Tree path 3 levels Nimzo-Indian Defense › Leningrad Variation › Benoni Defense
- Chess Codex
- Nimzo-Indian Defense E20
- Leningrad Variation E30
- Benoni Defense E31 you are here
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Leningrad Variation, Benoni Defense
Overview
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Leningrad Variation, Benoni Defense is a variation within the Indian Defenses family, indexed as ECO E31.
The Indian Defenses group covers Indian defences — hypermodern lines where Black challenges the centre with pieces rather than pawns.
It begins with 12 plies and takes 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Bg5 h6 5. Bh4 c5 6. d5 d6 to reach the canonical position.
It is a variation of Nimzo-Indian Defense: Leningrad Variation, which itself descends from the root opening Nimzo-Indian Defense.
Step through the moves on the interactive board below, review the live Lichess statistics, or play this position against Stockfish at one of six difficulty levels.
- ECO code
- E31
- Group
- Indian Defenses (E)
- Plies
- 12
This overview is generated automatically from the opening's metadata. Know this line well? Write a description — submissions are reviewed before publishing.
Statistics from Lichess
7,652 games · White 46.9% / Draw 4.8% / Black 48.2%
| Moves | Games | W / D / B |
|---|---|---|
| e3 | 3,237 | |
| Nf3 | 1,251 | |
| e4 | 906 | |
| f3 | 577 | |
| a3 | 529 | |
| Qc2 | 353 | |
| dxe6 | 269 | |
| Rc1 | 189 |
Source: Lichess Opening Explorer · cached 2026-09-26 02:44:05
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