The Modern Benoni is a bold answer to 1.d4 and GM Marian Petrov shows it is possible to play this line confidently without memorizing extreme levels of theory. The Gambit Guide to the Modern Benoni. He played it twice, gaining a draw against José Raúl Capablanca in the Fianchetto Variation, but losing soundly to Aron Nimzowitsch, who played the Knight's Tour. Alternatively, if White immediately completes the knight manoeuvre and attacks the pawn on d6 with 8.Nc4 0-0 9.Bf4, Black can either defend it with 9...Ne8 or sacrifice it with 9...Na6 or 9...b6. The point of the check is that both 8...Bd7 and 8...Nbd7 allow 9.e5 with advantage to White,[96][97][98] since the knight on f6 can no longer retreat to d7. To avoid this, White may play 3. The Benoni Defense was first mentioned – and got its name – from an 1825 manuscript by Aaron Reinganum, Ben-oni, or the Pawn-Sacrifice Defense in Chess. [43], The central pawn majority is White's main positional trump in the Modern Benoni. Bf3 Rxf3+, and Gurgenidze resigned after move 27. A collection of notable Benoni games by the greatest attacking player. Can you really assert that the Benoni is inferior to a Queen’s Gambit Declined, where Black can have trouble even managing to develop? For years I have struggled with a question –what to play against 1.d4? [33], White's success with the Modern Main Line has spurred Black to search for ways to get in ...Bg4 before White stops it with h2-h3. [44] With 19.e5! [83], The other capture 10.Bxb5 has been subjected to extensive analysis and testing, which has led to the conclusion that the sequence 10...Nxe4 11.Nxe4 Qa5+ 12.Nfd2 Qxb5 13.Nxd6 Qa6 14.N2c4 Nd7 15.0-0 is more or less forced. King's Indian Defense; Mesgen Amanov; Modern Benoni; pawn endings; Plus-Score; Rated Beginners' Open; the baddest part of town; Tournaments; Zugzwang; May 24, 2015. [28][29] The damage this variation did to the opening's reputation led David Norwood to rechristen it the "Flick-Knife Attack. However, this simplistic generalization does not hold in many cases—depending on how the pieces are arranged, either side may be able to fight back on the flank where they are theoretically weaker. After forcing play it became a battle between the black queen and white pieces. However, 8.a4 Bg7 is the most popular continuation, when White can aim for a transposition to the Classical Main Line with 9.e4. I also like the fact that you can easily imagine seeing the moves up to - let's say - move sixteen in an opening book, with an evaluation of "advantage for White", or you could probably find some games with a weaker player as Black not finding any decent response to White's Nb1-d2-c4/b4 plan and losing a depressing game. Further space-gaining pawn advances such as ...g5-g4 and ...f7-f5 may even be possible. [78][76] The desire to prevent ...Bg4 led to the development of the Modern Main Line, 7.Nf3 Bg7 8.h3 0-0 9.Bd3. For this article, we have our attention on Savon’s success with the popular Benoni defense. loses the knight to 9.Qa4+) 8.a4 Qe7, which stops White from playing e2-e4. Black's position remains solid but offers fewer active possibilities than after 10...Nbd7. Kindle $9.99 $ 9. [28][29], Mired in this theoretical crisis, the Modern Benoni remained unpopular in the 1990s. The fact that one must know a lot of theory just to secure a draw has rendered the entire variation beginning with 9...b5 rather unattractive from Black's point of view, even though it appears to be objectively the best move. Nimzowitsch received the third special prize of the tournament for this game and labelled Marshall's opening an "unfortunate" "extravagance" in his annotations;[9] as a result, it lay virtually abandoned for decades. because 23.bxc5 Rxb1 24.Rxb1 dxc5 25.Bxc5 would have left White's central pawns unstoppable. Apart from 7.Nf3, White also has several important alternatives, including: Before the advent of the Taimanov Attack and the Modern Main Line, the sequence 7.Nf3 Bg7 8.Be2 0-0 9.0-0 was the most frequently contested line in the Modern Benoni. Against Gurgenidze at the 1957 championship in Moscow,[51] he unleashed the double sacrifice 14...Nxf2!! The first trap is not well known. [35] Nevertheless, Étienne Bacrot, Boris Gelfand and Vassily Ivanchuk have all since used the Modern Benoni at the highest levels of competition, while Vugar Gashimov became the opening's most notable proponent. Usually I alternated between trying to make the King’s Indian work and trying to find something more solid. Of course, at that time I had just left Alaska and had basically no tournament experience, so I was completely outclassed. The Modern Benoni suffered a serious theoretical crisis in the 1980s and 1990s, when players as Black encountered great difficulties in meeting the Taimanov Attack and the Modern Main Line. Opening book: Next time you face the Modern Benoni, remember this: it's not played at the elite level anymore. Bill Brock. The Modern Benoni is one of the most controversial but also dynamic answers to 1.d4. [92][66], If White has entered the Benoni through the standard move order (4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.e4 g6), White can dodge such sidelines by avoiding the immediate 7.Nf3 and starting with 7.Bd3 or 7.h3 instead: the latter two moves leave Black little choice but to enter the Modern Main Line after 7...Bg7 and 8...0-0. The Modern Benoni is an exciting, counter-attacking weapon against 1 d4. 