Benoni Defense

Benoni Defense
abcdefgh
8
a8 black rook
b8 black knight
c8 black bishop
d8 black queen
e8 black king
f8 black bishop
g8 black knight
h8 black rook
a7 black pawn
b7 black pawn
d7 black pawn
e7 black pawn
f7 black pawn
g7 black pawn
h7 black pawn
c5 black pawn
d4 white pawn
a2 white pawn
b2 white pawn
c2 white pawn
e2 white pawn
f2 white pawn
g2 white pawn
h2 white pawn
a1 white rook
b1 white knight
c1 white bishop
d1 white queen
e1 white king
f1 white bishop
g1 white knight
h1 white rook
8
77
66
55
44
33
22
11
abcdefgh
Moves1.d4 c5
ECOA43–A44
A56–A79
OriginBen-Oni oder die Vertheidigungen gegen die Gambitzüge im Schache by Aaron Reinganum (1825)
Named afterHebrew: בֶּן־אוֹנִי; "son of my sorrow"
ParentQueen's Pawn Opening

The Benoni Defense, or simply the Benoni, is a chess opening characterized by an early reply of ...c5 against White's opening move 1.d4.

The original form of the Benoni, now known as the Old Benoni, is characterized by

1. d4 c5

This leaves Black a few options such as an early ...f5 and an early dark-squared bishop trade by ...Be7-g5, but has the drawback that White is no longer committed to playing c2-c4 after the response 2.d5. White may prefer to occupy c4 with a knight, or to inconvenience Black's development with an early bishop check on b5.

More commonly, it is reached by the sequence:

1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 c5
3. d5

Black can then offer a pawn sacrifice with 3...b5 (the Benko Gambit), otherwise 3...e6 is the most common move, leading to the Modern Benoni. 3...d6 or 3...g6 are also seen, typically transposing to main lines, or to lines of the King's Indian Defense. 3...e5, the Czech Benoni, is now considered old-fashioned and allows White a clear space advantage.