Benoni Defense
The Benoni Defense (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5) is the most common way to reach the Benoni family of openings. Read the guide
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Statistics from Lichess
9,802,565 games: White 45.2% / Draw 5.6% / Black 49.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 6,579,3216.6M | ||
| English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Anti-Benoni Variation | 1,121,9841.1M | |
| 896,930897K | ||
| 832,616833K | ||
| 296,912297K | ||
| 28,04428K | ||
| 22,88823K | ||
| 11,40311K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 5, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.48 White is slightly better
Best play: 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. e3 axb5 6. Bxb5 Bb7 7. Nc3 Qa5
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 50% under 1400, 49% at 2200 and up and 43% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 271K | |
| 1400–1799 | 2M | |
| 1800–2199 | 6.2M | |
| 2200 and up | 2.1M | |
| Masters, over the board | 38K |
Master games
- Gelfand, B. – Carlsen, M.
- So, W. – Carlsen, M.
- Yu Yangyi – Carlsen, M.
- Carlsen, M. – Morozevich, A.
- Ding Liren – Carlsen, M.
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 26, 2026
Description
The Benoni Defense (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5) is the most common way to reach the Benoni family of openings. Black attacks White's d4-pawn at once; White usually answers 3.d5, gaining space.
Origins
The name comes from Aaron Reinganum's 1825 book Ben-Oni oder die Vertheidigungen gegen die Gambitzüge im Schache, which analysed defences to the King's and Queen's Gambits and the then unknown 1.d4 c5. Ben-Oni is a Hebrew name meaning "son of my sorrow"; Reinganum meant it as a nickname for his writings, not as the name of an opening. The original form, 1.d4 c5, is now called the Old Benoni.
The idea
After 3.d5 Black chooses the structure: ...e6 leads to the Modern Benoni, ...b5 sacrifices a pawn for a queenside attack, and ...e5 closes the centre.
Main lines
- 3.d5, the main move:
- 3...e6, the Modern Benoni; after 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 the game reaches the King's Pawn Line;
- 3...b5, the Benko Gambit, a pawn sacrifice for a queenside attack;
- 3...e5, the Czech Benoni, also named after Karel Hromádka: more solid than the Modern Benoni but more passive, with much manoeuvring and breaks such as ...b5 or ...f5;
- 3...d6 (Hromadka System) or 3...g6, usually transposing to main lines or to the King's Indian Defense.
- 3.Nf3, the Anti-Benoni, avoiding the Benoni and often reaching a Symmetrical English.
Strengths and weaknesses
Strengths
- An immediate challenge to White's centre.
- Black chooses between several distinct structures: the Modern Benoni, the Benko and the Czech Benoni.
Weaknesses
- After 3.d5 White gains space in the centre.
- White can sidestep the Benoni altogether with 3.Nf3.
Who should play it
2...c5 suits Black players who want an unbalanced fight against 1.d4 and are happy with Benoni structures, whether sharp (Modern Benoni, Benko) or solid (Czech Benoni).
The numbers
On Lichess Black does very well between 1400 and 2200: 51.1% against 45.0% at 1400–1799 and 50.0% against 44.6% at 1800–2199. Under 1400 the results are level (48.5% against 48.3%), and from 2200 up White leads 47.4% against 45.3%. In about 37,700 master games White won 40.4%, Black 26.1%, and 33.5% were drawn.
