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26-541: The original form of the Benoni, now known as the Old Benoni , is characterized by This leaves Black a few options such as an early ...f5 and an early dark-squared bishop trade by ...Be7-g5, but has the drawback that White is no longer committed to playing c2-c4 after the response 2.d5. White may prefer to occupy c4 with a knight, or to inconvenience Black's development with an early bishop check on b5. More commonly, it

52-507: A pawn for enduring queenside pressure. White can accept or decline the gambit pawn. The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings has three codes for the Benko Gambit: The idea of sacrificing a pawn with ...b5 and ...a6 is quite old. Karel Opočenský applied the idea against, among others, Gideon Ståhlberg at Poděbrady 1936, Paul Keres at Pärnu 1937, Erich Eliskases at Prague 1937, and Theo van Scheltinga at

78-508: A potential redeployment of the bishop to g7, has also been tried. White appears to retain the advantage against both setups. The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings has many codes for the Benoni Defense. Old Benoni Defense: Benoni Defense: Fianchetto Variation: Modern Benoni: Taimanov Variation: Four Pawns Attack: Classical Benoni: Bibliography Sacrifice (chess) Too Many Requests If you report this error to

104-783: A solid grip over the kingside with the e6-pawn and Nf7 outpost combination. This line is named after the Greek mythological river that interconnects the Earth and the Underworld. These lines are diverse and complicated and are not well explored. Other less common lines include 4...b4, the Advance Variation, leading to positional games with pseudo-Benoni structures; and the rare 4...Qa5+ which often transposes into an altered Advance Variation with White playing 5.Bd2 and Black responding 5...b4. The gambit's most notable practitioner

130-534: Is an ancient Hebrew name, still occasionally used, meaning "son of my sorrow". It is a reference to the Biblical account of the dying Rachel giving birth to Benjamin , whom she named Ben-Oni. In 1825 Aaron Reinganum, a prominent member of the Frankfurt Jewish community , published a book entitled Ben-Oni oder die Vertheidigungen gegen die Gambitzüge im Schache in which he analyzed several defenses to

156-582: Is classified under the ECO codes A60–A79. The Blumenfeld is a variant of the Modern Benoni beginning 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nf3 b5. While it superficially resembles the Benko Gambit, it has a different strategic goal, that being to initiate counterplay against White's pawn center rather than develop positional pressure on the queen's side. The Snake Benoni is a variant of the Modern Benoni where

182-498: Is not favorable to Black. Bennoni [sic] gives some examples; but it loses time to White, which deprives Black of all the advantages of a good opening." Staunton wrote in The Chess-Player's Companion (1849): "M. St. Amant derived this somewhat bizarre defense from Benoni. (Benoni, oder Vertheidigungen die Gambitzüge im Schache, &c. Von Aaron Reinganum, Frankfort, 1825.)" Staunton also mentions "Ben-Oni" while commenting on

208-631: Is particularly used in English-speaking countries. In his 1974 book, Benko drew a distinction between the Benko Gambit and the Volga Gambit: "Volga Gambit" referred to the move 3...b5 (sometimes followed by an early ...e6), while the "Benko Gambit" consisted of the moves 3...b5 4.cxb5 a6, now considered the main line. Today the names are synonymous and are used interchangeably or combined as "Volga-Benko Gambit". The main line continues 4.cxb5 a6 5.bxa6 Bxa6 followed by Black fianchettoing

234-687: Is reached by the sequence: Black can then offer a pawn sacrifice with 3...b5 (the Benko Gambit ), otherwise 3...e6 is the most common move, leading to the Modern Benoni . 3...d6 or 3...g6 are also seen, typically transposing to main lines, or to lines of the King's Indian Defense . 3...e5, the Czech Benoni , is now considered old-fashioned and allows White a clear space advantage. Benoni ( Hebrew : בֶּן־אוֹנִי ‎ ; Ben-Oni )

260-434: Is the second most common form of Benoni after the Benko Gambit . Black's intention is to play ...exd5 and create a queenside pawn majority , whose advance will be supported by a fianchettoed bishop on g7. The combination of these two features differentiates Black's setup from the other Benoni defenses and the King's Indian Defense , although transpositions between these openings are common. The Modern Benoni

286-631: Is to just decline the gambit with 4.Nf3. Other possible moves are 4.Nd2, 4.a4, 4.e3, and 4.Qc2. Another option, popular at the grandmaster level as of 2004 and considered safer for Black, is to accept the pawn with 4.cxb5 but then immediately return it with 4...a6 5.b6. After 4.a4, the Sosonko Variation, Black has three sound replies. The most popular line is 4...bxc4, the Sosonko Accepted, which often leads to sharp and sacrificial lines for both sides. Such lines include

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312-472: The kingside and prevent ...f5. Grandmaster Ben Finegold often plays this line; he notably beat Mamedyarov in this variation. The Benko Gambit, also known as the Volga Gambit, begins 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5. Play usually continues 4.cxb5 a6 5.bxa6 Bxa6. Black sacrifices a pawn for open lines and long-term positional pressure on the queen's side. The Modern Benoni, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6,

338-661: The Buenos Aires Chess Olympiad 1939 . Later, the game Mark Taimanov – David Bronstein at the Candidates Tournament , Zürich 1953, drew attention. Most of these games began as a King's Indian , with Black only later playing ...c5 and ...b5. Possibly the first game using the now-standard move order 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 was Thorvaldsson–Vaitonis, Munich Olympiad 1936 . In many countries, particularly in Eastern Europe,

