Benoni Defense: Mikenas Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. f4 Bg7 8. e5
The Benoni Defense: Mikenas Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A66, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. f4 Bg7 8. e5. 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 30 times by this move order. White won 60%, 0% were drawn and Black won 40%. The most popular continuation is 8… dxe5 (67% of games).
Engine evaluation: 0.00 (Stockfish, depth 46; best line 8… Nfd7 9. Be2 dxe5 10. Nf3 e4 11. Nxe4)
- ECO
- A66
- Moves
- 15 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/pp3pbp/3p1np1/2pPP3/5P2/2N5/PP4PP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 8- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. f4 Bg7 8. e5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 10 | |
| 2000+ | 20 | |
| All | 30 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8… dxe5 | 20 (67%) | |
| 8… Nfd7 | 8 (27%) | |
| 8… Ng4 | 1 (3%) |
Master games
58 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 50%, draw 9%, Black 41%). The strongest:
- IM Asyl Abdyjapar (2382) – GM Levan Pantsulaia (2612) 0-1 · World Blitz 2017 · 2017-12-29
- GM Nils Grandelius (2570) – FM Erik Hedman (2381) 0-1 · ch-SWE 2012 · 2012-07-15
- IM Alberto Barp (2442) – IM Milosz Szpar (2477) 0-1 · Titled Tue 5th Nov Late · 2024-11-05
- IM Alberto Barp (2470) – IM Chen Zou (2449) 0-1 · Titled Tue 30th Apr Late · 2024-04-30
- Hayk Yeritsyan (2292) – GM Levan Pantsulaia (2603) 1/2-1/2 · Gaprindashvili Cup 2019 · 2019-09-22
Search all games of the Benoni Defense: Mikenas Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- drglavas (2439) – NM FedirBohatyrchuk1892 (2514) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- drglavas (2424) – NM FedirBohatyrchuk1892 (2520) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- Edmond1964 (2340) – Bilinmez0101 (2412) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Benoni Defense: Pawn Storm Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. f4
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.