The Benko Gambit: A positional sacrifice out of the opening! – IM Andrew Martin

December 24, 2014 NHaselton Chess Lectures

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In the video “Benko Accepted” by IM Andrew Martin, we are introduced to the Benko Gambit, an opening where Black immediately sacrifices a pawn for positional reasons.

This opening has been played by top Grandmasters such as Kasparov, Gelfand and Adams and is very dangerous to play against. Black builds up a large amount of pressure on the queenside in this opening, forcing White to be very careful with in the way that he responds.

At the start of the video, we are shown the starting moves for the opening and Black’s primary piece placements that are used for the queenside pressure. Next, Andrew looks at three different routes that White can steer the game in, and within each section he explains how Black can achieve a good position.

What kind of compensation does Black have for a positional gambit? Can White slow down black’s counterplay? Or will White be run over on the queenside? Watch the video to find out!

Interface used ICC: http://www.chessclub.com/from/WStewart/

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