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Benoni Defense

Fianchetto Variation

A61positionalsolid

  1. 1.d4Nf6
  2. 2.c4e6
  3. 3.Nf3c5
  4. 4.d5exd5
  5. 5.cxd5d6
  6. 6.Nc3g6
  7. 7.g3
733 games52%44%

A quiet branch of the Modern Benoni in which White fianchettoes the king's bishop with g3 instead of building a broad center with e4.

Train it in Theoria

About the Fianchetto Variation

In the Fianchetto Variation of the Modern Benoni, White meets Black's ...g6 with 7. g3 and puts the king's bishop on g2, forgoing the e4 advance. The bishop guards d5 from a distance, and the game turns on maneuvering rather than the sharp f4 attacks. Black almost always plays 7...Bg7. After 8. Bg2 O-O 9. O-O Nbd7, the position is the Hastings Defense. Engines give White a slight edge.

Popular continuations

Named variations 2