Created by potrace 1.16, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2019

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Playing Black · 19 blitz games · 9W 9L 1D · Your opponents choose this

Van t Kruijs Opening

Against 1.e3 you mirror with ...e6 and get a coin flip.

Score50%+1% vs your average
Win chance after move 1250%−2% vs your average
Blunders per game1.00−0.22 vs your average
Clock left at move 102:44+5s vs your average
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Your most common line

1. e3 e6

What it says about you

Your opponent plays the unambitious 1.e3, and you answer with the equally modest 1...e6. That says you're content to play a symmetrical game and wait for mistakes. It works about half the time, which is exactly what 50% says.

How you play it

Everything is flat: move-12 win chance 50.1, move-20 win chance 51.6, a 50% score (9-9-1). You make almost no early errors (0.21 per game), and all 7 decided losses came in the middlegame. That's where you hang pieces (3 losses) and miss tactics (3). Conversion is 8 of 14. Games run 35.8 moves, and late on you drift positionally (29...Kh7 and 30...g6 with about 40 seconds left).

What you're missing

  1. 01

    15...Nxf6 walked into a fork (49% to 19%) when ...Qxf6 was the recapture. You recaptured with the wrong piece.

  2. 02

    18...Nxc3+ hung the knight (49% to 25%), when ...Bh6 was best. You're checking with pieces without checking the follow-up.

  3. 03

    You fell from a 78% winning position to 51% in two moves through 29...Kh7 and 30...g6, when the engine wanted ...e5 and ...f5. You played passive king moves when pawn breaks were needed.

  4. 04

    With no advantage out of the opening (move-12 win chance 50.1), you're giving up a free chance to claim the centre against a passive first move.

How to improve it

  1. 01

    Against 1.e3, take the centre: 1...e5 or 1...d5 followed by ...c5, ...Nc6, ...Nf6 and ...Bd6 gives you a comfortable reversed-colour setup with an extra tempo's worth of ambition.

  2. 02

    With a symmetrical structure, the pawn breaks (...e5, ...c5, ...f5) decide the middlegame. Plan one by move 15.

  3. 03

    When recapturing, list every piece that can take and check each for forks. The ...Nxf6 versus ...Qxf6 miss is a classic case.

  4. 04

    Late in the game, favour pawn breaks over king shuffles. Both of your late drifts were king or pawn-cover moves when a central push was available.

Where it goes wrong

Your losses in this opening, by where and how the decisive mistake happened.

Phase of the decisive mistake

middlegame7n=7

What the mistake was

Hung a piece (left it undefended)3n=3
Missed a tactic / only move3n=3
Outplayed gradually (no single big error)1n=1
Allowed a mating attack1n=1
Lost on time in a playable position1n=1

Variations you reach

Main line1950%

Winning positions converted here: 57% (8 of 14).

Recent mistakes in this opening

Your move in red, Stockfish's in black.

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Walked into a fork · 2:28 left
15… Nxf6? Best was Qxf6. 49% → 19%
vs makaveli1980 (1498) · 24-05-26 →
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Hung a piece · 2:12 left
18… Nxc3+? Best was Bh6. 49% → 25%
vs makaveli1980 (1498) · 24-05-26 →
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Positional error · 0:42 left
29… Kh7? Best was e5. 78% → 56%
vs hsmz1372 (1271) · 25-04-26 →
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Positional error · 0:35 left
30… g6? Best was f5. 75% → 51%
vs hsmz1372 (1271) · 25-04-26 →

Next steps

01

Answer 1.e3 with 1...e5

Claim the centre immediately instead of mirroring. It gives you easy development and an early edge.

02

Compare every recapture

Before recapturing, check each capturing piece for forks. 15...Nxf6 cost you 30 points.

03

Plan a pawn break

By move 15, decide on ...e5, ...c5 or ...f5 as your lever, and play it instead of drifting with the king.