A67 · Indian · a defense for Black

Benoni Defense: Taimanov Variation

15/15
1.d4Nf62.c4c53.d5e64.Nc3exd55.cxd5d66.e4g67.f4Bg78.Bb5+
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Benoni Defense: Taimanov Variation65k games · Black to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
58%38k48%
34%22k37%
7.6%5.0k41%
0.4%25336%
0%260%
0%1233%
Famous games in this line1.9k master games
Grischuk, A.. (2777)Dubov, Daniil (2710)2021½–½Bareev, Evgeny (2726)Topalov, Veselin (2745)20020–1Jakovenko, Dmitrij (2725)Gashimov, Vugar (2734)2010½–½Keymer, Vincent (2738)Rapport, R. (2720)20240–1Bareev, Evgeny (2675)Gelfand, Boris (2717)2005½–½Sasikiran, Krishnan (2669)Bacrot, Etienne (2721)20090–1Duda, J. (2758)Ponkratov, P. (2632)20191–0Sokolov, Ivan (2665)Topalov, Veselin (2700)19961–0
Heroes of this opening Topalov, Veselin · Rapport, R. · Bacrot, Etienne · Duda, J.
Category
Indian
First move
1.d4
ECO
A67
Line
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. f4 Bg7 8. Bb5+
Sharp
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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