'Thumbs up!' For some time I even played a twisted version of it with 1.d4 e6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 exd5 4.cxd5 d6, followed by later developing the Ng8 to e7. [99] But in two crushing and high-profile victories with White (against Frans Andre Cuijpers at the 1980 World Junior Chess Championship in Dortmund, and against Nunn at the 1982 Olympiad in Lucerne) Kasparov showed that 9.a4 was more dangerous for Black, it having the advantage of not determining the bishop's retreat square for the time being. [37], The Modern Benoni is one of Black's sharpest and most active defences against 1.d4. In the main line variations Black allows White to have a preponderance of central pawns which, traditionally, grants the first player the advantage. After the strongest move 8...Nfd7 the most popular move used to be 9.Bd3, preparing to meet 9...a6 with 10.a4. If you need an opening which is dynamic, strategically sound and offers plenty of possibilities to outplay your opponent, the Modern Benoni is your bread and butter. The Benoni Defense is a Queen’s Pawn Opening beginning with the moves 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 In the Benoni Defense, black challenges the white d4-pawn early on with the move …c5. The Modern Benoni is just about the most aggressive method that Black can choose to counter White’s 1 d4. [76], Black is not obliged to allow this transposition though: 7...Bg7 is also playable. This opening is known for creating dynamic, imbalanced positions where each side will have a chance to play for a win! [93] After 7...Bg7 White can transpose to the main line of the Four Pawns Attack in the King's Indian Defence with 8.Nf3 0-0 9.Be2. The imbalance inherent in its pawn structure and the counter-chances this implied for Black appealed to aggressive players such as Rashid Nezhmetdinov and Alexander Tolush;[11] the Israeli master Moshe Czerniak also employed it frequently. Almost. and went on to win: this move was judged the most important theoretical novelty in Volume 50 of Chess Informant. [17] In the 1960s Larry Evans began employing the system frequently, and from 1966 onwards, Bobby Fischer also included it in his repertoire, albeit as a secondary weapon. At only 144 pages the book is not comprehensive by any means. White can ignore this with 8.e4 b5 9.Qe2, aiming to quickly overrun Black in the centre with the e4-e5 advance. [58] White answered Black's 21...b5 with 22.b4!, and Black was unable to keep the queenside open with 22...bxa4? 4.3 out of 5 stars 10. However, in return, Black gains the opportunity for tremendously dynamic counterplay. threatening 10.f3 both give White the advantage. [23] As a result, the opening declined in popularity and a number of grandmasters gave it up altogether. Then compare them to the move actually played, play White’s response, and repeat. It is classified under the ECO codes A60–A79. Modern Benoni. Over time, myattention focusedon the Modern Benoni. The objectively best solution for White is to advance the pawn and play 3. d5, gaining space in the center. Game 44 Vladimirov vs Tal, 1988 (A56) Benoni Defense, 32 moves, 0-1. Modern Benoni devotees are forced to play on the edge, and will often have to live with positional weaknesses and/or sacrifice material to avoid being driven into passivity. The strength of White's knight on c4 often induces Black to exchange it off: typical ways of doing so are ...Nb6, ...Ne5, or ...b7-b6 followed by ...Ba6. Qe7 24.Bd4 Black's queenside play had ground to a halt; Pintér later won with a pawn advance on the kingside. Players who use this move order will often choose a different defence against 3.Nc3, such as the Nimzo-Indian with 3...Bb4. In any case, a slightly inferior position of a kind that you know like the back of your hand is better than a slightly better – but foreign – position. Our expectations, dreams, fears, positive and negative character traits, love and attachment to things that have become importantfor us. The Modern Benoni, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6, is the most common form of Benoni apart from the Benko Gambit. From childhood, most of us also have a love for chess. Note that Azeri grandmaster Vugar Gashimov is consistently playing the Modern Benoni at the highest level, with success – despite the fact that his opponents have the chance to prepare thoroughly, with computers. The Modernized Modern Benoni by Alexey Kovalchuk We all develop through childhood. Nevertheless, he has his compensation. From the outset, Black creates a new pawn structure and deploying his … The Modern Benoni Defense (not to be confused with the Old Benoni) is one of the most dynamic defenses available for Black as a response to 1.d4. Over time, my attention focused on the Modern Benoni. "[23] Since White's central superiority typically constitutes a positional advantage, Black must frequently resort to tactical play and material sacrifices in order not to be forced into passivity. 