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
The Benoni Defense: Classical Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A70, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. e4. It is a line of the Benoni Defense. Black is to move. 3 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 110 times by this move order. White won 51%, 4% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 7… Bg7 (79% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.47 (Stockfish, depth 48; best line 7… a6 8. h3 b5 9. Bd3 Bg7 10. O-O)
- ECO
- A70
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pp3p1p/3p1np1/2pP4/4P3/2N2N2/PP3PPP/R1BQKB1R b KQkq - 0 7- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. e4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 27 | |
| 2000+ | 82 | |
| All | 110 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… Bg7 | 87 (79%) | |
| 7… a6 | 18 (16%) | |
| 7… Bg4 | 5 (5%) |
Master games
271 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 44%, draw 15%, Black 41%). The strongest:
- GM Anatoly Karpov (2623) – GM Yifan Hou (2654) 1-0 · Hou vs Karpov Match 2018 · 2018-02-06
- IM Leon Livaic (2569) – GM Sanan Sjugirov (2696) 1-0 · Titled Tue 7th Jun Late · 2022-06-07
- GM Yannick Gozzoli (2600) – GM M. Amin Tabatabaei (2629) 1-0 · Chess24 Banter QualG 2020 · 2020-09-15
- GM Vladimir Fedoseev (2678) – IM Leon Livaic (2507) 0-1 · Titled Tue 11th Aug · 2020-08-11
- FM Ivan Yeletsky (2491) – GM Samuel Sevian (2687) 1-0 · chess.com SpeedChess Q2Sw · 2022-11-12
Search all games of the Benoni Defense: Classical Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- ScaryIndianJunior (2819) – fortunex2 (2615) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- JAGMM (2665) – Puntano (2581) 1/2-1/2 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
- XuBofang (2577) – IM Zeveraar-Glen (2620) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Benoni Defense (6. Nc3 g6) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6
Continuations
- Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Averbakh-Grivas Attack A71 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. e4 Bg7 8. Bg5
- Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, New York Variation A70 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. e4 Bg7 8. h3
- Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Traditional Variation A70 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. e4 Bg7 8. Be2
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.