An Unlikely American Chess Hero
Greetings, welcome back to the Hornet Editorial!
If I were to ask you to name some "American chess heroes" off the top of your head, you'd probably say names like Bobby Fischer, Samuel Reshevsky, or maybe even Daniel Naroditsky. Those would all be fine choices. Each of them, in their own time and way, did something for American chess and defined what success looked like for the United States in an increasingly competitive international scene. But, what if I told you one of the greatest American chess heroes of the Cold War wasn't even American? You might've guessed it by now, but I'm talking about Pal Benko. If you've never heard of him before until now, maybe his last name will sound familiar.
So, how is Benko, a non-American and non-World Chess Champion, one of the greatest heroes of American chess? It sounds like a trick question. After all, how can someone represent a country in a major way without being born there? The answer has less to do with his victories than with his influence and the silent role he played at a moment when American chess needed it most. To understand why, we have to start at the beginning with Benko’s early life and how he came to the United States.
Enjoy the post!
Table of Contents
Pal Benko was born July 15th, 1928 in Amiens, France while his parents, who were Hungarian, were on vacation. Benko was raised in Hungary, and at the age of ten was taught how to play chess by his father. Even though his father had taught him how to play, Benko was mostly self taught, improving his game by playing chess at parks and studying a book of games played by Capablanca. By the time Benko was 16, he had already won several tournaments, but by then World War II engulfed Europe. His career would have to wait. Now, surviving was the priority. This is part of Benko's account of the war,
Everything was fine before 1940, but then my whole world turned to hell. The war hit Hungary hard. Food shortages left everyone starving, and ration cards became a necessity. I still remember the bread lines; thousands of people would begin lining up at midnight for a loaf of bread that was only passed out at 7 A.M...
When I was 16 they took me to the army. I was made to dig ditches somewhere on the Austrian border. I deserted and managed to return home only to find that my father and brother were no longer there. They were shipped to Russia as ‘prisoners of war’. Prisoners of war!? They were not even soldiers! Those were the times then. One could end up as a prisoner for any reason at any time. They never saw my mother again, because during their captivity in Russia, she died. My father was let out after a year and a half and soon afterwards he defected to the USA.
After the war ended, Benko was able to start playing chess professionally again and quickly became one of the strongest players in Hungary, eventually winning his first Hungarian Championship in 1948. Going into the 1950s, Benko was Hungary's #2, only behind Lazslo Szabo. On top of his successes in the chess world, Benko also had a well-to-do job as a bookkeeper. It all seemed to be going very well for him, until 1952 happened.
Benko was playing at a tournament in Goerlitz, Germany (East Germany at the time), when he made a very spontaneous decision to try and defect to the United States. He was arrested by police and taken back to Hungary where he was interrogated and tortured for three weeks under the suspicion that he was an American spy. After this he was sent to a concentration camp under a life sentence, a period which Benko recalled this period in his autobiography, "Pal Benko: My Life, Games, and Compositions",
The ‘camp’ — a large, dark building — had many small rooms, each of which was crammed with 20 or more people. The windows throughout the building were all blackened, and no sunlight was ever allowed to seep in. The victims inside had no idea of time — if someone got sick they were ignored and left to die, and if their teeth went bad we would just pull them out.
While I was there, many succumbed to starvation, and I remember one unfortunate man who became so depressed that he tried to commit suicide by swallowing spoons and anything else he could get down his throat. Sadly, the poor bastard survived, but was in constant agony as the swallowed objects ate through his
Benko was imprisoned one and a half years at the camp without any contact with his living father on the outside. Luckily for Pal, Joseph Stalin died in 1953. He was soon released from the camp and granted amnesty by the Hungarian government.
In the first few years after his release, Benko was denied participation at several international tournaments due to his reputation of defecting, but in 1957, four years after being released, Benko could finally try and come to the United States the legal way. After playing the World Student Championship in Reykjavik, Iceland, Benko defected to the U.S. Embassy and received political asylum. He would joyfully emigrate to America a year later, another moment he recalled in his biography.
