Zukertort Opening: Ware Defense
1. Nf3 a5
The Zukertort Opening: Ware Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO A04, reached after 1. Nf3 a5. 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 458 times by this move order. White won 57%, 5% were drawn and Black won 38%. The most popular continuation is 2. d4 (26% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.92 (Stockfish, depth 44; best line 2. e4 e6 3. d4 d5 4. e5 c5)
- ECO
- A04
- Moves
- 2 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/1ppppppp/8/p7/8/5N2/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKB1R w KQkq - 0 2- PGN
1. Nf3 a5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 271 | |
| 1500-1999 | 152 | |
| 2000+ | 35 | |
| All | 458 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2. d4 | 121 (26%) | |
| 2. g3 | 87 (19%) | |
| 2. e4 | 83 (18%) | |
| 2. Nc3 | 35 (8%) | |
| 2. e3 | 25 (5%) | |
| 2. c4 | 25 (5%) | |
| 2. a4 | 19 (4%) | |
| 2. b3 | 15 (3%) |
Master games
35 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 37%, draw 3%, Black 60%). The strongest:
- GM Jorden Van Foreest (2714) – GM Hans Moke Niemann (2642) 1-0 · Chess.com Rapid Wk5 Swiss · 2022-03-12
- IM Meri Arabidze (2458) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2830) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 7th May Early · 2024-05-07
- FM Francisco Fiorito (2411) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2830) 0-1 · Titled Tue 7th May Early · 2024-05-07
- IM Hasan Huseyin Celik (2495) – GM Awonder Liang (2719) 0-1 · American Cup Blitz 2026 · 2026-03-02
- IM Garg Aradhya (2408) – GM Jan-Krzysztof Duda (2739) 0-1 · Titled Tue 3rd Mar 2026 · 2026-03-03
Search all games of the Zukertort Opening: Ware Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- pingshenmeyaoshiwang (2708) – Catinlove (2667) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- RisingKnight389 (2675) – Winquitter (2500) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- ajedrecistaPromedio (2472) – Dierforator (2528) 0-1 · 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.