Indian Defense: Pseudo-Benko
Play any move on the board to explore from there, or step through the line with ‹ › and the arrow keys.
Statistics from Lichess
178,756 games: White 46.7% / Draw 5.7% / Black 47.6%
| Next move | Games | White / Draw / BlackW / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| Benko Gambit Declined: Main Line | 43,28043K | |
| 40,10340K | ||
| 35,02235K | ||
| 12,94413K | ||
| 12,17812K | ||
| 11,18011K | ||
| 6,6816,681 | ||
| 5,1395,139 |
Rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, from the Lichess opening explorer, updated Oct 30, 2026
Engine evaluation
+0.57 White is slightly better
Best play: 4. e4 Nxe4 5. Bd3 Qa5+ 6. Nbd2 Nf6 7. O-O c4 8. Be4 d6
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 | 1,028 | |
| 1400–1799 | 11K | |
| 1800–2199 | 85K | |
| 2200 and up | 86K | |
| Masters, over the board | 2,351 |
Master games
- So, W. – Carlsen, M.
- Radjabov, T. – Bologan, V.
- Duda, J. – Mamedyarov, S.
- Le, Q. L. – Firouzja, A.
- Fressinet, L. – Mamedyarov, S.
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
Indian Defense: Pseudo-Benko (ECO A43, Flank Openings) is a variation of the Indian Defense: Spielmann-Indian, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 c5 3. d5 b5 (3 moves).
In 178,756 rated Lichess games between players rated 1600 to 2500, White won 46.7%, Black 47.6% and 5.7% were drawn. White's most played move here is 4. c4, in 24% of those games.
Written from the Lichess opening list and explorer. Know this line well? Write about it.
Write a description or report a mistake
How to play against the Indian Defense: Pseudo-Benko
4. Bg5 scores best for White: 53.7%, with White winning 50.7% and Black 43.4% of 40K games. The most played, 4. c4, scores 49.1% in 43K games, and 4. g3 scores lowest: 45.1%. Stockfish's first choice is 4. 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
The Indian Defense: Pseudo-Benko dipped to 0.0058% of Lichess games in 2021 and has recovered since: 0.0074% in 2025.
Numbers by year
| Year | Share of games | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 0.0066% | 2,343 |
| 2017 | 0.0072% | 3,941 |
| 2018 | 0.0084% | 6,599 |
| 2019 | 0.0079% | 9,808 |
| 2020 | 0.0078% | 22,705 |
| 2021 | 0.0058% | 22,868 |
| 2022 | 0.0063% | 23,772 |
| 2023 | 0.0066% | 24,972 |
| 2024 | 0.0067% | 24,158 |
| 2025 | 0.0074% | 25,722 |
| 2026 (Jan–Apr) | 0.008% | 8,772 |
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
Transpositions
Cite this page
Caissa Codex. “Indian Defense: Pseudo-Benko (A43)”. Lichess data as of 30 Oct 2026. https://chesscodex.org/openings/indian-defense-pseudo-benko