Benoni Defense: Franco-Sicilian Hybrid
1. d4 e6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 exd5 4. cxd5 d6 5. Nc3 g6 6. e4 Bg7 7. Nf3 Ne7
The Benoni Defense: Franco-Sicilian Hybrid is a chess opening classified as ECO A40, reached after 1. d4 e6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 exd5 4. cxd5 d6 5. Nc3 g6 6. e4 Bg7 7. Nf3 Ne7. It is a line of the Benoni Defense. White is to move.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2 times by this move order. White won 50%, 0% were drawn and Black won 50%. The most popular continuation is 8. h3 (50% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.33 (Stockfish, depth 44; best line 8. Bf4 a6 9. h4 Bg4 10. Qd2 b5)
- ECO
- A40
- Moves
- 14 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/pp2npbp/3p2p1/2pP4/4P3/2N2N2/PP3PPP/R1BQKB1R w KQkq - 3 8- PGN
1. d4 e6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 exd5 4. cxd5 d6 5. Nc3 g6 6. e4 Bg7 7. Nf3 Ne7
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 1 | |
| 2000+ | 1 | |
| All | 2 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8. h3 | 1 (50%) | |
| 8. Bg5 | 1 (50%) |
Master games
4 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 50%, draw 0%, Black 50%). The strongest:
- GM Alexey Sarana (2658) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2751) 1-0 · Titled Tue 7th Apr 2026 · 2026-04-07
- IM Leon Livaic (2507) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2559) 0-1 · Titled Arena Jan 2nd 2021 · 2021-01-02
- IM Mahammad Muradli (2449) – GM Erigaisi Arjun (2559) 0-1 · Titled Arena Jan 2nd 2021 · 2021-01-02
- FM Konstantin Bazarov (2226) – Ekaterina Diakonova (2157) 1-0 · Titled Tuesday 10th Aug · 2021-08-10
Search all games of the Benoni Defense: Franco-Sicilian Hybrid and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Alexey_Mukhin (2087) – O-magro-de-riga (2083) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- Bardolator (1539) – M_faszczak (1566) 0-1 · 2026-09-06 · 300 + 0s
Comes from
Horwitz Defense 1. d4 e6
More Benoni Defense lines (all)
- 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
- Benoni Defense: Old Benoni, Mujannah Formation 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.