# Week 33: the Zukertort opening for beginners, tested from 960 to 993

> Week 33 of my chess journey: 960 → 993 in 25 rapid games, 14 wins with a d4–Bf4 Zukertort setup, and an en passant capture I never saw coming.

- URL: https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2024-w34/
- Updated: 2026-10-22
- Author: Ignacio Soler

Week 33 took me from **960 to 993** in **25 rapid games** (14 wins, 10 losses, 1 draw), between August 19 and 24, 2024. Most of my games with White followed the same plan: 1.d4, 2.Bf4, 3.Nf3, which Chess.com labels "Zukertort Variation" or "Zukertort Chigorin". If you are looking at the Zukertort opening for beginners, this is what it looks like in real ten-minute games under 1000: the opening was the easy part, and 29 of my 40 blunders came after it.

## The week in numbers

| | |
|---|---|
| Games | 25 (#804–#828) |
| Wins / losses / draws | 14 / 10 / 1 |
| Rating | 960 → 993 (+33) |
| Average accuracy | 82.0 % |
| Blunders (my moves) | 40 (1.6 per game) |
| Most played openings | Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation (4), Giuoco Piano Game (3), Indian Game London System (2) |

My average accuracy was 82.0 %, one of my better weeks, but I still made 40 blunders, and 29 of them came in the middlegame. With White I went 9–5; with Black, 5–5 with one draw. The rating line was a slow climb with no streak longer than three wins or two losses, which felt healthier than the swings of the previous weeks.

There is one ugly number I want to be honest about. Of my 10 losses, Chess.com records **8 as "game abandoned"**: I left those games instead of resigning or playing on. In six of the ten losses the engine had given me an 80 % or better chance of winning at some point. Walking away from a game I could still have saved is a habit, not a chess problem, and it shows up in this diary again and again.

## The Zukertort opening for beginners: what my games actually show

I did not choose the Zukertort on purpose. I play 1.d4 and 2.Bf4 almost every game with White (13 of 14 this week), and the name Chess.com gives the game depends on what my opponent does. Against 1...d5 2...e6 it becomes the "Zukertort Variation"; against 2...Nc6 it becomes the "Zukertort Chigorin"; against other moves it can be "London System", "Indian Game" or "Horwitz Defense".

The six games with a Zukertort label ended three wins and three losses. My best game of the week was not one of them: it was [game 804](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108795550248) against Ma_ni_shh (934), a London System where I played at 96.7 % accuracy and finished with checkmate. The point for a beginner is simple: the setup is easy to repeat, but it does not play the middlegame for you. None of the three key moments below is about opening theory; they are tactical slips at moves 11, 12 and 14.

## Three moments the engine flagged

### 1. The en passant capture I forgot existed (game 805)

Against chessaddict1024 (972), I was slightly worse but fine. Black's queen sat on g5 and I wanted to chase it, so I pushed my h-pawn two squares.

> **Game 805, move 14: chasing the queen opened my own king's side**
> Position (FEN): `rnb1k1nr/p1p5/1p2p3/3p1pq1/3P2p1/1N1QP1P1/PPP4P/RN2KB1R w KQkq - 1 14`
> Played: h4 — h4 — pawn from h2 to h4, attacks the queen on g5
> Better: Qd2 — Qd2 — queen from d3 to d2, a quiet move

The move did attack the queen, but it walked right past Black's pawn on g4. En passant ("in passing") is the rule that lets a pawn capture an enemy pawn that has just jumped two squares beside it, as if it had moved only one. The engine's top reply is exactly that capture, gxh3, and its verdict changes from "slightly better for black" to "black is winning". In the [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108795817166) it went 14...gxh3 15.Rxh3 Rxh3 16.Bxh3 Qxg3+, and the evaluation went from -0.78 to around -7.7. The quiet Qd2 kept things at roughly -0.7. One move, one rule I had stopped thinking about.

### 2. Taking the bishop with check waiting for me (game 806)

With Black against sashioruganti08 (992) I was clearly better (-2.18). White's bishop had just landed on c6, attacking along the diagonal, and I took it with the pawn.

> **Game 806, move 12: the recapture opened a check on my king**
> Position (FEN): `r3k2r/ppp1qp1p/1bBp3p/3Qp3/4P3/2P2b2/PP3PPP/RN3RK1 b kq - 0 12`
> Played: bxc6 — bxc6 — pawn takes the bishop on c6 and attacks the queen
> Better: Kf8 — Kf8 — king from e8 to f8, out of the diagonal first

Taking a piece back feels automatic. But after 12...bxc6, White's queen took on c6 with check, and position.py describes that reply as a double attack: check on my king and an attack on my rook in the corner, which had no defender. That is what happened in the [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108798983342): 13.Qxc6+ Qd7 14.Qxa8+. The engine preferred to step the king to f8 first; its line still takes the bishop a move later and stays "clearly better for black".

### 3. Grabbing the pawn instead of trading knights (game 807)

Against shanumnx (939) I was clearly better with White (+1.97) and took a central pawn with my queen.

> **Game 807, move 11: the queen grabbed a pawn and gave the advantage back**
> Position (FEN): `r2q1rk1/ppp2ppp/3b4/3p4/3Pn1b1/1QP1PN2/PP1N1PPP/R3KB1R w KQ - 3 11`
> Played: Qxd5 — Qxd5 — queen takes the pawn on d5, attacking several pieces at once
> Better: Nxe4 — Nxe4 — knight takes the knight on e4, attacking the bishop on d6

Qxd5 looks greedy in a good way: position.py lists attacks on the knight, the bishop and the b7 pawn. But the engine's best answer for Black is Nxf2, a knight capture next to my king that "can be captured, but the line shows why it still works", and the score drops to about equal (+0.21). The simple trade Nxe4 kept "clearly better for white". I did win the [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108813888784), but only on time, with about 3 seconds on my own clock, after 10 blunders and 61.5 % accuracy. That single game holds a quarter of my blunders for the week.

