Benoni Defense: Old Benoni 1…c5 2. d5
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Statistics from Lichess
10,565,162 games: White 49.2% / Draw 4.5% / Black 46.2%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 4,082,8014.1M | ||
| 2,075,6442.1M | ||
| Benoni Defense: Benoni-Indian Defense | 1,865,6661.9M | |
| A44 | 1,459,0851.5M | |
| 484,113484K | ||
| 197,569198K | ||
| Mujannah Formation | 112,872113K | |
| 95,37395K |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 27, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.62 White is slightly better
Best play: 2... Nf6 3. Nc3 e6 4. e4 d6 5. h3 Be7 6. g4 O-O 7. Bg2
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 54% under 1400, 53% at 2200 and up and 60% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 1M | |
| 1400–1799 | 4.5M | |
| 1800–2199 | 6.3M | |
| 2200 and up | 1.4M | |
| Masters, over the board | 6,695 |
Master games
- Aronian, L. – Caruana, F.
- Gelfand, B. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Wang, Y. – Malakhov, V.
- Aronian, L. – Zvjaginsev, V.
- Duda, J. – Ivanchuk, V.
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: Old Benoni (ECO A43, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Benoni Defense: Old Benoni, reached after 1. d4 c5 2. d5 (2 moves).
In 10,565,162 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 49.2%, Black 46.2% and 4.5% were drawn. Black's most played move here is 2…d6, in 39% of those games.
It branches into 5 named variations; the most played are Benoni Defense: Benoni-Indian Defense and Benoni Defense: Old Benoni, Mujannah Formation. In all, 10 named lines continue from it.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
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How to answer 2. d5
2…e5 scores best for Black: 50.3%, with Black winning 47.8% and White 47.2% of 1.5M games. The most played, 2…d6, scores 48.2% in 4.1M games, and 2…e6 scores lowest: 47.6%. Stockfish's first choice is 2…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
This line has stayed between 0.38% and 0.43% of Lichess games a year since 2016 (0.43% in 2025).
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.38% | 135,923 |
| 2017 | 0.39% | 214,729 |
| 2018 | 0.42% | 332,254 |
| 2019 | 0.41% | 508,885 |
| 2020 | 0.39% | 1,148,212 |
| 2021 | 0.38% | 1,498,820 |
| 2022 | 0.41% | 1,526,546 |
| 2023 | 0.41% | 1,527,903 |
| 2024 | 0.42% | 1,501,686 |
| 2025 | 0.43% | 1,503,251 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.44% | 483,806 |
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 (5)
All 10 named lines that continue from here
- A43 Benoni Defense: Benoni-Indian Defense 2 moves
- A43 Old Benoni 2 moves
- A44 Old Benoni 2 moves
- A43 Mujannah Formation 2 moves
- A43 Benoni Defense: Snail Variation 2 moves
- A43 Kingside Move Order 3 moves
- A43 Benoni Defense: Benoni-Staunton Gambit 3 moves
- A43 Schmid Variation 3 moves
- A44 Benoni Defense: Semi-Benoni 3 moves
- A43 Benoni Defense: Woozle 3 moves
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Benoni Defense: Old Benoni (A43)”. Lichess data as of 27 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/benoni-defense-old-benoni-2