Van Geet Opening: Battambang Variation
1. a3 e5 2. Nc3
The Van Geet Opening: Battambang Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A00, reached after 1. a3 e5 2. Nc3. It is a line of the Van Geet Opening. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 99 times by this move order. White won 40%, 7% were drawn and Black won 53%. The most popular continuation is 2… d5 (36% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.30 (Stockfish, depth 38; best line 2… d5 3. d4 e4 4. Bf4 c6 5. f3)
- ECO
- A00
- Moves
- 3 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pppp1ppp/8/4p3/8/P1N5/1PPPPPPP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 1 2- PGN
1. a3 e5 2. Nc3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 79 | |
| 1500-1999 | 15 | |
| 2000+ | 5 | |
| All | 99 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 2… d5 | 36 (36%) | |
| 2… Nc6 | 19 (19%) | |
| 2… Nf6 | 18 (18%) | |
| 2… Bc5 | 9 (9%) | |
| 2… f6 | 5 (5%) | |
| 2… d6 | 5 (5%) | |
| 2… Qf6 | 3 (3%) | |
| 2… c6 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
134 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 46%, draw 13%, Black 41%). The strongest:
- GM Magnus Carlsen (2832) – GM Hans Moke Niemann (2733) 0-1 · SpeedChess Final 2024 · 2024-09-06
- FM Armin Musovic (2245) – GM Alexey Sarana (2668) 1-0 · Titled Tue 10th Jan Late · 2023-01-10
- FM Armin Musovic (2301) – GM Hristos Banikas (2601) 0-1 · European Blitz 2018 · 2018-12-06
- FM Armin Musovic (2261) – GM Aleksandar Indjic (2618) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 25th Apr Late · 2023-04-25
- IM Anthony Atanasov (2470) – IM Karina Ambartsumova (2385) 1-0 · Titled Tue 26th May 2026 · 2026-05-26
Search all games of the Van Geet Opening: Battambang Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- SpidermanenParis (2193) – thepurpleriver (2276) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- Sahar23 (2111) – Amerika_MK (2251) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- patrikol (2229) – spikenjoyer (2101) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Anderssen's Opening 1. a3
More Van Geet Opening lines (all)
- Van Geet Opening A00
- Van Geet Opening: Billockus-Johansen Gambit A00
- Van Geet Opening: Damhaug Gambit A00
- Van Geet Opening: Dougherty Gambit A00
- Van Geet Opening: Dunst-Perrenet Gambit A00
- Van Geet Opening: Düsseldorf Gambit A00
- Van Geet Opening: Gladbacher Gambit A00
- Van Geet Opening: Hector Gambit A00
- Van Geet Opening: Hergert Gambit A00
- Van Geet Opening: Hulsemann Gambit A00
- Van Geet Opening: Jendrossek Gambit A00
- Van Geet Opening: Kluever Gambit A00
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.