4.2M games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
At all ratings, the Zukertort Opening: Queen's Gambit Invitation has a 46.3% expected score for Black (we're 90% confident it's between 46.2% and 46.3%), based on 4.2M Lichess games.
Deep-dive datasets for this opening
Declines with rating: 48% → 39%
Similar across time controls (~45%)
Click any cell to filter. Green = above 50%, Red = below 50%.
| 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
The Zukertort Opening: Queen's Gambit Invitation has a 51.7% (90% CI: 51.7%-51.8%) win rate for white, based on 4.2M rated games from Lichess.
The Zukertort Opening: Queen's Gambit Invitation performs best at 2500+ Elo with a 54.3% win rate for white (150K games). Win rate tends to decline at higher ratings as opponents know the theory better.
UltraBullet (52.5%) outperforms Classical (49.6%) by 2.9%. Choose your time control wisely.
The Zukertort Opening: Queen's Gambit Invitation has a sharpness score of 95.9 (very decisive), meaning 95.9% of games end decisively. Average game length is 36 moves.
At 0-999 Elo, the Zukertort Opening: Queen's Gambit Invitation has a 48.0% (90% CI: 47.8%-48.1%) win rate for white, based on 185K Lichess games. Average game length is 29 moves with a 4.2% draw rate.
At 1000-1199 Elo, the Zukertort Opening: Queen's Gambit Invitation has a 50.8% (90% CI: 50.6%-50.9%) win rate for white, based on 246K Lichess games. Average game length is 31 moves with a 3.5% draw rate.
At 1200-1399 Elo, the Zukertort Opening: Queen's Gambit Invitation has a 51.0% (90% CI: 50.9%-51.1%) win rate for white, based on 379K Lichess games. Average game length is 33 moves with a 3.3% draw rate.
At 1400-1599 Elo, the Zukertort Opening: Queen's Gambit Invitation has a 51.2% (90% CI: 51.1%-51.3%) win rate for white, based on 559K Lichess games. Average game length is 34 moves with a 3.3% draw rate.
At 1600-1799 Elo, the Zukertort Opening: Queen's Gambit Invitation has a 51.6% (90% CI: 51.5%-51.7%) win rate for white, based on 691K Lichess games. Average game length is 36 moves with a 3.6% draw rate.
At 1800-1999 Elo, the Zukertort Opening: Queen's Gambit Invitation has a 51.8% (90% CI: 51.7%-51.9%) win rate for white, based on 769K Lichess games. Average game length is 37 moves with a 4.0% draw rate.
At 2000-2199 Elo, the Zukertort Opening: Queen's Gambit Invitation has a 52.3% (90% CI: 52.2%-52.4%) win rate for white, based on 682K Lichess games. Average game length is 38 moves with a 4.5% draw rate.
At 2200-2499 Elo, the Zukertort Opening: Queen's Gambit Invitation has a 53.1% (90% CI: 53.0%-53.2%) win rate for white, based on 536K Lichess games. Average game length is 40 moves with a 5.1% draw rate.
At 2500+ Elo, the Zukertort Opening: Queen's Gambit Invitation has a 54.3% (90% CI: 54.0%-54.5%) win rate for white, based on 150K Lichess games. Average game length is 43 moves with a 6.6% draw rate.
In UltraBullet games, the Zukertort Opening: Queen's Gambit Invitation has a 52.5% (90% CI: 52.3%-52.7%) win rate for white (195K Lichess games). Draw rate is 2.4%.
In Bullet games, the Zukertort Opening: Queen's Gambit Invitation has a 52.3% (90% CI: 52.3%-52.4%) win rate for white (2.2M Lichess games). Draw rate is 3.5%.
In Blitz games, the Zukertort Opening: Queen's Gambit Invitation has a 51.0% (90% CI: 50.9%-51.0%) win rate for white (1.4M Lichess games). Draw rate is 4.8%.
In Rapid games, the Zukertort Opening: Queen's Gambit Invitation has a 50.7% (90% CI: 50.5%-50.8%) win rate for white (342K Lichess games). Draw rate is 5.2%.
In Classical games, the Zukertort Opening: Queen's Gambit Invitation has a 49.6% (90% CI: 48.9%-50.3%) win rate for white (15K Lichess games). Draw rate is 6.4%.
The Zukertort Opening: Queen's Gambit Invitation is statistically favors white with a 51.7% (90% CI: 51.7%-51.8%) win rate across all ratings. It performs best at 2500+ Elo. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.