Benoni Defense · A65

King's Pawn Line, with Bg5, after 2... g6, through 9. exd5

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. f3 O-O 6. Bg5 c5 7. d5 e6 8. Qd2 exd5 9. exd5

Black's kingside bishop takes the long diagonal. ...c5 and ...e6 tempt d5, then Black gets a queenside majority and the half-open e-file: ...b5 is the eternal break, White's is e4-e5. The e-file is fully open.

The first 4 moves, explained

• 1. d4 Stakes a claim in the centre, controlling e5, and frees the bishop and queen.
• 1... Nf6 Develops the knight to f6, eyeing d5 and e4.
• 2. c4 Fights for d5 from the flank - contesting the centre without committing a centre pawn.
• 2... g6 Prepares the fianchetto: the bishop will take the long diagonal via g7. Theory calls this the West Indian Defense.

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