A00

Van Geet Opening

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Overview

Van Geet Opening is one of the foundational chess openings, sitting at the root of an entire branch of theory under ECO code Flank Openings in the A00 group.

The Flank Openings group covers flank openings — systems that delay the central pawn break and instead develop pieces and pawns on the wings.

Play reaches this position via 1. Nc3, after 1 ply of opening development.

It is the root of 20 named variations, with Damhaug Gambit, Dougherty Gambit, Dunst-Perrenet Gambit, and others among the most studied.

In total, the branch covers 28 sub-variations across all depths.

Step through the moves on the interactive board below, review the live Lichess statistics, or play this position against Stockfish at one of six difficulty levels.

ECO code: A00
Group: Flank Openings (A)
Plies: 1
Direct variations: 20
Total in subtree: 28

This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.

Statistics from Lichess

9,860,027 games · White 49.5% / Draw 4.8% / Black 45.7%

Moves	Games	W / D / B
d5	2,688,953
e5	1,868,646
Nf6	1,853,633
e6	789,786
c5	746,356
g6	558,401
c6	420,988
d6	311,432

Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 00:30:14

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Variations (20)

Show all 28 sub-variations (full subtree)