Benoni Defense: French Benoni
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Statistics from Lichess
2,503,480 games: White 52.2% / Draw 4.2% / Black 43.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 1,068,0471.1M | ||
| 720,391720K | ||
| 291,393291K | ||
| 182,163182K | ||
| 69,35269K | ||
| 41,68842K | ||
| 39,50240K | ||
| 17,78718K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 31, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.66 White is slightly better
Best play: 3... Nf6 4. Nc3 d6 5. dxe6 Bxe6 6. Nh3 g6 7. Ng5 Nc6 8. Nxe6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: White scores 53% under 1400, 55% at 2200 and up and 60% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 816K | |
| 1400–1799 | 1.9M | |
| 1800–2199 | 1.3M | |
| 2200 and up | 131K | |
| Masters, over the board | 488 |
Master games
- Ivanchuk, V. – Kengis, E.
- Sokolov, I. – Andersson, U.
- Kovalenko, I. – Miezis, N.
- Rogers, I. – Kengis, E.
- Balashov, Y. S. – Kasparov, G.
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
Overview
Benoni Defense: French Benoni (ECO A43, Flank Openings) is a chess opening that starts 1. e4 e6 2. d4 c5 3. d5.
In 2,503,480 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 52.2%, Black 43.6% and 4.2% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 3…exd5, in 43% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to play against the Benoni Defense: French Benoni
3…Nf6 scores best for Black: 47.0%, with Black winning 45.1% and White 51.1% of 291K games. The most played answer, 3…exd5, scores lowest: 45.1% in 1.1M games. Stockfish's first choice is also 3…Nf6.
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 Benoni Defense: French Benoni has stayed between 0.09% and 0.11% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.099% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.11% | 40,976 |
| 2017 | 0.11% | 61,236 |
| 2018 | 0.1% | 81,318 |
| 2019 | 0.099% | 123,106 |
| 2020 | 0.09% | 263,434 |
| 2021 | 0.092% | 358,638 |
| 2022 | 0.096% | 361,316 |
| 2023 | 0.097% | 365,151 |
| 2024 | 0.098% | 353,014 |
| 2025 | 0.099% | 344,057 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.096% | 105,598 |
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
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Benoni Defense: French Benoni (A43)”. Lichess data as of 31 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/benoni-defense-french-benoni