Openings Flank openings

Réti Opening and 1.Nf3: Setups, Plans and Stats by Rating

1.Nf3 develops a knight and waits to see Black’s setup. White can choose a Réti (c4 and g3), a King’s Indian Attack (g3, d3, e4) or simply transpose to a 1.d4 opening.

For White1.Nf3Seen in 3.1% of rated games

Lichess rating

A04Zukertort Opening

Games from this position (1600–1999): 196k

Played	Games	White · Draw · Black
36%	71k	51%44%
14%	27k	49%46%
10%	19k	50%46%
8%	16k	52%43%
8%	16k	51%44%
6%	11k	51%45%
5%	9,921	51%44%
4%	8,480	50%45%
3%	5,577	56%41%
3%	5,223	53%43%
2%	3,261	50%46%
0.3%	530	53%42%

Practice as White Practice as Black

Plans for both sides

White

Réti: c4 and g3 attack d5 from the side; Bg2 rakes the long diagonal.
King’s Indian Attack: g3, Bg2, O-O, d3, Nbd2 and e4 against almost anything.
With d4 you can reach a London, Queen’s Gambit or Catalan on your own terms.

Black

1...d5 and 1...Nf6 are the most flexible replies.
Against the Réti, ...d4 grabs space; ...c6 and ...Bf5 or ...Bg4 is a solid setup.
...c5 and ...Nc6 can lead to a Sicilian-style game if White plays e4.

Réti Opening (1.Nf3) at each rating

How often the position after 1.Nf3 comes up in rated Lichess games, how it scores and what players answer next.

Rating	Games (Share of games)	White · Draw · Black	Top next move
<1200	78k2.6%	49%47%	1...d538%
1200–1599	143k2.4%	50%46%	1...d538%
1600–1999	196k3.1%	51%44%	1...d536%
2000+	128k6.3%	50%42%	1...d532%
All	544k3.1%	50%45%	1...d536%

What usually comes next

The most played moves from here, all ratings together. Thicker line = played more often.

Main variations

Black grabs space; White answers e3 or b4 and attacks the d4 pawn.
6,323 games from this position (all ratings, any move order). White won 52%, 5% were drawn, Black won 43%.
Show on the board: 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 d4
Often becomes a Catalan or a QGD with g3.
4,000 games from this position (all ratings, any move order). White won 50%, 8% were drawn, Black won 42%.
Show on the board: 1.Nf3 d5 2.c4 e6 3.g3 Nf6 4.Bg2
White builds g3, Bg2, d3, Nbd2 and e4. Black chooses ...Bg4 or ...Bf5. It has its own guide.
166 games from this position (all ratings, any move order). White won 48%, 7% were drawn, Black won 45%.
Show on the board: 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 Nf6 3.Bg2 c6 4.O-O Bg4 5.d3
White can play e4 (a KID) or g3 (an English).
4,933 games from this position (all ratings, any move order). White won 51%, 6% were drawn, Black won 43%.
Show on the board: 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7

At club level

1.Nf3 is popular with players who want a system rather than lines. At every rating level here, 1...d5 is Black’s most common answer, so the KIA or Réti setups cover most games.

Practice it

The trainer answers with the replies people at your rating choose, in the same proportions, and brings back your mistakes on a schedule.

Practice as White Practice as Black

Related openings

English Opening
1.c4
504k games
Hungarian Opening (1.g3)
1.g3
192k games
Bird Opening
1.f4
180k games
Nimzo-Larsen Attack
1.b3
175k games
Polish Opening (1.b4)
1.b4
78k games
King’s Indian Attack
1.Nf3 d5 2.g3
43k games