Caissa Codex
A57

Benko Gambit Declined: Main Line

Chess diagram: Benko Gambit Declined: Main Line after 4. Nf3

Type a move and press Enter: e4, Nf3, O-O, or from and to squares like g1f3 (e7e8q to promote). The board is also played with the mouse.

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Statistics from Lichess

194,885 games: White 47.9% / Draw 5.8% / Black 46.3%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
59,61260K
54,07054K
27,62228K
20,93121K
12,53713K
Blumenfeld Countergambit 12,22912K
5,2015,201
2,2632,263

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 6, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.33 White is slightly better

Best play: 4... b4 5. Nbd2 g6 6. e4 d6 7. e5 dxe5 8. Nxe5 Qc7 9. Nd3

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

By rating

PlayersGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Under 1400 1,157
1400–1799 16K
1800–2199 104K
2200 and up 79K
Masters, over the board 2,633

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 Declined: Main Line (ECO A57, Flank Openings) is a declined gambit in the Benko Gambit, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. Nf3 (4 moves).

In 194,885 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.9%, Black 46.3% and 5.8% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 4…bxc4, in 31% of those games.

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How to play against the Benko Gambit Declined: Main Line

4…g6 scores best for Black: 50.8%, with Black winning 47.8% and White 46.2% of 54K games. The most played answer, 4…bxc4, scores lowest: 46.7% in 60K games. Stockfish's first choice is 4…b4.

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 Declined: Main Line has lost ground since 2016: 0.007% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.0099% (its peak: 0.012% in 2018).

Numbers by year
YearShare of gamesGames
20160.0099%3,546
20170.011%6,026
20180.012%9,720
20190.01%12,952
20200.009%26,212
20210.007%27,491
20220.0069%25,841
20230.0065%24,330
20240.0065%23,325
20250.007%24,165
2026 (Jan–Apr)0.0071%7,835

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

Other lines from the same position

Instead of 4. Nf3, the position after Benko Gambit also goes on to:

Transpositions

This position is also reached from these lines, by another move order:

From here, a move transposes into another named line:

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Benko Gambit Declined: Main Line (A57)”. Lichess data as of 6 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/benko-gambit-declined-main-line

https://chesscodex.org/openings/benko-gambit-declined-main-line