15.Kxf2 Qh4+ 16.Kf1 (16.g3? In this opening, the bishop on g7 is the same icon that is the basis of the King’s Indian, but here it can operate on the whole a1-h8 diagonal instead of being locked in by its own pawn on e5, as usually happens in the King’s Indian. [5], Black can also try to reach the Modern Benoni through a Benoni Defence move order, i.e. There have been many proclamations by good players that the Benoni is somehow an inferior opening. 7.h3, which is yet another way for White to reach the Modern Main Line after 7...Bg7 8.Nf3 0-0 9.Bd3; and 7.Nge2, which was recommended for White in 2012 by. Although a number of opening books recommended the 7.Bf4 variation for White in the early 21st century,[136][137] Black appears to be able to maintain the balance in this line. [89] So Black first plays 7...a6 threatening 8...b5. The most important tool in White's arsenal is the e4-e5 pawn advance, which can open up lines and squares for the white pieces, and result in the creation of a passed d-pawn if Black answers with ...dxe5. Chess is a rich game, and even at the top level playing a position that suits one’s style is more important than abstract theoretical correctness. [50], The half-open e-file gives Black a certain degree of influence over the kingside. [13] The tactical positions it led to were a perfect fit for Tal's combinatorial gifts and he crushed many opponents in brilliant style. White most commonly responds with Gligorić's 11.f3 Nc7 12.a4,[73] which clamps down on b5 and overprotects e4 so that White can follow up with Nc4. and 7.h3, which is yet another attempt for White to enter the Modern Main Line without allowing an early ...Bg4. [111][108] The pawn on f3 overprotects e4 and prevents ...Ng4, so that White can continue 7...Bg7 8.Bg5 and retreat the bishop to e3 after ...h7-h6 without it being further harassed by Black's knight. Black willingly creates an early imbalance which allows both sides to fight for the initiative in positions which are rich in tactical and strategic possibilities. The standard move order for Black to enter the Modern Benoni is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5. [42] According to Donner, while he spent over two hours on the game, Tal used only fifteen minutes. Here theory divides into three major branches:[64][65]. Meanwhile, White must decide whether or not to play 6.e4. 1.d4 c5 2.d5 Nf6, when 3.c4 e6 would complete the transposition. Analyzed by Mark Taimanov in 1956,[95] the strength of this variation was not fully appreciated until the early 1980s. This page was last edited on 21 December 2020, at 19:11. Instead White may try to exploit Black's early ...Bg4 with 9.Qb3, but after 9...Bxf3 10.Qxb7 Black can either maintain material and positional equality with 10...Bxg2 or try for more with 10...Nbd7!?. A rook on e8 puts pressure on White's e-pawn and restrains it from advancing. I have read in forums on other chess sites that Benoni books tend to be quite depressing for Black. Thus Black generally plays 4...exd5 immediately. The dynamic Modern Benoni Defense has undergone something of a revival over the past five or six years. [1] While it is possible for Black to avoid ...e7-e6 for the time being and play other moves such as 3...d6 or 3...g6, delaying this move until after White plays e2-e4 gives White the extra option of recapturing on d5 with the e-pawn. [82] Only later was it discovered that the immediate 10...Re8 is a better way of recovering the pawn, with a complicated game in the offing. Nevertheless, it somehow ended up that I played the Benoni the most. [1], Still, 3.d5 has long been considered White's most challenging move, as it gains space in the centre. Such players usuallystarted their way to the top of mastery with the King’s Indian Defense --a unique opening rich in history, like a phoenix, which was reborn count- less times from ashes. It has also been claimed that the opening was originally named after a player named Benoni, who played the opening in the early nineteenth century. A successful demonstration of this last idea occurred in the game Pintér–Brynell at the 1998 Elista Olympiad. [68][69] Here Black has a choice between three main plans. runs into 8.Qa4+!, when 8...Bd7 9.Qb3 or 8...Nbd7? Search the chess games database, download games, view frequent practitioners and browse the Opening Explorer This asymmetry suggests that White will try to play on the kingside and in the centre, while Black will seek counterplay on the queenside. Bb7 21.Rad1 Ba8 22.Nce4 White installed a powerful knight on e4, while Black's pieces were hemmed in by the pawn on e5. Modern Benoni Defense. [24][25] By the end of the decade, the Modern Main Line had also emerged as a dangerous weapon for White, which only compounded Black's troubles. and Korchnoi–Tal, USSR championship, Yerevan 1962. With the knight on c4, Black's ...b7-b5 break may be met by axb5 followed by Na5, when the arrival of a white knight on c6 could severely disrupt Black's position. White pieces 28 ] [ 29 ], the Modern Benoni through a Benoni defence move order,.... ] he unleashed the double sacrifice 14... Nxf2! at only 144 pages the book is comprehensive... Attention focused on the game Pintér–Brynell at the elite level anymore between trying make! The strength of this variation was not fully appreciated until the early 1980s order,.! Because 23.bxc5 Rxb1 24.Rxb1 dxc5 25.Bxc5 would have left White 's e-pawn restrains... 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