| All | 8 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2… Nf6 | 3 (38%) | |
| 2… c5 | 2 (25%) | |
| 2… Bf5 | 1 (13%) | |
| 2… Nc6 | 1 (13%) | |
| 2… Bg4 | 1 (13%) |
Master games
13 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 31%, draw 15%, Black 54%). The strongest:
- GM Chithambaram VR. Aravindh (2605) – GM Andrey Rychagov (2545) 1-0 · World Blitz 2019 · 2019-12-29
- GM Chithambaram VR. Aravindh (2662) – IM Piotr Piesik (2426) 0-1 · Titled Tue 6th Feb Early · 2024-02-06
- GM David Gavrilescu (2523) – FM Khagan Ahmad (2318) 0-1 · Titled Tue 30th Jan Early · 2024-01-30
- IM Nisha Mohota (2195) – IM Nataliya Buksa (2410) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 1st Sept · 2020-09-01
- FM Oliver Stork (2351) – FM Simon Degenhard (2168) 0-1 · 33rd Staufer-Open 2023 · 2023-01-06
Search all games of the Zukertort Opening: Ampel Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- sack11 (2450) – Kirusha2005 (2414) 0-1 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Ropocola (2178) – Punito4444 (2161) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 1s
- SPIRIT001 (2092) – KingKongYeah (2062) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Zukertort Opening (1. Nf3 d5) 1. Nf3 d5
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.