In 213,714 Lichess games between 900 and 1700 (September 2026 data), White scores 50.4% against the Benoni Defense, so it is level. You reach it with 1. 2. , let White's pawn advance to d5 and play against it on the queenside, with your bishop on g7. At your level it turns up in 7 of every 1000 games.
Lichess games from September 2026 (30,577,162 rated 900 to 1700) and 31,791 over-the-board games rated 2300+ from the last 12 months. Data updated: October 14, 2026.
47 named lines in this family; 1 with their own page.
The opening's share in each Lichess rating band.
After , the public plays 3. in 56 of every 100 games; strong online players rated 2200 and up play it in 79 of every 100. The rest is mostly 3. and 3., 14 in every 100 each, while 3. gets 5 in every 100. Against 3. the public spreads its answers: in 32 of every 100, in 25 and in 23. Strong players lean toward : 54 in every 100. The real gap comes next. After , strong players take with 4. in 76 of every 100 games, the public in only 25; at your level the usual reply is 4., in 40 of every 100.
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56.0% | 48.6% | 79.1% | 96.6% | |
| 13.8% | 47.8% | 11.1% | 3.4% | |
| 13.7% | 46.7% | 3.6% | no data | |
| 9.4% | 48.6% | 3.7% | no data | |
| 5.3% | 55.7% | 2.2% | no data | |
| 1.1% | 38.4% | no data | no data | |
| no data | no data | 0.2% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 32.1% | 47.8% | 54.4% | 32.7% | |
| 25.1% | 50.7% | 23.7% | 32.7% | |
| 22.9% | 50.7% | 6.1% | no data | |
| 9.5% | 48.5% | 6.0% | 18.9% | |
| 3.6% | 51.2% | 7.9% | 15.7% | |
| 2.4% | 54.8% | 1.0% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40.4% | 45.1% | no data | no data | |
| 24.8% | 48.1% | 75.8% | 88.1% | |
| 16.0% | 49.6% | no data | no data | |
| 12.4% | 52.2% | 1.7% | no data | |
| 2.3% | 45.7% | no data | no data | |
| 2.0% | 58.3% | 6.2% | 11.9% | |
| no data | no data | 6.5% | no data | |
| no data | no data | 3.4% | no data | |
| no data | no data | 2.6% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90.1% | 45.2% | 96.8% | 100.0% | |
| 9.9% | 63.3% | 0.2% | no data | |
| no data | no data | 2.0% | no data | |
| no data | no data | 0.6% | no data | |
| no data | no data | 0.3% | no data | |
| no data | no data | 0.1% | no data |
| Move | Lichess 900–1700 | White's score | Online, 2200+ | Over the board, 2300+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 56.5% | 43.6% | 47.8% | 41.1% | |
| 27.4% | 44.6% | 9.6% | no data | |
| 12.4% | 48.4% | 24.5% | 50.0% | |
| 3.7% | 48.3% | 14.4% | 8.9% | |
| no data | no data | 3.1% | no data | |
| no data | no data | 0.3% | no data |
Everything turns on White's pawn on d5. It takes c6 and e6 away from you, but it leaves the c4 pawn on its own, and that is where you start. The line strong players follow is 3. 4. 5. 6. : you hand over your b-pawn so that you have no pawns left on the a- and b-files. The a- and b-files go to your rooks and the long diagonal to your bishop, all of it aimed at White's queenside.
comes first because it hits the c4 pawn, which nothing defends, so White has to decide right away. If White takes with 4., offers the a-pawn too and opens the second file. After 5. you are in no hurry to win it back: your bishop on c8 sees the a6 pawn through b7, so you play and first. For now the knight on f6 blocks the diagonal; once it moves, the bishop looks at c3 and b2. Strong players repeat this a lot: after 4., 97 of every 100 continue with .
At your level hardly anyone gets that far: only 438 public games reach 5.. What you will meet is 4., which defends c4 with another pawn. You have given nothing away and the tension between b5 and c4 stays; with that move White scores 45 of every 100 points, less than with any other answer to .
If you prefer , the bishop idea is the same in a different structure. After 4. 5. 6. , you have pawns on c5, d6 and g6 against d5 and e4, sometimes f4 as well. holds it all together: it stops the d5 pawn, whose next step would be d6, the push that punishes the mistakes below. In this structure strong players put the bishop on g7 in 53 of every 100 online games and in 73 of every 100 over the board; the alternative, the bishop on e7, comes in at 23 of every 100 online.
Plan played in 73% of the 269 over-the-board games rated 2300+ with this structure.
Online, 2200+: 52.9% of 29,171. Over the board, 2300+: 72.9% of 269; the alternative, : 23.3% and 14.1%; the alternative, : 3.6% and 1.1%; the alternative, : 4.8% and 0.0%; the alternative, : 2.0% and 0.7%.
| Move | Strong games | Chosen by |
|---|---|---|
| 17,145 | 79.4% | |
| 14,739 | 54.1% | |
| 7,941 | 75.9% | |
| 6,014 | 96.8% | |
| 5,802 | 47.8% | |
| 2,762 | 42.8% | |
| 1,173 | 90.9% | |
| 1,057 | 65.5% |
After 4., puts the bishop on the square the pawn hits once it reaches d6: 5. hits it and it has to go back with , since the queen guards d6. Then 6. and 7. kick your knight off f6. With you score 46 of every 100 points; with , 40.
