A59

Benko Gambit Accepted: Yugoslav

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Statistics from Lichess

208,557 games: White 45.5% / Draw 7.1% / Black 47.5%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	178,473178K
	20,45320K
	7,2937,293
	1,5661,566
	254254
	131131
	117117
	6363

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.82 White is better

Best play: 7... Bxf1 8. Kxf1 g6 9. g3 Bg7 10. Kg2 O-O 11. Nf3 Qb6 12. Re1

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	275
1400–1799	13K
1800–2199	132K
2200 and up	65K
Masters, over the board	289

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: Yugoslav (ECO A59, 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 Bxa6 6. Nc3 d6 7. e4 (7 moves).

In 208,557 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 45.5%, Black 47.5% and 7.1% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 7…Bxf1, in 86% of those games.

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Description

How to play against the Benko Gambit Accepted: Yugoslav

The most played answer, 7…Bxf1, also scores best for Black: 51.6%, with Black winning 48.0% and White 44.8% of 178K games. Of the main answers, 7…g6 scores lowest: 48.4%. Stockfish's first choice is also 7…Bxf1.

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: Yugoslav peaked in 2018 at 0.011% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.0075% in 2025.

0.0083%0.0075%0.011%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.0083%	2,977
2017	0.011%	5,806
2018	0.011%	8,512
2019	0.0088%	11,002
2020	0.0088%	25,737
2021	0.0078%	30,522
2022	0.0081%	30,405
2023	0.0077%	29,019
2024	0.0075%	26,777
2025	0.0075%	26,005
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.0077%	8,444

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: Yugoslav (A59)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/benko-gambit-accepted-yugoslav