Zukertort Opening: The Walrus
1. Nf3 e5 2. Nxe5 Nc6 3. Nxc6 dxc6
The Zukertort Opening: The Walrus is a chess opening classified as ECO A04, reached after 1. Nf3 e5 2. Nxe5 Nc6 3. Nxc6 dxc6. 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 1,083 times by this move order. White won 52%, 3% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 4. d4 (27% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.61 (Stockfish, depth 40; best line 4. d3 Be6 5. Nd2 Qd7 6. e4 f5)
- ECO
- A04
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/ppp2ppp/2p5/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. Nf3 e5 2. Nxe5 Nc6 3. Nxc6 dxc6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 359 | |
| 1500-1999 | 581 | |
| 2000+ | 143 | |
| All | 1,083 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. d4 | 292 (27%) | |
| 4. g3 | 279 (26%) | |
| 4. e4 | 195 (18%) | |
| 4. Nc3 | 94 (9%) | |
| 4. e3 | 86 (8%) | |
| 4. d3 | 65 (6%) | |
| 4. b3 | 35 (3%) | |
| 4. c4 | 21 (2%) |
Master games
23 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 9%, Black 48%). The strongest:
- CM Vladimir Mikhailovsky (2215) – GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2743) 0-1 · 1st 3-0 Thu 6th Aug 2026 · 2026-08-06
- IM Nad-Titus Petre (2315) – GM Ivan Ivanisevic (2606) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Arena Mar 6th 2021 · 2021-03-06
- WIM Mobina Alinasab (2364) – FM Moritz Weishaeutel (2407) 0-1 · Titled Tue 28th Jun Early · 2022-06-28
- FM Diego Moreno Diepa (2225) – IM Eray Kilic (2496) 0-1 · 2nd 3-0 Thu 20th Aug 2026 · 2026-08-20
- FM Ruben Domingo Nunez (2369) – FM William Graif (2305) 1-0 · Titled Tue 13th Sep Late · 2022-09-13
Search all games of the Zukertort Opening: The Walrus and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Zohaib_Gillani (2516) – denlogrendehund (2549) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Phoenix67 (2526) – Fishuana (2423) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- shenzy7 (2443) – FSCC_1058 (2475) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Zukertort Opening: Ross Gambit 1. Nf3 e5
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.