Pal Benko_ My Life, Games and Compositions (Jeremy Silman).pdf

8/9/2019 Pal Benko_ My Life, Games and Compositions (Jeremy Silman).pdf

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Copyright 20 03 by eremy Silman and Pal Benko

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used

or reproduced n any manner whatsoever wthout wrtten permisson rom

the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles

and reviews.

First Edtion

10 9 87 6 5 4 3 2 1

Librar of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Benko, Pal, 1928-

a Benko: my life, games, and composions / by Pal Benko and Jeremy Silman;with an opening survey by John Watson. -- 1st ed.

p.cm.

Includes indexes

1. Benko, Pal, 928-

2. Chess payers--Hungar--Biography.

2. Chess--Collection of game.

I. Siman,Jeremy. II. Watson,John L. III. Title

GV439.B43 2003 794.'092dc22 [B] 2003061556

ISBN: -890085-08-1

Cover design by Heid Freder/Art HeadCover photograph by Demeter Balla

Printed and bound in the nited States of America

SHs ss3 624 Shannon Road

Los Angeles, CA 9002 7


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T my w Gizea and my children Palma and David.


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Foreword by Susan Polgar X

Preface by eremy Silman

Acknowledgements XV

Introduction XX

A ON LFE GE

1 IN THE BEGINNING ( 1 ) T Feldman Benko (Budapest 1 945)

(2) Szigeti Benko (Budapest 1 945)

(3 ) G Barcza Benko (Hungarian Championshp 1 946)

(4) Benko Szilagi (Hungarian Championshp 1 946)

2 AFTER THE (5) Tagmann Benko (Correspondence 1 947)

(6) Benko Lounek (enna 1 947)

(7) F olts Benko (Budapest 1 948) (8) Polzer Benko (Bad Gastein 1 948)

(9) Benko Fster (Hungarian Championship 1 948)

( 1 0) Beko Ragozin (Budapest vs. Moscow Match Moscow 1 949)

( 1 1 ) Prins Benko (Hunga vs. Netherlands Match 1 949)

( 1 2) Benko Opocensk (Bucharest 1 949)

( 1 3) Benko Turi (Budapest 1 949)

3 PROING MYSELF AT THE MAROCZY MEMORIAL

( 14) Benko Dr. Ogaba (Hungarian Champonship 1 95 0) ( 1 5) Benko I Molnar (Hungarian Championship 1 95 0)

( 1 6) Korody Benko (Budapest 1 9 5 1 )

( 1 7) Szabo Benko (Hungarian Championship 1 9 5 1 )

( 1 8) Benko Petrosian (Budapest 1 95 2)

( 1 9) Botvinnik Benko (Budapest 1 95 2)

(20) Benko Stahlberg (Budapest 1 952 )

4 FALL FROM GRACE (THE DARK YEARS) (2 1 ) G Barcza Benko (Hungarian Championship 1 95 4)

(22 ) Benko uger (Budapest 1 95 5)

(2 3) Portisch Benko (Hungarian Championship 1 95 5)

VII


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V

A BNKO Y GAS AND COOSIONS

5 ESCAPE O FREEDOM! (24) Benko Giustolisi (Dublin, 1 957)

6 HE NE ORD (2 5) Benko Fischer (Portoroz Interzonal, 1958)

(26) Benko Averbach (Portoroz Interzonal, 1 95 8) (27) R einstein Benko (U.S. Championship, 1 95 9)

(28) Benko F Olasson (Zagreb Candidates ournament, 1 95 9)

(29) Benko Smyslov (Zagreb Candidates ournament, 1 95 9)

(3 0) F Olasson Benko (Zagreb Candidates ournament, 1 95 9)

(3 1 ) Benko Fischer (Buenos Aires, 1 960)

(3 2) Benko Eiskases (Buenos Aires, 1 960)

(3 3) Benko aimanov (Buenos ires, 1 960)

(34) Uhlmann Benko (Buenos Aires, 1 960) (3 5) Benko Reshevsk, 1 st Match game (New York, 1 960)

(3 6) R Byrne Benko (U.S . Championship, 1 960)

(3 7) Benko Mednis (U.S . Championship, 1 961 )

7 HE HU FOR HE ORLD CHAPIONSHIP (3 8) Benko German (Stockholm Interzonal, 1 962)

(3 9) Benko Uhlmann (Stockholm Interzonal, 1 962 )

(40) Benko Gligoric (Interzonal Playo, 1 962 )

(41 ) Benko Fischer (Candidates ournament Curaao, 1 962 ) (42) Benko Keres (Candidates ournament Curaao, 1 962 )

(43) Benko Korchnoi (Candidates ournament Curaao, 1 962 )

(44) Benko al (Candidates ouament Curaao, 1 962)

(45) Fiip Benko (Candidates ournament Curaao, 1 962)

(46) Benko Darga arna Olympiad, 1 962)

(47) Benko Pachman (arna Olympiad, 1 962 )

8 A PROFES SIONA A LAS (48) Benko Najdor (Piatigors Cup, 1 963)

(49) Benko Panno (Piatigorsk Cu, 1 963)

9 BACK O HUNGARY (5 0) Benko R Byrne (New York, 1 964)

(5 1 ) Benko Bisguier (New York playo, 1 st Game, 1 964)

(52) Benko Bisguier (New York playo, 3rd Game, 1 964)

(5 3 ) Bisguier Benko (New York playo, th Game, 1 96)

(54) Benko Bisguier (New York payo, 5th Game, 1 964)

(5 5) Benko Suttles (Boston, 1 964)

(56) Benko Matanovic (Belgrade, 1 964)

(57 ) Benko Parma (Begrade, 1 964)


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(8) Benko Darga (el Aviv Olpiad, 1 964)

(59) Benko ringov (el Aviv Olympiad, 1 964)

1 0 RAE, RE, ND MORE RE (60) Benko R Byrne (U.S . Open, 1 965)

(61 ) ombardy Benko (Seattle, 1 966)

(62) Benko Bisguier (U.S . Championship, 1 966)

(63 ) Benko Medina (Havana Olympiad, 1 966)

CONNS

(64) Bisguier Benko (Manhattan Club Championship, 1 967)

(5) Benko Bogdanovic (Sarajevo, 1 967)

(66) Benko Dckstein (Sarajevo, 1 967)

(67) Mestrovic Benko (Sarajevo, 1 967)

(68) Bisguier Benko (USA, 1 967)

(69) Benko Kagan (nnipeg, 1 967) (70) Benko arsen (nnipeg, 1 967)

(7 1 ) B eno Matanovic (nnipeg, 1 967)

1 1 CREAING HE BENO GABI (72 ) ukic Benko (Sarajevo, 1 967)

(73 ) Gross Benko (U.S. Open, 1 968)

(74) Benko Berry (Canada, 19 71 )

(75 ) Portisch Benko (Palma de Mallorca, 1 97 1 )

(76) ranesic Benko (oronto, 1 97 1 ) (77) Aspler Benko ancouver, 1 97 1 )

(78) Camara Benko (Sao Paulo, 1 973 )

(79) Gligoric Benko (one Pine, 1 975)

(80) I Zaitsev Benko (Szolnok, 1 97 5)

(8 1 ) Kovacs Benko (Debrecen, 1 97 5)

(82) Gordon Benko (ational Open, 1 976)

1 2 EUROP A MY FEE

(83 ) Benko R Byrne (USA, 1 968) (84) Benko Formanek (USA, 1 968)

(85 ) Benko Horowitz (U.S. Championship, 1 968)

(86) Benko Reshevsky (U.S . Championship, 1 968)

(87 ) Benko Ostojic (jk aan Zee, 1 969)

(88 ) Benko atai (Mlaga, 1 969)

(89) Burger Benko (U.S . Championship, 1 969)

(90) R Byrne Benko (USA Championship, 1 969)

(91 ) Benko engyel (enice, 1 969)

(92) Benko D Byrne (rsac, 1 969)

(93) Benko Geller (ijk aan Zee, 1 969)

X


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PAL NKO M LI, GAMS AND COMPOSIONS

(94) Beno Sgurjonsson (Caracas 1 970)

(95) Beno Donner (j aan Zee 1 970)

(96) Beno Platonov j aan Zee 1 970)

(97) Durao Beno (Mlaga 1 970)

(9) Beno Popov (Reggo Emla 1 970) (99) Beno Czerna (Reggo Emla 1 970)

( 1 00) Bual Beno (Sarajevo 1 970)

