Zukertort Opening: Tennison Gambit: what to play after Be2?

In this branch of the Zukertort Opening: Tennison Gambit, Black's most effective and principled continuation is c5, which immediately challenges White's spatial control in the center and carries an engine evaluation of +0.21. While the solid e6 is the overwhelming human choice—selected in 76.3% of the 732,413 recorded games—c5 provides active counterplay against White's advanced pawn structure while yielding an identical engine assessment.

Challenging the Center with c5

The counter-thrust c5 accounts for 4.1% of recorded games (30K recorded) and sees White scoring 45.7%. By advancing the c-pawn, Black exerts immediate pressure on the center before White can consolidate space with d4. The engine's illustrative continuation runs c5 O-O Nc6 c4 d4 Nxd4, showing how Black actively destabilizes White's setup in exchange for piece activity.

The Popularity of e6

By far the most common path is e6, played in 559K recorded games with a White score of 45.0% and an evaluation of +0.21. This move shores up the d5 central point and facilitates kingside development. Following e6 O-O Ne7 d4 c5 dxc5, Black develops smoothly while preparing to recapture on c5.

Alternative Continuations

Other choices are playable but slightly favor White in both engine evaluation and historical performance. Black can trade immediately on f3 with Bxf3, seen in 13.8% of games (101K recorded) with an evaluation of +0.51 and a White score of 47.0%, leading into Bxf3 Bxf3 e6 O-O Ne7 d4. Developing via Nd7 is chosen in 5.8% of games (42K recorded, +0.41 evaluation, 47.7% White score), while the sideline a5 evaluates at +0.49 and continues with a5 h3 Bxf3 Bxf3 e6 d4.