Semi-Closed · a defense for Black
Benoni Defense: Old Benoni
3/3
1.d4c52.d5
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Benoni Defense: Old Benoni9.1M games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
21%1.9M48%
4.3%393k50%
1.8%164k48%
1%92k39%
0.5%43k42%
0.4%37k41%
Famous games in this line6.7k master games
Aronian, L. (2767) – Caruana, F. (2822)Gelfand, Boris (2733) – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar (2772)Wang, Yue (2716) – Malakhov, Vladimir (2732)Aronian, Levon (2783) – Zvjaginsev, Vadim (2656)Duda, J. (2750) – Ivanchuk, V. (2678)Grachev, Boris (2683) – Vitiugov, Nikita (2734)Tomashevsky, Evgeny (2707) – Andreikin, Dmitry (2696)Seirawan, Yasser (2635) – Mamedyarov, Shakhriyar (2765)Heroes of this opening Aronian, Levon · Duda, J. · Seirawan, Yasser
- Family
- Benoni Defense
- Category
- Semi-Closed
- First move
- 1.d4
- ECO
- A43
- Line
- 1. d4 c5 2. d5
Sharp
★ Read the guide: Benoni DefenseExplore all 61 Benoni Defense lines →Keep exploring
Go deeper — named lines from here
Benoni Defense: Snail Variation2…Na6Benoni Defense: Benoni-Indian Defense2…Nf6 · 2 deeper linesBenoni Defense: Old Benoni, Mujannah Formation2…f5 · 1 deeper lineBenoni Defense: Benoni-Staunton Gambit2…f5 3.e4
Nearby lines in the family
From the archives
The name comes from Aaron Reinganum's 1825 book 'Ben-Oni' — Hebrew for 'son of sorrow'. Reinganum's own words give the reason: he sat over a chessboard whenever he wanted to take refuge from melancholy. Tal made the Modern Benoni a terror in the 1950s and 60s: give up the centre, then let every piece point at White's queenside like an accusation.
Study this opening