A62

Benoni Defense: Fianchetto Variation 8. Nf3 O-O

Chess diagram: Benoni Defense: Fianchetto Variation after 8…O-O

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Statistics from Lichess

175,249 games: White 50.4% / Draw 5.8% / Black 43.7%

The moves played next. Pick one to see it on the board.
Next move	Games	White / Draw / BlackW / D / B
	167,313167K
	3,1153,115
	1,1781,178
	975975
	800800
	747747
	582582
	121121

Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026

Engine evaluation

+0.25 The position is about equal

Best play: 9. O-O Re8 10. Re1 Nbd7 11. Bf4 Ng4 12. Bg5 Qb6 13. Qc1 c4

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	228
1400–1799	4,952
1800–2199	77K
2200 and up	94K
Masters, over the board	5,115

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

Benoni Defense: Fianchetto Variation (ECO A62, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Indian Defense: Normal Variation, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. Bg2 Bg7 8. Nf3 O-O (8 moves).

In 175,249 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 50.4%, Black 43.7% and 5.8% were drawn. White's most played move here is 9. O-O, in 95% of those games.

It branches into 2 named variations; the most played are Benoni Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Hastings Defense, Main Line and Benoni Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Hastings Defense.

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Description

Popularity by year

This line has lost ground since 2016: 0.0064% of Lichess games in 2025, down from 0.0079% (its peak: 0.0097% in 2018).

0.0079%0.0064%0.0097%

Numbers by year

Year	Share of games	Games
2016	0.0079%	2,806
2017	0.0078%	4,300
2018	0.0097%	7,612
2019	0.0085%	10,552
2020	0.0079%	23,158
2021	0.0061%	23,777
2022	0.0062%	23,203
2023	0.0063%	23,769
2024	0.0065%	23,307
2025	0.0064%	22,148
2026 (Jan–Apr)	0.007%	7,674

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 (2)

Cite this page

Caissa Codex. “Benoni Defense: Fianchetto Variation (A62)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/benoni-defense-fianchetto-variation-2