Benko Gambit Expose 
Reviewed by Glenn Budzinski 

The Gambit Guide to the Benko Gambit by Steffen Pedersen, 1999
Gambit Publications, Softcover, Figurine Algebraic Notation,
176pp., $19.95

The Benko Gambit, 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 b5, arguably may be the
last major opening discovery of the Twentieth Century. Although
popularized by the French-born, Hungarian-U.S. Grandmaster Pal
Benko during the 1960s and 70s, after whom it is named, the
opening was actually played for the first time in the late 1940s.

Not to be confused with the Volga Gambit which, according to
Benko in his seminal 1973 work "The Benko Gambit", "differs
completely from the Benko Gambit. The former [Volga Gambit]
gives the game an entirely different character by blowing up the
center immediately, whereas in the Benko Gambit Black
fianchettoes his King Bishop and attacks on the Queenside." The
Benko, writes its principal advocate, "is a completely modern
gambit...not based on tactical tricks or traps, but on solid positional
ideas" which is, of course, why it's still vogue today, thirty years
after its initial popularity.

With that background in mind, let's take a look at the subject of
this review, "The Gambit Guide to the Benko Gambit" by Steffen
Pedersen. The book consists of 176 pages, including ten chapters
of material, an Index of Variations, Table of Contents, Introduction
and Bibliography. A brief overview of the material is as follows:
Chapter 1 examines 9th move deviations by White to the Classical
Main Line (1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 b5 4 cxb5 a6 5 bxa6 Bxa6 6 Nc3
d6 7 e4 Bxf1 8 Kxf1 g6); Chapter 2 covers the common 9 g3 in the
Classical Main Line; the variation 7 f4 is the subject of Chapter 3;
Chapter 4 covers 6 g3; the 5 e3 line is the subject of Chapter 5;
two recent, popular ideas, 5 f3 and 5 b6, can be found in Chapters
6 and 7, respectively; Chapter 8 consists of a look at 5 Nc3; the
Benko Gambit Declined with 4 Nf3 is covered in Chapter 9, while
other White 4th moves are examined in the final chapter. There is a
short discussion at the beginning of each chapter about "Common
Themes and Planning" and a "Quick Summary", before launching
into the theoretical review of the variation in question.

A number of new ideas have come into fruition and some older
ones have undergone refinement, since the publication of Benko's
initial book. Let's examine some of the theory behind those ideas
as put forth by Pedersen. 

Pedersen states that 5 f3 "is nowadays regarded as one of the most
fearsome systems against the Benko" (page 80). He and John
Fedorowicz, the latter in his highly-regarded "The Complete
Benko Gambit, second edition" (probably published in 1995, but
no date is given in the book), both identify the same three Black
responses, at this point: 5...g6, 5...axb5 and 5...e6.

In the 5...g6 line, after 6 e4 d6, White is confronted with various
choices, including 7 Na3, 7 a4 and 7 Nc3. Fedorowicz's main line
runs 7 Na3 Bg7 8 Ne2 Nbd7 9 Nc3 0-0 10 Be2 Ne8 11 Be3 Nc7 12
Qd2 axb5 13 Naxb5 Nxb5 14 Bxb5 Ne5 15 Bh6 Bxh6 16 Qxh6
Qa5 17 0-0 Ba6 18 Bxa6 Rxa6 19 f4 Nd7 20 Rf3 Qb4 21 Rd1 Rfa8
22 e5 Qxb2 23 f5 Rxa2 when Black had a "clear advantage" in
Blanco Coral-Georgadze, 1986 Pontvedra.

While Pedersen includes the same game, his main line is 8 Ne2 0-0
9 Nc3 and now, instead of 9...Nbd7 transposing to Blanco Coral
(or is it Carral Blanco?)-Georgadze, he recommends 9...axb5,
following the games Piskov-Kocovski, 1991 Star Dojran and
Kolev-Marinkovic, 1990 Vrnjacka Banja, where White gained an
advantage after move 21. Assuming that a "main line" represents
best play for both sides, it is not clear why Pedersen does not
consider Black's best response to be 9...Nbd7 which, even by his
own admission (he states that Black has "compensation" after
21...Rfa8), seems to give Black at least equal chances.

