Van't Kruijs Opening
5 variations · 37M games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
White expected score · Overall
50.3%
the worst score you would still get, 90% confident. Its best is the same figure — the band is too tight to plot.
Measured over 37M games at this level and clock.
Roughly even — the middlegame decides more than this opening choice does.
Outcomes for White
Draw 3.5 · Score = win + ½ of the draws · 37M games
- Rank among the families White can choose here
- #42 of 56
- Games in this context
- 37M
- Best context
- 56.9% at 2500+ UltraBullet
- Worst context
- 44.5% at 1400-1599 Classical
- Variations measured
- 5
- 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: 47.7% at 0-999, 55.1% 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: 46.5% expected score (25,692 games)
- 0-999 rating, Bullet: 48.7% expected score (696,636 games)
- 0-999 rating, Blitz: 48.9% expected score (1,543,780 games)
- 0-999 rating, Rapid: 48.1% expected score (725,627 games)
- 0-999 rating, Classical: 46.5% expected score (8,702 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, UltraBullet: 51.0% expected score (79,170 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Bullet: 50.2% expected score (1,147,668 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Blitz: 50.3% expected score (1,908,152 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Rapid: 49.1% expected score (702,077 games)
- 1000-1199 rating, Classical: 48.2% expected score (26,863 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, UltraBullet: 49.8% expected score (173,981 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Bullet: 50.3% expected score (1,808,605 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Blitz: 50.4% expected score (2,551,513 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Rapid: 49.4% expected score (787,738 games)
- 1200-1399 rating, Classical: 47.4% expected score (40,235 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, UltraBullet: 49.7% expected score (304,505 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Bullet: 49.9% expected score (2,438,938 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Blitz: 50.2% expected score (2,900,143 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Rapid: 48.8% expected score (793,192 games)
- 1400-1599 rating, Classical: 44.5% expected score (56,727 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, UltraBullet: 51.4% expected score (359,242 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Bullet: 50.4% expected score (3,127,227 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Blitz: 50.5% expected score (2,637,343 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Rapid: 50.1% expected score (587,710 games)
- 1600-1799 rating, Classical: 47.3% expected score (25,969 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, UltraBullet: 52.6% expected score (276,892 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Bullet: 50.4% expected score (3,330,203 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Blitz: 50.5% expected score (1,620,676 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Rapid: 50.6% expected score (316,016 games)
- 1800-1999 rating, Classical: 48.8% expected score (7,621 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, UltraBullet: 55.1% expected score (125,923 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Bullet: 50.7% expected score (2,634,391 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Blitz: 50.8% expected score (675,117 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Rapid: 50.7% expected score (77,785 games)
- 2000-2199 rating, Classical: 50.4% expected score (672 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, UltraBullet: 53.0% expected score (27,080 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Bullet: 51.4% expected score (1,794,841 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Blitz: 52.5% expected score (169,351 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Rapid: 53.3% expected score (8,196 games)
- 2200-2499 rating, Classical: 55.9% expected score (152 games)
- 2500+ rating, UltraBullet: 56.9% expected score (1,000 games)
- 2500+ rating, Bullet: 52.6% expected score (352,195 games)
- 2500+ rating, Blitz: 54.4% expected score (11,754 games)
- 2500+ rating, Rapid: 54.7% expected score (587 games)
- 2500+ rating, Classical: 57.0% expected score (106 games)
5 variations · ranked by floor
Floor — the worst score you would still get, 90% confident.
Methodology
Across every rating and clock, the Van't Kruijs Opening family scores 50.3% for White — we are 90% confident it is 50.3% — from 37M Lichess games across 5 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
- 37M+ 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't Kruijs Opening win rate?
Across the Van't Kruijs Opening's 5 variations, White wins 48.5%, draws 3.5% and loses 48.0%. Counting a draw as half a point, that is an Expected Score of 50.3%. It rests on 37M rated games from Lichess.
How many Van't Kruijs Opening variations are there?
5 Van't Kruijs Opening variations have a page of their own, each broken down by rating and by clock.
At what rating does the Van't Kruijs Opening perform best?
The Van't Kruijs Opening family performs best for White at 2500+, with an Expected Score of 52.7% (366K games) and the highest Floor of any rating with enough games to read. Performance may vary by specific variation.
Is the Van't Kruijs Opening better in blitz or rapid?
For White, the Van't Kruijs Opening scores higher in Blitz: an Expected Score of 50.3% in Blitz (14M games) against 49.2% in Rapid (4.0M games).
How sharp is the Van't Kruijs Opening?
Van't Kruijs Opening games are 96.5% decisive (non-draws), with an average length of 34 moves. Sharpness varies by specific variation.
Is the Van't Kruijs Opening a good opening family?
The Van't Kruijs Opening family is about level overall. Across its games, White wins 48.5% and loses 48.0%. Results differ between its 5 variations, so open the one you play for its own figures.