Although there are several examples from games in the 19th century, the Van 't Kruijs Opening is not popular in the modern era and is not a common choice for grandmasters, but its ability to transpose into many different openings explains its attraction for some players such as Pavel Blatny, Aron Nimzowitsch,[1] and Bent Larsen.

The queen's bishop's development is somewhat obstructed by the pawn on e3, and White usually wants to take more than a modest stake of the centre.

Although not very aggressive for a first move, play may transpose to lines of the English Opening (c2–c4), Queen's Pawn Game (d2–d4), or French Defense (delayed d2–d4), reversed Dutch Defense (f2–f4) positions, the modern variation of Larsen's Opening (b2–b3), or the Stonewall Attack.

The most common response after 1.e3 is 1...Nf6, where White generally continues with 2.Nf3, effectively transposing to the Reti Opening.

Another common response is 1...e5, where White usually plays 2.d4, transposing to the French Defense Exchange Variation after 2...exd4 3.exd4 d5.

1.Na3: Durkin 1.a3: Anderssen 1.b3: Nimzowitsch-Larsen 1.Nc3: Dunst 1.c3: Saragossa 1.d3: Mieses 1.e3: Van 't Kruijs 1.Nf3: Zukertort 1.f3: Barnes 1.g3: Benko 1.Nh3: Amar 1.h3: Clemenz