After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 c5 4.d5 d6 5.Nc3 exd5 6.cxd5 g6 7.h3 Bg7 8.e4 0–0 9.Bd3 Re8 10.0–0 Nbd7, your move 11.a4 definitely appears to give White a comfortable advantage.  I suppose all of the alternatives to 9...b5! are rather dodgy. Perhaps a better way to confuse an opponent you know is going to play the Modern System is to use the "Delayed Benoni".

In the above variation, White's advantage doesn't look that large to me but I'd prefer any of the alternatives to this gambit.  I have a feeling there is a way to a large White advantage.

Paul Cumbers wrote on 04/18/20 at 21:07:07:


If Black were to now play 12...Ne8 (obviously overprotecting d6 and preparing counterplay with ...f5 should White play e4) then we have transposed to analysis by Petrov from GM Repertoire 12 (on page 215).

The gambit with 7...b5 looks quite interesting as well.  I only found four games with it (2 wins for White, 2 for Black) but it at least looks like a decent practical try OTB.

Game File

Glenn Snow wrote on 04/14/20 at 16:25:28:

In fact, isn't this the real problem with the Modern Benoni? In the Ng1-f3 and/or g2-g3 lines black can eventually equalize, but nobody wants to.

Stigma wrote on 04/14/20 at 01:18:26:


To some extent, sure.  But it's been about 10 years since Gashimov revitalized 9..b5 and, in particular, showed in the 10.Bxb5 line, that ..Ne5 was good.  It hasn't brought the Benoni back at the top level, although I suspect that this has more to do with the general distrust of the Benoni, than to the MML (Bd3+h3) specifically.  More to the point, perhaps, is that whether 9..b5 is equal or not, it doesn't seem like a good line to play for a win.  When Caruana needed to make something happen against Karjakin at last year's GCT, he avoided the MML and played an early ..a6.   

Quote:


I took up the Benoni in my fire-breathing days and have never completely put it away.  Among other things, I like that there is no exchange variation in the Benoni. After 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5, you usually get the Benoni on the board.  White can try 3.Nf3, but there are still ways for Black to play sharply, and, in any event, I like to tell myself that I achieved at least a little something when White refrained from d5. 

Someone has already mentioned the Doknjas book Opening Repertoire: The Modern Benoni and I'm quite impressed.  I don't consider myself an expert on the modern benoni though.  Against the modern main line he does spend most of his time on 9...b5 and Black doesn't seem to be suffering too much (he even mentions a couple of ways Black can win).  His last game of the modern chapter reveals an idea (not with 9...b5) I've personally never seen before which in it's main line entails an exchange sacrifice that looks quite interesting.

halbstark wrote on 04/13/20 at 19:53:13:

Well, another old possibility against Nd2 is 9...Ne8 with the idea of ...f5.

Thirded, at least for OTB play.

halbstark wrote on 04/13/20 at 12:30:34:

In the old-school Classical (no early Nd2) I would have thought that 9...a6 10. a4 Bg4 is still quite respected, as in equal or unclear in the best-play lines.

h3+Bd3 is in my eyes really not a problem. I am always happy, if my opponents go for it. I play 9...b5 and have a decent plus score with black. There are a "few" critical ideas, but in reality that means, that black has to know 2-3 precise moves and that´s about it. Considering, that Bd3 does still seem to be main line for most d4-players, you meet these set-ups so frequently, that it is more or less impossible to forget your lines there:)

I am not sure, about these ...Nh5-ideas in the Bd3-line. IMO White can answer Nh5 always with Be2!, which avoids the Ne5-idea and makes it very hard for black to create counterplay.

TBH when it comes to setups with Nf3 I find the classical Be2 the most annoying one. From the white side I always thought, that 9...Bg4 or 9...Na6 are just slightly better for white and my pet lines with 9...Nbd7 have so many special move orders, that it is barely possible to solve the problems with pure memorization. (I started playing these lines going for Ne5 and g5 against everything - and I think this is working well against Re1 and Nf1-, but if White plays moves like Qc2, a4, Ra3, h3 in a random move order, it is hard to equalize on autopilot.)

gewgaw wrote on 04/12/20 at 21:32:01:

I thought the endgame line after 9...b5 10.Bxb5 was more or less analyzed out to a draw. And therefore the focus had shifted to the Classical and Bf4 lines in recent years (given that Nf3 has been played). So while it makes the Benoni problematic as a try for winning chances for Black, h3+Bd3 isn't a theoretical threat.

I could be wrong though. And maybe there is still some play for White in the 10.Nxb5 lines.

ErictheRed wrote on 04/11/20 at 16:17:13:

I understand that this move order is a problem for Benko players (at least if they don't want to play the Maroczy Bind) but can't a Modern Benoni player just go 2... e6 with the intention of playing 3... c5 against any of 3. c4, 3. g3, 3. Bg5, 3. Bf4, or 3. e3? I don't know if black is supposed to be in trouble after 2... c5 3. d5, but it does seem like a lot of unnecessary extra work to me.

What's considered to be Black's best way meeting 1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 c5 3.d5 these days? 

I used to enjoy playing the Benoni particularly after the move order 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 and now ....c5 as it avoided the four pawn type set-ups...but nowadays not so sure about how sound it is. However, I am getting tired of facing the Catalan so perhaps this new material might be worth a closer look!

I'm not that into the Benoni at the moment, but if I were, I would check how long it's been since Caruana last played it. If Caruana has given it up, Kasimdzhanov may be allowed to share more secrets (but on the other hand there may be some serious theoretical problem with it...).

an ordinary chessplayer wrote on 04/10/20 at 15:39:54:

Why are the Powerbooks a pass? I bought a couple around a year ago planning to go hunting for new opening ideas. I haven't gotten around to that, but I still thought it was a decent idea...

I've just seen Chessbase have released a new DVD on the Benoni by Kasimdzhanov which has prompted me to think about picking the opening back up (particularly because there is a new book due out by Donkjas this month too).

While I think its great to see a new DVD on this opening it unfortunately only appears to cover lines after white plays Nf3 which is disappointing.

I saw Chessbase also have a Powerbook and a Powerbase on the benoni that have come out this year. Can anyone explain what is the difference between these two products?