364-620: The Morra Gambit , also promising equality at best. The Old Benoni may transpose to the Czech Benoni, but there are a few independent variations. This form has never attracted serious interest in high-level play, though Alexander Alekhine defeated Efim Bogoljubow with it in one game of their second match, in 1934. The Old Benoni is sometimes called the Blackburne Defense after Englishman Joseph Henry Blackburne ,

390-408: The endgame and so, unusually for a gambit , Black does not generally mind if queens are exchanged; indeed, exchanging queens can often remove the sting from a kingside attack by White. Also in the endgame, the black king can become active and reach the centre via the h8–a1 diagonal. There are various alternatives that avoid some of the problems entailed in the main line. The simplest

416-572: The King's Gambit and the Queen's Gambit, as well as the then unknown opening 1.d4 c5. Reinganum, who studied chess to alleviate his depression , conceived the name "Ben-Oni" as a nickname for his writings rather than the name of an opening. In the 1843 Staunton – Saint Amant match, Saint Amant met 1.d4 with 1...c5 in the second and fourth games. Saint Amant wrote in Le Palamède (1843): "This opening

442-555: The Poisoned Knight Variation where after 5.Nc3 e6 6.e4 exd5 and 7.e5, Black sacrifices a knight for a large central pawn majority and excellent spatial advantage with good attacking chances; and the River Styx Attack, which continues 5.Nc3 Ba6 6.e4 d6 7.f4 g6 8.e5. This leads to a sharp and complicated pawn sacrifice by White, where White often delays or even prevents Black from castling, and has

468-564: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.226 via cp1108 cp1108, Varnish XID 251051846 Upstream caches: cp1108 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 11:03:55 GMT Benko Gambit The Benko Gambit (or Volga Gambit ) is a chess opening characterised by the move 3...b5 in the Benoni Defence arising after: Black sacrifices

494-574: The bishop is developed to d6 rather than g7. This opening was invented in 1982 by Rolf Olav Martens , who gave it its name because of the sinuous movement of the bishop—in Martens's original concept, Black follows up with 6...Bc7 and sometimes ...Ba5—and because the Swedish word for "snake", orm , was an anagram of his initials. Normunds Miezis has been a regular exponent of this variation. Aside from Martens's plan, 6...0-0 intending ...Re8, ...Bf8 and

520-452: The f8-bishop. (Black players leery of the double-fianchetto system, where White plays g3 and b3 and fianchettos both bishops, have preferred 5...g6 intending 6.b3 Bg7 7.Bb2 Nxa6! The point is that it is awkward for White to meet the threat of ...Nb4, hitting d5 and a2, when Nc3 may often be met by ...Nfxd5 because of the latent pin down the long diagonal . Another idea is 5...e6 !? ; after 6.Nc3 exd5 7.Nxd5 Be7 8.Nxe7 Qxe7 9.e3 0-0 10.Nf3

546-571: The first player known to have used it successfully. In the Czech Benoni, also known as the Hromadka Benoni, after Karel Hromádka , Black plays 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e5. The Czech Benoni is more solid than the Modern Benoni, but also more passive. The middlegames arising from this line are characterized by much maneuvering; in most lines, Black will look to break with ...b7–b5 or ...f7–f5 after due preparation, while White may play Nc3, e4, h3, Bd3, Nf3, and g4, in order to gain space on

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572-415: The line 7...Bxf1 8.Kxf1 g6 9.g3 Bg7 10.Kg2. If White avoids this by fianchettoing the bishop, it will be in a rather passive position, being blocked by White's own pawn on d5. Apart from this, Black also obtains fast development, good control of the a1–h8 diagonal, and can exert pressure down the half-open a- and b-files whereby White's a- and b-pawns can become vulnerable. These benefits can last well into

598-522: The move 1...c5 in The Chess-player's Handbook (1847, page 382). Subsequently, the name "Benoni" came to be associated with the opening 1.d4 c5, and later with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 and other openings in which Black counters d2–d4 with an early ....c7–c5, without first having played ...d7–d5. The Old Benoni Defense starts with 1.d4 c5. White usually replies 2.d5 in order to gain space , as 2.dxc5 e6 leads to no advantage, and 2.e4 transposes to

624-432: The move 10...Rxa6 is a strong exchange sacrifice giving Black enough compensation.) Black's compensation for the pawn takes several forms. First, White, who is already behind in development , must solve the problem of developing the f1-bishop. After 6.Nc3 d6, if White plays 7.e4, then Black will respond 7...Bxf1, and after recapturing with the king, White must spend time castling artificially with g3 and Kg2, as in

650-647: The opening is known as the Volga Gambit ( Russian : Волжский гамбит ). This name is derived from the Volga River after an article about 3...b5 !? by B. Argunow written in Kuibyshev ( Samara since 1991), Russia, that was published in the second 1946 issue of the magazine Shakhmaty v SSSR . Beginning in the late 1960s, this opening idea was also promoted by Hungarian-American grandmaster Pal Benko , who provided many new suggestions and published his book The Benko Gambit in 1974. The name Benko Gambit stuck and

676-513: Was its eponym, Pal Benko . Many of the world's strongest players have used it at one time or another, including former world champions Viswanathan Anand , Garry Kasparov , Veselin Topalov , Mikhail Tal , and Magnus Carlsen ; and grandmasters Vasyl Ivanchuk , Michael Adams , Alexei Shirov , Boris Gelfand , and Evgeny Bareev . It is a popular opening at amateur level, where it is considered to offer Black good practical chances of playing for

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