Benoni Defense

Chess opening · ECO A56 · 4 half-moves

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5

♜♞♝♛♚♝♜♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♞♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♜♞♝♛♚♝♞♜

The Benoni Defense is reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5. It is White's move in the position shown.

It branches from the Indian Defense: Normal Variation with 2… c5.

How often it is played

The Benoni Defense and its variations appeared in 0.24% of games — 7,199 of 3,000,000 rated games sampled from Lichess in September 2026. That makes it number 166 of the openings listed here.

Results

White won 49%, 3.9% were drawn and Black won 47%. These are games between players of every strength and time control, so they say how the opening does in practice rather than how sound it is.

What the engine thinks

Stockfish, at depth 18, evaluates the position at +0.66 — a clear edge for White. Positive numbers favour White; see reading the evaluation bar.

Similar openings

The most-played alternatives — what else could have been chosen around the move where this opening begins.

Opening	Moves	Share of games
Indian Defense: West Indian Defense	`1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6`	0.98%
Indian Defense: Anti-Nimzo-Indian	`1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3`	0.56%
Nimzo-Indian Defense	`1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4`	0.24%

Main continuations

Variation	Moves	Share of games
Benoni Defense: Modern Variation	`1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6`	0.07%
Benko Gambit	`1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5`	0.07%
Benoni Defense: Hromádka System	`1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 d6`	0.04%
Benoni Defense: Czech Benoni Defense	`1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e5`	0.01%
Benoni Defense: Weenink Variation	`1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. dxc5 e6`	0.00%
Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Burille Variation, Reversed Tarrasch	`1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. e3 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 cxd4 7. exd4 d5 8. O-O Nc6`	0.00%
Vulture Defense	`1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 Ne4`	0.00%

Check your own games

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