Van Geet Opening: what should White play?

In the Van Geet Opening, the position after Black's reply leads White to prioritize central expansion, with d4 serving as the highest-evaluated continuation at +0.36. Opting for d4 establishes immediate control over key central squares while preparing harmonious development for the bishops. White also frequently chooses e4, which transposes directly into classical French Defence setups.

Central Expansion with d4 and e4

The database records nearly three million games from this position, where e4 is the most frequent choice, appearing in 44.8% of games (1.32M recorded) and yielding a 52.5% score for White. However, the engine's primary preference is d4, selected in 30.5% of games (895K recorded) with a score of 53.4%. Both central thrusts aim to seize space and contest Black's intended pawn breaks. An illustrative engine continuation following the top choice runs d4 d5 e4 Nf6 e5 Nfd7, reaching a closed structure reminiscent of the Steinitz French where White maintains a space advantage.

Flexible Alternatives

Players seeking less direct central commitments often choose Nf3, which accounts for 21.8% of games (639K recorded) with an evaluation of +0.10 and a 51.0% score for White. This developing move preserves transpositional fluidity, as seen in the sequence Nf3 d5 e4 Nf6 e5 Nfd7.

Flank strategies appear far less frequently. The kingside fianchetto preparation g3 is seen in 1.5% of games (44K recorded) with an evaluation of -0.16 and a 52.0% score, leading into lines such as g3 d5 Nf3 d4 Nb1 c5. Similarly, f4 appears in 1.4% of games (40K recorded) with an evaluation of -0.22 and a 50.6% score, illustrated by f4 d5 e4 d4 Nce2 c5, where Black advances in the center to dislodge the knight from c3.