Zukertort Opening: Wade Defense
1. Nf3 d6 2. e4 Bg4
The Zukertort Opening: Wade Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO A04, reached after 1. Nf3 d6 2. e4 Bg4. 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 152 times by this move order. White won 49%, 6% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 3. Be2 (30% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.86 (Stockfish, depth 36; best line 3. d4 Nd7 4. Nc3 g6 5. Be3 Bg7)
- ECO
- A04
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
rn1qkbnr/ppp1pppp/3p4/8/4P1b1/5N2/PPPP1PPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 1 3- PGN
1. Nf3 d6 2. e4 Bg4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 92 | |
| 1500-1999 | 53 | |
| 2000+ | 7 | |
| All | 152 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. Be2 | 45 (30%) | |
| 3. d4 | 30 (20%) | |
| 3. h3 | 29 (19%) | |
| 3. Bc4 | 21 (14%) | |
| 3. Nc3 | 8 (5%) | |
| 3. Bb5+ | 4 (3%) | |
| 3. d3 | 4 (3%) | |
| 3. e5 | 2 (1%) |
Master games
22 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 50%, draw 27%, Black 23%). The strongest:
- GM Nikita Afanasiev (2569) – FM Vitaly Boiarintsev (2252) 1-0 · Chigorin Mem Blitz 2022 · 2022-10-21
- IM Alejo De Dovitiis (2333) – GM Andres Rodriguez Vila (2437) 0-1 · 45th Marcel Duchamp Open 2014 · 2014-04-14
- GM Axel Bachmann (2628) – Enrique Butti (2071) 1-0 · ch-PAR 2014 · 2014-12-14
- GM Anton Shomoev (2565) – WIM Mikee Charlene Suede (2085) 1-0 · PSC / Puregold Open 2015 · 2015-11-18
- Srdjan Dimitrijevic (2288) – IM Orlov, Pa. (2240) 1/2-1/2 · Belgrade Premier League · 2014-09-21
Search all games of the Zukertort Opening: Wade Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Greypiece (2279) – Efraim12 (2264) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- TheTonza (2138) – Dont-break-my-heart (2141) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 2s
- Mango-Tree (2195) – EYAD_9632 (2059) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Zukertort Opening: Pirc Invitation 1. Nf3 d6
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: 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.