5 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 3.4 pawns of advantage. It scores 39.7%; scores 46.4%.
After 5., does nothing about the d5 pawn. 6. settles on d6, blocks your d7 pawn and takes e7 from you. You need just to attack it. Play instead and claim the square before the pawn does. With you score 36 of every 100 points; with , 50.
4 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 3.4 pawns of advantage. It scores 36.4%; scores 50.0%.
puts the bishop on the square the d5 pawn hits as soon as it advances. 6. attacks it, and after 7. you have lost the bishop for a pawn; 8. then moves into the hole. It happens in 2 of every 100 games and you score 36 of every 100 points. shuts that square.
2 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 5.6 pawns of advantage. It scores 36.4%; scores 50.0%.
gains space but develops nothing and does not stop the d5 pawn. After 6. 7. 8., the queen hits both the knight on e4 and the c4 pawn, neither of them defended, and you have to find . You score 44 of every 100 points; with , 50.
5 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 1.6 pawns of advantage. It scores 44.1%; scores 50.0%.
After 4., wins a pawn that comes straight back: 5. 6., and White sets up e4 and f4. It is an inaccuracy: 57 of every 100 play it and score 46 of every 100 points, against 51 with , which kicks the knight off c3. At this level opponents often fail to punish it.
57 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 1 pawn of advantage. It scores 46.2%; scores 51.1%.
attacks the queen on d1, but 7. blocks the diagonal and hits the bishop, which retreats to c8. After 8. the pawns on e4 and f4 prepare 9., which drives your knight from f6 to d7. With you score 41 of every 100 points; with , 56.
6 in 100 play it in this position. It gives away 1.5 pawns of advantage. It scores 41.0%; scores 56.4%.
| White | Black | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 101,219 | ||
| Not castled | Not castled | 29,822 |
| Not castled | 25,238 | |
| Not castled | 24,541 | |
| 15,752 | ||
| Not castled | 7,360 |
| White | Black | Games |
|---|---|---|
| 216 | ||
| Not castled | 22 | |
| 10 | ||
| Not castled | 9 | |
| Not castled | Not castled | 6 |
| Not castled | 5 |
1. · 107,744 amateur games · 34 over the board
1. with no knight on f6 yet; 107,744 public games, the most played.
1. 2. · 52,894 amateur games · 4 over the board
1. 2.: White grabs the pawn; 52,894 public games.
1. 2. 3. · 25,488 amateur games · 6 over the board
Reached from 1. : 2. 3.; White scores 53 of every 100.
1. 2. · 5,877 amateur games · 10 over the board
1. 2. , before White's pawn reaches c4; 5,877 public games.
1. 2. 3. · 4,984 amateur games · 13 over the board
, heading for the structure with pawns on c5, d6 and g6; 4,984 games.
1. 2. 3. · 4,833 amateur games · 4 over the board
without trading on d5: the e7 pawn waits; 4,833 games.
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. · 3,575 amateur games · 9 over the board
After , 6. backs up the d5 pawn; 3,575 public games.
1. 2. · A43
1,266 amateur games · White's score: 53.4%
1. 2. 3. · A44
829 amateur games · White's score: 50.6%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. · A70
722 amateur games · White's score: 50.7%
1. 2. 3. · A56
470 amateur games · White's score: 51.4%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. · A71
268 amateur games · White's score: 50.0%
1. 2. · A43
264 amateur games · White's score: 53.8%
1. 2. 3. · A43
244 amateur games · White's score: 51.2%
1. 2. 3. · A56
193 amateur games · White's score: 57.0%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. · A56
74 amateur games · White's score: 50.7%
1. 2. · A43
69 amateur games · White's score: 60.1%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. · A61
66 amateur games · White's score: 40.9%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. · A70
65 amateur games · White's score: 51.5%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. · A73
59 amateur games · White's score: 66.1%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. · A68
52 amateur games · White's score: 37.5%
1. 2. 3. · A43
52 amateur games · White's score: 40.4%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. · A40
50 amateur games · White's score: 51.0%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. · A76
45 amateur games · White's score: 36.7%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. · A61
29 amateur games · White's score: 58.6%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. · A66
29 amateur games · White's score: 46.6%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. · A69
18 amateur games · White's score: 22.2%
1. 2. · A43
17 amateur games · White's score: 44.1%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. · A67
14 amateur games · White's score: 57.1%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. · A63
13 amateur games · White's score: 53.8%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. · A74
12 amateur games · White's score: 45.8%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. · A70
11 amateur games · White's score: 72.7%
1. 2. 3. · A43
8 amateur games · White's score: 62.5%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. · A66
5 amateur games · White's score: 0.0%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. · A77
4 amateur games · White's score: 50.0%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. · A75
3 amateur games · White's score: 66.7%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. · A61
2 amateur games · White's score: 100.0%
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. · A64
1. 2. 3. · A43
It is 1. 2. : you hit the center with your c-pawn and, if White pushes 3., you play on the queenside with your bishop on g7. At your level it is uncommon, 7 in every 1000 games, and it grows with rating: from 4 in every 1000 at 900 to 1100 to 9 at 1500 to 1700.
Between 900 and 1700, White scores 50 of every 100 points across 213,714 Lichess games, so the opening holds up fine. Higher up it is harder: strong online players score 53 of every 100 with White, and over the board at 2300 and up White scores 64. The Old Benoni, 1. , is the most played line.