Pál Benko
Encyclopedia
Pal Benko is a chess
grandmaster
, author, and composer
of endgame studies
and chess problem
s.
but was raised in Hungary
. He was Hungarian champion
by age 20. He emigrated to the United States
in 1958, after defecting
following the World Student Team Championship in Reykjavík
, Iceland
in 1957. FIDE
awarded him the title of Grandmaster in 1958.
- the tournament to decide the challenger for the World Championship
- in 1959 and 1962
. Both tournaments had eight of the world's top players.
He qualified for the 1970 Interzonal
tournament, the leaders of which advance to the Candidates. However, he gave up his spot in the Interzonal to Bobby Fischer
, who went on to win the World Championship in 1972.
s, a record. His titles were: 1961, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1974, 1975. He won the 1964 Canadian Open Chess Championship
.
Benko played some of his very best chess in team competition. He represented Hungary at the 1957 Student Olympiad in Reykjavík
on board one, scoring 7.5/12, and Hungary was fourth as a team. He had earlier played for the national Hungarian team at the Moscow
1956 Olympiad, on board three, scoring 10/15, and helping Hungary to team bronze. He moved to the United States, but it was not until 1962 that he appeared on their team. He would wind up on six teams in a row. At Varna
1962, Benko played board two, scored 8/12 for the silver medal on his board, and the USA finished fourth. At Tel Aviv
1964, he was again on board two, scored 9.5/14, and the USA ended up sixth. At Havana
1966, Benko was on board three, scored 8/12, and the Americans won team silver. At Lugano
1968, he made 6/12 on board three, and the USA finished fourth. At Siegen
1970, Benko was on board four, scoring 8.5/12, and the Americans again finished fourth. His last Olympiad was Skopje
1972, where he played on board three, made 9.5/16, and the USA ended up ninth. (Source: olimpbase.org)
s he pioneered are named for him:
He was inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame
in 1993.
In addition to his success as a player, Benko is a noted authority on the chess endgame and a composer of endgame studies
and chess problems. He was awarded the title of International Master of Chess Composition by FIDE. He wrote a book on the Benko Gambit for RHM Publishing in the early 1970s. For decades, he has had a column on endgames in Chess Life
magazine, which is published by the United States Chess Federation
, and he has published in 1991 the book Winning with Chess Psychology. In 2003 he revised the classic book Basic Chess Endings
, by Reuben Fine
.
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
grandmaster
International Grandmaster
The title Grandmaster is awarded to strong chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain....
, author, and composer
Chess composer
A chess composer is a person who creates endgame studies or chess problems. He usually specializes in a particular genre, e.g. endgame studies, twomovers, threemovers, moremovers, helpmates, selfmates, fairy problems...
of endgame studies
Endgame study
An endgame study, or just study, is a composed chess position—that is, one that has been made up rather than one from an actual game—presented as a sort of puzzle, in which the aim of the solver is to find a way for one side to win or draw, as stipulated, against any moves the other side...
and chess problem
Chess problem
A chess problem, also called a chess composition, is a puzzle set by somebody using chess pieces on a chess board, that presents the solver with a particular task to be achieved. For instance, a position might be given with the instruction that White is to move first, and checkmate Black in two...
s.
Early life
Benko was born in FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
but was raised in Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. He was Hungarian champion
Hungarian Chess Championship
The inaugural Hungarian Chess Championship was held in the city of Győr in 1906. Initially, there was no governing body responsible for its organisation, until the formation of the Hungarian Chess Federation. The HCF first appeared in 1911, but failed to establish itself properly until 1923...
by age 20. He emigrated to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
in 1958, after defecting
Defection
In politics, a defector is a person who gives up allegiance to one state or political entity in exchange for allegiance to another. More broadly, it involves abandoning a person, cause or doctrine to whom or to which one is bound by some tie, as of allegiance or duty.This term is also applied,...
following the World Student Team Championship in Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
in 1957. FIDE
Fédération Internationale des Échecs
The Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national chess federations around the world and acts as the governing body of international chess competition. It is usually referred to as FIDE , its French acronym.FIDE...
awarded him the title of Grandmaster in 1958.
World title candidate
Benko's highest achievements were playing in the Candidates TournamentCandidates Tournament
The Candidates Tournament is a chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship...
- the tournament to decide the challenger for the World Championship
World Chess Championship
The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....
- in 1959 and 1962
World Chess Championship 1963
At the World Chess Championship 1963 Tigran Petrosian narrowly qualified to challenge Mikhail Botvinnik for the World Chess Championship, and then won the match to become the ninth World Chess Champion...
