How Pal Benko Changed Chess History
Hello everyone!
Recently, on August 26, 2019, Pal Benko died at the age of 91. As we know, Benko was a recognized chess player, author, and chess composer. He was responsible for the popularization of two openings that today has his name:
- The Benko Gambit (1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5);
- The Benko (or Hungarian) Opening (1. g3), which he beat Bobby Fischer and Mikhail Tal.
Most people know Pal Benko because he was a great 20th century chess player. In addition to doing so, he also helped Fischer to play in an Interzonal. Do you know this story?
This story begins in 1969, when Benko took third place in the US National Championship.
20th US Championship and World Championship Zonal; 1969
November 30 – December 17 – New York, NY
- Reshevsky 8,0/11
- Addison 7,5
- Benko 7,0
- Lombardy 6,0
- Byrne, D. 5,5
- Evans 5,5
- Mednis 5,5
- Zuckerman 5,5
- Bisguier 4,5
- Byrne, R. 4,5
- Saidy 4,5
- Burger 2,0
The US National Championship ranked three chess players for the 1970 Interzonal in Palma de Mallorca. Bobby Fischer did not dispute the national competition. At the time, Fischer said the tournament was "very short". Since the US championship was the first step in the 1972 World Championship cycle, Fischer would no longer have a chance to compete for the world title.
However, Benko gave up his Interzonal spot so that Bobby Fischer could join. Fischer won the Interzonal title with 3.5 points difference to other competitors. What happened next? Everybody already knows.
Many people suspected that Benko could have been paid for it. In 1975, the great Hungarian chess player gave his version of the facts to Chess Life & Review magazine:
"The idea of giving Fischer my spot was mine. This was done voluntarily and without pressure from anyone. I felt that as one of the strongest players in the world, he should have the right to participate in this critical Interzonal. The US Chess Federation has always treated me very well and I wanted to show my gratitude. The Federation gave me the opportunity to qualify for the Amsterdam Interzonal - 1964, because it organized a match with Bisguier. He had qualified and I had not. There are also many other things for which I am grateful to the United States Chess Federation. The amount of $ 2,000 dollars is sometimes referred to as the price to leave the dispute. In fact, this fee was paid for my services as Reshevsky and Addison's second in that tournament and is the same amount I would have received if I had actually played. The only condition I asked to leave was that Fischer would agree not to withdraw from Interzonal or the following stages if he qualified, and he fulfilled that condition".
A BRIEF BENKO'S BIOGRAPHY
Pal Benko was born in Amiens, France, in 1928. He learned to play chess in Hungary with his father at the age of 10. In World War II, he suffered because he separated a little from chess and went to the army.
Over the years, he played a tournament in East Germany in 1952. When he tried to defect to the US embassy in West Berlin, he was arrested and interrogated for three weeks. Accused of espionage, he was held in a concentration camp for a year and a half.
He only got freedom with Stalin's death in 1953. At the time the Hungarian leader, Imre Nagy, amnesty many prisoners.
Five years after liberation, Benko finally defected to the United States. Having studied economics in Hungary, he worked at the New York Stock Exchange. He decided to pursue his career as a chess player only when he qualified for the 1959 Candidate Tournament. He left his wife, two children, and a grandson.
IMPORTANT ACHIEVEMENTS
He played in seven Chess Olympics. The first one in 1956, when he helped Hungary to win the bronze medal. The other participations, between 1962 and 1972, occurred by the selection of the United States. Highlight for the silver medal for teams in 1966 and individual silver in the second board in 1962.
He is also famous for the Benko Gambit. "I created a monster. I found it necessary to resort to other openings in the mid-seventies", he said of the opening in which he became famous. Benko was also a composer of studies and problems. Highlight for is his autobiography “My Life, Games, and Compositions” from 2003.
He also defeated 4 world champions: Tal, Fischer, Smyslov and Petrosian.
What do you think could have happened if Benko had not left his spot in the 1970 interzonal? Leave it in the comments. Thanks for reading.
