Tree path 7 levels Queen's Pawn Game › Indian Defense › Normal Variation › Benoni Defense › Modern Variation › Benoni Defense: King's Pawn Line › Benoni Defense: Classical Variation
- Chess Codex
- Queen's Pawn Game A40
- Indian Defense A45
- Normal Variation A50
- Benoni Defense A56
- Modern Variation A60
- Benoni Defense: King's Pawn Line A65
- Benoni Defense: Classical Variation A72 you are here
Benoni Defense: Classical Variation
Overview
Benoni Defense: Classical Variation is a variation within the Flank Openings family, indexed as ECO A72.
The Flank Openings group covers flank openings — systems that delay the central pawn break and instead develop pieces and pawns on the wings.
Play reaches this position via 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. Nf3 Bg7 8. Be2 O-O, after 16 plies of opening development.
It is a variation of Benoni Defense: King's Pawn Line, which itself descends from the root opening Queen's Pawn Game.
It continues primarily into one named line, Main Line.
In total, the branch covers 5 sub-variations across all depths.
Step through the moves on the interactive board below, review the live Lichess statistics, or play this position against Stockfish at one of six difficulty levels.
- ECO code
- A72
- Group
- Flank Openings (A)
- Plies
- 16
- Direct variations
- 1
- Total in subtree
- 5
This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.
Statistics from Lichess
123,917 games · White 46.9% / Draw 5.3% / Black 47.9%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| O-O | 101,598 | |
| Nd2 | 8,208 | |
| h3 | 4,276 | |
| Bf4 | 3,661 | |
| Bg5 | 2,759 | |
| Be3 | 1,837 | |
| Qc2 | 503 | |
| a4 | 483 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 03:09:14
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