(101) Beno Jansa (Segen Olympad 1970)

( 1 02) Beno Kavale (US Open 1 970)

( 1 03) Beno Csom (Palma de Mallorca 1 97 1)

( 1 04) Beno Barczay (rnjaca Banja 1 97 1)

( 1 05) B eno Domnguez (Las Palmas 1 972 )

( 1 06) Beno Menvelle (Las Palmas 1 972) ( 1 07) Beno Pomar (Las Palmas 1 972 )

( ) Beno Pannc (ov Sad 1 972 )

( 1 09) Beno Emma (Sopje Olympad 1 972)

( 1 1 0) Beno Malch (Sopje Olympad 1 972)

(1 1 1) Beno Bellon (Mlaga 197 3)

(1 1 2) Beno Pomar (Orense 1 973 )

( 1 1 3) Martz Beno (orremolnos 1 97 3 )

( 1 14) Beno Brone (US Champonshp 1 97 3)

( 1 1 5) Kane Beno (US Champonshp 1 97 3)

( 1 1 6) Martz Beno (US Champonshp 1 97 3)

(1 1 7) B eno Janosevc (rnjaca Banja 1973)

( 1 1 ) Basman Beno (Hastngs 1 97 3)

( 1 1 9) Beno Pytel (Hastngs 1 97 3)

1 3 REIREME ( 1 20) Beno Commons (US Champonshp 1 974)

( 1 2 1 ) Beno Evans (US Champonshp 1 974)

( 1 22 ) Beno Glden (US Champonshp 1 974)

( 1 2 3) B eno Cosulch (ence 1 974)

( 1 24) Beno Kushnr (Lone Pne 197 5)

( 1 2 5) Beno Pnter (Szolno 1 97 5)

( 1 2 6) Beno Kopec (orld Open 1 975 )

( 1 2 7) B eno Krnc (Sombor 1 976)

( 1 2) Beno Braset (Lone Pne 1 977 ) ( 1 29) Beno Chavez (Sao Paulo 1 977)

( 1 3 0) Beno Peters (Lone Pne 1 97)

( 1 3 1 ) Beno Seraan (Lone Pne 1 97)


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( 1 3 2) Fedorocz Beno (Lone Pne 1 979)

(1 3 3) Zaltsman Beno (USA 1 983 )

( 1 34) Beno Trosclair (e York 1 984

( 1 3 5 Beno Harrson (Australian Open 1 985

( 1 3 6) Beno Grnfeld (e Yor 1 986) ( 1 3 7) Beno Garca (e Yor Open 1 988)

( 1 3 8) Beno F Roeder (Augsburg 1 991 )

ONTERVEW by Jerey a

Interve th atonal Master ROALD GROS S

Intere th Grandmaster LARRY EVS

Interve th Grandmaster P BEKO

A HEEPAL ENK' CREATV PENNG URY by Joh

Wato

IRODUCIO BEKO AS WHITE

he Englsh Openng

Flan Openngs th the b-pan: .b3 and 1.b4

Beno System: .g3

Kng's Indan Attac ng Pan: .e4

dpan Openngs

BEKO AS BLACK he Englsh Openng

Flan Openngs

.e4 Openngs

.d4 Openngs

A FOUCE PRLEM CMPTN

IRODUCIO O MOVE MAES HREE- (D MORE) MO MATES EER PROBLEMS EDGAES HELPMAES

PUZZLES

CONTNTS

A Selecton of Pal Beno's Sgncant ournaments and Matches Index of ames Index of Openngs

X


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Standng Kara Poga Pa Benko Susan Poga L Haai ovaySiting arinudth Poga Soe Polga


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dr st" Pl Beno a lvng legend. Ala a man that dd thn

hs on ay Beno learned chess from hs father at the ver late age of ten but

ddn't tae part n hs rst real tournament untl the age of sxteen. Startng ser

ous play at such an advanced age s unheard of among chess professonals today

yet he remarably on the Hungaran atonal Champonshp a fe short years

later at tent.

It's clear that he possessed an enormous natural talent. Unfortunately hs

progress came to a sudden stop hen he as nterned n a hard-labor camp fortng to escape to the esths poltcal ves dd not match the ves of the

Communst regme. ter many hardshps at the age of tenty-nne Pal dd

ndeed see and get poltcal asylum n the Unted States.

Beno feels that he mssed out on hs best chess years durng hs struggle for

eedom yet ths ddn't prevent hm om mang hs presence felt once he settled

n hs ne count: He as a canddate for the orld Champonshp n 1 959

and 1 962 he on the U.S . Open an unparalleled eght tmes he had a n out

standng record as a player and as a Team Captan n several Chess Olympads

he as a orld-class chess composer a orld-class chess theoretcan one of the

orld's great endgame authortes and an aard-nnng chess author. These

tremendous accomplshments got hm a trp to the Chess Hall of Famehe asnducted n 993

All these thngs are very mpressve yet one of hs bggest gs to the Unted

States s somehat forgotten today In 970 Pal Beno gave up hs earned spot

n the orld Champonshp Interzonal tournament to Bobby Fscher so that

Bobby could compete for the ttle. Ths led to one of the most dramatc events

n sports hstor hen Fscher defeated Spass n 972 and became Chess Champon of the orld. Ths ould not have happened thout Beno's sacrce

and hs unselsh act clearly demonstrates hs character and personalt.

I myself had the good fortune to meet Grandmaster Pal Beno more than

tenty years ago. One of my rst memores of hm as at the Hungaran

XI I I


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PAL BNKO MY LI GAMS AND COPOSTIONS

atonal eam Champonshp hen he represented one of our rval teams I

vvdly recall that aer hs game as nshed he demonstrated hs latest com

poston to the players and spectators A bg crod as surroundng hs tableXV yet no one as able to nd the soluon hs as the hghlght of the day dur

ng that match

Grandmaster Beno as one of the ver fe people ho ere llng to helpmy ssters and I for no charge hatsoever At that tme he lved half the year n

the Unted States and half n Hungar yet henever he came to Budapest he

ould vst our famly Pal played countless bltz games h he hree of us and

even though he as ell beyond hs prme he as stll a erce energetc com

pettor at ths quc form of chess

Beno alays motvated us th hs enthusasm and love for the game He

often shared hs ncredble chess compostonsmost ere n ther nal ver

sons but some ere stll n varous stages of development and e ould ne

tune them together I remember ho much pleasure he got om shong theseamazng creatons to other top-level players and ths pleasure turned to pure

joy henever they couldn't nd the ansers

Possessng a onderl sense of humor Pal loved to tell us joes e also

enjoyed lstenng to hs accounts of other orldclass playershe nos them

all One of hs most fascnatng subjects as hs close end Bobby Fscher and

e ould never tre of hearng about ther adventures together

In 1 994 Beno as chosen as Captan of the Slver Medal Hungaran oman's

Olympad team that conssted of to of the three Polgars (Sopha and me) He

as agan the Captan of the 1 996 Hungaran omen's Olympad eam th

Sopha

Asde from chess Beno also has a deep love of mathematcs Both of hs chl

dren and hs fe play chess and all three of them are professors n mathematcs

One of hs qurer hobbes s arm restlng Pal no over sevent loves to

challenge athletc young men to arm restlng duels beatng them consstently

I suppose ths plus hs jetblac har and playl dsposton allos hm to dem

onstrate hs enormous vtalt and eternal youthlness

Seen by hs fans as beng a slled teacher player rter composer and endgame

specalst Pa Beno the person s more than anythng else a onderl human

beng and a real genteman ays a bg supporter of the Polgar ssters Beno

has heped us n many ays throughout the years I am deeply ndebted to ths

great man for the many ndnesses he has shon to my famly

hs boo about Grandmaster Beno's lfe games and compostons s long

overdue Internatonal Master Jeremy Slman s a famed chess author and player

hmsef When Pal Beno and Jeremy Slman collaborate together chess players

around the orld can only benet a great deal hs maes ths boo a must

have n any chess player's lbrar

Susan Pogar orld Champon and Olympc Champon

e Yor 2 003


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ung player I came to now Pal Ben though the pages ofChss L magazne Hs games hs dealngs wth Fscher hs compostons andthe attachment of hs name to so many openngs (the B eno Gambt n partcu

lar) combned to mae the Hungaran-mercan grandmaster a legendar gure

n my mnd

In the early '7 0s the legend became esh and blood when I nally saw hm

n a tournament n ew Yor My rst "Beno moment occurred when I was

sttng next to one of hs games I watched hs much weaer opponent lovnglypull out a new ver expensve chess set he had just receved as a g I watched

