Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Czerniak Defense, Tal Line
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. Nf3 Bg7 8. Be2 O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. Nd2
The Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Czerniak Defense, Tal Line is a chess opening classified as ECO A77, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. Nf3 Bg7 8. Be2 O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. Nd2. It is a line of the Benoni Defense. Black is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 12 times by this move order. White won 58%, 0% were drawn and Black won 42%. The most popular continuation is 10… a6 (58% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.76 (Stockfish, depth 44; best line 10… Na6 11. f3 Nc7 12. a4 b6 13. Kh1)
- ECO
- A77
- Moves
- 19 plies
- FEN
rnbqr1k1/pp3pbp/3p1np1/2pP4/4P3/2N5/PP1NBPPP/R1BQ1RK1 b - - 7 10- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. Nf3 Bg7 8. Be2 O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. Nd2
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 2 | |
| 2000+ | 10 | |
| All | 12 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 10… a6 | 7 (58%) | |
| 10… b6 | 2 (17%) | |
| 10… Nbd7 | 2 (17%) | |
| 10… Na6 | 1 (8%) |
Master games
45 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 38%, draw 18%, Black 44%). The strongest:
- GM Alexander G Beliavsky (2623) – GM Vugar Rasulov (2508) 1-0 · 16th ch-EUR Indiv 2015 · 2015-03-08
- GM Baadur Jobava (2603) – GM Artur Gabrielian (2456) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 18th May · 2021-05-18
- GM Robert Markus (2600) – IM Ahmad Ahmadzada (2431) 1/2-1/2 · Serbia Chess Open 2021 · 2021-07-06
- GM Alexander Baburin (2503) – GM Simon K Williams (2458) 0-1 · Cork Masters 2014 · 2014-03-29
- FM Alex Vidal Zamora (2423) – IM Raven Sturt (2429) 1-0 · Platja d'Aro Open 2019 · 2019-06-30
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM bangalibabu (2472) – hierasousse (2544) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- metro13790 (2290) – yousef11919 (2236) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- liflitz (2266) – moppel1966 (2229) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Czerniak Defense (9. O-O Re8) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. Nf3 Bg7 8. Be2 O-O 9. O-O Re8
Continuations
- Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Czerniak Defense (10… Na6 11. f3) A79 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. Nf3 Bg7 8. Be2 O-O 9. O-O Re8 10. Nd2 Na6 11. f3
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.