Benoni Defense
The Benoni Defense is 1. d4 c5
A gambit offering by Black with the Queen’s Bishop’s Pawn! Why does Black do this?
Well, he removes a White pawn from the center, lets the Queen out on the Queenside, and if the gambit is accepted, gets to attack Black’s pawn [now on c5] with his King’s Bishop. But then again, the usual continuation to this is 1. d4 c5 2. d5 d6, which in turn spawns Schmid’s System [3. Nc3 g6], a fianchetto by a Black Bishop behind the expected advanced pawns.
Let’s look at the other known variations:
Benoni’s Pawn Thrust Variation continues with 2. d5 e5, and its subsequent Blockade Variation [3. e4 d6] creates a backward Pawn for Black. Benoni’s Franco-Indian Defense [2. d5 e6 3. e4] attacks the forward pawn. The Mujannah Formation [2. d5 f5] seeks to prevent the King’s Pawn from supporting its brother Pawn in the frontlines.
