Benoni Defense: Taimanov Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. f4 Bg7 8. Bb5+
The Benoni Defense: Taimanov Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A67, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. f4 Bg7 8. Bb5+. 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 203 times by this move order. White won 52%, 6% were drawn and Black won 42%. The most popular continuation is 8… Nfd7 (79% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.85 (Stockfish, depth 44; best line 8… Nfd7 9. a4 Na6 10. Nf3 Nb4 11. O-O)
- ECO
- A67
- Moves
- 15 plies
- FEN
rnbqk2r/pp3pbp/3p1np1/1BpP4/4PP2/2N5/PP4PP/R1BQK1NR b KQkq - 2 8- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. f4 Bg7 8. Bb5+
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1 | |
| 1500-1999 | 28 | |
| 2000+ | 174 | |
| All | 203 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 8… Nfd7 | 160 (79%) | |
| 8… Bd7 | 34 (17%) | |
| 8… Nbd7 | 8 (4%) | |
| 8… Kf8 | 1 (0%) |
Master games
1,430 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 50%, draw 15%, Black 35%). The strongest:
- LCZero 0.31-dag-c93c6a8-BT4-61 (3652) – Stockfish dev-20250118-8e3e22b (3683) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 27 Theory Bonus · 2025-01-25
- Stockfish dev-20250118-8e3e22b (3683) – LCZero 0.31-dag-c93c6a8-BT4-61 (3652) 1-0 · TCEC 27 Theory Bonus · 2025-01-25
- LCZero 0.31-dag-f7fb268-BT4-61 (3652) – Stockfish dev-20241208-cf10644 (3683) 1-0 · TCEC 27 Superfinal 2024 · 2024-12-30
- Stockfish dev-20241208-cf10644 (3683) – LCZero 0.31-dag-f7fb268-BT4-61 (3652) 1-0 · TCEC 27 Superfinal 2024 · 2024-12-30
- Stockfish 20210113 (3601) – LCZero 0.27.0d-Tilps-dje-magic_JH.94-100 (3586) 1-0 · TCEC 20 Superfinal 2020 · 2021-01-25
Search all games of the Benoni Defense: Taimanov Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- Mysterious_Spy (2779) – gelyaromanova (2730) 1-0 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
- GeForceExperience (2601) – gelyaromanova (2753) 1-0 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- Fide_MaSk (2691) – ili_hoji (2652) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 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.