Benko Gambit Declined: Pseudo-Sämisch
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. f3
The Benko Gambit Declined: Pseudo-Sämisch is a chess opening classified as ECO A57, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. f3. It is a line of the Benko Gambit Declined. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 48 times by this move order. White won 35%, 9% were drawn and Black won 56%. The most popular continuation is 4… bxc4 (31% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 4… bxc4 5. e4 d6 6. Ne2 Nbd7 7. Nec3)
- ECO
- A57
- Moves
- 7 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/p2ppppp/5n2/1ppP4/2P5/5P2/PP2P1PP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. f3
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 17 | |
| 2000+ | 31 | |
| All | 48 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4… bxc4 | 15 (31%) | |
| 4… d6 | 9 (19%) | |
| 4… b4 | 8 (17%) | |
| 4… g6 | 7 (15%) | |
| 4… e6 | 6 (13%) | |
| 4… a6 | 2 (4%) | |
| 4… Qa5+ | 1 (2%) |
Master games
140 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 53%, draw 11%, Black 36%). The strongest:
- GM Eric Hansen (2609) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2835) 0-1 · Bullet Chess Winners 2023 · 2023-07-17
- GM Alexander Morozevich (2683) – GM Pavel V. Tregubov (2586) 1-0 · ch-RUS Blitz 2016 · 2016-10-04
- GM Samuel Sevian (2694) – GM Pavel V. Tregubov (2548) 1-0 · Chess.com Classic Play-In · 2025-05-19
- GM Vugar Rasulov (2453) – GM Jeffery Xiong (2686) 0-1 · Titled Tue 8th Feb Early · 2022-02-08
- GM Svetushkin, D. (2605) – IM Danny Raznikov (2491) 1/2-1/2 · 2nd Grand Europe Open 2013 · 2013-06-16
Search all games of the Benko Gambit Declined: Pseudo-Sämisch and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- ViennaDragon (2538) – hwcasey (2592) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- Ac1000 (2520) – idontwannawait (2526) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- NJA_B (2406) – BainaFlorid (2486) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Benko Gambit (3. d5 b5) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5
More Benko Gambit Declined lines (all)
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.