The Zukertort Opening begins 1.Nf3 (ECO A04). The knight develops to its natural square, covers the central points e5 and d4, and leaves White complete freedom in choosing a scheme.
Its chief virtue is versatility: the game transposes easily into the Reti, the Catalan, the Queen's Gambit, the English or the King's Indian Attack depending on Black's replies. An opening for players who work on an understanding of structures.
It is named after Johannes Zukertort. In essence it is a neutral first move that gives nothing away, and it is very convenient for a flexible White repertoire.
Set it up on the board, move the pieces around and copy the FEN - or open the full walkthrough of the opening in a separate article.
Drag a piece onto the board, or click a piece and then click the squares. The cross beside the pieces sweeps every piece of that colour off the board, and a single piece can be dragged off the edge.
The pieces will be arranged into the chosen pattern.
It is the mating side to move. Find mate in one.
Openings, endgame positions and breakthrough studies - the set-up appears on the board.
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