Pal Benko

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Pal Benko (Hungarian: Benkő Pál, born July 14, 1928 in Amiens) is a chess grandmaster, author, and composer of endgame studies and chess problems.

1 Early life
2 World title candidate
3 At the Olympiads
4 Legacy and writings
5 Notable chess games
6 References
7 Further reading
8 External links

[edit] Early life

Benko was born in France but was raised in Hungary. He was Hungarian champion by age 20. He emigrated to the United States in 1958, as a refugee from the failed Hungarian uprising of 1956, which was crushed by the Soviets. FIDE awarded him the title of Grandmaster in 1958.

[edit] World title candidate

He was a candidate for the World Championship in 1959 and 1962. He qualified for the 1970 Interzonal tournament, the leaders of which advance to the playoffs for the World Championship. However, he gave up his spot in the Interzonal to Bobby Fischer, who went on to win the World Championship in 1972. Benko finished in first place (or tied for first place) in eight U.S. Open Chess Championships. He defeated Fischer head-to-head three times.

[edit] At the Olympiads

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)

[edit] Legacy and writings

Some chess openings he pioneered are named for him: Prominent is the Benko Gambit (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5), which he played with great success from the mid-1960s. Then there is Benko's Opening (1.g3), which he played with success in the early 1960s, even defeating Robert Fischer with it. 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 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.