Van Geet Opening

What is the Van Geet Opening?

The Van Geet Opening, also known as the Dunst Opening, begins with 1.Nc3. You develop a knight, control e4 and d5 and keep every pawn option open, so the opening is flexible and often transposes into well-known systems such as the Vienna Game, a Closed Sicilian or, after d4, a Veresov-type position. It is an offbeat first move rather than a mainstream one, used mainly as a surprise weapon by players who want to avoid theory.

Main ideas and plans

Your plan depends on Black's reply. Against 1.Nc3 e5, the Reversed Nimzowitsch, you can play e4 and reach a Vienna Game, open the centre with Nf3 and d4 in the Napoleon Attack, or choose the Reversed Scandinavian, 1.Nc3 e5 2.d4 exd4 3.Qxd4 Nc6 4.Qa4, a Scandinavian with an extra tempo. Against 1.Nc3 c5 you can aim for an open Sicilian structure with Nf3 and d4, as in the Sicilian Two Knights, or for a Closed Sicilian set-up with e4, g3, Bg2, d3 and f4. Against 1.Nc3 d5 you choose between the e4 push, where 1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 d4 3.Nce2 leads to a closed space battle in which you later challenge d4 with c3 or f4, the gambits after ...dxe4, and the quiet Venezolana set-up with d3 and a kingside fianchetto.

Many of the gambits arise when Black plays ...d5 and you strike with e4: after 1.Nc3 d5 2.e4 dxe4 you can continue with d3 (the Dunst-Perrenet Gambit), f3 (the Dougherty Gambit) or Bc4 (the Hector Gambit), giving a pawn for open lines in the style of the Blackmar-Diemer. Another family comes after 1.Nc3 d5 2.f4, where ...d4 drives your knight to e4 and leads to the Pfeiffer and Melleby lines, and there are gambits for Black too, such as the Hergert. These lines are speculative. Whatever you play, use the knight's flexibility, follow up quickly with e4 or d4, and avoid leaving the knight blocking the c-pawn where c3 or c4 would be useful.

Who is it for?

The Van Geet suits practical players who like to avoid mainstream theory, enjoy transpositions and feel at home in many types of position. It requires little memorisation, but you must know which system you are aiming for against each reply, or you drift into passive positions. The downsides are that 1.Nc3 does not occupy the centre with a pawn, blocks the c-pawn and lets Black take the centre comfortably with ...d5 and ...e5, so objectively it promises less than 1.e4 or 1.d4. Learn first your answers to ...d5 and ...e5, the two most common replies, and the gambit ideas you want to use.