Benoni Defense: Benoni-Staunton Gambit
1. d4 c5 2. d5 f5 3. e4
The Benoni Defense: Benoni-Staunton Gambit is a chess opening classified as ECO A43, reached after 1. d4 c5 2. d5 f5 3. e4. It is a line of the Benoni Defense. Black is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 18 times by this move order. White won 56%, 5% were drawn and Black won 39%. The most popular continuation is 3… fxe4 (72% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.11 (Stockfish, depth 32; best line 3… fxe4 4. Nc3 Nf6 5. Nge2 g6 6. h4)
- ECO
- A43
- Moves
- 5 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp1pp1pp/8/2pP1p2/4P3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR b KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. d4 c5 2. d5 f5 3. e4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 3 | |
| 2000+ | 15 | |
| All | 18 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3… fxe4 | 13 (72%) | |
| 3… d6 | 3 (17%) | |
| 3… Nf6 | 2 (11%) |
Master games
49 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 47%, draw 20%, Black 33%). The strongest:
- GM Ferenc Berkes (2702) – GM Hoang Thong Tu (2428) 1-0 · 3rd HD Bank Cup 2013 · 2013-03-21
- IM Alexander Battey (2338) – GM Konstantin Chernyshov (2503) 1/2-1/2 · FSGM May 2016 · 2016-05-16
- IM Anuj Shrivatri (2342) – IM Krishna C R G (2439) 1/2-1/2 · MPL ch-IND Rapid 2022 · 2022-04-27
- GM Anna Ushenina (2416) – IM Tatjana Vasilevich (2355) 1-0 · TCh-RUS Women 2021 · 2021-05-02
- IM Rafael Rodriguez Lopez (2249) – GM David Larino Nieto (2495) 1-0 · 9th Carlos I Open 2017 · 2017-06-24
Search all games of the Benoni Defense: Benoni-Staunton Gambit and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- tieckl (2382) – Viktor_Tahirov555 (2424) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 2s
- LoiuseMichel (2359) – Leherzahn (2314) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 2s
- FM Andriy2006 (2574) – sameh_ahmad (2006) 1-0 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Benoni Defense: Old Benoni, Mujannah Formation 1. d4 c5 2. d5 f5
More Benoni Defense lines (all)
- Benoni Defense: Franco-Sicilian Hybrid A40
- Benoni Defense: Benoni Gambit Accepted A43
- Benoni Defense: Benoni Gambit, Schlenker Defense A43
- Benoni Defense: Benoni-Indian Defense A43
- Benoni Defense: Benoni-Indian Defense, Kingside Move Order A43
- Benoni Defense: Cormorant Gambit A43
- Benoni Defense: French Benoni A43
- Benoni Defense: Hawk Variation A43
- Benoni Defense: Old Benoni (1. d4 c5) A43
- Benoni Defense: Old Benoni (1… c5 2. d5) A43
- Benoni Defense: Old Benoni (2. d5 d6) A43
- Benoni Defense: Old Benoni, Schmid Variation A43
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.