Benoni Defense: Old Benoni 2. d5 e5
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
1,458,618 games: White 47.2% / Draw 5.0% / Black 47.8%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| 632,083632K | ||
| 381,991382K | ||
| 275,810276K | ||
| 134,929135K | ||
| 8,9238,923 | ||
| 7,3777,377 | ||
| 5,8405,840 | ||
| 5,3325,332 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Nov 3, 2026
Engine evaluation
+1.39 White is better
Best play: 3. e4 d6 4. a4 Nf6 5. Nd2 Be7 6. Ne2 O-O 7. Nc3 Na6
Stockfish 19, depth 30, after the line's last move. Scores are in pawns, from White's side.
By rating
Rating changes little here: Black scores 46% under 1400, 48% at 2200 and up and 36% in master games (wins plus half the draws).
| Players | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Under 1400 | 57K | |
| 1400–1799 | 314K | |
| 1800–2199 | 875K | |
| 2200 and up | 368K | |
| Masters, over the board | 2,342 |
Master games
- Aronian, L. – Caruana, F.
- Dubov, D. – Ponkratov, P.
- Sokolov, I. – Morozevich, A.
- Sarana, A. – Nihal, S.
- Hertneck, G. – Jussupow, A.
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: Old Benoni (ECO A44, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Benoni Defense: Old Benoni, reached after 1. d4 c5 2. d5 e5 (2 moves).
In 1,458,618 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 47.2%, Black 47.8% and 5.0% were drawn. White's most played move here is 3. c4, in 43% of those games.
It continues into one named variation, Benoni Defense: Semi-Benoni.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to answer 2…e5
3. Nc3 scores best for White: 55.4%, with White winning 52.8% and Black 41.9% of 135K games. The most played, 3. c4, scores 48.7% in 632K games, and 3. dxe6 scores lowest: 46.6%. Stockfish's first choice is 3. e4.
Main answers: those played in at least 5% of these games. Score: White'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 peaked in 2018 at 0.069% of Lichess games and has slipped since: 0.058% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.057% | 20,267 |
| 2017 | 0.062% | 34,022 |
| 2018 | 0.069% | 54,212 |
| 2019 | 0.06% | 74,480 |
| 2020 | 0.055% | 160,439 |
| 2021 | 0.05% | 196,695 |
| 2022 | 0.055% | 205,459 |
| 2023 | 0.057% | 213,137 |
| 2024 | 0.057% | 203,799 |
| 2025 | 0.058% | 202,725 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.06% | 66,063 |
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 (1)
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Benoni Defense: Old Benoni (A44)”. Lichess data as of 3 Nov 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/benoni-defense-old-benoni-4