Benoni Defense: Modern Variation, Snake Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 Bd6
The Benoni Defense: Modern Variation, Snake Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A60, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 Bd6. 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 61 times by this move order. White won 61%, 0% were drawn and Black won 39%. The most popular continuation is 6. e4 (54% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.94 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 6. g4 Nxg4 7. e4 f5 8. exf5 Qe7+)
- ECO
- A60
- Moves
- 10 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/pp1p1ppp/3b1n2/2pP4/8/2N5/PP2PPPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 1 6- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 Bd6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 4 | |
| 1500-1999 | 18 | |
| 2000+ | 39 | |
| All | 61 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 6. e4 | 33 (54%) | |
| 6. Nf3 | 21 (34%) | |
| 6. Bg5 | 4 (7%) | |
| 6. g3 | 3 (5%) |
Master games
374 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 43%, draw 17%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- Stoofvlees II b1 (3511) – KomodoDragon 2970.00 (3568) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 23 Premier 2022 · 2022-09-30
- KomodoDragon 2970.00 (3568) – Stoofvlees II b1 (3511) 1-0 · TCEC 23 Premier 2022 · 2022-09-30
- Ethereal14.35 (3523) – Berserk13 (3540) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 26 Premier 2024 · 2024-05-05
- Berserk13 (3540) – Ethereal14.35 (3523) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 26 Premier 2024 · 2024-05-02
- SlowChess Blitz 2.9 avx2 (3491) – Berserk dev10_20220912 (3509) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 23 Premier 2022 · 2022-09-30
Search all games of the Benoni Defense: Modern Variation, Snake Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Nut5105 (2727) – omariscof (2559) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- Knuspermeister2 (2707) – omariscof (2555) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
- RiseP (2708) – omariscof (2550) 1-0 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Benoni Defense: Modern Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6
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.