## The lesson of the week

All three moments share one pattern: I made a move that *attacked* something and never asked what the move *allowed*. A two-square pawn push can be captured en passant. A recapture can open a diagonal to your own king. A queen that grabs a pawn leaves squares behind it. The habit I need is boring: before every capture or attack, spend five seconds on my opponent's checks and captures in the new position. The opening setup took care of itself this week; the blunder check did not.

## All games this week

| Game # | Date | Colour | Opponent (rating) | Result | Opening | Accuracy | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 804 | Aug 19 | White | Ma_ni_shh (934) | Win | Indian Game London System | 96.7 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108795550248) |
| 805 | Aug 19 | White | chessaddict1024 (972) | Loss | Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation | 82.9 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108795817166) |
| 806 | Aug 19 | Black | sashioruganti08 (992) | Loss | Giuoco Piano Game | 85.1 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108798983342) |
| 807 | Aug 20 | White | shanumnx (939) | Win | Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 61.5 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108813888784) |
| 808 | Aug 20 | White | huiloputinnn (990) | Loss | Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation | 55.2 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108814472496) |
| 809 | Aug 21 | Black | Carloscarache (966) | Win | Giuoco Piano Game Giuoco Pianissimo Variation | 88.3 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108831347438) |
| 810 | Aug 21 | Black | Tracki2005 (953) | Win | Scotch Game | 92.1 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108832400888) |
| 811 | Aug 21 | White | Stormshadow9898 (969) | Win | Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation | 94.4 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108832441352) |
| 812 | Aug 21 | Black | chusich (1010) | Loss | Kings Gambit | 100.0 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108832820216) |
| 813 | Aug 21 | White | tarkb (994) | Loss | Queens Pawn Opening Horwitz Defense | 55.0 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108833543258) |
| 814 | Aug 21 | White | grasi444 (939) | Win | Caro Kann Defense | 86.5 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108840891412) |
| 815 | Aug 21 | Black | amar13gupta (990) | Loss | Scotch Game | 73.7 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108840995104) |
| 816 | Aug 22 | White | ScottyMack2021 (933) | Win | Queens Pawn Opening Horwitz Defense | 97.8 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108849561514) |
| 817 | Aug 22 | Black | newish68 (950) | Win | Kings Pawn Opening | 97.7 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108849646030) |
| 818 | Aug 22 | White | eryck2016 (974) | Loss | Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Chigorin Variation | 66.8 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108849679472) |
| 819 | Aug 22 | Black | Anetov1977 (971) | Win | Giuoco Piano Game | 64.8 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108852922650) |
| 820 | Aug 22 | White | ProjectDeadStar (1006) | Loss | English Defense | 90.3 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108855435074) |
| 821 | Aug 22 | Black | Cavalierattitude (972) | Loss | Queens Pawn Opening | 59.2 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108857006856) |
| 822 | Aug 22 | White | VinceParis (968) | Win | Queens Pawn Opening Zukertort Variation | 94.0 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108859035942) |
| 823 | Aug 22 | Black | foxac2020 (951) | Win | Giuoco Piano Game | 94.6 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108859135784) |
| 824 | Aug 22 | White | 1234futt (946) | Win | Indian Game London System | 81.8 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108859264050) |
| 825 | Aug 24 | Black | brosenberg33 (1006) | Loss | Vienna Game Anderssen Defense | 67.8 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108892680180) |
| 826 | Aug 24 | Black | vilmak (998) | Draw | Queens Pawn Opening Symmetrical Variation | 90.1 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108893127358) |
| 827 | Aug 24 | White | Yinyanghang (985) | Win | Queens Pawn Opening Accelerated London System | 90.0 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108894318216) |
| 828 | Aug 24 | White | kenanm0102 (957) | Win | Indian Game | 84.1 % | [game](https://www.chess.com/game/live/108895480892) |

Previous week: [week 32](/journey/week-2024-w33/) · Next week: [week 34](/journey/week-2024-w35/) · All weeks: [the journey hub](/journey/) · Want this for your own games? [Review your own games like this](/features/ai-chess-analysis/).

## FAQ

### What does Chess.com call the Zukertort Variation in these games?

In my games that week, Chess.com used 'Queen's Pawn Opening: Zukertort Variation' for 1.d4 d5 2.Bf4 e6 3.Nf3 (or 2...Bf5 3.Nf3), and 'Zukertort Chigorin' when Black answered 2...Nc6. It is the same d4–Bf4–Nf3 setup I used in 13 of my 14 games with White.

### Did the Zukertort setup work for a beginner like me?

It scored 3 wins and 3 losses across the six games with a Zukertort label, while all my White games together went 9–5. Two of those losses turned on a middlegame blunder and one, game 818, on a blunder in the opening.

### What is en passant and why did it cost me game 805?

En passant lets a pawn capture an enemy pawn that has just moved two squares past it, as if it had moved only one. My 14.h4 attacked the black queen, but Black's g4 pawn simply took it en passant and the engine's evaluation went from -0.78 to -4.41.

## Related

- [From 631 to 1385: my chess journey in 2,117 games](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey.md)
- [Week 32 (Aug 2024): the Englund Gambit and a seven-game skid](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2024-w33.md)
- [Week 34 (Aug 2024): 7 games, no wins, 6 winning positions](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/journey/week-2024-w35.md)
- [Free AI chess analysis of your games, explained](https://thechesscoach.netlify.app/features/ai-chess-analysis.md)