Benko Gambit (3. d5 b5)

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5

The Benko Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO A57, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5. White is to move. 8 named lines continue from this position.

In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 8,248 times by this move order. White won 45%, 6% were drawn and Black won 49%. The most popular continuation is 4. cxb5 (58% of games).

Engine evaluation: +0.47 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 4. cxb5 a6 5. e3 Bb7 6. Nc3 Qa5)

ECO: A57
Moves: 6 plies
FEN: rnbqkb1r/p2ppppp/5n2/1ppP4/2P5/8/PP2PPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 4
PGN: 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5

Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess

Results by rating

Average rating	Games	White / draw / Black
0-1499	173	45%51%
1500-1999	3,280	43%52%
2000+	4,795	47%47%
All	8,248	45%49%

Most played moves

Move	Games	White / draw / Black
4. cxb5	4,823 (58%)	46%48%
4. b3	1,183 (14%)	43%53%
4. e3	581 (7%)	41%53%
4. Nc3	510 (6%)	41%55%
4. Qc2	361 (4%)	52%42%
4. Nf3 Main Line	305 (4%)	48%45%
4. Nd2 Quiet Line	151 (2%)	54%42%
4. a4 Sosonko Variation	115 (1%)	39%57%

Master games

2,153 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 44%, draw 16%, Black 40%). The strongest:

GM Alireza Firouzja (2749) – GM Magnus Carlsen (2862) 0-1 · Magnus-Alireza Bullet · 2021-02-22
GM Shakhriyar Mamedyarov (2753) – GM Fabiano Caruana (2774) 1-0 · 8th Tal Mem Blitz · 2013-06-12
GM Fabiano Caruana (2781) – GM Daniil Dubov (2711) 1-0 · Titled Tue 29th Mar Late · 2022-03-29
GM Alexander Grischuk (2745) – GM Daniil Dubov (2702) 1-0 · Titled Tue 14th Jun Early · 2022-06-14
GM Boris Gelfand (2738) – GM Dmitry Andreikin (2700) 0-1 · World Blitz Final · 2012-07-09

Search all games of the Benko Gambit and its sub-variations

Highest-rated Lichess games

NM Andrey11976 (2797) – Nana_jede_cevape (2886) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
ScaryIndianJunior (2805) – tsunami10 (2798) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
elconceto (2837) – reallylovezerk (2729) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s

Comes from

Benoni Defense (2. c4 c5) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5

Continuations

Benko Gambit Declined: Bishop Attack A57 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. Bg5
Benko Gambit Declined: Hjørring Countergambit A57 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. e4
Benko Gambit Declined: Main Line A57 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. Nf3
Benko Gambit Declined: Pseudo-Sämisch A57 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. f3
Benko Gambit Declined: Quiet Line A57 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. Nd2
Benko Gambit Declined: Sosonko Variation A57 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. a4
Benko Gambit: Mutkin Countergambit A57 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. g4
Benko Gambit Accepted A57 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6

More Benko Gambit 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.