The Snake Benoni: A Shockingly Effective Weapon for Intermediate to Advanced Players

Today I would like to introduce one of the strangest and most obscure openings that I have ever found and give my best pitch for why it might make some sense to play for some strong and creative chess players.

I don't want to overstate the usefulness of this opening, and I will admit from the start that it is dubious at best. However, if you are feeling particularly creative or crazy or really want to humiliate a particular opponent, this could be a surprisingly effective weapon.

   Introduction

In order to play the Snake Benoni you must reach the position of the regular Benoni which starts with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6. White afterwards can play either of the two moves 3.Nf3 or 3.Nc3 (usually the two positions will transpose but there are exceptions that we will get to later) which you use as your chance to play 3.c5 going into the Benoni. After 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 e6 you have reached the regular Benoni (characterized most by fianchettoing your king-side bishop and trying to target the queen-side pieces with it). However, to reach the Snake Benoni you play after 4. d5 exd5 5.Nc3 (or 5.Nf3) the dubious move 5.Bd6!?

This opening was invented by Rolf Olav Martins, a Swedish chess player, who came up with this move along with an incredibly creative maneuver to follow it up with; playing both Bc7 and Ba5 to pin the Knight so commonly on c3. However, it was the Latvian Grandmaster Normunds Miezis who really tried to popularize the line.

In this article I will show a rather adapted and modern approach to the Snake Benoni that often involves simply trying to play O-O, Re8 and Bf8 which tries to fianchetto the bishop to g7 anyway. The common retort is well then what was the point of wasting so much time moving the bishop to d6 and back again? Why not simply play the classical idea of d6 immediately followed by fianchettoing the bishop? These are fair questions but there are two main reasons that can (somewhat) validate this approach;

1. The bishop doesn't necessarily have to go back to f8 and eventually g7 and you also have the options of both playing the original Snake Benoni Manuever (as explained above) or playing Be5 in certain positions, which can blockade whites e-pawn or trade with the knight. Put simply, you have some flexibility in your approach.
2. More importantly you are bringing the Rook to the e-file quicker which allows some tricks and creates some pressure that wouldn't be possible in most other Benoni lines.

These two arguments for Bd6 hardly justify the move but do make it easier to understand why it would at least pose some unique questions for white. As Mikhail Tal said, "You must take your opponent into a deep, dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path leading out is only wide enough for one." Boiling down the quote he simply is saying that you want to draw out your opponent into unfamiliar territory where there aren't a lot of correct solutions.

In the Snake Benoni, there are a few more correct solutions than I would like. However, there is no perfect opening in the modern age and almost all sound openings have been studied and analyzed at an incredibly deep level. I can vouch, as a player with a rating online over 2000 and over a hundred rapid games online in the variation, that the Snake Benoni has enough venom to catch even a strong player off guard, often resulting in advantageous or even winning positions out of the opening as black.

   Most Common Line; 6.e4

The Snake Benoni allows four main responses from white that I will analyze in this article. By far the most common one (at least that I have run into the most) is the one that I will show here. This is because a lot of players want to play the Benoni in a way that is familiar to them and often in regular Benoni setups e4 is played. Here in particular, however, I would go so far as to say that this is a slight inaccuracy due to how quickly black can target the advanced e4 pawn.

As shown above the variation these following moves are the most common, 6.e4 O-O 7.Nf3 (often reached in the reverse order with 6.Nf3 O-O 7.e4) Re8. We target the e4 pawn with the Rook and begin to line up some tactics. In fact, it is already easy for black to fall for a classic trick. A lot of players will play 8.Bg5? trying to relieve pressure on the e4 pawn through the pin but this fails to the brilliant move 8.Nxe4!! Black cannot take the queen because after 9.Bxd8 Nxc3+ 10.Qe2 Nxe2 11. Bxe2 Rxe8 you have won a piece. I personally have beaten two players with this exact trick one being 2000 and the other being 1800 rated. You should actually watch Nxe4 as a tactic in a lot of different positions and I have beaten more players in other variations where the tactic worked after Bg5.

A better way to proceed than losing the e4 pawn for white is the simple 8.Bd3, and here I like to throw in the interesting move c4! which utilizes the pressure on the e4 pawn to attack the bishop and to try to expand on the queenside. Here both Bxc4 and Bc2 lead to playable positions for white, and after Bxc4 you simply capture the e4 pawn. The most common line continues after 9.Bc2.

