Zukertort Opening
39 variations · 53M games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
White expected score · Overall
51.7%
the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. Its best is the same figure — the band is too tight to plot.
Measured over 53M games at this level and clock.
Roughly even — the middlegame decides more than this opening choice does.
Outcomes for White
Draw 3.9 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 53M games
- Rank among the families White can choose here
- #28 of 56
- Games in this context
- 53M
- Best context
- 59.0% at 2500+ UltraBullet
- Worst context
- 45.1% at 0-999 Classical
- Variations measured
- 39
- Average game length
- 34 moves
Best and worst are the strongest and weakest squares with at least 500 games behind them. The table further down shows every square, including thinner ones.
What to play from here
White · OverallThese are the moves players actually choose from here, ranked by how they score. A higher score is a better bet on the numbers alone — familiarity and playstyle still matter.
Where it holds · White score by rating × clock
Green is clearly ahead for White, grey is around even, red is behind. Tap a cell to measure there, and again to clear. It gets better as the rating rises: 47.8% at 0-999, 56.8% at 2500+.
| Rating | UB | Bulle | Blitz | Rapid | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-999 | |||||
| 1000-1199 | |||||
| 1200-1399 | |||||
| 1400-1599 | |||||
| 1600-1799 | |||||
| 1800-1999 | |||||
| 2000-2199 | |||||
| 2200-2499 | |||||
| 2500+ |
Expected score matrix by rating bracket and time control
- 0-999 rating, UltraBullet: 47.2% expected score (13,497 games)
- 0-999 rating, Bullet: 49.2% expected score (904,565 games)
- 0-999 rating, Blitz: 48.9% expected score (1,405,767 games)
- 0-999 rating, Rapid: 48.4% expected score (635,501 games)
- 0-999 rating, Classical: 45.1% expected score (6,502 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, UltraBullet: 49.5% expected score (43,533 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Bullet: 50.7% expected score (1,472,345 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Blitz: 50.7% expected score (1,825,953 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Rapid: 50.8% expected score (630,015 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Classical: 48.6% expected score (16,911 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, UltraBullet: 49.0% expected score (100,735 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Bullet: 50.8% expected score (2,294,558 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Blitz: 50.9% expected score (2,512,702 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 51.1% expected score (777,609 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Classical: 50.0% expected score (31,023 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, UltraBullet: 50.3% expected score (233,103 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Bullet: 50.7% expected score (3,293,172 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Blitz: 51.0% expected score (3,308,390 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 51.0% expected score (896,726 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Classical: 49.0% expected score (51,456 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, UltraBullet: 52.0% expected score (353,574 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Bullet: 51.1% expected score (3,952,065 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Blitz: 51.3% expected score (3,797,604 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 51.9% expected score (850,414 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Classical: 52.5% expected score (46,186 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, UltraBullet: 53.6% expected score (338,622 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 51.4% expected score (4,601,837 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 51.9% expected score (3,544,753 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 52.5% expected score (642,775 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Classical: 53.9% expected score (25,253 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, UltraBullet: 54.9% expected score (157,230 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 52.1% expected score (4,359,234 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 53.2% expected score (2,485,863 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 54.1% expected score (286,924 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Classical: 58.0% expected score (7,913 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, UltraBullet: 56.2% expected score (65,008 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 53.2% expected score (4,200,643 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 54.9% expected score (1,214,381 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 57.3% expected score (89,607 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Classical: 55.9% expected score (1,730 games)
- 2500+ rating, UltraBullet: 59.0% expected score (9,643 games)
- 2500+ rating, Bullet: 55.1% expected score (1,648,310 games)
- 2500+ rating, Blitz: 57.5% expected score (151,493 games)
- 2500+ rating, Rapid: 57.9% expected score (5,016 games)
- 2500+ rating, Classical: 54.6% expected score (295 games)
39 variations · ranked by floor
Floor — the worst score you would still get, 90% confident.
Methodology
Across every rating and clock, the Zukertort Opening family scores 51.7% for White — we are 90% confident it is 51.7% — from 53M Lichess games across 39 variations. Win rate, draw rate and loss rate come from games played December 2023 to November 2025.
How the figures are made
- Whose games these are
- 53M+ rated games played on Lichess (2023-12 to 2025-11). The games are Lichess’s and free for anyone to use. What is ours is the reading of them. Last rebuilt January 2026.
- Which games we count
- Rated games only — nothing casual.
- Both players within 200 rating points of each other. A mismatch tells you about the gap, not about the opening.
- At least 2 moves played.
- A game is filed under White’s rating.
- Why every number comes with a range
- A number off a few hundred games is a guess. The same number off millions is a fact. The range is what tells them apart, and it is what the lists rank on — so an opening cannot reach the top on a lucky run of forty games. The more games behind a figure, the narrower its range.
- How much we need before we say anything
- An opening page needs 100 games. A gambit needs 50 games at a rating before we will say whether it pays there. The chaos and trap lists need 500 games overall and 250 games at one rating or clock.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Zukertort Opening win rate?
Across the Zukertort Opening's 39 variations, White wins 49.7%, draws 3.9% and loses 46.4%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 51.7%. It rests on 53M rated games from Lichess.
How many Zukertort Opening variations are there?
39 Zukertort Opening variations have a page of their own, each broken down by rating and by clock.
At what rating does the Zukertort Opening perform best?
The Zukertort Opening family performs best for White at 2500+, with an Expected Score of 55.3% (1.8M games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read. Performance may vary by specific variation.
Is the Zukertort Opening better in blitz or rapid?
For White, the Zukertort Opening scores about the same in both: an Expected Score of 51.6% in Blitz (20M games) against 51.3% in Rapid (4.8M games).
How sharp is the Zukertort Opening?
Zukertort Opening games are 96.1% decisive (non-draws), with an average length of 34 moves. Sharpness varies by specific variation.
Is the Zukertort Opening a good opening family?
The Zukertort Opening family is about level overall. Across its games, White wins 49.7% and loses 46.4%. Results differ between its 39 variations, so open the one you play for its own figures.