Indian · a defense for Black

Benoni Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Hastings Defense

18/18
1.d4Nf62.c4e63.g3c54.d5exd55.cxd5d66.Nc3g67.Bg2Bg78.Nf3O-O9.O-ONbd7
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Benoni Defense: Fianchetto Variation, Hastings Defense7.9k games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
23%1.8k50%
21%1.7k60%
11%88359%
11%87456%
10%81852%
9.4%74857%
8.8%70149%
1.8%14548%
0.8%6349%
0.5%3644%
Famous games in this line437 master games
Grischuk, Alexander (2748) – Bacrot, Etienne (2728)20091–0Wang, Yue (2752) – Alekseev, Evgeny (2700)2010½–½Vallejo Pons, F. (2711) – Ponomariov, R. (2709)2016½–½Moiseenko, Alexander (2690) – Bacrot, Etienne (2728)20091–0Sasikiran, Krishnan (2700) – Short, Nigel D (2677)20120–1Bareev, Evgeny (2653) – Alekseev, Evgeny (2716)20070–1Bareev, Evgeny (2653) – Alekseev, Evgeny (2716)2007½–½Caruana, Fabiano (2652) – Alekseev, Evgeny (2715)20091–0
Heroes of this opening Grischuk, Alexander · Moiseenko, Alexander · Short, Nigel D · Alekseev, Evgeny
Family
Benoni Defense
Category
Indian
First move
1.d4
ECO
A63
Line
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. Bg2 Bg7 8. Nf3 O-O 9. O-O Nbd7
FianchettoSharp
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Nearby lines in the family
Benoni Defense: Four Pawns Attack, Main Line2…c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 …Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Czerniak Defense2…c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 …Benoni Defense: Classical Variation, Main Line2…c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 …
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.

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