Van't Kruijs Opening: what to play after c5?

In the Van't Kruijs Opening after Black strikes at the center with a Sicilian-style pawn advance, White's strongest and most common continuation is d4. Establishing a classical pawn presence on the d4 square scores 50.0% for White and yields an engine evaluation of +0.13. It remains the dominant choice across opening databases, accounting for 52.3% of the 6.38M recorded games from this position.

Central Expansion with d4

By choosing d4, White directly contests the central squares and opens lines for queenside development. With 3.34M recorded games, this move aims to transpose into familiar Queen's Pawn or English structures while blunting Black's ambition along the c-file. An illustrative engine continuation runs d4 d5 c4 e6 Nf3 Nf6, leading into standard Queen's Gambit Declined territory where White retains comfortable spatial control.

English and Reti-Style Alternatives

White can also steer the game toward English Opening setups via c4, which carries an evaluation of +0.11 and represents 13.1% of games (838K recorded) with a 49.6% score. This flank approach is closely followed by the flexible knight maneuver Nf3 (engine eval +0.02, 14.0% frequency, 891K games, 48.6% score), which can continue along the illustrative line Nf3 Nf6 d4 d5 Be2 Nc6. Both setups emphasize solid piece placement and avoid premature central commitment.

Quieter Developing Options

More restrained approaches include developing the kingside bishop with Be2 or supporting the center via c3. The modest Be2 scores 50.3% across 612K recorded games (9.6% share) with an engine evaluation of +0.03, often transitioning smoothly after Be2 d5 Nf3 Nc6 d4 Nf6. Meanwhile, c3 occurs in 11.0% of encounters (701K games) and scores 47.4% with an evaluation of -0.04, frequently following the sample path c3 e6 d4 d5 Nd2 Nf6.