Van Geet Opening: Berlin Gambit
1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. d5
The Van Geet Opening: Berlin Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO B00, reached after 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. d5. It is a line of the Van Geet Opening. Black is to move. 2 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 229 times by this move order. White won 48%, 4% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 4… Ne5 (56% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.08 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 4… Nb8 5. Nxe4 c6 6. Bc4 cxd5 7. Qxd5)
- ECO
- B00
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/ppp1pppp/2n5/3P4/4p3/2N5/PPP2PPP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. d5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 35 | |
| 1500-1999 | 100 | |
| 2000+ | 94 | |
| All | 229 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Ne5 Scandinavian Variation, Bogoljubow Variation, Nimzowitsch Gambit | 128 (56%) | |
| 4… Nb4 | 61 (27%) | |
| 4… Nb8 | 36 (16%) | |
| 4… Nf6 | 1 (0%) | |
| 4… f5 | 1 (0%) | |
| 4… Nd4 | 1 (0%) | |
| 4… Bf5 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
67 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 34%, draw 18%, Black 48%). The strongest:
- GM Mahel Boyer (2520) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2840) 0-1 · 2nd 3-0 Thu 15th Jan 2026 · 2026-01-15
- GM Ian Nepomniachtchi (2755) – IM Richard Stalmach (2431) 1-0 · Titled Tue 3rd Sep Late · 2024-09-03
- GM Bilel Bellahcene (2518) – GM David Paravyan (2647) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 6th Apr · 2021-04-06
- GM Bilel Bellahcene (2510) – GM Christian Bauer (2639) 1-0 · 1st Cappelle Online Blitz · 2021-01-10
- GM Andreas Heimann (2573) – GM Zoran Jovanovic (2519) 1-0 · Bundesliga 2022-23 · 2023-02-25
Search all games of the Van Geet Opening: Berlin Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Malyshok2012 (2640) – andy2342 (2622) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- TrainingAccount678 (2478) – lackbiTe65 (2579) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- WBoar (2543) – Protonteampro (2504) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation, Bogoljubow Variation (3. Nc3 dxe4) 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4
Continuations
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation, Bogoljubow Variation, Nimzowitsch Gambit B00 · 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. d5 Ne5
- Nimzowitsch Defense: Scandinavian Variation, Bogoljubow Variation, Richter Gambit B00 · 1. e4 Nc6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 dxe4 4. d5 Nb8 5. f3
More Van Geet Opening lines (all)
- Van Geet Opening A00
- Van Geet Opening: Battambang Variation 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
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.