Chess Opening Theory/1. Nf3

Zukertort Opening
a b c d e f g h 8 8 7 7 6 6 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1 a b c d e f g h
Position in Forsyth-Edwards Notation (FEN) rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/5N2/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKB1R b
Moves: 1. Nf3
ECO code: A04-A09
Parent: Starting position

1. Nf3 · Zukertort Opening

1. Nf3, the Zukertort opening, is the 3rd most popular initial move. It's a sophisticated way of stalling for time. White reckons that Nf3 will almost certainly be a useful move sooner or later, whereas every pawn move is an irrevocable commitment. 1. Nf3 has the benefit of preventing Black's 1...e5 reply, which is a move that Black likes to play for all the same reasons that White likes to play 1. e4. White's options are kept flexible since White could intend to play the Réti Opening or the King's Indian Attack, although it can easily transpose into something else, including the Sicilian Defence. Other reasons for playing 1. Nf3 go something along the lines of:

White hates playing against Variation X, but doesn't mind Variation Y.

White plays 1. Nf3 as a request for information. If Black attempts to transpose into Variation X, which White hates, White will refuse to allow it and play an independent line instead.

If Black attempts to transpose into Variation Y, White will go along with that.

As an example, a player who hates facing the Queen's Gambit Declined (QGD) but doesn't mind the Dutch Defence might play 1. Nf3. If it is answered with 1...f5, then they will play 2. d4 transposing into the Dutch. But, if 1...d5 appears instead, then they will go for a King's Indian Attack with 2. g3. A player whose preferences were the other way around might answer 1...d5 with 2. d4 (allowing a QGD) but 1...f5 with 2. e4!?, the Lisitsin Gambit (not allowing the Dutch.)

One general point though: Because 1. Nf3 prevents 1...e5, it has more in common with 1. d4 openings (and some 1. c4 openings) than with those following 1. e4. It is also a popular way for White to set up a King's Indian formation.

Black can play almost anything comfortably at this point, and the following options are merely some of the more common replies.

Statistics

Approximate chances

White win 37%, Draw 36%, Black win 27%

Estimated next move popularity

Nf6 41%, d5 28%, c5 11%, g6 6%, e6 3%, d6 3%, f5 3%. Other moves less than 2%.

move	average	365Chess.com (big)	Chess Tempo (all)	chessgames.com	Lichess (masters)	Lichess (database)
...Nf6	41.1%	45.4	45.8	47.4	47.1	19.7
...d5	27.9	27.2	28.1	28.2	28.1	27.8
...c5	11.3	11.5	11.2	11.4	11.9	10.2
...g6	5.5	5.5	5.1	5.0	5.0	6.7
...e6	3.3	2.1	2.0	1.7	1.5	9.1
...d6	3.2	2.9	2.7	2.2	2.5	5.9
...f5	2.6	3.1	2.9	2.7	2.5	1.6
...Nc6	1.7	1.4	1.1	0.6	0.6	4.9
everything else	3.5	1.0	1.1	0.7	0.8	14.0

Theory table

1. Nf3

	1	2	3	4	5	6
	Nf3 d5	g3 Nf6	Bg2 c6	O-O Bg4	d3 Nbd7	Nbd2 e5	=
	... Nf6	d4	See	1. d4	Nf6	2. Nf3
	... c5	g3 Nc6	Bg2 g6
	... g6	e4
	... d6	d4 Bg4	=
	... f5	e4 fxe4	Ng5 Nf6	=

All possible Black's moves

Quick Navigation

Na6 a6 a5

b6 b5

Nc6 c6 c5

d6 d5

e6 e5

Nf6 f6 f5

g6 g5

Nh6 h6 h5

References

• Nunn's Chess Openings. 1999. John Nunn (Editor), Graham Burgess, John Emms, Joe Gallagher. ISBN 1-8574-4221-0.

• Modern Chess Openings: MCO-14. 1999. Nick de Firmian, Walter Korn. ISBN 0-8129-3084-3.

• Kasparov, Garry, & Keene, Raymond 1989 Batsford chess openings 2. ISBN 0-8050-3409-9.

For explanation of theory tables, see theory table and for notation, see algebraic notation.