--- title: "Zukertort Opening win rate" url: "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/zukertort-opening.md" canonical_url: "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/zukertort-opening" last_updated: "2026-11-07" type: "reference" summary: "White scored 51.5% in 30,254 Zukertort Opening games on Lichess, 1 September 2026. Results by rating band, time control and the most played lines." related: ["https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/under-1200.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1200-1599.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1600-1999.md", "https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/2000-plus.md", "https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md"] --- # Zukertort Opening win rate > **For AI agents:** the complete index of GeorgeLiChess pages is [llms.txt](https://georgelichess.com/llms.txt). Every page is also served as markdown at its URL plus .md. White scored 51.5% in 30,254 Zukertort Opening games on Lichess, 1 September 2026. Results by rating band, time control and the most played lines. White scored 51.5% (margin 0.6 points) in 30,254 rated games of the Zukertort Opening, ECO A04, played between players within 100 rating points on 1 September 2026. It ranked number 17 of 117 openings by popularity and made up 1.9% of all games. ## How often does White win in the Zukertort Opening? White won 49.4% of the 30,254 games, 4.3% were drawn and Black won 46.3%. White's score of 51.5% is no clear difference from White's score across all openings (51.9%): the gap of 0.3 points is inside the margin of 0.6 points. **Results of 30,254 Zukertort Opening games, 1 September 2026.** | Result | Games | Share | | --- | --- | --- | | White wins | 14,935 | 49.4% | | Draws | 1,316 | 4.3% | | Black wins | 14,003 | 46.3% | ## Does the Zukertort Opening score differently at different ratings? White's score is highest at 2000 and above (53.9%) and lowest at under 1200 (50.1%). That spread of 3.8 points is larger than the two margins added together, so the score does differ between these rating bands. Players rated 2000 and above choose the Zukertort Opening most often relative to their other openings, in 2.5 percent of their games. **White's score in the Zukertort Opening by the lower rating of the two players, 1 September 2026.** | Rating band | Games | Share of the band | White score | Margin (points) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | under 1200 | 5,902 | 2.2% | 50.1% | 1.2 | | 1200 to 1599 | 9,820 | 1.7% | 51.0% | 1.0 | | 1600 to 1999 | 10,660 | 1.8% | 52.0% | 0.9 | | 2000 and above | 3,872 | 2.5% | 53.9% | 1.5 | ## How does the Zukertort Opening do in blitz, rapid and classical? The time control changes who tends to win, because the clock matters more in faster games. Rows with fewer than 1,500 games are left out. **White's score in the Zukertort Opening by time control, 1 September 2026.** | Time control | Games | White score | Margin (points) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Blitz | 23,445 | 51.7% | 0.6 | | Rapid | 6,635 | 51.1% | 1.2 | ## What are the most played lines of the Zukertort Opening? The most played named line is the Tennison Gambit, with 7,311 games and a White score of 50.0%. The table lists the ten most played lines that reached 300 games; a line below that is counted in the last row. **Named lines of the Zukertort Opening, most played first, 1 September 2026.** | Line | Games | White score | Margin (points) | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Tennison Gambit | 7,311 | 50.0% | 1.1 | | Sicilian Invitation | 2,145 | 49.6% | 2.1 | | Black Mustang Defense | 2,125 | 51.7% | 2.1 | | Queen's Gambit Invitation | 1,984 | 52.2% | 2.1 | | Pirc Invitation | 1,784 | 50.2% | 2.3 | | Kingside Fianchetto | 1,699 | 50.6% | 2.3 | | Slav Invitation | 1,468 | 52.0% | 2.5 | | Ross Gambit | 1,234 | 59.2% | 2.7 | | Queenside Fianchetto Variation | 1,146 | 53.6% | 2.8 | | Old Indian Attack | 1,131 | 53.1% | 2.8 | | Main line and less played lines | 4,086 | 51.4% | 1.5 | ## How were these opening statistics measured? Rated Blitz, Rapid and Classical games on 1 September 2026 between players within 100 rating points, banded by the lower rating. A score is wins plus half the draws, with a 95 percent margin. The hub page explains the method in full. ## Frequently asked questions **What is the win rate of the Zukertort Opening?** White won 49.4%, drew 4.3% and lost 46.3% of 30,254 games, a White score of 51.5% with a margin of 0.6 points. These are games on Lichess on 1 September 2026. **Is the Zukertort Opening good for White?** At these ratings White's score was no clear difference from White's score across all openings (51.9%): the gap of 0.3 points is inside the margin of 0.6 points. A difference of a point or two is small, and the side that picks an opening also picks which games reach it, so the number describes what happened at these ratings and is not a ruling on the opening. **What is the most popular line of the Zukertort Opening?** The Tennison Gambit was the most played named line, with 7,311 games, which is 24.2% of the Zukertort Opening games. ## Sources - [Lichess open database, standard rated games (CC0), file for September 2026](https://database.lichess.org/), read 2026-10-22 ## Related - [Indian Defense win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/indian-defense.md) - [Petrov's Defense win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/petrovs-defense.md) - [Modern Defense win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/modern-defense.md) - [Four Knights Game win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/four-knights-game.md) - [Pirc Defense win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/pirc-defense.md) - [Vienna Game win rate and statistics](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/vienna-game.md) - [Chess opening statistics for players rated under 1200](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/under-1200.md) - [Chess opening statistics for players rated 1200 to 1599](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1200-1599.md) - [Chess opening statistics for players rated 1600 to 1999](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1600-1999.md) - [Chess opening statistics for players rated 2000 and above](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/2000-plus.md) - [Most popular chess openings and win rates](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics.md) - [Chess terms glossary](https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md) - [Book your first lesson](https://georgelichess.com/book/first-lesson.md) Last updated 2026-10-22. ## Related - [Most popular chess openings and win rates](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics.md) - [Chess openings by rating: under 1200](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/under-1200.md) - [Chess openings by rating: 1200 to 1599](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1200-1599.md) - [Chess openings by rating: 1600 to 1999](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/1600-1999.md) - [Chess openings by rating: 2000 and above](https://georgelichess.com/chess-opening-statistics/2000-plus.md) - [Chess terms glossary: plain definitions](https://georgelichess.com/glossary.md)