Flank openings

Van Geet Opening

1.Nc3

The Van Geet Opening starts with 1.Nc3 and is catalogued under ECO A00, in the flank openings half of the book. The catalog indexes 33 lines inside it, grouped into 33 named variations, and the position after those moves has 5 playable continuations to walk from here.

Opening repertoire map

Root edges show how often each move is played around your Elo. Use the arrow on a position to reveal the next replies.

Current position
Van Geet Opening: Reversed Nimzowitsch
Popularity by Elo
Share of Lichess blitz, rapid, and classical games that continued with each move.
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Current setup

Move ideas

  1. 1.Nc3

    Develops the knight to c3, bringing it into the game.

    Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.

  2. 1…e5

    Advances to e5 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.

    Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.

Book continuations

Waiting for Lichess game popularity.

5 moves
e3Van Geet Opening: Reversed Nimzowitsch2 named lines · Van Geet Opening: Liebig Gambit · Van Geet Opening: Hulsemann GambitAdvances to e3 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.Nf3Van Geet Opening: Reversed Nimzowitsch2 named lines · Van Geet Opening: Napoleon Attack · Van Geet Opening: Billockus-Johansen GambitDevelops the knight to f3, bringing it into the game.Idea: Improve piece coordination and clear the back rank for castling and the rooks.b3Van Geet Opening: Reversed Nimzowitsch1 named line · Van Geet Opening: Gladbacher GambitAdvances the b-pawn to gain queenside space and control new squares.Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.d4Van Geet Opening: Reversed Nimzowitsch1 named line · Van Geet Opening: Reversed ScandinavianAdvances to d4 to claim central space and control nearby key squares.Idea: Give the pieces room to develop behind a durable central foothold.f4Bird Opening: From's Gambit, Bahr Gambit1 named line · Van Geet Opening: Nowokunski GambitAdvances the f-pawn to gain kingside space and control new squares.Idea: Create useful wing space while keeping the central structure flexible.

Named variations

Each line below is an indexed entry under Van Geet Opening. Open one to load it on the board and keep exploring from that position.

9 more named lines sit inside this family — the tree above walks all of them.

Openings from the same volume

ECO groups openings by the structures they lead to, so these families tend to share plans with the Van Geet Opening.