Caissa Codex
A73

Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Main Line

Chess diagram: Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Main Line after 9. O-O

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

150,896 games: White 47.4% / Draw 5.3% / Black 47.3%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next moveGamesWhite / Draw / BlackW / D / B
Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Czerniak Defense 63,15363K
35,95436K
34,73935K
6,9276,927
6,5446,544
714714
641641
540540

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 1, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.60 White is slightly better

Best play: 9... a6 10. a4 Bg4 11. Bf4 Bxf3 12. Bxf3 Qe7 13. e5 dxe5 14. d6

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

Overview

Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Main Line (ECO A73, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, reached after 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 9. O-O (9 moves).

In 150,896 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.4%, Black 47.3% and 5.3% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 9…Re8, in 42% of those games.

It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Czerniak Defense and Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Full Line. In all, 4 named lines continue from it.

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How to play against the Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Main Line

9…Bg4 scores best for Black: 51.2%, with Black winning 48.1% and White 45.7% of 35K games. The most played, 9…Re8, scores 50.3% in 63K games, and 9…a6 scores lowest: 50.0%. Stockfish's first choice is 9…a6.

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

Variations (2)

All 4 named lines that continue from here

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Main Line (A73)”. Lichess data as of 1 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/benoni-defense-classical-variation-main-line

https://chesscodex.org/openings/benoni-defense-classical-variation-main-line