ther game progress and I watched Beno "succeed n getting nto hs usual

horrc tme pressure Captvated I more or less forgot about my own game as

the grandmaster's frantc bd to mae the necessar number of moves led to an

other Beno "custom: he hung a Roo The opponent of course couldn't be

leve hs good fortune but t was all too much for Beno who went berser

pced up the whole set and board and ung everythng across the room ! A bt

ronc: the set's rst foray nto overthe-board play led to a huge scalp and s

multaneously ts complete annhlation "The guy's crazy! I thought as I

nally turned bac to my own poston

Two decades later I arrved n Bratslava Slovaka as actng head of the S delegaton for the orld Youth Champonshps The other mercan coach was

none other than Pal Beno and I was thrlled to get the chance to wor wth

hm and hopelly see the man behnd the chess playng exteror I've retaned

many memores of ths junor touament: horring chess parents (the bane of

all junor events!) the crooed organzers who embezzled as much money as

they could from the contestants the mndramas that many of our players wentthough and the lst goes on and on Foremost n my mnd though was Beno's

professonalsm throughout the event (The more nsane thngs became the calmer

he seemed to be!) and hs "amused conson at not havng hs hotel pad n

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V

AL BNKO L GAS AND COOSONS

advance For reasons that ere never made clear the Unted States Chess Fed

eraton had forgotten to arrange lodgngs for Pal seemed unable or unllng to

re us the necessary nds and despte many enzed calls for help ultmately

left us to fend for ourselves

Aer hagglng th the hotel management they agreed to let Beno's nonpayment slde for the length of the tournament but I eventually realzed that a

serous problem as developng (Havng just escaped Communst rule our Slo

va hotel asn't llng to accept our credt cards and e ddn't have enough

cash to cover the bll) Fnally th just one day le and payment past due I

as forced to enact a scene rght ot of an old spy move : Four n the mornng a

cab pulls up to the curb and patently ats to locs from the hotel I quetly

lead a lone gure through the hotel's halls and out the bac door Havng suc

cesslly made our ext I drag the horred grandmaster to the atng cab hch

streas hm aay to the enna arport and a successl escape hen the organzers eventually realzed that somethng as amss I just played dumb and

shrugged my shoulders Such ntrgue asn't part of the job descrpton but a

coach has to be ready for any eventualty!

Leapng forard several years I agan had the opportunt to or th Beno

rst n the charmng Hungaran cty of Szeged and then at Palma de Menorca

(an sland off the coast of Span) It as durng our stay at Palma that Pal and I

ere naly able to spend some prvate tme together Aer many conversatons

a tenty game bltz match (I stll remember hs post-match comment "Jeremy

you are the most orng player I have ever encountered ! ) atchng hm breadance to Madonna tunes (remarable for a man approachng seven!) marel

ng as he crushed al Shaed (a strong young man ho as a acton of hs age)

at arm restlng and beng unabe to solve any of the dozens of chess problems

he placed n front of me I as ale to come face to face th the "real Beno

hs enormous love of chess hs humor hs creatvt and hs Old orld charm

Havng dran heay re for my oo reve comments concernng chess

bographeshat s supposed to be a boo about a player's lfe and games n

stead s nothng more than a chronolog of one tournament aer another th

out any real "lfe or personalty eng vsbleI realzed that Beno oered

me the perfect opportunty to demonstrate my on vson of ho such a oo

should be presented Here as a man that I led and admred ho as a part of

chess hstory ho played many beautl games and ho lved a colorl lfe

that transcended mere chess concernslfe-and-death struggles sexualty

nancal stablt etc

From the boo's "brth n Palma de Menorca (here e rst dscussed the

dea) to my vstng Beno n Budapest to nterve hm and begn the actual

boo-rtng process I couldn't have magned ho dcult such a project ould

turn out to be ! In fact t too an astoundng ve years to go om contract sgn

ng to publcaton ! In the end I learned an mportant lessonI'll never crtcze

another rter for tang the easy road hen puttng together a lfe and games

colecton!


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PRAC Y JRY SLAN

Hard or asde though I must admt that I'm ver happy th the nal

result: a personal loo at one mn's struggle om humble (and oen tenuous! )

begnnngs to the status of chess con; a study of h s lfe's or deas compos-

tons and games. he oft-repeated queston: "Is chess an art a scence or a XV

sport? s easly ansered hen ased of Beno. Pal Beno s an artst and I

consder t an honor to have helped mae hs achevements somethng that canbe shared understood and enjoyed by chess players of ever strength and age.

Jeremy Slman Internatonal Master

Los geles 200 3


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hans '0 neonal Me John on f h teess eorand asssance; o Grandmaser Larr Evans and Ronald Gross for sharng a pece

of hemselves n he nerves; o Harold van der Hejden for hs npu on the

composons; o Dr nhony Sady for gvng us access o hs huge chess l b ray;

and o Grandmaser Susan Polgar for her ndness n supplyng hs boo h a

foreord

e ould le o han hose ndvduals ho suppled us phoographs

Ronald Gross; Hannon Russell (of ChessCafecom); Inernatonal MaserJohn Donaldson; and Jam L nson of e USCF ho ndly aloed us free ac

cess o her phoo daabase Specal hans o Dr chard Canel ho gave us

he magncen seres of photographs he sho n Curaao 1962 The hospal pho

os of Tal (ho as forced o leave he ouamen due o llness) and Fscher are

parcularly sng

XVI I I


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as ated th ver specc goals n mnd. Most mportany

I anted the prose conceng Beno's lfe to be chronologcally merged th

the games of the same perod. In ths ay the reader can see the progresson o

Beno's stle and also ascertan hether the ups and dons of lfe aay omthe chessboard (I nssted that qute a bt of hs "non-chess adventures be pre

sented!) aected hs tournament performances.

A large number of hs games (138!) all deeply analyzed have been gven.

Pal ho s fond of every one of them understood that I mght cut some. Hoever after a lot of soul-searchng I nally decded that I couldn't deprve Pal or

the reader of the delghts they oer.

One of the more dyllc tmes n Pal's lfe as hs stay n Los geles th

Larr Evans and Ron Gross. I conducted nteres th both these gentlemenso that the reader could enjoy deeper nsghts nto ths perod of tmeperson

ally I found the behnd-the-scenes nteracons of Beno Larsen Evans and Gross

to be extremely nteresng. Ronald Gross n parcular has the g of gab and

hs stores about Evans Larsen and Reshevs are sure to grab your attenton.

hle mullng over ths project I made a thorough study of Beno's games

and dscovered that Pal (though he nssted t asn't the case) as alays at the

foreront of openng theor. Rather shoced by ths revelaton I approached

Internatonal Master John atson (one of the orld's nest chess rters) and

ased hm to loo nto ths matter. He ndly agreed and then ent beyond

anythng I magned by rtng a ver deta led openng surey that proves be

yond a shado of a doubt that Beno as ndeed a theoretcal dynamo! he

materal n atson's secton ll prove usel to people ho employ the same

openngs that Beno dd and for those ho smply ant a feel for the nd opreparaton that as necessar n topght grandmaster chess at that tme.

he nal part of ths boo presents 3 00 of Beno's compostons. Smple "play

and mate stuatons magncent endgames puzzles helpmates letter problems

XIX


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AL BNKO Y L. GAS AND COOSTIONS

tns Chrstmas tree motfs duplexes setssuce t to say that I had never

heard of many of these terms ! Neertheless I discovered rsthand that a player

could mmerse hmself n these 3 00 artstc creatons for months and months!XX he lst of games s ncluded n the table of contents at the begnnng of the

boo hle an ndex of names and an ndex of openngs s gven at the boo's

end I decded to create a partal record of Pal 's tournament results: Beno's partcpaton n endless U.S . S ss System events made a complete record too com

plex and n my estmaton too meaningless to arrant ncluson

hough many boos have specic photo sectons I felt that strategically pre

sentng pctures all through th boo ould create a more organc and energetc

eect Occasonally the placement of a partcular photo on't be chronolog

cally correct and a number of interestng pctures (the negatves havng long

been lost) ere taen from old magaznes and thus ere not as clear as I ould

have led. But if a player's mage trns a mere name into a human beng then I

oer no apologieshs project too over ve years to complete . I desgned t to be unle any

other chess bographyto be n nstructve nsghtl and at tmes oerng

genune surprses . If you the reader nds that t brought the game/sport/art of

chess and the grandmasters that play t to life then I'll consder those ve years

to be tme ell spent.


