Benoni Defense (2. c4 c5)
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5
The Benoni Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO A56, reached after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5. White is to move. 7 named lines continue from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 22,567 times by this move order. White won 46%, 6% were drawn and Black won 48%. The most popular continuation is 3. d5 (68% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.56 (Stockfish, depth 62; best line 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. bxa6 e6)
- ECO
- A56
- Moves
- 4 plies
- FEN
rnbqkb1r/pp1ppppp/5n2/2p5/2PP4/8/PP2PPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 3- PGN
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 1,137 | |
| 1500-1999 | 9,701 | |
| 2000+ | 11,729 | |
| All | 22,567 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 3. d5 | 15,243 (68%) | |
| 3. Nf3 | 2,549 (11%) | |
| 3. Nc3 | 2,088 (9%) | |
| 3. e3 | 1,834 (8%) | |
| 3. dxc5 | 690 (3%) | |
| 3. g3 | 59 (0%) | |
| 3. Bg5 | 56 (0%) | |
| 3. Bf4 | 21 (0%) |
Master games
7,713 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 39%, draw 21%, Black 40%). The strongest:
- PlentyChess 7.0.55 (3693) – Stockfish dev-20260228-702d4b8c (3796) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-17
- Stockfish dev-20260228-702d4b8c (3796) – PlentyChess 7.0.55 (3693) 1-0 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-14
- Torch 20260128-7136070b (3716) – Reckless 0.9.0-dev-b32e0895 (3741) 1-0 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-05
- Reckless 0.9.0-dev-b32e0895 (3741) – Torch 20260128-7136070b (3716) 1/2-1/2 · TCEC 29 Premier 2026 · 2026-03-03
- Stockfishdev-20250802-a37b38bd (3731) – KomodoDragon3.3 (3620) 1-0 · TCEC 28 Premier 2025 · 2025-08-03
Search all games of the Benoni Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- NM Andrey11976 (2797) – Nana_jede_cevape (2886) 1-0 · 2026-09-05 · 180 + 0s
- ScaryIndianJunior (2805) – tsunami10 (2798) 0-1 · 2026-09-01 · 180 + 0s
- GM sillyMASTER (2833) – IM shuriks91 (2756) 1-0 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Indian Defense: Normal Variation 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4
Continuations
- Benko Gambit (3. d5 b5) A57 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5
- Benoni Defense: Czech Benoni Defense A56 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e5
- Benoni Defense: Hromádka System A56 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 d6
- Benoni Defense: Modern Variation A60 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6
- Benoni Defense: Weenink Variation A56 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. dxc5 e6
- Vulture Defense A56 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 Ne4
- Grünfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation, Burille Variation, Reversed Tarrasch A56 · 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. e3 g6 4. Nc3 Bg7 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 cxd4 7. exd4 d5 8. O-O Nc6
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.