Benoni Defense: Woozle
1. d4 c5 2. d5 Nf6 3. Nc3 Qa5
The Benoni Defense: Woozle is a chess opening classified as ECO A43, reached after 1. d4 c5 2. d5 Nf6 3. Nc3 Qa5. 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 68 times by this move order. White won 62%, 3% were drawn and Black won 35%. The most popular continuation is 4. Bd2 (62% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.92 (Stockfish, depth 50; best line 4. Bd2 g6 5. e4 d6 6. Bc4 Bg7)
- ECO
- A43
- Moves
- 6 plies
- FEN
rnb1kb1r/pp1ppppp/5n2/q1pP4/8/2N5/PPP1PPPP/R1BQKBNR w KQkq - 3 4- PGN
1. d4 c5 2. d5 Nf6 3. Nc3 Qa5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 32 | |
| 1500-1999 | 24 | |
| 2000+ | 12 | |
| All | 68 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 4. Bd2 | 42 (62%) | |
| 4. e4 | 9 (13%) | |
| 4. Nf3 | 7 (10%) | |
| 4. Qd2 | 2 (3%) | |
| 4. e3 | 2 (3%) | |
| 4. Bf4 | 2 (3%) | |
| 4. Bg5 | 2 (3%) | |
| 4. a3 | 1 (1%) |
Master games
50 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 56%, draw 10%, Black 34%). The strongest:
- LCZero0.31-dag-5350a2e-BT4-6147500 (3628) – Seer2.8.0 (3499) 1-0 · TCEC 26 Premier 2024 · 2024-04-25
- Seer2.8.0 (3499) – LCZero0.31-dag-5350a2e-BT4-6147500 (3628) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 26 Premier 2024 · 2024-04-22
- GM Gata Kamsky (2665) – GM Christian Bauer (2639) 1-0 · 1st Cappelle Online Blitz · 2021-01-10
- GM David Navara (2725) – GM Miguel Munoz (2473) 1-0 · European Blitz 2016 · 2016-12-17
- GM Julio E Granda Zuniga (2656) – GM Miguel Munoz (2497) 1-0 · Faroes Open 2017 · 2017-07-15
Search all games of the Benoni Defense: Woozle and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- CM benammar (2374) – Pelzigeachsel (2413) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- CeleryPasta (2314) – R_Daneel (2218) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- veteran2N (2224) – moppel1966 (2259) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 2s
Comes from
Benoni Defense: Benoni-Indian Defense 1. d4 c5 2. d5 Nf6
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, 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
- 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.