Openings

ECO A57Semi-closed game

Benko Gambit

A pawn for open files

Gambits
Sharp play
Asymmetry

Black pushes a pawn to b5 and offers it to White. In return he gets the open a- and b-files, quick development and a bishop on the long diagonal. The pawn stays missing for a long time, and Black has to be able to play without it. People choose this gambit when they want pressure and are not afraid of a pure sacrifice for long-term play.

Interactive Opening Board

8…g6

♚

Black

♔

White

8…g6

Speed:

Moves

(16 plies • 8 moves)

8…g6Tabiya

The g6 pawn prepares the bishop for g7 on the long diagonal. White's king is not yet safe, and Black is already pressing on the queenside.

1–8moves
#WhiteBlack
1.
2.
3.
4.
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6.
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8.

1.d4 The queen's pawn takes the centre.

1…Nf6 The f6 knight hits e4 and puts off any decision about the pawns.

2.c4 The c4 pawn widens White's centre.

2…c5 The c5 pawn hits d4. If White answers d5, a structure familiar from the Benoni arises.

3.d5 White closes the centre and gains space. But this gives Black the chance for his main idea.

3…b5 Black sacrifices the b-pawn: this is the gambit. White may decline, but if he takes, he gets an extra pawn while Black gets the open a- and b-files and quick development. All of Black's play is built on queenside pressure.

4.cxb5 White takes the pawn, and it stays on b5 as a target.

4…a6 The a6 pawn hits b5 a second time and prepares to open the a-file.

5.bxa6 White takes a second pawn. Now he is a pawn up, but Black has the open b-file.

5…Bxa6 The bishop recaptures on a6 and eyes f1. White's bishop finds it hard to move without consequences.

6.Nc3 The c3 knight develops and sits on the long diagonal where Black's bishop will later stand.

6…d6 The d6 pawn covers c5 and controls e5.

7.e4 White takes the centre, knowing the a6 bishop will capture on f1.

7…Bxf1 The bishop trades itself for White's only light-squared bishop.

8.Kxf1 The king recaptures and castling is lost. But White's centre is intact, and the king will soon walk to g2.

8…g6 The g6 pawn prepares the bishop for g7 on the long diagonal. White's king is not yet safe, and Black is already pressing on the queenside.

Defining move

3…b5 — the pawn sacrifice

The move that makes the position a Benko Gambit

Black gives up a pawn to open the queenside. After …a6 and the exchange on a6 the a- and b-files open and the c8 bishop lands on a6, so White has trouble finishing development in peace. The idea rests not on a direct attack but on pressure that remains even without the pawn.

Tabiya

White's king on f1

White accepted the gambit and, after the bishops traded, lost the right to castle, but kept the pawn and the d5-e4 centre. Black plays without a pawn but has a bishop on g7, rooks on the a- and b-files, a queen on a5 and pressure on the queenside. White wants to walk the king to g2, place his knights and defend the a2 and b2 pawns. Black wants to give him no rest and keep the queenside open.

The centre

A closed centre and an open queenside

White's pawns on d5 and e4 close the centre. Black's pawns on c5, d6 and g6 stay in place, while the a- and b-files are open. White's pawns on a2 and b2 become targets.

Key squaresd5e4b2g7

Outposts

g7Black's bishop
The bishop on g7 looks along the long diagonal at the b2 pawn and the a1 rook. When the f6 knight leaves, the diagonal opens.
g2The king's refuge
From here the king protects the kingside pawns and frees the h1 rook to play in the centre.

Thematic breaks

e6Black
The …e7-e6 strike
Hit d5, trade off the white pawn and open the game, especially when White's king is stuck in the centre.
What follows: After dxe6 Black gets an open centre and extra routes for his pieces.
e5White
The e4-e5 advance
Push back the f6 knight and block the long diagonal for the g7 bishop before Black has finished development.
What follows: Black captures on e5 and gets open lines, but White can count on an attack in the centre.

White’s plan

Walk the king to g2 and play h3 to finish development.
Defend the a2 and b2 pawns with a rook and the queen.
Keep the extra pawn and use the e4-e5 centre.

Black’s plan

Finish development: …Bg7, …O-O, …Nbd7, the queen to a5.
Place the rooks on the a- and b-files and press on b2 and a2.
Not to hurry to win the pawn back: Black's play rests on pressure.

History

The idea of …b5 and …a6 appeared in the 1930s; the Czech master Karel Opočenský was one of the first to try it. In the USSR the gambit was called the Volga Gambit, after an article published in 1946. In the West it carries the name of the Hungarian-American grandmaster Pal Benko, who began to play and analyse the idea in the 1960s and made it popular.

Notable players

Pal Benko Mikhail Tal Garry Kasparov Magnus Carlsen

Legends who played it

Pal Benko
as Black · Named after the player

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