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Chess related: Benko Gambit...

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black_cat_hamlet
06-May-11, 10:36

Benko Gambit...

How do you best develop the light-squared bishop and the b8 knight?

Also, what do you think of the gambit itself?

baronderkilt
06-May-11, 14:19

the Benko ?

Why it is totally drawish, completely busted, and immanently playable (almost a forced win on the WT squares) ... as from the beginning of course lol The light Bishops are best developed to the Box as always.

In truth tho, I'm being humorous only and when I first came onto GK several good postalites were putting forth the Benko as being in bad shape in a particular line (and I beleived them). Yet since then I see some being played at the Top levels here on GK and doing OK. (And I KNOW who you ARE ... Aha!)

So someone please a more serious reply. Im on the seats edge too, lacking any Chess Lifes in half dozen years. Whats the Benko up to lately? Will Larry Christiansen still play one? Or is it now something even Ivanchuk or Morozovich would only play on an off Tuesday ?!

Whats your thinking X ? (Remember you dont have to be truthful ... GM s still publish disinfo dont they, for that big game?)

baronderkilt
06-May-11, 14:25

mmm

It only just occurs to me, there may be those who dont understand that there are those of us here on GK who will have walked the earth when No Benko Gambit was being played, for the most part. It came about, birthed by Benko in the early 70's as a superior offshoot to the Volga Gambit and has been its own walking controversy ever since, as any truly decent opening should be. Unless my memory of that Golden Age of Chess (and indeed it WAS) is grown untrusty.

shamash
06-May-11, 17:16

There is disinfo -. . . and there is BAD info. . .

It is one thing to engage in some disinformation, as Bill's master points out, to further one's prospects for an upcoming match; and another for a GM to write bad misguided wrong information, publish it, print it, market it for others to rely on, then privately acknowledge that his suggested line is faulty, and publicly do nothing about it.

A word to the wise: be leery of suggested lines and wary of Theoretical Novelties in the Catalan as recommended by GM Boris Avrukh in his book "1 d4".

black_cat_hamlet
07-May-11, 04:44

Drawish?

I'd have never thought of it that way - what I like about it is the freedom it can give your
bishops, especially when the gambit is fully accepted! Other queen's pawn games always had me
with a blocked in bishop - or is that just me?

lighttotheright
07-May-11, 10:21

I'm actually one of those who has played the Benko or against it as white at the upper levels of skill. I never thought of it as drawish either. It takes some guts to use it, and so I respect anyone who does. It is playable. It is definitely not your Grandmother's ordinary game of chess.

To someone well adapted to other chess openings, the Benko requires a new perspective. Positions are not necessarily quite as they may first seem. Because of its newness, it can be fresh and exciting against a player that actually knows what they are doing. When handled properly, White has to be very careful. It is easy for him to go wrong.

I've already done an annotation of the Benko here gameknot.com. Black's white bishop is typically developed to a6 and his b8 knight often goes to d7. But the Benko is more about control of certain squares rather than development. The development is fairly natural but the timing of those moves is the tricky part. It's not about where, but when.

black_cat_hamlet
08-May-11, 12:26

very interesting annotation...

And I'm guessing that it's Black who wants to get the draw after 33.dxc7 Qf5 34.Rd8+ Kf7
35.c8=Q Qxf2+ etc?

archduke_piccolo
08-May-11, 16:19

Having looked at ...

... lighttotheright's game, and played the opening occasionally (I also have Pal Benko's Batsford monograph), I am struck by how clearly defined many of the themes and motifs are in this opening. Black aims to place his rooks upon adjacent half-open files on the Q-side, their pressure augmented by the fiachetto bishop at g7. The unopposed Black c-pawn will try to reach c4, where it restrains White's Q-side pawns (partial control of b3), whilst creating a potential strongpoint at d3 for a knight.

White's counterchances seem to lie in a central pawn break at e5, and a general action in the centre. At the same time, He will need to find a way to free his Q-side: protecting the b-pawn to allow the bishop to move and let the rook out.

In my view this is a very good opening for the developing player playing the Black pieces: positionally and tactically sound, but the early pawn minus means that Black will have to work for the win. It also shows that the kong need not be a legitimate target for attack. At any rate, it won't do to drift and hope the game will play itself!

thereaper1
07-Sep-11, 00:04

BUMP

I have recently started playing the benko gambit. I am finding it is quickly becoming one of my favourite games. The game is tactical but to me seems even more positional. The development is so natural as well as the themes, it means I need to know little theory and instead just need to realise the ideas. If white does not play accuratly by playing the centre then black gets tremendos pressure on the queenside with the b&a files. I dont often find myself stuck for moves either with the benko since the moves seem almost to present themselves.

baddeeds
26-Dec-11, 17:39

Where the Benko's gambit losses

My favorite opening used to be the Queen's Gambit, but I no longer play this because one of my opponents transposed this into the Benko's Gambit during a team game. That prevented me from playing well because it put me through the, "Fight or Flight" response throughout the entire game. This is the longest period that I was nervous and hyperventilating in a game, and breaks did not help, this time. When I came back to this particular game, I was almost hyperventilating. This is the game that I am referring to. gameknot.com

baddeeds
26-Dec-11, 17:45

When I stopped using the Queens Gambit and switched to the King's Knight followed by Ruy Lopez opening, I am playing some games better. If I had played a4, I would have been able to prevent the transposition and the Benko's Gambit, but it is extremely unlikely that I will ever open with the Queen's Gambit, again.

thereaper1
26-Dec-11, 23:25

actually.

I think you will find that that was not a Benko gambit at all.
Your opponent also missed a chance to win a piece on move 7 as you had left your knight without protection.

archduke_piccolo
27-Dec-11, 03:42

jkarp...

The opening in the game you referred to looks uncommon like a Queen's Gambit Accepted to me - and it develops in a way that the Benko usually doesn't.

The loss of a piece early on was unfortunate, but there was a point at which you could have set Black some interesting problems.

Here is the position after Black's 35th move:

w

At the moment White's pieces are a little constrained, but Black's even more so. White can bring his into speedy action by -

36.Bc4ch! ...
Now Black has to choose where to place his King. We can rule out 36...Kh8?? which leads to a quick win for White! (36...Kh8?? 39.Rd8ch Kh7 40.Bg8ch Kh8 41.Bf7ch Kh7 42.Bg6#). Better is 36...Kh7, but only because it doesn't lose: 36...Kh7?! 37.Rd8 g5! 38.Rd7ch Kh8 39.Rd8ch Kg7 40.Rd7ch and Black would probably do best to accept the draw by repetition, as after 40...Rf8? 41.Rf7ch Ke8 42.Rxf6 White makes hay of Black's K-side and starts to get pretty good winning chances. That leaves...

36... Kf8
37.Rd7! ...
And Black is very nearly in 'zugzwang'. Just about the only sensible move available is

37...Nb5!
38.Rd8ch! Ke7
39.Rg8 Nd4
40.Kc3 ...
hoping for 40...Ra3ch 41.Kb2.

I'll leave the thing here, with the issue in doubt. Though it's true Black is still a piece ahead for a pawn, he still has to find a way to shut down White's troublesome counterattack, let alone set about forming a winning plan. White still has to fight to save the draw, but his chances aren't too bad!

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