Scotch Game: Benima Defense
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Be7 4. d4 exd4
The Scotch Game: Benima Defense is a chess opening classified as ECO C44, reached after 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Be7 4. d4 exd4. It is a line of the Scotch Game. White is to move. 1 named line continues from this position.
In 12.6 million rated Lichess games (blitz and slower), this position was reached 2,869 times by this move order. White won 50%, 5% were drawn and Black won 45%. The most popular continuation is 5. Nxd4 (80% of games).
Engine evaluation: +0.40 (Stockfish, depth 55; best line 5. Nxd4 d6 6. O-O Nf6 7. Nc3 O-O)
- ECO
- C44
- Moves
- 8 plies
- FEN
r1bqk1nr/ppppbppp/2n5/8/2BpP3/5N2/PPP2PPP/RNBQK2R w KQkq - 0 5- PGN
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Be7 4. d4 exd4
Analyse with Stockfish · Board image (SVG) · Open on Lichess
Results by rating
| Average rating | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 0-1499 | 689 | |
| 1500-1999 | 1,880 | |
| 2000+ | 300 | |
| All | 2,869 |
Most played moves
| Move | Games | White / draw / Black |
|---|---|---|
| 5. Nxd4 | 2,306 (80%) | |
| 5. c3 | 359 (13%) | |
| 5. O-O | 128 (4%) | |
| 5. e5 | 41 (1%) | |
| 5. Bxf7+ | 12 (0%) | |
| 5. Ng5 | 6 (0%) | |
| 5. Qxd4 | 5 (0%) | |
| 5. h4 | 4 (0%) |
Master games
332 over-the-board games are classified under this line (White 58%, draw 17%, Black 25%). The strongest:
- GM David Navara (2736) – GM Viktor Laznicka (2675) 1/2-1/2 · ch-CZE Blitz 2018 · 2018-12-22
- GM Jorden Van Foreest (2695) – GM Sipke Ernst (2539) 1/2-1/2 · ch-NED KO 2023 · 2023-07-05
- GM Gawain C B Maroroa Jones (2670) – GM Nikita Matinian (2470) 1-0 · Speed Chess Super Swiss · 2020-10-03
- IM Pavel Shkapenko (2424) – GM Andrey Esipenko (2683) 0-1 · Titled Tuesday 10th Nov · 2020-11-10
- GM Krzysztof Jakubowski (2518) – GM Vojtech Plat (2561) 1/2-1/2 · TCh-POL Ekstraliga 2019 · 2019-08-28
Search all games of the Scotch Game: Benima Defense and its sub-variations
Highest-rated Lichess games
- tourdefra (2776) – winx_m (2942) 0-1 · 2026-09-02 · 180 + 0s
- RoryMcCann (2659) – ISEECOMPENSATION (2614) 1-0 · 2026-09-06 · 180 + 0s
- Not_Strong_Enough (2522) – ISEECOMPENSATION (2610) 0-1 · 2026-09-03 · 180 + 0s
Comes from
Italian Game: Hungarian Defense 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Be7
Continuations
- Italian Game: Hungarian Defense, Tartakower Variation C50 · 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Be7 4. d4 exd4 5. c3 Nf6 6. e5 Ne4
More Scotch Game lines (all)
- Scotch Game (2… Nc6 3. d4) C44
- Scotch Game (3. d4 exd4) C44
- Scotch Game: Cochrane Variation C44
- Scotch Game: Cochrane-Shumov Defense C44
- Scotch Game: Göring Gambit C44
- Scotch Game: Göring Gambit, Bardeleben Variation C44
- Scotch Game: Göring Gambit, Double Pawn Sacrifice C44
- Scotch Game: Göring Gambit, Main Line C44
- Scotch Game: Hanneken Variation C44
- Scotch Game: Haxo Gambit C44
- Scotch Game: Lolli Variation (3. d4 Nxd4) C44
- Scotch Game: Lolli Variation (4… exd4 5. Qxd4) C44
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.