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here does the creave urge come om? y are some people happy

to or n a factor n the mltar or n a thousand derent laborntensve ca

reers hle others need musc art lterare and yeseven chessto mae sense

out of lfe? my case the creave gene as unquesonably passed don by myfather ho though an engneer by professon desperately anted to succeed as anarst Pursung ths dream he had my famly move all over Europe hs explans

hy I as bo n mens France n 192 8 but gre up n Hungar hen my

mother made t clear that she as far om happy to be lvng out of a sutcase Even

after e settled don n my parent's natve Hunga my father's anderlust

couldn't be contaned He connued to avel by hmself had many advenres

and as even arrested n Germany (ng to cross over the French border thout

proper papers!) at one pont Yes I ed out to be ver much le my father!

Unle many players ho ere prodges I ddn't learn to play chess untl I

as ten Even then I asn't consumed by the game consderng t nothng morethan a hobby evertheless I played n the par from tme to tme and pced

up a fe deas n ths ay

Overall I had a great chldhood I as athletc nqustve and even too a

job as a messenger hen I as telve Evethng as ne before 1940 but then

my hole orld turned to hell he ar ht Hungary hard Food shortages le

everyone starng and raton cards became a necessty I stll remember the bread

lnes: thousands of people ould begn lnng up at mdnght (famles usually

dd ths "tag team style havng a famly member tae over so the orgnal lne

man could rest) for a loaf of bread that as only passed out at 7 !he lac of food asn't the only problem here as no coal to heat the schools

so eveone stayed home throughout the colder tmes of year A ctde nfes

taton of lce also made thngs unpleasant snce n those days e ddn't have

3


20/680

A BNKO Y LE, GAS AND COOSIONS

ant-louse medcatons (ver ve hot saunas and washng one's clothes n scald

ng water was the only way to eradcate the lttle monsters) . Then as f famne

and parastes and freezng to death were not enough the Amercans started to4 bomb Budapest relentlessly.

Even though re raned down om the sk and mser was a normal state of

mnd I was stll able to play a bt of chess: A school tournament was throwntogether varous games n the park were contested and I avdly studed a book

of Capablanca's 350 best games (ths was my rst chess book and the Cuban

quckly became my chess hero). In 1943, a strong club tournament was held

Ths event showed me that I was already ve strong and I was leadng by qute

a bt when the tournament was cancelled due to most of the players beng

draed!

The Germans nvaded Hungary n March of 1944 and as mght be ex

pected the war effort became even more frenetc. Thus t wasn't too surprs

ng that when I turned sxteen I was al so drafted and assgned to a regment.I never fought but I dd have to dg endless dtches and put up wth even

more hardshps. After about four months of ths my regment started head

ng for Austra. Fnally I dec ded that enough was enough and I e scaped hd

ng n the homes of peasants as I tred to make my way back to Budapest and

my famly. Ths was pretty terrng snce I would have been executed f I' d

been caught!

Aer three days on the run the Russan army appeared and polcemen were

everwhere. Suddenly I was hdng om the Hungaran army (who would shoot

me on sght) the polce (who would turn me over to the Hungaran army) andthe Russan army (who were fond of shppng wayward males back to Russa as

slave labor). A t turned out the Russans dd ndeed catch me. They mmedately turned me nto a laborer makng me work all day on a brdge. hey sad I

could go home aerwards though I knew they were lyng. Fortunately a bomb

scare forced them to turn all the lghts o and n the evenng I escaped agan n

the ptch darkness .

hen I returned to Budapest n early 1945, I found that the Russans had

arrved two months before. At rst the Hungaran people ddn't thnk much of

t; n fact we were happy. The Germans whom most Hungarans hated throughout

the war were gone and we really thought thngs were about to mprove.

The papers sad some horrble thngs about the Russans but most Hungaran

cvlans ddn't beleve t thnkng t was nothng but propaganda . In fact why

would we allow ourselves to beleve more negatve news? e wanted to embrace

a better ture and ths need for a happer lfe temporarly put blnders on our

eyes. Aer a short tme though we quckly saw that thngs were worse than the

papers had sad ! So before we knew t all the people were hdng om the new

threat: the Russans!hs was an ncredbly tng and panl tme. Once I made my way back to

our apartment (whch was bombed out and open to the elements) n Budapest I

found that my father and brother had been shpped to Russa as slave labor. Ths


21/680

N T H B G N N N G

as actually ronc snc my fathr had bn arrstd by th Hungaran govrn

mnt at th nd of 1 943 for rsng to jon th army. Whn th azs took ovr

Hungary thy rlasd hm thnkng (rronously) that h as aganst th formr

govrnmnt and as thus pro-az . Th Grmans ddn 't ralz that h blongd

to th lst party and hlpd Js by gvng thm ork prmts n a small ma

chn parts factory h ond. Whn th Russans (our "savors) arrvd thy

quckly took ovr th factor tossd my fathr and brothr on a tran and a

major part of my famly smply vanshd

Whn th ar ndd th stuaton bcam vn ors than bfor r Gr

many nvadd Hungar rn't shockd to s th SS n comptton th

th Hungaran poltcal polc rac to conscat anythng of valu (art n par

tcular) from Jsh famls. Hovr ddn't xpct th Rd my to con

tnu th lootng! n fact chaos ruld th day: omn vrhr r bng

rapd (Mn mad sur thr vs and daughtrs stayd ndoors !) and f a Russan soldr askd for your coat or shos you ouldn't hstat to gv t to hm

snc th altrnatv as a horrbl batng or vn dath! Onc agan found

myslf n hdng ths tm bcaus my mothr fard that I'd b takn aay to

Russa f st foot outsd. aturally lf as much safr f you jond th Com

munst Part as Szabo dd But had prncpls and just ddn't blv n thr

rhtorc. Bsds ho could I vn ntrtan jonng a group that had nslavd

my fathr and brothr?

So far my sxtnth brthday had brought an almost surral amount of horror

th t Fortunatly as allod a brak om th hllsh vnts that pladm: got a tmporar job n constructon and th thngs apparntly calmng

don accptd an nvtaton to my rst ral chss tournamnt (s gams 1

and 2) t as an ghtn-playr vnt that faturd tn mastrs svn cand

dats and m. Clarly as xpctd to com n last (ll th mor so snc

gong nto ths vnt I had nvr playd a tournamnt gam aganst a mastr! )

but surprsd vron by nnng rst prz and bcaus of ths I as aardd

th mastr ttl I stll hav th dploma on my all today

Sadly I stll had to lv through on last crushng shock bfor turnng svn

tn: my mothr at th ag of forty-on dd. Th lack of shltr th cold ntr th scarct of food and th loss of hr husband and oldst son (my brothr

s on and a half yars my snor) provd too much for hr.

Ho can I dscrb my stat of mnd at that tm? Dprsson s far too mld

a ord hl an moton lk angr dmandd a lot mor nrgy than I pos

sssd Th only trm that pants th propr pctur s dvastatonpur

ovrhlmng dvastaton. Stll a chld antd to cral undr a rock and

gv up somho mak t all go aay "Rsgnaton asn't possbl thoug;

my lttl sstr dpndd on m and asn 't gong to lt hr don by accpt

ng falur. Ralzng that th stuaton n Budapst ddn't offr m any opportunts to mprov our lot I lft my sstr n th saf hands of a rlatv

packd up a f possssons and mad my ay to th lovly lttl Hungaran

ton of Szgd.


