for Black · club
Benoni Defense
14/14
1.d4c52.d5d63.Nc3g64.e4Bg75.Nf3Nf66.Be2O-O7.O-Oe5
Black meets 1.d4 with the direct flank challenge 1...c5 instead of 1...Nf6, which questions White's centre before Black commits a knight. After 2.d5 d6 3.Nc3 g6 Black fianchettoes and castles. Black closes the centre with ...e5. Black accepts less space for a solid pawn chain and a clear kingside-versus-queenside plan like the King's Indian.
Key ideas
- Play 1...c5 to sidestep mainline Queen's Gambit and King's Indian theory that most sub-1400 opponents don't actually know how to meet.
- If White grabs greedily with 2. dxc5, answer with 2...Na6 or 2...Qa5 hitting c5 to win the pawn back; don't sacrifice a piece trying to force it.
- Prefer 2...d6 and 3...g6 (the Schmid setup) over the older 2...e5, which locks in your own c8-bishop and leaves c5 permanently weak.
- Finish development with ...Bg7, ...Nf6, and O-O before committing to locking the centre with ...e5.
- Once ...e5 is played, pick one wing and stick to it: queenside play uses ...a6, ...Rb8, and ...b5; kingside play uses ...Ne8 and ...f5; mixing both sides is the most common club-level mistake here.
- Castle quickly: a slow fianchetto invites White to rip the centre or kingside open first with e4-e5 or f4-f5.
Live databaseLichess 1600–2000 · blitz + rapid
Benoni Defense: Old Benoni, Schmid Variation1.2k games · White to move
MoveWhite / draw / BlackPlayedGamesScore
23%28159%
21%25665%
19%23350%
16%19549%
13%15362%
2.6%3158%
1%1258%
1%1250%
0.7%956%
0.5%625%
Famous games in this line14 master games
Swiercz, Dariusz (2659) – Jones, Gawain C B (2679)Arizmendi Martinez, Julen Luis (2571) – Mamedov, Rauf (2649)Webb, Simon (2395) – Romanishin, Oleg M (2595)Movsziszian, Karen (2512) – Minaya Molano, Juan M (2278)Schauwecker, Meinrad (2365) – Partos, Charles (2420)Kovacevic, Slobodan (2400) – Karatorossian, David (2380)Ratkovic, Milov (2267) – Kislinsky, A. (2504)Barsov, Alexei (2505) – Rusev, Rosen (2233)Heroes of this opening Mamedov, Rauf · Minaya Molano, Juan M · Partos, Charles · Karatorossian, David
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