Benoni Defense: Uhlmann Variation
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. Bg5
The Benoni Defense: Uhlmann Variation is a chess opening classified as ECO A61, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. Bg5. 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 22 times by this move order. White won 18%, 9% were drawn and Black won 73%. The most popular continuation is 7… Bg7 (82% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.29 (Stockfish, depth 37; best line 7… h6 8. Bc1 Bg7 9. Nd2 Qe7 10. e4)
- ECO
- A61
- Moves
- 13 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pp3p1p/3p1np1/2pP2B1/8/2N2N2/PP2PPPP/R2QKB1R b KQkq - 1 7- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. Bg5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 1500-1999 | 5 | |
| 2000+ | 17 | |
| All | 22 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 7… Bg7 | 18 (82%) | |
| 7… h6 | 2 (9%) | |
| 7… a6 | 1 (5%) | |
| 7… Nbd7 | 1 (5%) |
Master games
22 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 32%, draw 23%, Black 45%). The strongest:
- GM Andrey Rychagov (2549) – GM Sanan Sjugirov (2696) 0-1 · Titled Tue 24th May Late · 2022-05-24
- GM Aleksandar Indjic (2610) – FM Alexander Devaev (2325) 1-0 · Titled Tue 24th Oct Early · 2023-10-24
- GM Leon Livaic (2544) – FM Peter Balint (2342) 1-0 · Grand Prix PlusCity Blitz · 2025-05-29
- FM Clemens, Dr. Rietze (2359) – Dimitrios Stefanou (2266) 1/2-1/2 · 50th Rilton Cup 2022-23 · 2023-01-02
- Vadim Kudryavtsev (2142) – IM Zhanibek Amanov (2401) 0-1 · 19th Metropolitan IM · 2012-06-08
Search all games of the Benoni Defense: Uhlmann Variation and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- oldandnotcold (2643) – FM Igor_Perelygin (2440) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 2s
- always63 (2503) – hierasousse (2539) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
- always63 (2505) – CM GGTroubleshooter (2457) 0-1 · 2026-09-07 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Benoni Defense (6. Nc3 g6) 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6
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.