22/680

PAL B NKO M L GAMS AN D COM POSIONS

en I arrved n Szeged I as starng and pennless Hoever a small Mas

ters' tournament led to the acquston of some desperately needed food I on

our and bacon!) My result mpressed the chess aconados there and I as6 nvted to teach them and as gven a place on the local chess team In turn ths

ne relatvely safe envronment alloed me to nsh secondar school

( ) T Fm t 5

I4 Nf6 N e6 e4 5 4x5

oadays ths s non to be naccurate he man lne no revolves

around the mmedate 4 e5 hen 4 d4 e4 s no longer correct)

5exf6 dxc3 6bxc3 Qf6 7d4 e5 leads to reasonable play for Blac

4 ex5 5e5 Ne4

Intatng a strong pan sacrce that as rst played n ths game

6Nxe4

Whte couldn't resst! Eventually theor recognzed that acceptng the pan

as too rs and the calmer 6f c6 7 Bb5 Bd7 8 00 became the

ndcated cours Even here though Blac gets equal chances by 8 a6

9Be2 Be6 1 0d4 Be7

6 xe4 Qa4+ N6 8Qxe4 Q4

Informaton traveled sloly n the '40s so I can't be sure f Unzcer as

aare of my game th Feldman four years later hough my 8 Qd4! has

thstood the test of tme and s consdered to be Blac's strongest move

Unzcer as Blac aganst Kuppe Oldenburg 1 949) preferred 8 Be6 and

acheved a crushng poston aer 9Bb5 Bd5 10 Qg4 a6 Bxc6+ Bxc6

12e2 Qd5 13d4 Bb4+ 14Bd2 Bxd2+ 15xd2 Qb5

9Qx4

In Hbner-Chrstansen Munch 1 99 1 Whte tred 9 Bd3 but got noth

ng after 9 Qxe4+ 1 Bxe4 xe5 1 1 f xf + 1 2 Bxf Bc5

9 Nx4 0 e6 I e4

mportant alternatve s e2 000 1 2 f4 Bd7 actually I dont see

anythng rong th 12 g5 1 3 xe6 e6 1400 + 1 5 gx Rxd3 hen

Blac had a fantasc poson n Tartaoer-Hoe Hastngs 19 53 though

he later found a ay to lose) 130-0 hen 13g5 14h5 Be6 s recom

mended by theory as beng oay for Blac but 1 3 Re8 1 4b3 c6

1 5 e6 e6 1 6Bb2 Varga-Luacs Budapest 1 992 also seems ne f Blac

no contnues th 1 6 e5

000 f4

lso comfortable for Blac s 1 2 e2 Bc5

5 x5 x5


23/680

N T H B G N N N G

te s a pan up f you can really consder that pathetc creature on d2

a pan) but Black's lead n development actve peces and pressure don

the dle combne to gve hm all the chances

4K g?

Balogh recommended 14 Bc n hs notes to ths game Ths s certanly

a good sane move but I as young and mpetuous and felt that openng

up lnes th 14 g ! ? smply had to be orthhle

g

Balogh ponted out that d3 s met by c6! hen Black has the

superor game

b4 6NhThs mght not be te's best defense but other moves ould have also

le me th a threatenng ntatve: 16f smply bad s 16a3 Bxd2

1 7Bxd2 b3 hle 16b3 ! ? Rhd8 1 7h4 Rxe 1 8 Red 1 9Rh2 Bd6

203 Bf4 2 1 xd4 Rxd4 22 Kc2 Bxd2 also promses Black al l the chances)

1 6 xf3 1 7 gxf3 Bxd2 1 8 Kc2 Bxc1 1 9 Raxc 1 Rxe th an obvous

advantage

6 h8?

naccurate move that gves hte more optons than he deseed Correct as 16 e! 17Rf Rd8! lso possble s 17 Rhe8 18b3 hen

Black has several promsng ays to play te poson For example 1 8 R8e7

Or 18 Ba!? stoppng hte's dea of a3 and b2b4 Then 19Rb s

strongly met by 19 c 20Bb2 Re2 2 1 Bc3 Bxc3 22 dxc3 b 2 3 Rc1 Rxa2

19a3 19Bb2 Re2 19 Bd6! 2 0Bb2 Rd 2 1 Bxd4 Rxd4 2 2 g3 Rd th

excellent play) 18 bad s 18d3 Rde8 19Bxd2 Bxd2 20d2 Re2+

2 1 Kc3 c but 1 8 Rf4 also leads to a Black advantage: 1 8 c 19Rx Rde8

20R Re2 21 Rf8 22a3 Ba 23g3 Rxh2 24b4 Bd8 2bxc Bxg

26Rb h 27Re Bxf4 28gxf4 Rxf4) 18 Rde8 19Rf Re2 20f4 Rf8and hte s gagged bound and sufferng

Nf4

7


24/680

AL B N KO Y L F, GAS AN D COOSION S

orse s 1 7 Rf e 8 Rx Rde8 1 9Rf Re2 2 0f4 Rf8 2 1 h4 Rxg2

poston e've lready seen n the note to Blac's 16th move On 17Re 1

Blc contnues to call the shots aer 1 7 c6 One smple of the nd o

play that could occur s: 1 8 Re2 Rxe 1 9Rxe xe 20 f4 Rd4 2 1 e2

Rg4 22 g3 2 3 h4 Bd6 24a4 d4 snce te s helpless Blc mght

lso consder 24 a!?) 2xd4 Rxd4 nd te's ngsde pns ll

fll le rpe ut

e 8h4?

Mssng the only chnce for surval: 1 8 d3 ! Rb 9xb4 he tet

ng 9 4 Rb6 20 a Rb 2 1 xb4 Rxb4 s orse snce the eness of the

b3squre ll come bac to haunt hte aer 22R3 [More ccurte s

2 2 Rf but Blc ould stll be happy after 2 2 Rd 2 3 Rxf7 Rxg24g3 b3] 22 Rd 23h4 b3 24Rf Rc 2Rxb3 Rb3 26Rx Rb4!

27d3 h4) 19 Rxb4 20Rf Rb 2 1 Rx on 2 1 d 3 Blc must vod

2 1 e6? 2 2 Rx xg 2 3 Rg7 and nstead play the clm 2 1 Rd7 hen

22Rf6 e6 23Rh6 Rxd3+ 24Ke2 Rdd! gves Blc ll the chnces

2 1 Rxg 22 g3 Better than 22 Rf2 Re 2 3 b3 Rde8 24 Rf Re2

2 Bb2 c6 hen 26R s met by 26 Re + 2 7Kc2 b4+ 28 Kc3 x2+

22 Rh 2 3 R and not 2 3 h4 Rf !) and no 23 Re leds to the nd

of poston Blac ants to avod aer 24 d 3 c6 2 Bd2 Rxd3 26Kc2 Rf

27 Rf Insted 2 3 c6 eds to more lvely play here Blc hs plenof compensaton for the sacrce d pn: 24 4 e 2 Re 2 d3

26R3 Rf 2 7Kc2 b4+ 28 Kb Rf 29 Rc3 Rd4 30 b3 Kd7

8 Nf

te's game no collpses le a house of cards

9K

Blac's peces ould exert tremendous pressure on the enemy poston

er 19d3 g3 20 Rg Rd4 2 1 3 Bd6

9 R+ 0K ?

hte had to t 20Kb3 Bxd2 2 1 Bxd2 Rxd2 though Blc's superor

s obvous


25/680

I N H B G N N I N G

2 0 x + 2 x x2+ 22 K2 4 2 g4

Other moves also lose: 2 3 Rae Rd2+ 24Kb3 d4+ 2 5 Kc3 e2+ 26 Kb3

Be5 27 Rhf Rxb2+ 28 Ka3 b 5 and t's all over

2 Ne+ 24K

Aer 24Kb Rd2 Black ould mantan a materal plus and a strong attack

24 e5 + 25 Kb R+ 264

Whte gets mated aer 26Kb4 Bd6+ 27Ka4 c4 28Kb5 xb2 29Rac

a6 30Ka5 Ra3 mate

6 xb2

Even stronger as 26 c4! but the text move s more than adequate

2Rab N4 28 4 R4 29xbhs and 29Kb3 (hch loses to 29 d2+ 30Kxb2 Rb4+ 3 1 Kc2 xb

32 b Rxb xb Kd7) are the only ays to defend aganst the mate

29 Nxb2+ 0K R x Nx + 2 K4

he rest s clear and easy

2 N Ke5 Nxg4+ 45 K

Smplest

5Kxg4 Ke6 6Kh5 5 h6 Kg4 8h5 5 9Kxh Kxh5 0 1

Dr Balogh concluded: "Played n the stle of a grandmaster Even Flohr

could not have performed more smply or smoothly Maroczy orgnally

aarded ths game the rst brllancy prze but the jur overturned hs

decson and gave t the second prze aer HajtunFeldman Maroczy's

judgment as as follos: "An excellent game Whte seemed to be supe

ror but hs collapse as nterestng and surprsng It s a game of theo

retcal value; Black's attack s too song

2 Szgt t 5

4 5 2 4 e6 N 6 4N N 5 g5 x4

hose that sh to avod the chaos that ensues aer 5 dxc4 oen choose

5 h6 hen 6 Bxf6 Qxf6 7 e3 d7 (knon as the Mosco Varaton) has

proven to be extremely reslent Of course attackng manacs aren't tak

ng ths lyng don and no the socalled "t-Mosco th 6Bh4!?

has become topcal

6e4 b5 e5 h6 8h4 g5

hs s the Botnnk Varaon hch became ell knon hen he used t

to beat Denker at the Sovet Unon vs US A rado match n 1 945 hat

match as carred out n September hle my game th Szge as played

9


26/680

BenkOPI HU .) (S"- XIWMPUAlS

BENKO, PAL HUN) USA)GM

GMPal Benko fyyears ago eaned the Hungaian?

