Zukertort Opening
Chess opening · ECO A04 · 1 half-move
1. Nf3
The Zukertort Opening is reached after 1. Nf3. It is Black's move in the position shown.
How often it is played
The Zukertort Opening and its variations appeared in 2.6% of games — 78,202 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 15 of the openings listed here.
Results
White won 51%, 4.1% 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 +0.33 — 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 |
|---|---|---|
| King's Pawn Game | 1. e4 | 59% |
| Queen's Pawn Game | 1. d4 | 26% |
| English Opening | 1. c4 | 3.0% |
Main continuations
| Variation | Moves | Share of games |
|---|---|---|
| King's Indian Attack | 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 | 0.32% |
| Zukertort Opening: Pirc Invitation | 1. Nf3 d6 | 0.21% |
| Zukertort Opening: Sicilian Invitation | 1. Nf3 c5 | 0.20% |
| Zukertort Opening: Queen's Gambit Invitation | 1. Nf3 e6 | 0.18% |
| Zukertort Opening: Kingside Fianchetto | 1. Nf3 g6 | 0.17% |
| Zukertort Opening: Slav Invitation | 1. Nf3 c6 | 0.14% |
| Zukertort Opening: Black Mustang Defense | 1. Nf3 Nc6 | 0.13% |
| Zukertort Opening: Ross Gambit | 1. Nf3 e5 | 0.12% |
Check your own games
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