The Benko Gambit: Move By Move

Series Foreword Move by Move is a series of opening books which uses a question-and-answer format. One of our main aims of the series is to replicate – as much as possible – lessons between chess teachers and students. All the way through, readers will be challenged to answer searching questions, to test their skills in chess openings and indeed in other key aspects of the game. It's our firm belief that practising your skills like this is an excellent way to study chess openings, and to study chess in general. Many thanks go to all those who have been kind enough to offer inspiration, advice and assistance in the creation of Move by Move . We're really excited by this series and hope that readers will share our enthusiasm. John Emms Everyman Chess Introduction What is the Benko Gambit? This book is about the Benko Gambit which has served me well for the past 14 years in correspondence chess and over-the-board play. The Benko Gambit (or if you prefer the Eastern European version, the Volga Gambit) arises after the moves 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 b5. It is named after the American Grandmaster and former World Championship Candidate Pal Benko who popularized the opening by playing it almost without exception whenever the opportunity presented itself, and against all kinds of opposition. Benko published his games and commentary inChess Life and Review frequently and according to his book, The Benko Gambit (RHM 1973), he had "as much as announced publicly that anyone can play against me with an extra pawn within a few moves of the opening." Why play the Benko Gambit? 1) For the price of a pawn (sometimes even two), Black obtains tremendous queenside pressure and puts White on the defensive early in the game. This may give Black an early psychological edge. In the final round of both the 2003 and the 2009 Cairnhill Open (Singapore), I won two games relatively quickly against a former National Champion and National Master. The first was a Benko Gambit Declined and the second time round, my opponent gave a huge sigh after 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5, played the insipid 3 e3 to avoid the Benko Gambit and allowed me to equalize very quickly. 2) Black's motifs in the Benko are quite clear cut: pile as much pressure as possible on the queenside, try to find ideal squares for the knights in the vicinity of White (usually b4, c4 and d3), and at the right time, undermine White's centre. Many a time at amateur level, White's pieces are reduced to the first three ranks trying to cope with Black's threats. At club level it is far easier to attack than to defend and thus easier for White to make mistakes early on in the Benko Gambit. 3) When I started playing correspondence chess in the late 90s, I wanted to look for a black opening which computer engines did not assess well. The Benko Gambit was the perfect weapon for me as the engines frequently assessed that White was winning or clearly better in Benko middlegames and endgames which are tenable or even good for Black. These days, the engines view positional factors such as space and initiative more favourably than in the past and are better at assessing compensation for material. GM Larry Kaufman, the co-developer of the powerful Komodo chess engine, concurred, stating: "I would even say 'much better' rather than just 'better'. This was not gradual, it pretty much happened with Rybka 2.3 and Rybka 3, and all later programs are similar in this respect." My Benko passed muster in correspondence pl