Benoni Defense: Old Benoni (2. d5 e5)
1. d4 c5 2. d5 e5
The Benoni Defense: Old Benoni is a chess opening classified as ECO A44, reached after 1. d4 c5 2. d5 e5. It is a line of the Benoni Defense. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 4,074 times by this move order. White won 48%, 5% were drawn and Black won 47%. The most popular continuation is 3. c4 (42% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.28 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 3. e4 Nf6 4. Nd2 Be7 5. a4 d6)
- ECO
- A44
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp1p1ppp/8/2pPp3/8/8/PPP1PPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq e6 0 3- PGN
1. d4 c5 2. d5 e5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 277 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,880 | |
| 2000+ | 1,917 | |
| All | 4,074 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. c4 | 1,709 (42%) | |
| 3. e4 | 1,067 (26%) | |
| 3. dxe6 | 853 (21%) | |
| 3. Nc3 | 355 (9%) | |
| 3. d6 | 20 (0%) | |
| 3. Nf3 | 19 (0%) | |
| 3. g3 | 14 (0%) | |
| 3. f4 | 10 (0%) |
Master games
1,389 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 44%, draw 15%, Black 41%). The strongest:
- Stockfish 20210113 (3601) – LCZero 0.27.0d-Tilps-dje-magic_JH.94-100 (3586) 1-0 · TCEC 20 Superfinal 2020 · 2021-02-01
- LCZero 0.27.0d-Tilps-dje-magic_JH.94-100 (3586) – Stockfish 20210113 (3601) 1-0 · TCEC 20 Superfinal 2020 · 2021-02-01
- Seer2.8.0 (3499) – RubiChess20240420 (3531) 1-0 · TCEC 26 Premier 2024 · 2024-04-25
- RubiChess20240420 (3531) – Seer2.8.0 (3499) 1-0 · TCEC 26 Premier 2024 · 2024-04-23
- Stoofvlees II b5 (3492) – Ethereal 14.24 (3535) 1-0 · TCEC 25 Premier 2023 · 2023-09-06
Search all games of the Benoni Defense: Old Benoni and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- FM stanbad1 (2717) – IM nickVet (2707) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- AnonymousBrownGuy (2731) – FM kirill_kopyonkin (2685) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- simple_hunter (2669) – BishopAndSons (2645) 0-1 · 2026-09-04 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Benoni Defense: Old Benoni (1… c5 2. d5) 1. d4 c5 2. d5
Continuations
- Benoni Defense: Semi-Benoni A44 · 1. d4 c5 2. d5 e5 3. e4 d6
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 (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.