The Benko Revisited - Volume 2

You can play this opening against anyone. This opening is especially well suited for

rapid and blitz games, since in the reduced time control in particular the role of the

initiative increases. Generally speaking, not in every opening will you find such a

thing as Black having the initiative from the very first moves (although this pleasure

is paid for with a whole pawn!). I played this opening with a classical time control

against the ex-champion of Russia, Grandmaster Igor Lysyj, and very comfortably

equalized in the opening, although later the class difference showed and my

eminent opponent beat me. Nevertheless, the opening had absolutely nothing to

do with it. This opening worked great when I played it in Rostov-on-Don, when I

beat many strong players and after that they preferred to play 1.c4, doing whatever

they could to avoid the Benko Gambit. Of course, to my understanding this opening

is especially good to play against amateurs, or weaker players than yourself, who

do not know its intricacies – you can quickly get a promising position. This opening

is suitable for active players striving for a lively, initiative-rich game, with a strong

spirit. After all, you need to understand that if something goes wrong, you may face

big problems, since you do not have a pawn, but as in any opening there are pluses

and minuses, and in the Benko Gambit there are also disadvantages. First of all, in

some places you need to play very accurately (this will be especially evident in the

positions that we will consider in volume 2) and the cost of an error is quite high.

But if the reader carefully studies the books, then I think that there should be no

problems and the Benko Gambit will give you many of your most interesting fights!