So to recap, so far we have; 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 Bd6 6.e4 O-O 7.Nf3 Re8 8.Bd3 c4 9.Bc2.

To continue to pressure white the best move is 9.Bb4, pinning the knight and renewing the threat on the e4 pawn. This can be countered in a few ways, and the one I faced most was 10.Qd5. Admittedly, I didn't handle this move all that great and lost a couple of games over it, prompting further analysis. After this move, black should play d6 and in the future try to activate their light-squared bishop with Bg4, which also threatens to trade the knight for the bishop as well as damage white's pawn structure. I will leave it to you, the reader, to analyze the following critical position and consider what you think is the best approach as white. It is an interesting and dynamic position where white definitely has the edge but I think that black has a lot of counter-play and dangerous ideas. I think that the position is respectable considering that white has played almost perfectly and black has played a dubious opening, and yet the game still looks very interesting.

   Main Line; 6.e3

Perhaps an improvement on the above variation that makes the position less dangerous for white is to play more solidly with 6.e3. This is the main line (or as much of one that exists in this opening) that avoids a lot of the immediate danger created by 6.e4. As with the above variation it can be reached (and often is) after 6.Nf3 followed by 7.e3. While avoiding danger, I think this is at least a slight concession by white that helps justify playing Be6. If they don't dare support the d5 pawn and instead move a pawn to e3 I think that really shows that there is at least some substance to the Snake Benoni as an opening.

After 7.Re8 white is left with a choice, how to develop the light-squared bishop. There are three ways of doing this including the very natural moves Be2 and Bd3 which are countered by black with Bf8 and d6. Then black simply plays regular developing moves like Nbd7, a6, b5 or b6, Bb7, etc. However, white has the devious move 8.Bc4!, that can create a lot of challenges for black.

Here after 8.Bf8 and a lazy move like 9.O-O!?, black simply develops in the same manner described above. However, in this specific position white can play 9.d6!, which both restricts black's pieces as well as threatens Ng5 targeting the f7 pawn. Normally black can just try to target the pawn with Qb6 but here that is too slow. Instead, black needs to develop the knight with 8.Nc6 and after 9.Ng5 you can try to guard the pawn with Ne5. White now must find the move 10.Qb3!, doubling down on the threat which now is almost impossible to defend.

So to recap, we are currently at the variation; 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 Bd6 6.e3 O-O 7.Nf3 Re8 8.Bc4! Bf8 9.d6! Nc6 10.Qb3!

To survive, we must make the positional sacrifice 10.Re6!! This move actually keeps the game only slightly advantageous for white, and the resulting imbalance after 11.Nxe6 dxe6 12.O-O Qxd6 13.Re1 Qc7 14.a4 b6 is far from simple for white to navigate. For one, white has a bishop that is walled behind its own pawns with no real way to develop. That bishop is also leaving the a1 rook stuck as well. Simply, white's pieces are misplaced and black's are less so. This critical position is really interesting to analyze and while white maintains an edge, their moves are far from easy.

Another similar version of this line occurs if they play Bg5 but don't blunder with e4 instead playing e3.

In the above variation you also might have to make an exchange sacrifice. However, getting the pawn and the dark-squared bishop for the Rook and also gaining the initiative is sometimes worth the sacrifice. White's pieces are more active than in the previous variation but soon you will both develop and expand on the queen-side for compensation.

   Pure Insanity; 6.f4!

While the two previous variations were complicated they were rather stable. This all goes out the window if white plays 6.f4! If white is actually well prepared this can be one of the most difficult challenges to the Snake Benoni, but if they aren't, this can be an easy way to trick them because in the variations that follow white has to be extremely accurate. This variation is also one that might not be faced as frequently as it is only possible after 3.Nc3 as opposed to Nf3 blocking the movement of the f-pawn.

After e4, we are left with no choice but to play the sacrifice Nxe4!! Any other move, like Re8, is punished with e5, and there isn't a great way in the Snake Benoni to target these central pawns without sacrificing pieces. The best sacrifice is Nxe4!!, immediately swiping the troublesome e-pawn off the board and then looking for tactics by pinning white's knight.

