Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Averbakh-Grivas Attack
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. e4 Bg7 8. Bg5
The Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Averbakh-Grivas Attack is a chess opening classified as ECO A71, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. e4 Bg7 8. Bg5. 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 6 times by this move order. White won 50%, 0% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 8… O-O (100% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.23 (Stockfish, depth 63; best line 8… a6 9. a4 Bg4 10. Be2 Bxf3 11. Bxf3)
- ECO
- A71
- Moves
- 15 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/pp3pbp/3p1np1/2pP2B1/4P3/2N2N2/PP3PPP/R2QKB1R b KQkq - 2 8- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. e4 Bg7 8. Bg5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 3 | |
| 2000+ | 3 | |
| All | 6 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8… O-O | 6 (100%) |
Master games
14 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 50%, draw 14%, Black 36%). The strongest:
- IM Leon Livaic (2576) – IM Harshavardhan G B (2397) 1-0 · Titled Tue 19th Jul Late · 2022-07-19
- IM Pavel Zpevak (2388) – GM Krzysztof Jakubowski (2565) 1-0 · 26th Czech Rapid G1 2015 · 2015-07-23
- IM Hendrik Pieter Hoeksema (2342) – IM Rasmus Svane (2507) 0-1 · 52nd Groningen Open · 2014-12-27
- IM Leon Livaic (2481) – FM Ahmad Ahmadzada (2343) 1/2-1/2 · World Youth Open U18 2018 · 2018-10-28
- IM Marcel Peek (2294) – IM Koen Leenhouts (2460) 0-1 · Hastings Masters 2018-19 · 2019-01-01
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Reskator0 (2115) – ZiguratZenMelle (2160) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
- kbch (2090) – vonhohohehei (2150) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 2s
- machuelito (2053) – KaBeEn (1979) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
Benoni Defense: Classical Variation (6… g6 7. e4) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. e4
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: Benoni-Staunton Gambit 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
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.