The Benko Gambit Move by Move

En inspirerende bok om Benkö-gambiten 1 d4 Sf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 b5 i den pedegogisk folkelige serien Move-by-move. Forfatteren er stor spesialist ikke minst i sin praksis som IM i fjernsjakk.

FORLAGETS INTRO:

The Benko Gambit is a popular choice for those who like to seize the initiative as Black. For the price of a pawn, Black gets tremendous queenside pressure and puts White on the defensive early in the game. Players are attracted by the fact that Black's plans are so clear cut, while White is often reduced to simply dealing with Black's threats.

In this book, Benko expert Junior Tay invites you to join him in studying his favourite opening. He examines the main plans for both sides, provides a repertoire for Black and answers all the key questions.

• Essential guidance and training in the Benko Gambit • Utilizes an ideal approach to chess study • Includes a Benko Gambit repertoire for Black

Junior Tay is a FIDE Candidate Master and an ICCF Senior International Master. He's a former Singapore Rapidplay Chess Champion and has represented Singapore in numerous international events, including the Asian Team Championship.

UTDRAG FRA FORFATTERENS INNLEDNING:

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 spac e and initiative more favourably than in the past and are better at asse ssing 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 play. One of my first high-level CC games was against the Russian Correspondence Chess Champion Sergey Romanov and I fought him to a draw. In 12 Benko Gambit games I was unbeaten and the only one time I played against it with white at correspondence, I got beaten like a drum. The point I want to make is that it is still playable even at master level correspondence chess, even if opponents have months to analyse with so many resources at hand.

4) The Benko has been played by many of the world’s leading players such as Garry Kasparov, Magnus Carlsen, Viswanathan Anand, Veselin Topalov, Vassily Ivanchuk and Fabiano Caruana to name just a few. Two particular incidents stand out for me with respect to the Benko Gambit:

i. In the final round of the 1986 Dubai Olympiad, the Soviets needed to blank Poland 4-0 to overcome Hungary’s lead and so claim the gold medals. It was at this juncture that Garry Kasparov resorted to the Benko Gambit and won a tense game against Wlodzimierz Schmidt to help secure the top spot for USSR.

ii. Viswanathan Anand shockingly lost the first game of the 2001 FIDE Knockout World Cup to an internet qualifier, the French IM Olivier Touzanne. In a must-win second game, he essayed the Benko Gambit to win in 23 moves and even the score