The engine evaluates this as a tiny +0.2 advantage for White.

In any other opening, I’d be perfectly happy with that as Black.

But not here.

My ego kicked in: "Hey! This isn't right! They shouldn't be allowed to get a good position with such a dubious move!"

So, I did some digging and discovered this provocation is known as the Van Geet Opening.

The Man, The Myth, The Knight

While even the legendary Bogoljubov toyed with it once or twice, the opening is named after the Dutch master Dirk Daniel Van Geet. 

Dirk Daniel Van Geet

This "Godfather of 1.Nc3" was fearless enough to unleash it against a World Champion!

No!

I don't mean Magnus Carlsen (though Magnus would probably play it just to mess with us).

Van Geet played it against Boris Spassky in 1967.

He actually held a draw! I can only imagine Spassky thinking: "This guy is either a genius or completely reckless. I’ll take the half-point and stay safe, or he might actually checkmate me with a move I've never seen before!"

Believe it or not, statistics on Chess.com show that 1.Nc3 is actually more common than the Sokolsky (1.b4). Everyone writes books about 1.b4, but 1.Nc3 remains a "deadly" novelty for the unprepared. Should we ban it? I mean, if it lets anyone draw against a World Champion, it might be too powerful for mortal hands!

Some statistics from Сhess.com.

How to Dismantle the Van Geet

I went looking for a "cure" and found two great examples:.

After analyzing these, I’ve boiled the strategy down to a few key principles:

If Black closes the center with ...d5-d4, you must get aggressive on the kingside. Your choice of weapon depends on where White puts their knight:

• The Pin: If the knight lingers near the king, look for the ...Bg4 pin (as seen in Stephensson’s game).

• The Bayonet: If the knight hops to g3, launch the h-pawn! As Shulman demonstrated, pushing the h-pawn is perfectly safe as long as the center remains locked.

I

Practice

I still remember the first time I applied these ideas. The game wasn't perfect, but I won — and that's all the inspiration I needed!

Below, I’ve included a one more game to illustrate these concepts. You’ll see how I combine these techniques to punish White for their early knight-play.

Next time someone plays 1.Nc3 against you, don't panic, just channel your inner Spassky (but with a bit more ambition)!