A58

Benko Gambit Accepted: Fianchetto Variation

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Statistics from Lichess

171,896 games: White 43.0% / Draw 5.6% / Black 51.3%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	128,985129K
	36,22336K
	3,3403,340
	1,7891,789
	779779
	281281
	140140
	112112

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 8, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.65 White is slightly better

Best play: 9... Nbd7 10. Rb1 O-O 11. O-O Ng4 12. h3 Nge5 13. Nxe5 Nxe5 14. a4

Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.

By rating

Players	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400	192
1400–1799	14K
1800–2199	114K
2200 and up	46K
Masters, over the board	1,897

Master games

Rated blitz, rapid and classical Lichess games by rating band, and over-the-board games of players rated 2200+ from the Lichess masters database, updated Sep 27, 2026

Overview

Benko Gambit Accepted: Fianchetto Variation (ECO A58, Flank Openings) is a gambit in the Benko Gambit Accepted: Fully Accepted Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. bxa6 g6 6. Nc3 Bxa6 7. g3 d6 8. Bg2 Bg7 9. Nf3 (9 moves).

In 171,896 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 43.0%, Black 51.3% and 5.6% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 9…O-O, in 75% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the Benko Gambit Accepted: Fianchetto Variation

9…Nbd7 scores best for Black: 54.1%, with Black winning 51.3% and White 43.1% of 36K games. The most played answer, 9…O-O, scores lowest: 54.1% in 129K games. Stockfish's first choice is also 9…Nbd7.

Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: Black's wins plus half the draws, in rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500. How to play against other popular openings

Popularity by year

The Benko Gambit Accepted: Fianchetto Variation is played less than half as often as in 2016: 0.0051% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.011%.

0.011%0.0051%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.011%	4,025
2017	0.011%	6,148
2018	0.012%	9,159
2019	0.0096%	11,943
2020	0.0088%	25,910
2021	0.0066%	25,850
2022	0.006%	22,664
2023	0.0055%	20,715
2024	0.0053%	19,067
2025	0.0051%	17,689
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.005%	5,526

Share of rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500 (blitz, rapid and classical) that reach this position, by year; 2026: January to April. Which openings are rising and falling

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Benko Gambit Accepted: Fianchetto Variation (A58)”. Lichess data as of 8 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/benko-gambit-accepted-fianchetto-variation