If white was unprepared, this is where they will immediately begin to struggle to find the one decent move in the position. Almost every move is punished by either f5 (winning the knight), Rxe4 or Qh4+. The only way to save the knight is through the unnatural move 9.Qe2! This move pins the queen instead of the king, but after 9.f5?, white's idea is the nasty move 10.Nxe6!! This sacrifices the queen but wins enough material to make the sacrifice worth it. Black is also extremely underdeveloped which plays a role in the positions that follow.

So to recap, our current variation is; 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 c5 4.d5 exd5 5.cxd5 Bd6 6.f4 O-O 7.e4 Nxe4 8.Nxe4 Re8 9.Qe2

Now as black you have a couple options. You have 9.Bf8?!, which forces another only move and results in a really dynamic position. Unfortunately, it is objectively inaccurate and if white plays perfectly you will get a losing position. The other option is 9.Na6! with ideas to exploit white's overextended structure and poor piece placement, allowing the premature sacrifice 10.Nxd6?! because that now doesn't do a great job of solving white's problems.

If you play 9.Bf8?!, white must play 10.g4! to escape the threat of g5 that you renewed. Notably, 10.Qh4+? isn't a great way to proceed as your queen is actually misplaced on that square and after 11.Kd1 the king escapes and your attack fizzles out. Instead there are two more options that you have now. You can play 10.b5!, which utilizes the fact that the queen is busy defending the knight to expand and develop on the queen-side, or you can play 10.Nc6!, sacrificing your other knight for the vital move 11.d5!, winning it back.

Both moves are playable, and if white really knows their theory then after 10.b5! the game will continue 11.Nf3 Bb7 12.Bg2 Bxd5 13.Ne5 d6 and the incredible move 14.O-O!! This sacrifices the knight for a safer king and future attacking ideas on black's own king-side. The chances of running into someone who knows all these moves is pretty slim, but nevertheless, the resulting position remains interesting. It is a little grim but not in-survivable for a worst case scenario.

After 10.Nc6! the game will continue with 11.exc6 d5 12.Bg2 bxc6 13.Nh3! The last really key move to remember in this variation is 13.a5!, which attempts to prevent castling with the threat of the skewer Ba6. The position you are left with is far from simple for white but also should be rather heavily in white's favor, if played correctly.

If you go the other route, playing 9.Na6! then game can continue in a variety of ways. 10.Nxd6? is a common mistake because it is premature. In this variation white allows you to play, after taking the queen, Nb4 with a lot of tactical ideas lingering utilizing the queen and knight together. Instead, what white should play is the move 10.Bd2! preventing Nb4. The line continues 10.c4! 11.Nxe6!! Rxe2+ 12.Bxe2...

This is the critical position of the 6.f4 line and I won't claim to completely understand it myself. However, if you are running into prepared players that are playing the 6.f4! this is what to study.

   The Fianchetto Variation; 6.g3

I'll finally touch on one last good move from white that can be a really annoying surprise as black. The move is the simple 6.g3, trying to fianchetto on the king-side and play solidly against your rather unsound set-up. 

The moves in the fianchetto variation are extremely similar to those that happen after 6.d3. There is a lot of slow development and solid positional play involved in the resulting positions. You start with 6.O-O 7.Bg2 Re8 8.Nf3 Bf8. Here white can simply continue with 9.O-O (which is pretty straight forward) or white can try the slightly inaccurate 9.d6?! The problem with pushing the pawn is that it can be targeted with 9.Re6 and after 10.Bf4 defending the pawn you have the nice move 10.h6! (preventing Ng5 ideas) followed by Nh5 and there is no good way of defending the pawn for white.

One other detail to know is that often white might play e4 at the wrong moment allowing b5 because the knight is spread to thin. This common positional mistake can make the position much harder to play as white.

   Conclusion

I hope that I have successfully shown a lot of the intricacies and details that make the Snake Benoni both super interesting (at least to me personally) as well as dangerous for unprepared players. I think that this is an overlooked weapon that in my games was surprisingly effective against d4 players even as an experiment. Right now my win/loss rate in the Snake Benoni is about 50%, and I think that it leads to positions that are incredibly unique to this particular opening and can allow very creative game play which I really enjoy.

I hope that I have won over a few people with this deep dive. If anyone notices any inaccuracies or simply has deeper analysis be sure to leave a comment.

Till next time, Devin Knecht