!

chess masr te. Duing h e won the

Hugaian Chaposp, et s h UEOpn Cmnhp H ca wce Wol

C . C 'd t S O .:B(nk6 l

mplo n I a e. X mas a ws y gy eam memb and svn s ea cpan d d . .prsI819S tC 14.He acvd h naonalrnd matr te(195) an besid ha he aad pobem

composng intionl ter t ()

eo - F CuWr Champ ais Turt

1 g3Nf62 Bg2 e4 d 4 7N2 (O(0 3c8 a N79 x

10 .d Nc5 3R

2 RI Nd7 B O7

S 2 b6 xl7 bN8 Nd49 Bd4 B20 d 2 2 Bb722 B2 2 7+2K Rd

2eN27 K

29 Q NN4Rd72Q833 3 g g 53f R 2 7 Rl f +

40 bk v u-0 38- 50

n Juy However nether Botinn or I can cam to be the rst to use ths

system R payed t n 1 920 ! ) whle Szge yes the same one) had the

te sde n 1 93 1 E Grnfed had Blac aganst Van Schetnga n

msterdam 1 936 and t was used n the game Szabo-Euwe n Hasngs 1 938

o the best of my nowedge Botvnn rst used t twce) n 1944 odaythe lne s exemely popular among tacca players who enjoy cutngedge

theoretca discussons At the me of this game though the varaton rep

resented an unusua unexpored vsta

9Nxg5 hxg5

he earl est games featurng 9xg saw Bac pay 9 d when

1xf7 (the most dangerous reply) was seen in Szget-Mchlo Budapest

1 93 1 1 0 n 37) whe the more placd 1 0 was Lef-Rt Krstana

1 9 2 0 : 1 0 Qa 1 Qd2 Bb4 1 2 Rc1 d7 1 3 Be2 7b6 14Bd xc3 bxc3 Ba3 16 Bf6 Bxc 1 17 Qxc1 Rg8 d2 d 19 e4 b4

20 Bh bxc3 2 1 0-0 Qxa2 2 2 Bx+ Kxf7 2 3 Qxh6 Qa3 2 4d6+ Qxd6

2Qh7+ Ke 26exd6 Rg4 27Qh+ Kf 2Be7+ xe7 29dxe7+ Kxe7

3 0 Qxg4 Rb 3 1 Qg7+ Kd 32 h4 c2 Qh+ 10

Oxg5 Nb exf6 b e

Years of theoretcal research and ots of practce evenay proved that

12 g3 was te's best move but we were st busy "nventng the whee

NAso payabe are 1 2 Qc7 and 12 Qb6 preparng to caste queensde as

qucy as possble


27/680

N H B G N N N G

s neresng o noe ha 1 3 a4 was recommended by Korchno in he

EO Apparenly he wasn aware ha hs had already been played n

an SchelngaGrnfeld Amserdam 1 9 3 6: 1 3 Be7 14axb5 cxb5

15B Nd5 16Bxd5 Bxd5 17Bxe7 Kxe7 00 Qd6 19Nxd5+ Qxd5

20 e ag 2 1 xa7+ Kf6 22 Qh5 2 3 K Rxg2 + 01

e 4x

had a good laugh when hs game appeared wih noes in he Hungaan

Chss rld he number one Hungarian chess magazine unl 195 1 ) o

ever annoaed he game gave 14Bxf6 a queson mar and clamed ha

hes bes move was 14Nxb5 Naurally hs "bes move loses a once

o 4 Qa5+ 1 5Nc3 Qxg5

4 xf6 5Nxb5 xb5 6xb Rb8 6+ Ke

Pacman assessed hs poson as equal in one of hs boos One mgh

hn a e should be beer snce hes a pawn up and Blac sn able

o casle hs opnon hough s compleely msaen Blacs ng s

acually very safe on e7 He wll easly wn hs pawn bac when despie

he oppose-colored Bshops Blac wll have all he chances hans o hs

queensde majory and he fac ha he darsquared Bshop wll prove

sronger han s whe counerpar

8Q Q6 9 4Blac sn n a hur o wn he pawn bac Firs he wans o mae sureever pece s as acve as possble

0g x4 Qa5 ?

An opmsc aemp o noc my opponen ou The sraghforward

2 1 d3 n connecon wh Bxb2 was smpler

Qxa+

d no 22 bxc3 ? ? a4 wen Blac wns he house

?

hs naural move urns ou o be naccurae orrec was 22 Ke! when

23 Bh5 fals o 2 3 Qe5+ 24Kf d7


28/680

1 2

AL BNKO Y L GAS AND COOSIONS

0-0?

e reurns he favor He had o r 23Bh5 Be7 A n alernav

2 3 Qe5+ 24 Kf Qxh5 2 5 Qxb+ Rd 26 Qf4 when boh 26 Qh3+ an

26 cxb2 are neresng hough 'm no sure f eher oers more ha a

draw) 24bxc3 Qe5 + 25 Kf Ra4 26 f4 Qx+ 27 gx Rxa7 when Bla sll beer hough no nearly as much as n he game e 2 h4 4!)

xb 4Rab R e4

Blac s sll much beer aer 2 5 Bh5 Be7 snce 2 6xb2 ? ? Ra3 wn rgh

away

Ra 6Rb xa Rx6 xa

e succeeded n rescung hs Queen bu he resulan endgam donpromse hm anyhng bu mserhe bpawn s smply oo srong an

n a very neresng way s helped by s doubled broher on b5

Rb

Blocadng wh he Bshop fals o 2 Bb Ra 29 Rdd R when Bla

wns easly by 30 Be7 3 1 Ba3 and 32 Rc 1

Ra 9R R 0Kf R Ke g4? e

Blac has defended hmself agans f5 however he advanc o h

g-pawn acceleraed hs nevable demse snce he f4-square s now avalable o Blac's Bshop Neverheless he game was los n any cae ne

f he had employed a passve defense Blac would have bro h

bloade by marchng hs Kng o a2

h4 f4 4 b4 e4 Kg 6g b R+ m

0 - 1

he edor of Maar Sakkvig wroe: "A beaul game! he cong

on of peces n hs endgame s specacular

le was gong hrough my own drama my broher faher and or o

oher Hungaran men were beng wored o deah n prson camp Many e o

hunger hough hey were old ha he Hungaran "worers were eang a wll

a he peasans n oher words he average Russan was also sarng a ha !


29/680

N H B G N N N G

nder such condons was no surprse ha my faher became ll and snce e

was unable o wor he ussans released hm and my boher You can magne

my relef when hey reurned o Budapes Soon my famly was ogeher agan

and hs b of stabl allowed me o begn unversy Durng my rs year 1

was called he nvers of Economy n year wo he communss oo over and

renamed he Karl Marx nvers) where majored n economcsOne hng ha sll s ands ou n my mnd s he naon whch was rampan

hroughou Hungar Money became so worhless ha worers preferred beng

pad n food! n fac played n he Hungaran hamponshp where he pes

were food raher han money was absoluely delghe o ge he chance o

wn somehng so valuable!

(3) G z Hgr Chmh 1 6

N ? f6

seems ha es hrd move s already a msae ! hen playng a

regular Queens ndan d4 Nf6 2 c4 e6 3 Nf3 b6) he srong move 4f

sn avalable o he snce hs Kngh occupes ha square Here hough

Blac can ae advanage of he fac ha s gh sn on f6 o buld a

powerl cener and bloc he enemy b2Bsop n he FscherPerosan

canddaes mach n 1971 he Perosan) played 4c4 4 d3 e and

was obvously no ryng o preven Blac from execung hs plan Heshould a leas have aemped o emulae a defensve sysem use by Blac

agans the Smsc varaon n he Kngs ndan d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3

Bg7 4e4 d6 00 6Be3 b6 7 Bd3 Bb7 8Nge2 c 9d e6 1 0 00 exd

cxd Ba6 alhough mus confess ha personally coul never lly

apprecae hs varaon posonally PeosanFscer connued 6e 3 Ne7 !