According to Pleister in "New In Chess Yearbook 44" from 1997
(NIC YB), "the move 5...e6 leads to a dynamic and interesting
game". After 5...e6 6 e4, Black has two principal choices at his
disposal, so says Pedersen and NIC YB: 6...exd5 and 6...c4.
(Fedorowicz doesn't cover 6...c4 but, like Pedersen, briefly looks at
6...Bb7, 6...Qc7 and 6...axb5.) Unlike his principal selection in
response to 5...g6, here Pedersen appears to be on the mark with
the cutting-edge 6...exd5 7 e7 Qe7 8 Qe2 Ng8 9 Nc3 Bb7 10 Nh3
c4 11 Be3 axb5 12 0-0-0 Qb4 13 Nf4 Ne7 14 Qf2 Na6 15 Kb1 Nf5
16 Nfxd5 Bxd5 17 Nxd5 Nxe3 18 Qxe3 Qc5 19 Qxc5 Bxc5 20
Nc3 Nc7, as in Lalic-Alterman, 1997 Pula Echt. Although the
game was eventually drawn, Alterman, who provided annotations
for NIC YB 44, and Pedersen, suggest 21 g3! as providing an
advantage to White (page 109).

Fedorowicz, on the other hand, only offers 12...Qxe5 from Dlugy-
Alburt, 1991 US Championship, which resulted in a quick White
win. Alterman's 12...Qb4, which came after Fedorowicz went to
press, appears to breathe new life into the 10...c4 variation.

Equally impressive is Pedersen's coverage of the 6...c4 line. After
5 f3 e6 6 e4 c4, NIC YB 44 includes only two games, both
continuing 7 Bc4. Pedersen recommends 7 Nc3 instead, however,
commenting that it "is regarded as more accurate than taking the
pawn on c4" (page 103). But even in his analysis of 7 Bc4, he
appears to scoop NIC YB's suggested 7 Bc4 Qc7 8 Bb3 with a
draw in Vera-Sagalchik, 1996 North Bay Open. Pedersen
advocates following S. Volkov-Annakov, 1997 Sochi, when White
secured a "plus" with 8 Bd3! exd5 9 b6 Qxb6 10 e5 Ng8 11 Nc3
Bb7 12 Nge2 d6 13 Qa4+ Nd7 14 Bf5 0-0-0 15 e6 fxe6 16 Bxe6. 

One of the oldest lines in the Benko is what Pedersen calls the
"Classical Main Line", where White chooses to give up the right to
castle. A major crossroads is reached after 1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 c5 3 d5
b5 4 cxb5 a6 5 bxa6 Bxa6 6 Nc3 g6 7 e4 Bxf1 8 Kxf1 d6 9 g3 Bg7
10 Kg2 0-0 11 Nf3 Nbd7. Pedersen gives White's choices as either
12 Re1 or 12 h3. Fedorowicz and Karpov (the latter in his 1996
"Chess Informant" booklet "A58-59, Volga Gambit") also cover 12
Qc2, 12 Qe2 and 12 Nd2. 

Karpov gives preference to 12 h3, with secondary coverage to 12
Nd2 and 12 Re1. Pedersen and Karpov now examine five
alternatives for Black: 12...Nb6, 12...Qa5, 12...Qb6, 12...Ra7 and
12...Ra6. Karpov provides equal treatment to all five, while
Pedersen discusses 12...Nb6 in a note only.

Reviewing Karpov's assessments of each line so as to arrive at a
possible determination of which move may be considered Black's
best choice, leads one in the direction of either 12...Ra7 or Ra6.
Both result in no worse than unclear positions. Pedersen, in fact,
identifies 12...Ra6 as the choice of "most of today's leading
exponents" (page 29). The intent behind the move, he opines, is
that "by protecting the d6-pawn, Black makes a quick central break
possible". He continues by following Ljubojevic-Topalov from
1995 Linares, which went 13 Re1 Qa8 14 Bg5 h6 15 Bd2 e6 16
dxe6 fxe6 17 a4 g5 18 Ra3 d5 19 Qc2 Rb6 20 Bc1 Rf7 21 Nd2
Rb4, commenting that he "will avoid giving a clear assessment as
this position is just one that needs to be played out on the board"
(page 31). Karpov's coverage consists of the identical game and he,
too, stops after move 21 and evaluates the position as unclear.