Suggest an improvement or report a mistake
How to play against the Benoni Defense
3. Nf3 (English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Anti-Benoni Variation) scores best for White: 49.8%, with White winning 46.5% and Black 46.9% of 1.1M games. The most played, 3. d5, scores 48.0% in 6.6M games, and 3. Nc3 scores lowest: 45.8%. Stockfish's first choice is 3. d5.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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 Benoni Defense has lost ground since 2016: 0.34% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.5% (its peak: 0.56% in 2018).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.5% | 177,361 |
| 2017 | 0.51% | 282,217 |
| 2018 | 0.56% | 442,158 |
| 2019 | 0.5% | 618,834 |
| 2020 | 0.44% | 1,276,735 |
| 2021 | 0.36% | 1,407,966 |
| 2022 | 0.36% | 1,334,939 |
| 2023 | 0.35% | 1,310,363 |
| 2024 | 0.34% | 1,215,533 |
| 2025 | 0.34% | 1,183,669 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.35% | 378,479 |
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
Variations (7)
- A57 Benko Gambit 3. d5 b5
- A56 Czech Benoni Defense 3. d5 e5
- A56 Hromádka System 3. d5 d6
- A60 Modern Variation 3. d5 e6
- A56 Weenink Variation 3. dxc5 e6
- A56 Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Burille Variation, Reversed Tarrasch 3. e3 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 cxd4 7. exd4 d5 8. O-O Nc6
- A56 Vulture Defense 3. d5 Ne4
Transpositions
All 48 named lines that continue from here
No line matches.
- A57 Benko Gambit 3 moves
- A56 Czech Benoni Defense 3 moves
- A56 Hromádka System 3 moves
- A60 Modern Variation 3 moves
- A56 Weenink Variation 3 moves
- A56 Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Burille Variation, Reversed Tarrasch 8 moves
- A56 Vulture Defense 3 moves
- A57 Benko Gambit Accepted 4 moves
- A57 Benko Gambit Declined: Bishop Attack 4 moves
- A57 Benko Gambit Declined: Hjørring Countergambit 4 moves
- A57 Benko Gambit Declined: Main Line 4 moves
- A57 Benko Gambit Declined: Pseudo-Sämisch 4 moves
- A57 Benko Gambit Declined: Quiet Line 4 moves
- A57 Benko Gambit Declined: Sosonko Variation 4 moves
- A57 Mutkin Countergambit 4 moves
- A56 Benoni Defense: King's Indian System 5 moves
- A65 Benoni Defense: King's Pawn Line 6 moves
- A60 Snake Variation 5 moves
- A57 Dlugy Variation 5 moves
- A58 Fully Accepted Variation 5 moves
- A57 Modern Variation 5 moves
- A57 Pawn Return Variation 5 moves
- A57 Benko Gambit: Zaitsev System 5 moves
- A72 Benoni Defense: Classical Variation 8 moves
- A65 King's Pawn Line 7 moves
- A66 Benoni Defense: Pawn Storm Variation 7 moves
- A59 Benko Gambit 9 moves
- A58 Benko Gambit Accepted: Central Storming Variation 7 moves
- A58 Benko Gambit Accepted: Fianchetto Variation 9 moves
- A59 Benko Gambit Accepted: King Walk Variation 11 moves
- A59 Benko Gambit Accepted: Yugoslav 7 moves
- A59 Benko Gambit Accepted: Yugoslav 9 moves
- A58 Benko Gambit: Fianchetto Variation 8 moves
- A58 Benko Gambit: Nd2 Variation 8 moves
- A57 Benko Gambit: Zaitsev Variation, Nescafe Frappe Attack 7 moves
- A73 Main Line 9 moves
- A68 Benoni Defense: Four Pawns Attack 8 moves
- A65 with Be3 8 moves
- A65 with Bg5 8 moves
- A65 with Nge2 8 moves
- A66 Benoni Defense: Mikenas Variation 8 moves
- A67 Benoni Defense: Taimanov Variation 8 moves
- A57 Benko Gambit: Nescafe Frappe Attack 8 moves
- A76 Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Czerniak Defense 9 moves
- A74 Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Full Line 10 moves
- A69 Main Line 9 moves
- A77 Tal Line 10 moves
- A79 Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Czerniak Defense 11 moves
Sources
- History and theory: adapted from the Wikipedia article Benoni Defense, version of 1 August 2026, under CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Results: Lichess opening explorer, figures collected from September to November 2026.
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Benoni Defense (A56)”. Lichess data as of 5 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/benoni-defense