Queen's Pawn Game: Zukertort Variation
Chess opening · ECO D02 · 3 half-moves
1. d4 d5 2. Nf3
The Queen's Pawn Game: Zukertort Variation is reached after 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3. It is Black's move in the position shown.
It branches from the Queen's Pawn Game with 1… d5 2. Nf3.
How often it is played
The Queen's Pawn Game: Zukertort Variation and its variations appeared in 2.3% of games — 69,940 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 18 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 51%, 4.4% were drawn and Black won 45%. These are games between players of every strength and time control, so they say how the opening does in practice rather than how sound it is.
What the engine thinks
Stockfish, at depth 18, evaluates the position at +0.28 — a small edge for White. Positive numbers favour White; see reading the evaluation bar.
Similar openings
The most-played alternatives — what else could have been chosen around the move where this opening begins.
| Opening | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| Indian Defense | 1. d4 Nf6 | 5.1% |
| Queen's Gambit | 1. d4 d5 2. c4 | 4.5% |
| Englund Gambit | 1. d4 e5 | 1.9% |
Main continuations
| Variation | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| Queen's Pawn Game: Symmetrical Variation | 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 | 1.2% |
| Queen's Pawn Game: London System, with e6 | 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 e6 3. Bf4 | 0.30% |
| Queen's Pawn Game: Krause Variation | 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 c5 | 0.11% |
| Queen's Gambit Declined: Baltic Defense, Pseudo-Slav | 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Bf5 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 c6 | 0.04% |
| Queen's Pawn Game: Levitsky Attack, Euwe Variation, Modern Line | 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 c6 3. Bg5 h6 4. Bh4 Qb6 | 0.00% |
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