. Both tournaments had eight of the world's top players.
He qualified for the 1970 Interzonal
Interzonal
Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...
tournament, the leaders of which advance to the Candidates. However, he gave up his spot in the Interzonal to Bobby Fischer
Bobby Fischer
Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
, who went on to win the World Championship in 1972.
Other achievements
Benko finished in first place (or tied for first place) in eight U.S. Open Chess ChampionshipU.S. Open Chess Championship
The U.S. Open Championship is an open national chess championship that has been held in the United States annually since 1900.-History:Through 1938, the tournaments were organized by the Western Chess Association and its successor, the American Chess Federation .The United States Chess Federation ...
s, a record. His titles were: 1961, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1974, 1975. He won the 1964 Canadian Open Chess Championship
Canadian Open Chess Championship
The Canadian Open Chess Championship is Canada's Open chess championship, first held in 1956, and held annually since 1973, usually in mid-summer. It is organized by the Chess Federation of Canada....
.
Benko played some of his very best chess in team competition. He represented Hungary at the 1957 Student Olympiad in Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
on board one, scoring 7.5/12, and Hungary was fourth as a team. He had earlier played for the national Hungarian team at the Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
1956 Olympiad, on board three, scoring 10/15, and helping Hungary to team bronze. He moved to the United States, but it was not until 1962 that he appeared on their team. He would wind up on six teams in a row. At Varna
Varna
Varna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
1962, Benko played board two, scored 8/12 for the silver medal on his board, and the USA finished fourth. At Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv , officially Tel Aviv-Yafo , is the second most populous city in Israel, with a population of 404,400 on a land area of . The city is located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline in west-central Israel. It is the largest and most populous city in the metropolitan area of Gush Dan, with...
1964, he was again on board two, scored 9.5/14, and the USA ended up sixth. At Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
1966, Benko was on board three, scored 8/12, and the Americans won team silver. At Lugano
Lugano
Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...
1968, he made 6/12 on board three, and the USA finished fourth. At Siegen
Siegen
Siegen is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia.It is located in the district of Siegen-Wittgenstein in the Arnsberg region...
1970, Benko was on board four, scoring 8.5/12, and the Americans again finished fourth. His last Olympiad was Skopje
Skopje
Skopje is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Macedonia with about a third of the total population. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre...
1972, where he played on board three, made 9.5/16, and the USA ended up ninth. (Source: olimpbase.org)
Legacy and writings
Some chess openingChess opening
A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...
s he pioneered are named for him:
- The Benko GambitBenko GambitThe Benko Gambit is a chess opening characterised by the move 3...b5 in the Benoni Defense arising after:- Origin and predecessors :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...
(1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5), which he popularised, and played with great success from the mid-1960s. - Benko's OpeningBenko's OpeningBenko's Opening , is a chess opening characterized by the moveIt is named after Pal Benko, who used 1.g3 to defeat Bobby Fischer and Mikhail Tal in rounds one and three of the 1962 Candidates Tournament in Curaçao, part of the 1963 World Championship...
(1.g3), which he introduced at the 1962 Candidates TournamentWorld Chess Championship 1963At the World Chess Championship 1963 Tigran Petrosian narrowly qualified to challenge Mikhail Botvinnik for the World Chess Championship, and then won the match to become the ninth World Chess Champion...
, defeating Bobby FischerBobby FischerRobert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...
and Mikhail TalMikhail TalMikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....
with it.
He was inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame
World Chess Hall of Fame
The World Chess Hall of Fame is a museum in St. Louis, Missouri dedicated to honoring achievements in the game of chess. It is run and organized by the United States Chess Trust, a charitable arm of the United States Chess Federation. Its past locations include New York, Washington D.C., and...
in 1993.
In addition to his success as a player, Benko is a noted authority on the chess endgame and a composer of endgame studies
Endgame study
An endgame study, or just study, is a composed chess position—that is, one that has been made up rather than one from an actual game—presented as a sort of puzzle, in which the aim of the solver is to find a way for one side to win or draw, as stipulated, against any moves the other side...
and chess problems. He was awarded the title of International Master of Chess Composition by FIDE. He wrote a book on the Benko Gambit for RHM Publishing in the early 1970s. For decades, he has had a column on endgames in Chess Life
Chess Life
Chess Life is a monthly chess magazine published in the United States. The official publication of the United States Chess Federation , it reaches more than a quarter of a million readers every month. A subscription to Chess Life is one of the benefits of Full Adult, Youth, or Life membership in...
magazine, which is published by the United States Chess Federation
United States Chess Federation
The United States Chess Federation is a non-profit organization, the governing chess organization within the United States, and one of the federations of the FIDE. The USCF was founded in 1939 from the merger of two regional chess organizations, and grew gradually until 1972, when membership...
