The Van't Kruijs Opening: c5 – A Quiet Path to Unbalanced Play

The position after 1.e3 c5 2.d4 is a classic pawn-centre struggle. You've offered a trade of pawns in the centre, and it's up to Black to decide how to respond. If Black captures with 2...cxd4 (by far the most popular move, played in 1,459,770 games), you recapture on d4 and reach a symmetrical pawn structure where piece play and development decide the game. Your slight space advantage and the open e-file can become real assets if Black is careless. If Black declines the capture and plays 2...e6, 2...Nc6, or 2...d5, you keep your pawn on d4 and continue developing naturally — your next move is typically Nf3, aiming to build a solid centre and complete kingside development before deciding on a longer-term plan.

Stockfish's top choice for Black after 2.d4 is 2...Nf6, planning 3.Nf3 d5 4.Be2. The engine evaluates the resulting position at +0.15 — basically equal. But here's the thing: 2...Nf6 is actually Black's least popular major reply, appearing in only about 77,633 games — far less common than cxd4 or e6. Most club players do not know this is the critical test, so in practice your opponent will almost certainly play something the engine considers slightly worse. The statistics bear this out: against 2...Nc6 (132,813 games), White scores 49.2%; against 2...d6 (56,320 games), White scores 50.9% — the highest White win rate of any major line. So while the engine prefers 2...Nf6, your practical chances are excellent against the more common replies.

Here is what you are most likely to face at the board, based on the Lichess database of over 2,267,300 games. 2...cxd4 (1,459,770 games) — The capture. You recapture with d4, and the game becomes a symmetrical Queen's Pawn opening (essentially a reversed Queen's Gambit Declined or an Exchange Slav structure). Develop naturally: Nf3, Be2, 0-0, and aim to control e5 with your pieces. White scores 46.9% — the lowest of Black's options, but still very playable. 2...e6 (304,859 games) — Black solidifies. Play 3.Nf3, and you are in a French-like structure where Black has not committed to d5 yet. White scores 47.9%. 2...Nc6 (132,813 games) — A known inaccuracy according to the engine, costing Black roughly 0.8 pawns compared to 2...Nf6. The statistics show White scores 49.2% here — your best chance among the very common lines. Develop naturally and you will have comfortable play.

The engine flags two moves as inaccuracies from this position. The most important to remember is 2...Nc6 — it's the third most popular move, yet it costs Black about 0.8 pawns of advantage compared to the engine's preferred 2...Nf6. Your plan is simple: develop with 3.Nf3 and maintain the tension. The other inaccuracy is 2...d6 (56,320 games), which loses roughly 0.6 pawns versus 2...Nf6. White's score against 2...d6 is a healthy 50.9% — the highest win rate against any major reply. The engine's suggested approach after 2...d6 is still 3.Nf3, heading toward a King's Indian-type setup where your space advantage in the centre (the pawn on d4 versus Black's pawn on d6) gives you a comfortable game. Remember: the engine's best reply to all of Black's moves is 3.Nf3, so you can hardly go wrong by developing the knight.