3.5K games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
At all ratings, the Benko Gambit: Fianchetto Variation has a 47.4% expected score for White (we're 90% confident it's between 46.0% and 48.8%), based on 3.5K Lichess games.
Deep-dive datasets for this opening
Improves with rating: 23% → 53%
Best in Bullet (48%), worst in Classical (5%)
Click any cell to filter. Green = above 50%, Red = below 50%.
| Rating | UB | Bulle | Blitz | Rapid | Class |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0-999 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1000-1199 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1200-1399 | — | — | — | ||
| 1400-1599 | — | — | — | ||
| 1600-1799 | — | ||||
| 1800-1999 | — | ||||
| 2000-2199 | — | ||||
| 2200-2499 | — | — | |||
| 2500+ | — | — | — |
Expected score matrix by rating bracket and time control
The Benko Gambit: Fianchetto Variation has a 44.6% (90% CI: 43.2%-46.0%) win rate for white, based on 3.5K rated games from Lichess.
The Benko Gambit: Fianchetto Variation performs best at 2200-2499 Elo with a 50.1% win rate for white (976 games). Win rate tends to decline at higher ratings as opponents know the theory better.
Bullet (47.6%) outperforms Rapid (36.8%) by 10.8%. Choose your time control wisely.
The Benko Gambit: Fianchetto Variation has a sharpness score of 94.5 (decisive), meaning 94.5% of games end decisively. Average game length is 36 moves.
At 1600-1799 Elo, the Benko Gambit: Fianchetto Variation has a 38.7% (90% CI: 32.3%-45.4%) win rate for white, based on 147 Lichess games. Average game length is 31 moves with a 3.7% draw rate.
At 1800-1999 Elo, the Benko Gambit: Fianchetto Variation has a 40.6% (90% CI: 37.7%-43.4%) win rate for white, based on 796 Lichess games. Average game length is 34 moves with a 4.6% draw rate.
At 2000-2199 Elo, the Benko Gambit: Fianchetto Variation has a 43.1% (90% CI: 40.9%-45.3%) win rate for white, based on 1.4K Lichess games. Average game length is 36 moves with a 6.2% draw rate.
At 2200-2499 Elo, the Benko Gambit: Fianchetto Variation has a 50.1% (90% CI: 47.4%-52.7%) win rate for white, based on 976 Lichess games. Average game length is 39 moves with a 5.4% draw rate.
At 2500+ Elo, the Benko Gambit: Fianchetto Variation has a 53.0% (90% CI: 45.6%-60.4%) win rate for white, based on 122 Lichess games. Average game length is 43 moves with a 10.1% draw rate.
In Bullet games, the Benko Gambit: Fianchetto Variation has a 47.6% (90% CI: 45.1%-50.1%) win rate for white (1.1K Lichess games). Draw rate is 2.6%.
In Blitz games, the Benko Gambit: Fianchetto Variation has a 44.0% (90% CI: 42.2%-45.7%) win rate for white (2.2K Lichess games). Draw rate is 6.9%.
In Rapid games, the Benko Gambit: Fianchetto Variation has a 36.8% (90% CI: 30.7%-43.0%) win rate for white (163 Lichess games). Draw rate is 6.4%.
The Benko Gambit: Fianchetto Variation is slightly favors black with a 44.6% (90% CI: 43.2%-46.0%) win rate across all ratings. It performs best at 2200-2499 Elo. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.