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
The Benoni Defense: Pawn Storm 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. 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 420 times by this move order. White won 49%, 5% were drawn and Black won 46%. The most popular continuation is 7… Bg7 (91% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.83 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 7… Bg7 8. Bb5+ Nfd7 9. a4 Na6 10. Nf3)
- ECO
- A66
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pp3p1p/3p1np1/2pP4/4PP2/2N5/PP4PP/R1BQKBNR b KQkq - 0 7- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. f4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 104 | |
| 2000+ | 315 | |
| All | 420 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… Bg7 | 384 (91%) | |
| 7… Bg4 | 17 (4%) | |
| 7… a6 | 8 (2%) | |
| 7… Nbd7 | 6 (1%) | |
| 7… Bh6 | 3 (1%) | |
| 7… Qe7 | 2 (0%) |
Master games
79 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 54%, draw 11%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- Stockfish 20201225 (3592) – Ethereal TCEC S20 DivP (3482) 1-0 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2021-01-12
- Ethereal TCEC S20 DivP (3482) – Stockfish 20201225 (3592) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 20 Premier 2020 · 2021-01-10
- GM Erigaisi Arjun (2776) – GM Aleksandar Indjic (2661) 1-0 · Titled Tue 8th Jul Late · 2025-07-08
- GM Vincent Keymer (2726) – GM Kirill Shevchenko (2677) 1-0 · Superbet POL Blitz 2024 · 2024-05-11
- GM A.R. Saleh Salem (2631) – GM Aleksandar Indjic (2650) 0-1 · Titled Tue 11th Feb Early · 2025-02-11
Search all games of the Benoni Defense: Pawn Storm Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Mysterious_Spy (2779) – gelyaromanova (2730) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- tractorchampion001 (2761) – GM GogiaMetutune (2708) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- GeForceExperience (2601) – gelyaromanova (2753) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Benoni Defense: King's Pawn Line (5… d6 6. e4) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4
Continuations
- Benoni Defense: Mikenas Variation A66 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. f4 Bg7 8. e5
- Benoni Defense: Taimanov Variation A67 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. f4 Bg7 8. Bb5+
- Benoni Defense: Four Pawns Attack A68 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. f4 Bg7 8. Nf3 O-O
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.