Zukertort Opening: Queenside Fianchetto Variation
1. Nf3 b6
The Zukertort Opening: Queenside Fianchetto Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A04, reached after 1. Nf3 b6. It is a line of the Zukertort Opening. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 9,400 times by this move order. White won 52%, 4% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 2. d4 (28% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.51 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 2. e4 Bb7 3. Nc3 e6 4. d4 Bb4)
- ECO
- A04
- Moves
- 2 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/p1pppppp/1p6/8/8/5N2/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 0 2- PGN
1. Nf3 b6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 2,811 | |
| 1500-1999 | 4,943 | |
| 2000+ | 1,646 | |
| All | 9,400 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2. d4 | 2,639 (28%) | |
| 2. g3 | 2,438 (26%) | |
| 2. e4 | 1,661 (18%) | |
| 2. c4 | 826 (9%) | |
| 2. Nc3 | 523 (6%) | |
| 2. d3 | 383 (4%) | |
| 2. e3 | 354 (4%) | |
| 2. b3 | 297 (3%) |
Master games
2,643 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 18%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- GM Liren Ding (2811) – GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2776) 1/2-1/2 · chess.com Speed 2019 · 2019-11-18
- GM Teimour Radjabov (2792) – GM Vasyl Ivanchuk (2771) 1/2-1/2 · 28th European Club Cup · 2012-10-11
- GM Quang Liem Le (2731) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2829) 0-1 · Titled Tue 21st Nov Late · 2023-11-21
- GM Pavel Eljanov (2734) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2827) 0-1 · chess.com IoM Masters · 2017-09-28
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2770) – GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2769) 1-0 · chess.com SpeedChess 2024 · 2024-07-26
Search all games of the Zukertort Opening: Queenside Fianchetto Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Yoisaki_o (2729) – GM arturchix (2825) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- IM rhinoceros2015 (2700) – IM Emma-Chess (2762) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- NNChessBR (2758) – GM FCChelsea14 (2645) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Zukertort Opening (1. Nf3) 1. Nf3
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.