3.4K games from Lichess · Updated January 2026
At all ratings, the Pterodactyl Defense: Sicilian, Benoni Gambit has a 51.5% expected score for White (we're 90% confident it's between 50.1% and 52.9%), based on 3.4K Lichess games.
Deep-dive datasets for this opening
Improves with rating: 34% → 52%
Best in Classical (78%), worst in Rapid (47%)
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 Pterodactyl Defense: Sicilian, Benoni Gambit has a 50.0% (90% CI: 48.6%-51.4%) win rate for white, based on 3.4K rated games from Lichess.
The Pterodactyl Defense: Sicilian, Benoni Gambit performs best at 1000-1199 Elo with a 56.4% win rate for white (136 games). Win rate tends to decline at higher ratings as opponents know the theory better.
Blitz (50.5%) outperforms Rapid (47.1%) by 3.4%. Choose your time control wisely.
The Pterodactyl Defense: Sicilian, Benoni Gambit has a sharpness score of 97.0 (very decisive), meaning 97.0% of games end decisively. Average game length is 33 moves.
At 1000-1199 Elo, the Pterodactyl Defense: Sicilian, Benoni Gambit has a 56.4% (90% CI: 49.4%-63.2%) win rate for white, based on 136 Lichess games. Average game length is 25 moves with a 1.1% draw rate.
At 1200-1399 Elo, the Pterodactyl Defense: Sicilian, Benoni Gambit has a 47.0% (90% CI: 42.2%-51.8%) win rate for white, based on 287 Lichess games. Average game length is 29 moves with a 2.9% draw rate.
At 1400-1599 Elo, the Pterodactyl Defense: Sicilian, Benoni Gambit has a 50.1% (90% CI: 46.7%-53.6%) win rate for white, based on 558 Lichess games. Average game length is 31 moves with a 2.6% draw rate.
At 1600-1799 Elo, the Pterodactyl Defense: Sicilian, Benoni Gambit has a 47.2% (90% CI: 44.2%-50.3%) win rate for white, based on 726 Lichess games. Average game length is 33 moves with a 1.6% draw rate.
At 1800-1999 Elo, the Pterodactyl Defense: Sicilian, Benoni Gambit has a 50.9% (90% CI: 47.2%-54.6%) win rate for white, based on 491 Lichess games. Average game length is 35 moves with a 4.2% draw rate.
At 2000-2199 Elo, the Pterodactyl Defense: Sicilian, Benoni Gambit has a 53.3% (90% CI: 49.0%-57.5%) win rate for white, based on 371 Lichess games. Average game length is 34 moves with a 4.2% draw rate.
At 2200-2499 Elo, the Pterodactyl Defense: Sicilian, Benoni Gambit has a 52.2% (90% CI: 48.5%-55.9%) win rate for white, based on 486 Lichess games. Average game length is 36 moves with a 4.6% draw rate.
At 2500+ Elo, the Pterodactyl Defense: Sicilian, Benoni Gambit has a 51.6% (90% CI: 46.5%-56.7%) win rate for white, based on 257 Lichess games. Average game length is 40 moves with a 2.5% draw rate.
In Bullet games, the Pterodactyl Defense: Sicilian, Benoni Gambit has a 49.8% (90% CI: 47.9%-51.7%) win rate for white (1.9K Lichess games). Draw rate is 2.4%.
In Blitz games, the Pterodactyl Defense: Sicilian, Benoni Gambit has a 50.5% (90% CI: 48.2%-52.9%) win rate for white (1.3K Lichess games). Draw rate is 3.8%.
In Rapid games, the Pterodactyl Defense: Sicilian, Benoni Gambit has a 47.1% (90% CI: 41.8%-52.5%) win rate for white (233 Lichess games). Draw rate is 3.6%.
The Pterodactyl Defense: Sicilian, Benoni Gambit is statistically balanced with a 50.0% (90% CI: 48.6%-51.4%) win rate across all ratings. It performs best at 1000-1199 Elo. Your results depend on your rating, time control, and how well you know the typical plans.