Fscher wsely brngs hs g8Kngh o e sll unoccuped c6square) 7 Be2

Nec6 8Nbd2 Be7 900 00 1 0 e4 a6 and s easy o see ha Blac has

all he play on he queensde an more cenral space whle es

b2Bshop s "bng on grane

o reurn o my game he red o couner Blacs plan more ac

vely n hs game we see a Fscers pan was no new and probably


30/680

1 4

PA B NKO Y , GAM S AND COPOSII ON S

was no new even when played n 1 946 snce s possble o nd hese

deas over he board as dd hy Perosan played 3 Bb2 and ddn em

ploy he superor 3 e3 s a mysery However now s oo lae for 4 e3 e5

5 d4 cxd4 6 exd4 e4 ! agan blocs he b2Bshop and moblzes a danger

ous ngsde pawn major y ncdenally had some dcul namng hs

openng snce a he me hs game was played no one had ever heard ofhe Larsen Openngn fac no one had even heard of Larsen ! Perhaps

"Larsen Openng s an anachronsm

44 x4 Qx4 e 6Q N6 e b4

orgnal plan ha acvaes hs Bshop and sops he s c2 c4

a 9b4 b6 0a4

he "aggressve 10c4 fals o 10 dxc4 Bxc4 Nxb4!

0 e6Sll mang sure ha he can play c3 c4

a a6 bxa6 xa6 Nge 4Na 00 OO?

hs naural move coss a pawn bu Blacs pos on was already superor

when you ae hs srong cener no consderaon hes only brea

c4 was bad because of 1 5 Nxb4!

e4 6Ne Nxb4 Nb

Snce 17cxb4 Qd6 hreaens boh Qxh2 mae and Qxa6 e res

o console hmself wh possesson of d4

Nxa6 Rxa6 b6 9 N4 0 Ra Nf Ne Nx4

Nx4 Q

hs defends he e6 and f5 squares and allows me evenually o acvae

my lgh-squared Bshop by a7a5 followed by Ba6

he has o gan a b of acvy n hs fashon before Blac plays

a7a5 Bc8a6c4 and hen f6f5f4 wh a complee crush

ex 4 Re Q as 6a a6 Qf

neresngly Barcza rades Queens even hough hes a pawn down

Objecvely of course s beer o eep he peces and rade pawns when

youre n rouble n an endgame and rade o as many pawns as pos

sble !) bu Barcza has fah n hs endgame echnque

Qxf Nxf 4 9R Ra 0 g6 N6

Agan longer ressance was possble aer 3 1 Nd4 avodng he rade of

pecesRe6 Nx4 x4 x+ x 4Rf4 R6 5 f


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N H B G N N N G

Soppng he whe ng om reachng an acve poson and hreaen

ng 36 Bg5 3 7 d4 Bf6 Blac has he rgh Bshop was very carel

no o allow he creaon of opposecolored Bshops !) hs pawns are on

he rgh squares and wh hs exra passed pawn he wn s assuredwhhe rgh echnque

6K g a4 8 K R6 9 R

Forcng he whe Bshop o gve up s blocade of he passed pawn

404 Ra 4K a 4K

he Kng can wa o reach e4!

4Ka

By defendng a3 my oo s ee for more aggressve acon44R

Oherwse b5 and a blac Kng march wll decde

44 Ra6 4R R6 466 K6 4a h

Now my Kng s ee o roam snce everyhng s guarded he Bshop

defends a3 and he oo defends c4 and g6 Noce how Blac s ang

hs me Paence s a very mporan qualy n he endgame

48R

f 48 Bb4 Bxb4 49xb4 Kd5 e4 wns easly

48 K 494

Snce Ke4 would end he game he maes one las desperae aemp

49 x4 Ox4 xa R K4 R8 46 K

K R8 0 - 1 .

4 e Szlg Hg Chmh 46

4 N N 4 4 x4 x4 6 6N x4?

eve ransposed no a PanovBovnn Aac n he aroKann De

fense Nowadays nobody would mae hs msaen capure because de

1


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1 6

PAL B NKO M L I , GAMS AND COMPOSI ONS

velops White's Bishop Instea Blac sally plays 6 Be7 o 6 B4 only

taing on c4 afte the fBishop moves theey maing it move twice

8 00 00 9 g5 0 5

Ra ?

The position in the iagam epesents a common milegame sitation:White has an isolate pawn t this "weaess gives him moe centalspace an contol ove the ey e5-sqae (the -night can't wait to set

p esience thee) White's lea in evelopment an moe active pieces

ceates tactical possiilities an chances fo an attac against the lac ngin fact White often wins isolate pawn positions in a violent manne

Of cose if ite's attac oesn't cash thogh Blac can ag the st

playe own y: 1) Dominating the 5 -sqae ths xing the isolate pawnan ceating a stationa taget 2 Taing mino pieces This ens White's

attacking hopes 3) Tageting 4 fo estction y taining hs een

an Rooks against the iso

Blac an expeience maste has st playe 7 -6 intening toanchetto his eenBishop an cement his contol ove the vey impo

tat 5-sqae Howeve the somewhat vlneale state of the a8-Roo

alowe me to tn my ac on White's sal attacing eams an instea stee the game towas a favoale engame It's inteesting to note

that even at the tene age of eighteen I still pefee the ion logic ofengames to the ncetainty of nclea milegame complications

5

Now the playes will have matching -pawns as 13 Nx5 14Bx5!

hitting a8 wins mateial

5 Rf ?

He oesn't see the coming stom t 14 B4 (if 14 e8 White insBack's kingsie y 1 5 Bxf6) 1 5 Bxf6 xf6 1 6 Bx5 R8 1 7 Rf (White also

etains some winning chances with 17e5 xe5 18e5) 17 Bg4 eavesBlack a pawn own an sffeing thogh he oes etain some awing

chances in the opposite-coloe Bishop engame

55 R8?


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N H B G I N N I N G

k ties e thret, ut . . .h6 16.N6 6 17.Nxe7+ xe7

.x x 9.x Rx 20. is s isuient. He u 5...6,

tu 6. s str rep.

6Nx x Qxe Re8 8Qx8

I u ve pture his 7pw s we, ut wh pite whe theexe uees es t e w, pete se, ee?

8 Rx8

ites pw pus ishp pir shu e it pssie t wi i re

t e w. I eie t p fr exhngesrst the Rs, then rksure isp r the it t set up vteus pwrti, ri ks pwns nt iht sures s the wul e

ere t ttk ihtsure ishp. lk wil e e with nerir ir piee ( tp ei wn pwn), these psiti

ter vtes shu prve t e re th euh. Wth hw

its e!

9

A use ve tt keeps the l iht ff e4 4, s ets eter te e

9 0 xe xe R8 R x

k h hie. Otherwise, hites R wul enter vi the e.

x Ke 4f4 a6 g4 6 6 K6 g68 b

ere is ti etter. White n wi the ueensie pws t his eisure

er 2. . . 29.7 N7 30. .

9Kg e8 0h4 as

rin the pw t the wrng r, ite s ut r fris .

a4 e Ng8 Hf4 h 4g

ks it is trppe us t evetul e exhnge fr the Whiterksure ishp.

1


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1 8

AL BNKO Y LI GAS AND COOSONS

4 b4 a

Fxg the target o a ad earg away the 3-square so that tes

Kg a evetuay peetrate o the queesde.

5 bxa 6bxa N x xf6 8g5

Makg sure that a the ak paws are peraety stuk o ght squares.

hs oept of "xg eey paws o udesrae squares s a

portat oe.

8 m 9Kf4 Ke6 40

Baks posto s eyod savato. Oe spe wg pa s -f-f

foowed y Kf. fat, te woud w eve wthout the f-paw, as

the e 0 . . .Kd6 .B B 2 .Bd 3 B e8 3 .B2 Ke6 .Ke3 , whe Bak

at stop the arh of the whte g to . t , ts e to have a paw;

hess, theres o suh thg as overk!

40 K6 4Ke Ke6

O . .. K , te ws y 2 .Kd2 6 3 .K3 K .f ad .f.

4K K6 4K Ke 44Kb4 Ke6 45xa4 -0 .

