Benko Gambit
The Benko Gambit (or Volga Gambit) is a chess open- line.[2] Now the terms are synonyms and are used in-
ing characterised by the move 3...b5 in the Benoni De- terchangeably or joined together with a hyphen (Volga–
fense arising after: Benko Gambit).[3]
1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 c5 2 Theory
3. d5 b5
The main line continues with the moves 4. cxb5 a6
5. bxa6 Bxa6 followed by Black fianchettoing the f8-
The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings (ECO) has three bishop. (Black players leery of the double-fianchetto sys-
codes for the Benko Gambit:[1] tem, where White plays g3 and b3, and fianchettos both
bishops, have preferred 5...g6 intending 6.b3 Bg7 7.Bb2
• A57 3...b5 Nxa6! The point is that it is awkward for White to meet
the threat of ...Nb4, hitting d5 and a2, when Nc3 may of-
• A58 3...b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.bxa6 ten be met by ...Nfxd5 because of the latent pin down the
long diagonal.) Black’s compensation for the pawn takes
• A59 3...b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.bxa6 Bxa6 6.Nc3 d6 7.e4 several forms. First, White, who is already behind in de-
velopment, must solve the problem of developing the f1-
bishop. After 6. Nc3 d6, if White plays 7.e4, then Black
1 Origin and predecessors will play 7...Bxf1, and after recapturing with the king,
White will have to spend time castling artificially with
g3 and Kg2, as in the line 7...Bxf1 8.Kxf1 g6 9.g3 Bg7
The idea of sacrificing a pawn with ...b5 and ...a6 is quite
10.Kg2. If White avoids this by fianchettoing the bishop,
old. Karel Opočenský applied the idea against, among
it will be in a rather passive position, being blocked by
others, Gideon Ståhlberg at Poděbrady 1936, Paul Keres
White’s own pawn on d5.
at Pärnu 1937, and Erich Eliskases at Prague 1937. Later
the Mark Taimanov versus David Bronstein game at the Apart from this, Black also obtains fast development and
Candidates Tournament, Zürich 1953, drew attention. good control of the a1–h8 diagonal and can exert pres-
Most of these games began as a King’s Indian, with Black sure down the half-open a- and b-files. These are benefits
only later playing ...c5 and ...b5. Possibly the first to use which can last well into the endgame and so, unusual for
the now-standard move order 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 a gambit, Black does not generally mind if queens are
was Thorvaldsson–Vaitonis, Munich Olympiad 1936. exchanged; indeed, exchanging queens can often remove
the sting from a kingside attack by White.
In many countries, particularly in the Eastern Bloc, the
opening is known as the Volga Gambit. This name Although the main line of the Benko is considered accept-
is derived from the Volga River after an article about able for White, there are various alternatives which avoid
3...b5!? by B. Argunow written in Kuibyshev (Samara some of the problems entailed in the main line. The sim-
since 1991), Russia, that was published in the second plest is to just decline the gambit with 4.Nf3. Other pos-
1946 issue of the magazine Schachmaty in USSR. sible moves are 4.Nd2, 4.a4, and 4.Qc2. Another idea,
popular at the grandmaster level as of 2004, is to accept
Beginning in the late 1960s, this opening idea was
the pawn but then immediately return it with 4.cxb5 a6
also promoted by Pal Benko, a Hungarian-American
5.b6. Another popular alternative is 5.e3.
Grandmaster, who provided many new suggestions and
published his book The Benko Gambit in 1974. The name
Benko Gambit stuck and is particularly used in English-
speaking countries. 3 Use
In his 1974 book, Benko drew a distinction between the
Benko Gambit and the Volga Gambit: “Volga Gambit” The gambit’s most notable practitioner has been its
referred to the move 3...b5 (sometimes followed by an eponym, Pal Benko. Many of the world’s strongest play-
early ...e6), while the “Benko Gambit” consisted of the ers have used it at one time or another, including for-
moves 3...b5 4.cxb5 a6, which is now considered the main mer world champions Viswanathan Anand, Garry Kas-
1
2 7 FURTHER READING
parov, Veselin Topalov and Mikhail Tal, and Grandmas-
ters Vassily Ivanchuk, Michael Adams, Alexei Shirov,
Boris Gelfand, and Evgeny Bareev.
4 In popular culture
The Benko Gambit is featured in Jack McDevitt's short
story, “Black to Move”, anthologized in both Standard
Candles and again in the 2009 collection Breach The Hull,
as well as in William Ballard’s short story “Retrograde
Analysis”, published in Analog Science Fiction.
5 See also
• List of chess openings
• List of chess openings named after people
6 References
[1] Chess Archaeology: Openings classified under ECO
A57–A59
[2] Benko, Pal (1974). The Benko Gambit. B. T. Batsford,
London. ISBN 0-7134-1058-2.
[3] Konikowski, Jerry (November 2002). “A weapon against
the Volga Gambit”. ChessBase Magazine (ChessBase
GmbH) (98).
7 Further reading
• Benko, Pal (1974). The Benko Gambit. Batsford.
• Gufeld, Eduard (1988). Benko Gambit. Batsford.
ISBN 978-0-7134-5592-2.
• Gufeld, Eduard (1988). Benko Gambit Accepted. Si-
mon & Schuster. ISBN 978-0-02-043281-4.
• Fedorowicz, John (1990). The Complete Benko
Gambit. Summit. ISBN 978-0-945806-14-1.
• Ravikumar, V (1992). Play the Benko Gambit.
Cadogan. ISBN 978-1-85744-014-0.
• McDonald, Neil (2004). Benko Gambit Revealed.
Batsford. ISBN 978-0-7134-8868-5.
• Pinski, Jan (2005). The Benko Gambit. Quality
Chess. ISBN 978-91-975243-8-4.
• Bellin, Robert and Ponzetto, Pietro (1990). Mas-
tering the Modern Benoni and the Benko Gambit.
Batsford. ISBN 978-0-7134-6288-3.
3
8 Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses
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