Which system is better? Colle- Zukertort or Colle Koltanowski system

Hi chess.com community!

I was wondering whether someone (or some people) could verify the claim that the zukertort system is actually better then the Koltanowski system in the Colle? Wikipedia mentions that the zukertort system has been seen occasionally @ grandmaster level while as the Koltanowski system is not?

Share your experiences here!

Many thanks!

Mark

you know many people here feel confused with all thise names...although i remember almost every unusual opening like that by set-up...so if you send a board with the position of each opening i will surely help

Ugh, this is sorta like asking which jail cell is the most comfortable, the county or city jail cell ? 

Colle Koltanowski opening

i wpould play the second id i had to choose between them...it gives more chances in my opinion...and it propably has abetter reputation because i had never heard of koltanowski colle before instead i had heard of zukertort colle

Neither one is better than the other.  It's strictly a matter of choice.  I would prefer the Zuckertort as you have a natural square for your dark squared bishop, although it is still technically "bad". 

Against either system black gets an equal game, IF s/he knows what s/he is doing.  That's why neither is played with regularity at the top levels.   At less glorified levels of chess your opponent won't necessarily have the answers and white is assured a solid, fairly risk free position from which to go for a win which is pretty easy to play.

Hi Mark,

I've written two books on the Colle.

If you had asked me this question a year ago, I would have told you "That's an easy question: the Colle-Zukertort is better." Yusupov was the third strongest player in the world for a while, and he played that opening rather frequently.

However, with the Phoenix Attack variation of the Colle-Koltanowski, I would now say that the C-Z is just a little better than the C-K.

You can read more about the Phoenix attack by clicking here.

That article also explains why I would have answered the question differently a year ago.

I have played both the Colle-Zukertort and the Colle-Koltanowski and have had success with both.

I have found the Zukertort to be a bit more aggressive but it's all a matter of personal taste.

I have already learned to ignore him like he isn't even there.

And thanks to Leesong for his diligence in unearthing this one...