A we have see, the key to wg a sae-oor Bshop edgae wththe "good Bshop s to attak two weakesses, therey tg dow the

opposg fores ad peetratg wth the Kg, ofte wth the ad ofZuwang. f you are the defeder, t to keep your paws o t he opposteoor of the eey Bshop, dot et the eey g peetrate to your

ap, ad keep your posto as exe as posse .


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vey ttle he actvty potwa Hugay. Ths fact, a my

effots to complete my eucato, le me yg to squeeze a game wheeve

possle. Because of the lack of playg oppotutes, I agee to play sx coespoece games fo the Hugaa team the semals of the Coespo

ece Team Champoshp (these games ega whle I was stll zege). Iwo fou of those games a ew the othe two. Oe of the aw games wasagast a Austala playehavg a exta paw a the Bshop pa, I of

fee a aw ecause the wg poceue woul have een too log a tooexpensve!

It s cuous that oe aely s coespoece games the pages of ths

type of ook, although such games shoul e o a eve hghe level of play

tha those wth moe estcte tme lmts Pehaps the ma easo fo ths

state of affas s that gamastes maly patcpate ovetheoa touaments a eglect coespoece play etely. Howeve, coespoece chesshs playe a mpotat ole the evelopmet of may stog playesthenames of Alekhe a ees ca e metoe ths espect. I fact, ees

se to ecomme coespoece chess as a woel way to stuy oth the

opegs a othe phases of the game. Ths fom of chess s patculaly usela mpotat fo those who ae't ale to take pat omal chess evets n

peso.I amt that I am ale to cout all the coesponece games I've playe my

lfe o my ges. The game agast the wss playe Tagma (the seco awgame fom the sx), thogh, was vey exctg a has emae fesh my m

ove the ecaes. I hope you t as teestig as I o.

9


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20

A B NKO Y LI , GAS AND COPOSII ON S

5 Tm (Crrspdc, 1 97)

e4

Years later (in 1 97 3 ) a Mr Heinen offere to play two postal games against

me for a fee He wante Blac in oth games ince I een away frompostal for so long I ecie to accept his oer Here is one of the games

e4 c5 2N Nc6 34 cx4 4Nx4 Nf6 5Nc3 6 6Bg5 e6 72 Be7

-- 0-0 9f4 Nx4 1 0 x4 h6 Bh4 a5 1 2 B c4 RS (Blacs mostpopular an est move is 12 B7) 1 3 Rhf ! (This is consiere the songestcontinuation ite aims for f4-f5 which after e5 gives him control of

the 5 -square If Blac avois e6- e5 an allows White to play e6 Blacsng Roo will e misse from the ingsie an the f6-sqare will e

come the target of a sacricial frenzy) 1 3 a6? (Too slow 1 3 B7 seems

to e the most natural move) 14f5 5 15B3 B7 16e6 e6 17Bxf6Bxf6 S Rxf6 ! gxf6 1 9 xf6 h7 20 hS 1 g6 1 -0 Blac cant

efen against xh6+ followe y R3

Nf6

The Aleine Defense never ecame a permanent part of my repertoire

However I thought it woul e n to give it a try on this occasion

e N 4

Now its nown that te sternest test of Aleines Defense is 3 4 6 4

Nb6 44 6 f4

The Four Pawns Attac is a try at otright retation However Blac

gets plenty of counterplay against ites center pawns an this aggres

sive line has now fallen out of favor

xe 6e N6 e f 8N e6 N

Instea of the text move ol theoy recommene 9Be Bringing the

ight to use to e consiere otl ecase of 9 Bg4 ntil the

wiss master Henneerger prove ites speriority after 102

Q

The moern choice is 9 Be7 when Blac gets comfortale eqali t thoghmany of the lines are very complicate an reqire thorogh sty

O

This aggressive move is also of wiss origin t it seems to e iosThe more restraine 10Be is Whites only real hope for an opening

avantage

O ex x NbAn not 1 1 Na5 ? 1 2 Bx6 ax6 1 3 a 3 when the threat of -4 leas to

the win of material for ite

N4


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ARHWAR

A position ll of excitement an tension has een eache 12 B6 was

ecommene at the time t it seeme to e too passive an I ejecte

it In fact as I iscovee late this whole vaiation ha een thoohl

mine the wiss analsts while m onl compass was m chess inition Henneege "pove that 12 B6 was inee too slow 13B!

c6 4xc6 xc6 5xc6! xc6 6 RS 17Rc1 an "ite will e

gain the piece on c6 Yeas went efoe I looe at this position aainan then I ealie that 7 c4! S B B 3 ! ! tns this whole line p

sie own o ch fo estali she theoy!

Ins tea of 2 Bg6 the game Tomasits-D Bata contine with2 0-0-0 an thee followe 1 3 B5 ! c6 1 4xc6 xc6 1 0-0 ow 1 Be6

was ecommene as th est soltion t this was ete Henneee

(against Emen in 46 6a3! cx5 17ax4 Bc4 Sc2 S! 1Rf5 (1 Bx4 2 0e6!) 20x5 Bx4 2 1 Bxa7 ince 12 B4 ses a

piece immeiatel to 1 3 e6 ! Blac is le with 1 2 6x5 thoh this loosve angeos Howeve afte polonge thoght I nally ecie to o

st that aing White to pnish me

nlc thiteenm move tns ot to e ios The coect1 3 x5 14x5 0-0-0 wol have le to nfathomale complications

One oft-qote line is 53 g6 63 xe3 17xe3 Bc Sf4RheS Be2 5 20 R xa2 2 1 RxS RxS when ite is se

ing The eae of cose shol ewae Befoe plain an of this osimpl have to o o own etaile analsis of the position afte 1 3

Incientall an analsis nst Gnfel in the Wir Schchzitu

in 4 claie some vaiations in connection with the ame Gallia

elle He emonstate that the contination 12 4x (instea of m

1 2 6x5 3x5 (Gnfel in't mention 13xf!? t pehapsthis is Whites most accate choice: 13 xf 14x xe [Blac

poal shol ty 4 0-0-0 an hope that he gets some compensationfo the piece afte 5x6 ax6] 1xc7 xc7 16B5 7 170-0

with a ve stong attac 13 x5 ? ! (of cose 13 x is coect

4x5 B4 (ite is also ette ae 5 xe5 163 15 xe5

2


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22

PAL BNKO MY LI, GAMS AND COMPOSIIONS

16.Qg4 B5 17.B5+ 6 S.Re is in Wite's favor an opinion tat I

ave to agree wit.

f

I tougt tat Blak a a superior position. He as two pawns for te

Bisop an will proal e ale to win ak is piee. No suen attaksare possile: 15.Qf N2+ 6.Kf2 Nxa 7.B5+ Qx S.Qe4+ K7

1 9.R + KS ! 2 0. Rxa B5 an Blak keeps is material avantage.

R

exellent an unexpete move! I in't know it at te time of ourseut this too was Henneerger's analsis. It paraoxiall takes te

initiative altoug it not onl oesn't give ek it promises to returnte piee an even to sarie rter material. Now 5 . . . RS woul e

answere 16.Qf3 so Blak as no oie ut to take te piee

"iting te ullet as some woul saan ope tat tings work out.

f

Now S.Q2 woul e met S. . .B5 an S.Qe2 S. . . B4+ after

wi Blak oul safel astle an get is King out of anger.

IOO

e alternative is S .K Be 7 1 9 .Rx 7 ut Blak omes out on top aer

1 .. . 00 20 .Q7 (not 20. Bx6 Qx6 2 1 .Rxe7 Qf6+) 20 . . . Qf6+ 2 1 .Ke2(2 1 .Kg runs ito 2 . . . RaS 22. Qg4 Qe6!) 2 1 . . .Na5.

I

Fore. If S . . . Be7 9.Re I ouln't astle : 19 . . . 00? 20 .Bx6 x6

2 1 .Bf 2 an it e wins . Als o unpleas ant for Blak i s S . . . B 619.Rx7 0-0 (19. . .Qxe3 + 2 0.K 0 0 2 1 .Qx6 is worse) 2 0.Q3 Qx3

2 1 .ax3 wen ite wins te apawn an retains exellent winning

anes.

9 R h ge onl move. If 20. . . Qe6 2 1 .Rx7 (far etter tan 2 1 .B4 Qx4

22.Re+ Be7 23.Rexe7+ Nxe7 24.Rx4 0-0 wen Blak as a soli position an goo anes to ol te raw) 2 1 .. . RS 2 2 Bx6+ is rusing:


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W dws

I

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