Openings · A60–A79

Benoni Defence

2…c5 — invite White to close the centre with d5, and take the queenside and the long diagonal in exchange.

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5played as Black

Play it through on the board below.

Practise the line

You play Black; the other side answers on its own. Nothing here is saved or graded.

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Your move 1 of 20/2
  1. 1.d4Nf6
  2. 2.c4c5

White is answering…

The idea

After 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 the Modern Benoni is on the board: White has a pawn on d5 and more space, Black has the half-open e-file, a bishop on g7 and a queenside majority that runs with …a6 and …b5.

The backward pawn on d6 is the price, and every serious White system attacks it. This is one of the most double-edged openings a club player can choose, and it does not forgive being played by feel.

Common mistakes

Three that come up again and again below master level: named traps and the errors every coach corrects.

The wrong knight to d7

After 8…Nbd7
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
The mistake
Blocking the check on b5 with the queen's knight.
Why it costs
It is the Taimanov Attack, and the check is the point of it. After 8…Nbd7 White plays 9.e5, and the pawn arrives with the knight on f6 unable to leave and d6 falling apart behind it.
Instead
8…Nfd7, which keeps e5 covered and leaves the queenside free. It is close to an only move, and it has to be known before the position appears.

The majority that never moves

After 10…Na6
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
  10. 10.
The mistake
Developing comfortably and leaving …a6 and …b5 for later.
Why it costs
Without the queenside break Black is a player with less space and a backward pawn, which is the whole of the position once the dynamism is removed. White's plans — Nd2–c4 at d6, or f4 and e5 — all arrive on their own.
Instead
…a6 and …Rb8 early, and …b5 even as a sacrifice. The Benoni's compensation has a shelf life.

Meeting the Knight's Tour by feel

After 9.Nc4
  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
The mistake
Treating Nf3–d2–c4 as slow play, and carrying on with development.
Why it costs
The knight is heading for c4 and then a5 or b6, and everything it touches is aimed at d6 and the queenside squares Black needs for …b5. Two moves of White's manoeuvre are worth more than two of Black's if Black spends them on nothing.
Instead
…Ne8 or …Na6 with …Nc7, defending d6 and preparing …b5 in the same breath — and know which one before the knight reaches c4.

What the engine says

After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5, these are White's six best moves according to Stockfish, with the bar showing White's chance of winning.

  1. d5+0.8
  2. Nf3+0.2
  3. e3+0.2
  4. dxc5+0.1
  5. Nc3-0.0
  6. Be3-0.2

The engine's main line from d5: d5 a6 Nc3 b5 a3 d6 e4 bxc4.

Stockfish 18, depth 24. Scores are in pawns from White's side. Another engine or depth will move individual numbers a little; the picture does not change. How we check.

Where it fits

One line out of it has a page of its own: Benko Gambit.

Analyse a game you played in itAll openings