Zukertort Opening: Sicilian Invitation

1. Nf3 c5

Zukertort Opening: Sicilian Invitation after 1. Nf3 c5 87654321abcdefgh

The Zukertort Opening: Sicilian Invitation is a chess opening classified as ECO A04, reached after 1. Nf3 c5. It is a line of the Zukertort Opening. White is to move. 4 named lines continue from this position.

In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 33,618 times by this move order. White won 49%, 6% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 2. g3 (25% of games).

Engine evaluation: +0.25 (Stockfish, depth 62; best line 2. c4 Nc6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. g3 e6)

ECO
A04
Moves
2 plies
FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp1ppppp/8/2p5/8/5N2/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 0 2
PGN
1. Nf3 c5

Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess

Results by rating

Average ratingGamesWhite / draw / Black
0-14996,51849%48%
1500-199916,98649%46%
2000+10,11450%43%
All33,61849%45%

Most played moves

MoveGamesWhite / draw / Black
2. g38,286 (25%)52%43%
2. c47,054 (21%)51%43%
2. e45,527 (16%)47%48%
2. d44,446 (13%)47%48%
2. e32,255 (7%)51%43%
2. b31,629 (5%)50%44%
2. d31,342 (4%)48%48%
2. c31,305 (4%)49%46%

Master games

34,840 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 41%, draw 25%, Black 34%). The strongest:

Search all games of the Zukertort Opening: Sicilian Invitation and its sub-variations

Highest-rated Lichess games

Comes from

Zukertort Opening (1. Nf3) 1. Nf3

Continuations

More Zukertort Opening 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.