Benoni Defense: Semi-Benoni
1. d4 c5 2. d5 e5 3. e4 d6
The Benoni Defense: Semi-Benoni is a chess opening classified as ECO A44, reached after 1. d4 c5 2. d5 e5 3. e4 d6. 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 847 times by this move order. White won 52%, 4% were drawn and Black won 44%. The most popular continuation is 4. c4 (34% of games).
Engine evaluation: +1.30 (Stockfish, depth 60; best line 4. Nd2 Nf6 5. Ne2 Be7 6. a4 O-O)
- ECO
- A44
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnbqkbnr/pp3ppp/3p4/2pPp3/4P3/8/PPP2PPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 4- PGN
1. d4 c5 2. d5 e5 3. e4 d6
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 42 | |
| 1500-1999 | 329 | |
| 2000+ | 476 | |
| All | 847 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. c4 | 285 (34%) | |
| 4. Nc3 | 222 (26%) | |
| 4. Bb5+ | 103 (12%) | |
| 4. Nf3 | 82 (10%) | |
| 4. f4 | 56 (7%) | |
| 4. Be2 | 13 (2%) | |
| 4. Bd3 | 12 (1%) | |
| 4. a4 | 12 (1%) |
Master games
1,292 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 47%, draw 19%, Black 34%). The strongest:
- LCZero0.31-dag-5350a2e-BT4-6147500 (3634) – Stockfishdev-20240513-e608eab8 (3662) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 26 Superfinal 2024 · 2024-05-23
- Stockfishdev-20240513-e608eab8 (3662) – LCZero0.31-dag-5350a2e-BT4-6147500 (3634) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 26 Superfinal 2024 · 2024-05-23
- Integral7.0.0-dev-0d55bc02 (3576) – Obsidiandev-16.14 (3645) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 28 Premier 2025 · 2025-08-03
- Obsidiandev-16.14 (3645) – Integral7.0.0-dev-0d55bc02 (3576) 1-0 · TCEC 28 Premier 2025 · 2025-08-03
- Stockfish dev-20230903-b25d68f6 (3666) – Igel 3.5.5 (3502) 1-0 · TCEC 25 Premier 2023 · 2023-09-06
Search all games of the Benoni Defense: Semi-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
- GM AtalikS (2678) – Chizho_A1exandr (2546) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Benoni Defense: Old Benoni (2. d5 e5) 1. d4 c5 2. d5 e5
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.