Van Geet Opening: Novosibirsk Variation
1. Nc3 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. Qxd4 Nc6 4. Qh4
The Van Geet Opening: Novosibirsk Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A00, reached after 1. Nc3 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. Qxd4 Nc6 4. Qh4. 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 38 times by this move order. White won 55%, 11% were drawn and Black won 34%. The most popular continuation is 4… Nf6 (61% of games).
Engine evaluation: −0.50 (Stockfish, depth 42; best line 4… d5 5. e4 d4 6. Nd5 e6 7. Qxd8+)
- ECO
- A00
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
r1bqkbnr/pp1ppppp/2n5/8/7Q/2N5/PPP1PPPP/R1B1KBNR b KQkq - 2 4- PGN
1. Nc3 c5 2. d4 cxd4 3. Qxd4 Nc6 4. Qh4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 3 | |
| 1500-1999 | 10 | |
| 2000+ | 25 | |
| All | 38 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… Nf6 | 23 (61%) | |
| 4… g6 | 6 (16%) | |
| 4… d5 | 5 (13%) | |
| 4… g5 | 1 (3%) | |
| 4… e5 | 1 (3%) | |
| 4… f6 | 1 (3%) | |
| 4… e6 | 1 (3%) |
Master games
48 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 16%, Black 42%). The strongest:
- GM Luca Jr Moroni (2588) – GM Aleksandra Goryachkina (2610) 1-0 · Titled Tue 8th Feb Early · 2022-02-08
- IM Yichen Han (2439) – GM Mahammad Muradli (2584) 0-1 · Titled Tue 28th Oct 2025 · 2025-10-28
- IM Daniel Barria Zuniga (2341) – GM Nodirbek Abdusattorov (2627) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 25th May · 2021-05-25
- GM Narayanan S L (2651) – FM Dmitry Tatarinov (2310) 1/2-1/2 · Titled Tue 3rd Oct Early · 2023-10-03
- IM Saveliy Golubov (2481) – IM Miran Oganian (2450) 1/2-1/2 · ch-RUS Blitz 2016 · 2016-10-04
Search all games of the Van Geet Opening: Novosibirsk Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Arhitector182 (2366) – NM Girome (2455) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 2s
- m_kader2023 (2306) – ll91 (2382) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- Khamenei86 (2272) – Myts (2416) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Van Geet Opening 1. Nc3
More Van Geet Opening lines (all)
- 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
- 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.