Instead of 12 h3, however, the move 12 Re1 generates some
controversy. Pedersen and Karpov continue on the same track
through 12 Re1 Ng4 13 Qe2 Nge5 14 Nd2 Nb6 15 f4 Ned7 16 a4.
Here, however, Pedersen recommends 16...Ra7 17 a5 Qa8, leading
to unclear positions where Black stands no worse. Karpov, on the
other hand, suggests what appears to be an inferior response,
16...Re8, followed by 17 a5 e6 18 de6 Re6 19 Qf3 Nf6 with at
least a small advantage for White. In his notes, Karpov debunks
16...Ra7 as insufficient due to 17 a5 Na8 18 Nc4, but does not
address Pedersen's 17...Qa8.

Another try for White is the move 5 e3, termed "The Quiet Line"
by Pedersen (Chapter 5) but, across the board, this move often
leads to play that is anything but quiet. 

After 5 e3, according to Pedersen, Black has at least four options:
5...e6, 5...Bb7, 5...axb5 and 5...g6, the same four cited by
Fedorowicz. If it's fireworks that you seek, then you should be
right at home in the 5...axb5 variation. For instance, after 5...axb5
6 Bxb5 Qa5+ 7 Nc3 Bb7, if 8 Bd2 Qb6 9 Qb3 e6 10 e4, Black can
enter the hairy 10...Nxe4 11 Nxe4 Bxd5 12 Qd3 f5.

While Fedorowicz and Pedersen consider 13 Ng3 Bxg2 14 a4 Qb7
15 f3 Nc6 to be playable for Black, they both advocate Patrick
Wolff's critical improvement 12...Qb7 as perhaps good enough to
turn the tide in Black's favor. Pedersen's coverage of this atypical
Benko Gambit position is at least as comprehensive as that offered
by Fedorowicz.

Looking further at 5 e3, the major alternative to 8 Bd2 is 8 Ne2.
Fedorowicz's assessment that "Black has not found a way to reach
an even middlegame" is based, at least in part, on the line 8 Ne2
Nxd5 9 0-0 Nxc3 10 Nxc3 e6 11 e4 Be7 12 Qd3 or 12 Bf4. While
Fedorowicz considers the line 11...Bxe4 12 Bxd7+ Nxd7 13 Nxe4,
he only gives 13...Qb6 14 Bf4 with a White advantage. Pedersen,
however, cites 13...Qa4! instead of 13...Qb6, with 14 Nd6+ Bxd6
15 Qxd6 Qd4 16 Bf4 e5 17 Qc6 Qa4 18 Qxa4 Rxa4 19 Be3 Ke7
20 Rfc1 c4 21 Rc2 Rb8 22 a3 Ke6 when "Black has nearly
equalized" in Arlandi-Manca, 1992/3 Reggio Emilia (page 69).
Kudos to Pedersen for inclusion and a potentially critical omission
by Fedorowicz, since this particular game may alter the evaluation
of the entire 5...axb5 variation. (All the more unfortunate, since the
publishing deadline does not seem to be an issue in this case, given
that the Fedorowicz book contains numerous games from 1993.)

The quality of opening books in general has improved during the
past few years. Works that are well-researched, well-written and
offer current, accurate and relatively comprehensive coverage of
an opening tend to be more the rule, rather than the exception.
Pedersen's book certainly falls into the former category. In fact,
we are quite comfortable labeling "The Gambit Guide to the
Benko Gambit" as the best work to date on this opening. Other
than the usual cautions (not meant for beginners; intended for the
serious student of the game), there is little that is disagreeable
about this work. It should quickly become the book of choice on
the Benko Gambit.