Van Geet Opening: Venezolana Variation – Play It with Confidence

In this variation, White delays occupying the centre with pawns and instead focuses on quick development with a kingside fianchetto. After 1.Nc3 d5 2.d3 Nf6 3.g3, you are preparing Bg2, which pressures the dark squares and Black's centre. Your knight on c3 eyes the d5 pawn, while d3 keeps your pawn structure solid. The position is a little passive compared to mainstream lines — that's why the engine gives Black a small edge — but it avoids heavy theory and often leads to original middlegames where understanding plans matters more than memorised moves. You are fighting for space control and piece activity, not pawn-centre dominance right away.

Stockfish's best move here is d4, and the follow-up goes: d4 Nb1 c5 Nd2. That means after you push d4, Black captures, you retreat your knight to b1 (don't worry — it looks odd but is logical), then Black plays c5 and you respond Nd2. This line keeps the position balanced and avoids weakening your kingside. The knight retreat is the key idea: you recapture with the queen after ...cxd4 if needed, or play Nd2 to redevelop. It's an unusual manoeuvre, but it keeps your centre solid and your dark-squared bishop's diagonal open. Try it in the drill and see how it feels compared to the more popular replies.

Out of 6,599 games from this exact position, here is how the most popular Black replies score for White (White's winning percentage in parentheses):- e5 (1,945 games) – White wins 44.6%- e6 (949 games) – White wins 48.5%- Nc6 (740 games) – White wins 45.4%- d4 (687 games) – White wins 42.2%- Bf5 (648 games) – White wins 45.8%- c6 (374 games) – White wins 40.6%White's best results come against e6 (48.5%), so if Black tries to build a French-like setup, you have your best practical chances. The worst numbers come against c6 (40.6%), where Black shores up d5 early. None of these exceed 50%, which matches the engine's verdict — you are slightly worse — but the margins are thin enough that good play can turn the game your way.

According to the engine, Bf5 is an inaccuracy that loses about 0.5 pawns of advantage; the better move for Black was d4. If your opponent plays 3...Bf5, the position shifts toward equality or even slightly in your favour. Your plan: immediately challenge the centre. The engine suggests continuing with development and targeting the b8-h2 diagonal after Bg2. Because Bf5 does nothing to control the centre or prepare ...e5, you gain time to strike with moves like d4 or Qd2. Since Bf5 is the fifth most common move (648 games), you will see it often — make sure you are ready to seize the small edge it gives you.