, and he has published in 1991 the book Winning with Chess Psychology. In 2003 he revised the classic book Basic Chess Endings
Basic Chess Endings
Basic Chess Endings is a book on chess endgames which was written by Grandmaster Reuben Fine and originally published in 1941. It is considered the first systematic book in English on the endgame phase of the game of chess. It is the best-known endgame book in English and is a classic piece of...
, by Reuben Fine
Reuben Fine
Reuben Fine was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the early 1930s through the 1940s, an International Grandmaster, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology.Fine won five medals in three chess Olympiads. Fine won the U.S...
.
Notable chess games
- Pal Benko vs Viacheslav Ragozin, Budapest 1949, Budapest Gambit (A52), 1-0 Ragozin tries the Budapest Gambit in Budapest, but Hungarian Benko is well prepared.
- Laszlo Szabo vs Pal Benko, Hungarian Championship 1951, Sicilian Defence, Sozin-Fischer Variation (B88), 0-1 Szabo is a nine-time Hungarian champion, but the young Benko more than holds his own.
- Pal Benko vs Robert Fischer, Portoroz Interzonal 1958, King's Indian Defence, Saemisch Variation (E80), 1-0 The young Fischer would go on to qualify, but he suffers a drastic loss here.
- Pal Benko vs Fridrik Olafsson, Yugoslavia Candidates' tournament 1959, Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation (B99), 1-0 One of Benko's best games from this tournament.
- Pal Benko vs Robert Fischer, Buenos Aires 1960, King's Indian Defence, Fianchetto Variation (E62), 1-0 Fischer overextends and is punished badly.
- Pal Benko vs Samuel Reshevsky, New York match 1960, Grunfeld Defence (D76), 1-0 Benko lost the match, but he scores a nice win here.
- Pal Benko vs Mikhail Tal, Curacao Candidates' tournament 1962, Benko's Opening (A00), 1-0 Benko introduces an original opening scheme, and finally beats Tal, one of his great tormentors.
- Pal Benko vs Robert Fischer, Curacao Candidates' tournament 1962, Benko's Opening (A00), 1-0 Benko again utilizes his new plan to defeat Fischer.
- Pal Benko vs Paul Keres, Curacao Candidates' tournament 1962, King's Indian Attack, Keres Variation (A07), 1-0 An extraordinarily painful loss for Keres, who had beaten Benko in the three previous cycles of the tournament; it costs him a chance to qualify for the world championship match.
- Milan Vukic vs Pal Benko, Sarajevo 1967, Benko Gambit (A58), 0-1 Benko was crafting this gambit into a formidable weapon during these years with wins like this.
- Igor Zaitsev vs Pal Benko, Solnak 1974, Benko Gambit (A57), 0-1 Zaitsev came prepared with his own variation, but Benko manages to win anyway.
- Pal Benko vs Yasser Seirawan, Lone Pine 1978, English Opening, Symmetrical Variation (A34), 1-0 Benko is spotting young Seirawan 32 years, but shows experience and craft certainly count for something in chess.
Books
- Pal Benko: My Life, Games and Compositions, by Pal Benko, Jeremy SilmanJeremy SilmanJeremy Silman is an American International Master of chess. He has won the US Open, the American Open, and the National Open, and was the coach of the US junior national chess team...
, and John L. WatsonJohn L. WatsonJohn Leonard Watson is a chess International Master and author.Watson was born in Milwaukee and grew up in Omaha, Nebraska. He was educated at Brownell-Talbot, Harvard, and the University of California at San Diego, where he took his degree in engineering...
, 2003, Siles Press ISBN 1-890085-08-1 - Pal Benko's Endgame Laboratory ISBN 0-923891-88-9
- The Benko Gambit ISBN 0713429127
- Basic Chess EndingsBasic Chess EndingsBasic Chess Endings is a book on chess endgames which was written by Grandmaster Reuben Fine and originally published in 1941. It is considered the first systematic book in English on the endgame phase of the game of chess. It is the best-known endgame book in English and is a classic piece of...
by Reuben FineReuben FineReuben Fine was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the early 1930s through the 1940s, an International Grandmaster, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology.Fine won five medals in three chess Olympiads. Fine won the U.S...
revised by Pal Benko ISBN 0812934938
External links
- Pal Benko download 765 of his games in pgn format.
- "Best Chess Bio Yet?", by Taylor Kingston. A review of a biography of Benko, but the review itself contains some more information on Benko.