Van Geet Opening
31 variations · 8.5M games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
White expected score · Overall
51.5%
the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. Its best is the same figure — the band is too tight to plot.
Measured over 8.5M games at this level and clock.
Roughly even — the middlegame decides more than this opening choice does.
Outcomes for White
Draw 3.7 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 8.5M games
- Rank among the families White can choose here
- #32 of 56
- Games in this context
- 8.5M
- Best context
- 63.6% at 2500+ Rapid
- Worst context
- 43.3% at 0-999 UltraBullet
- Variations measured
- 31
- Average game length
- 34 moves
Best and worst are the strongest and weakest squares with at least 500 games behind them. The table further down shows every square, including thinner ones.
What to play from here
White · OverallThese are the moves players actually choose from here, ranked by how they score. A higher score is a better bet on the numbers alone — familiarity and playstyle still matter.
Where it holds · White score by rating × clock
Green is clearly ahead for White, grey is around even, red is behind. Tap a cell to measure there, and again to clear. It gets better as the rating rises: 46.3% at 0-999, 56.6% at 2500+.
| Rating | UB | Bulle | Blitz | Rapid | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-999 | |||||
| 1000-1199 | |||||
| 1200-1399 | |||||
| 1400-1599 | |||||
| 1600-1799 | |||||
| 1800-1999 | |||||
| 2000-2199 | |||||
| 2200-2499 | |||||
| 2500+ |
Expected score matrix by rating bracket and time control
- 0-999 rating, UltraBullet: 43.3% expected score (2,051 games)
- 0-999 rating, Bullet: 47.3% expected score (171,630 games)
- 0-999 rating, Blitz: 48.8% expected score (357,221 games)
- 0-999 rating, Rapid: 48.2% expected score (188,006 games)
- 0-999 rating, Classical: 43.8% expected score (2,149 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, UltraBullet: 48.5% expected score (8,038 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Bullet: 49.7% expected score (209,979 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Blitz: 50.6% expected score (313,632 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Rapid: 49.5% expected score (135,336 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Classical: 47.2% expected score (4,890 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, UltraBullet: 50.4% expected score (30,485 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Bullet: 50.3% expected score (343,812 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Blitz: 51.0% expected score (364,138 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 50.7% expected score (136,249 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Classical: 46.9% expected score (7,517 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, UltraBullet: 51.7% expected score (95,479 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Bullet: 50.6% expected score (480,164 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Blitz: 50.8% expected score (424,456 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 49.3% expected score (112,934 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Classical: 45.0% expected score (9,521 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, UltraBullet: 51.3% expected score (129,493 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Bullet: 51.4% expected score (638,573 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Blitz: 51.8% expected score (449,561 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 52.0% expected score (92,165 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Classical: 51.4% expected score (4,599 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, UltraBullet: 52.7% expected score (103,546 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 51.7% expected score (851,329 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 52.7% expected score (450,002 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 53.1% expected score (61,300 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Classical: 53.6% expected score (3,017 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, UltraBullet: 54.4% expected score (40,293 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 52.0% expected score (880,848 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 54.0% expected score (342,589 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 54.8% expected score (30,006 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Classical: 56.7% expected score (817 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, UltraBullet: 55.2% expected score (12,343 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 53.1% expected score (686,163 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 55.4% expected score (136,782 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 58.7% expected score (8,856 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Classical: 61.9% expected score (197 games)
- 2500+ rating, UltraBullet: 51.8% expected score (385 games)
- 2500+ rating, Bullet: 55.5% expected score (171,091 games)
- 2500+ rating, Blitz: 58.6% expected score (7,295 games)
- 2500+ rating, Rapid: 63.6% expected score (574 games)
- 2500+ rating, Classical: 53.7% expected score (40 games)
31 variations · ranked by floor
Floor — the worst score you would still get, 90% confident.
Methodology
Across every rating and clock, the Van Geet Opening family scores 51.5% for White — we are 90% confident it is 51.5% — from 8.5M Lichess games across 31 variations. Win rate, draw rate and loss rate come from games played December 2023 to November 2025.
How the figures are made
- Whose games these are
- 8.5M+ rated games played on Lichess (2023-12 to 2025-11). The games are Lichess’s and free for anyone to use. What is ours is the reading of them. Last rebuilt January 2026.
- Which games we count
- Rated games only — nothing casual.
- Both players within 200 rating points of each other. A mismatch tells you about the gap, not about the opening.
- At least 2 moves played.
- A game is filed under White’s rating.
- Why every number comes with a range
- A number off a few hundred games is a guess. The same number off millions is a fact. The range is what tells them apart, and it is what the lists rank on — so an opening cannot reach the top on a lucky run of forty games. The more games behind a figure, the narrower its range.
- How much we need before we say anything
- An opening page needs 100 games. A gambit needs 50 games at a rating before we will say whether it pays there. The chaos and trap lists need 500 games overall and 250 games at one rating or clock.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Van Geet Opening win rate?
Across the Van Geet Opening's 31 variations, White wins 49.6%, draws 3.7% and loses 46.7%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 51.5%. It rests on 8.5M rated games from Lichess.
How many Van Geet Opening variations are there?
31 Van Geet Opening variations have a page of their own, each broken down by rating and by clock.
At what rating does the Van Geet Opening perform best?
The Van Geet Opening family performs best for White at 2500+, with an Expected Score of 55.6% (179K games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read. Performance may vary by specific variation.
Is the Van Geet Opening better in blitz or rapid?
For White, the Van Geet Opening scores higher in Blitz: an Expected Score of 51.6% in Blitz (2.8M games) against 50.3% in Rapid (765K games).
How sharp is the Van Geet Opening?
Van Geet Opening games are 96.3% decisive (non-draws), with an average length of 34 moves. Sharpness varies by specific variation.
Is the Van Geet Opening a good opening family?
The Van Geet Opening family is about level overall. Across its games, White wins 49.6% and loses 46.7%. Results differ between its 31 variations, so open the one you play for its own figures.