lichess.org
Donate

Benoni Defense

If one plays 1.d4 c5 2.e4 cxd4 3.Nf3?! a6! 4.Nd4 e5! White has slightly tricked himself...
#11 now that's a convoluted move order. i like it :D
Thank you for the game @TPR that looks good for black as well. I think I'm going to look into this more. This will become my secret weapon.
#11 White then just plays 5 Nf3 and so what. Example:

Early d4 in respect to ...a6 is considered weak because of e7-e5.

After 5.Nf3 Nf6 6.Nc3 Bb4 white is struggling and has at least not a good version of a common open Sicilian.

I would not advise to play it as white. So, better 2.d5 or regular Morra gambit.
@Sarg0n #15 that is correct. In the normal move order 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 a6?! white plays 3.c4! and transposes to Maroczy setups. This is not possible with the move order 1.d4 c5 2.e4!? cxd4 Nf3 a6!

Another note: 1.d4 c5 is called Old Benoni (because it was first played with that move order), while 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 is today just called Benoni. As Sargon already noted in #3 the 'modern' move order gives white less options, as he has already played c4. On the other hand, black also has moved his knight to f6 and there may be cases where it is better placed on e7 or h6.
#15 White can also play 6 Bc4. Even after 6 Nc3 Bb4 white is not bad, e.g.

Smith Morra gambit looks no better. Black can accept 3...dxc3, but also decline with either 3...d5 or 3...Nf6.
but i agree that 1.d4 c5 2.e4?! is dubious, the best move is clearly 2.d5! +=
I agree that 1 d4 c5 2 d5 is the most promising continuation, and that it is better for white than 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 as white has not yet committed to c4 and thus has the square available for a knight.
However, I think you picture too gloomy the prospects of white after 1 d4 c5 2 e4 cxd4 3 Nf3 a6 4 Nxd4 e5 5 Nf3; White still has an advantage. You could argue that it is some sort of a favourable Najdorf variation for black, but it is not that easy. There do not exist that many top games with this, as few grandmasters play the O'Kelly 1 e4 c5 2 Nf3 a6 and most grandmasters then prefer the Maroczy 3 c4.

This topic has been archived and can no longer be replied to.