Benko Gambit Accepted: Pawn Return Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. b6
The Benko Gambit Accepted: Pawn Return Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A57, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. b6. It is a line of the Benko Gambit Accepted. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 651 times by this move order. White won 49%, 4% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 5… Qxb6 (47% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.15 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 5… e6 6. Nc3 Nxd5 7. Nxd5 exd5 8. Qxd5)
- ECO
- A57
- Moves
- 9 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/3ppppp/pP3n2/2pP4/8/8/PP2PPPP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. b6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 142 | |
| 2000+ | 508 | |
| All | 651 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5… Qxb6 | 305 (47%) | |
| 5… d6 | 131 (20%) | |
| 5… e6 | 103 (16%) | |
| 5… g6 | 93 (14%) | |
| 5… a5 | 9 (1%) | |
| 5… Bb7 | 9 (1%) | |
| 5… e5 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
2,144 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 42%, draw 18%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- Stoofvlees II a14 (3504) – Ethereal 12.43 (3470) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 19 Premier 2020 · 2020-09-16
- Ethereal 12.43 (3470) – Stoofvlees II a14 (3504) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 19 Premier 2020 · 2020-09-13
- GM Alireza Firouzja (2749) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2862) 0-1 · Magnus-Alireza 27th Feb · 2021-02-27
- GM Teimour Radjabov (2788) – GM Dmitry Andreikin (2700) 1/2-1/2 · World Blitz Final · 2012-07-10
- GM Anish Giri (2745) – GM Alireza Firouzja (2737) 0-1 · Bullet Chess Losers 2024 · 2024-06-11
Search all games of the Benko Gambit Accepted: Pawn Return Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- NM Andrey11976 (2797) – Nana_jede_cevape (2886) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- NM Andrey11976 (2801) – anuragm29 (2745) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- GM gerrygm (2592) – IM Lenyas66 (2602) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Benko Gambit Accepted 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6
More Benko Gambit Accepted lines (all)
- Benko Gambit Accepted: Dlugy Variation A57
- Benko Gambit Accepted: Modern Variation A57
- Benko Gambit Accepted: Central Storming Variation A58
- Benko Gambit Accepted: Fianchetto Variation A58
- Benko Gambit Accepted: Fully Accepted Variation A58
- Benko Gambit Accepted: King Walk Variation A59
- Benko Gambit Accepted: Yugoslav (6… d6 7. e4) A59
- Benko Gambit Accepted: Yugoslav (8… d6 9. Nge2) A59
Opening names and moves from the Lichess openings dataset; statistics from the Lichess open database, 2026-09 (CC0), sample of 12.6 million games, bots excluded; evaluations from Lichess cloud analysis (all CC0). Master games from The Week in Chess #920–#1664 by Mark Crowther, used with permission.