A75 · Indian · a defense for Black

Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Argentine Counterattack

20/20
1.d4Nf62.c4e63.Nf3c54.d5exd55.cxd5d66.Nc3g67.e4Bg78.Be2O-O9.O-Oa610.a4Bg4
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Argentine Counterattack13k games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
36%4.7k51%
31%4.0k47%
12%1.6k52%
6.5%84747%
4.1%53849%
3.5%46448%
2.3%30348%
1.6%21148%
0.9%11632%
0.6%8151%
Famous games in this line356 master games
Anand, Viswanathan (2765)Illescas Cordoba, Miguel (2635)19971–0Anand, Viswanathan (2794)Hernandez, Gilberto (2567)20011–0Le, Quang Liem (2729)Jobava, Ba (2577)2025½–½Kozul, Zdenko (2593)Gashimov, Vugar (2703)2008½–½Hansen, Lars Bo (2570)Gelfand, Boris (2719)20080–1Nyzhnyk, Illya (2625)Erdos, Viktor (2650)2013½–½Portisch, Lajos (2620)Kasparov, Garry (2630)1981½–½Gajewski, Grzegorz (2504)Navara, David (2719)2006½–½
Heroes of this opening Anand, Viswanathan · Gelfand, Boris
Category
Indian
First move
1.d4
ECO
A75
Line
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. e4 Bg7 8. Be2 O-O 9. O-O a6 10. a4 Bg4
SharpAggressive
Read the guide: Benoni DefenseExplore all 61 Benoni Defense lines
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From the archives

The name comes from Aaron Reinganum's 1825 book 'Ben-Oni' — Hebrew for 'son of my sorrow,' reportedly written to distract himself from melancholy. Tal made the Modern Benoni a terror in the 1960s: give up the center, then let every piece point at White's queenside like an accusation.

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