Everything had a wonderful glow to it, the food tasted like nectar and women seemed so beautiful that I had to date as many as possible.
Yet, beneath the excitement and novelty of his new life in America, the challenges ahead were only beginning to unfold.
Upon arriving in the United States, one of the first things a young Pal Benko needed was a job before his professional chess career was able to take flight. Having studied economics in years prior, Benko secured a job at the New York Stock Exchange, and rented a room at the local YMCA with the little money he had. Benko didn't want to work at the Exchange for the rest of his life though; He was still focused on becoming a top player in the US. A year after his arrival, FIDE granted him the rank of Grandmaster, but this wasn't Benko's final goal. He wanted to go all the way.
In 1959, Benko qualified for the Candidates Tournament in what was then Yugoslavia. Although he would start off the tournament strong, Benko fell apart in the second half and end up finishing last. His most remembered game from that tournament is from Round 11, where he beat World Champion, Vasily Smyslov.
It was an unfortunate start to his World Chess Championship hunt, but he wasn't going to stop there. When the next World Chess Championship cycle came around, Benko was there yet again, eager to qualify. And qualify he would, making his way to the 1962 Candidate's Tournament in Curaçao.
Unfortunately, Benko would fail to qualify again, finishing in sixth. During the tournament though, Benko started using a new opening that would eventually be one of two associated with his name. 1.g3 or the Benko Opening became an object of intrigue during the tournament, leading to this game versus World Champion, Mikhail Tal.
In 1964, Benko would try and fail to qualify for the Candidate's Tournament. On the brighter side, he was finally able to represent the United States in chess Olympiads, helping lead them to medals in 1964 and 1966. Benko would also win the U.S. Open five times between 1964 and 1969 as well as the Canadian Open in 1964. As the 60s passed, it seemed Benko would never make it to the Candidates again. Many thought he was past his prime and nowhere near World Championship level. Little did everyone know though, that his next appearance would alter chess history forever.
By the time the 1970s rolled around, Pal Benko, now 42, hadn't qualified for the Candidates Tournament in nearly a decade. To do it now would mean becoming one of the oldest players ever to play in the Candidates. It didn't seem possible, at least not in theory.
Sometimes though, the right opportunity comes along at just the right moment. For Benko, that was finishing 3rd at the U.S. Championship (not to be confused with the U.S. Open). The U.S Championship at the time functioned as a zonal event, meaning Benko now had the opportunity to qualify for the Candidates yet again at the 1970 Interzonal Tournament in Palma de Mallorca, Spain. However, the situation was more complicated than that.
Bobby Fischer, the United States' strongest player and highest rated player in the world had decided to boycott the U.S Championship because he deemed the tournament to be "too short". This meant that Fischer would not have an opportunity to qualify for the Candidates, a predicament U.S Chess was not happy about. Although Fischer had appealed to FIDE to give him an exception and let him compete, they wouldn't budge. They did however agree to the following: If one of the American players who had qualified through the zonal voluntarily chose to relinquish his place, Fischer could take it instead.
The three American players, Samuel Reshevsky, William Addison, and Pal Benko now had a dilemma. Do they ignore Fischer's incessant requests, or do they step aside and let Fischer have a spot at the Interzonal? Naturally, it wasn't expected that Fischer would be able to play, until Benko did the unthinkable.
Without public pressure or obligation, Benko voluntarily gave up his place at the 1970 Interzonal. In doing so, he removed the final obstacle standing between Fischer and the World Championship cycle. It was a quiet decision, made without guarantees and with full awareness of what he was giving up: perhaps his last realistic chance to return to the Candidates. This didn't stop everyone from asking, "Why though?". The speculation grew. It wasn't likely a friendly gesture between two buddies, because Benko and Fischer never really had a "friendship"
At the 1962 Candidates Tournament, the U.S Chess Federation sent Grandmaster Arthur Bisguier to assist both Benko and Fischer. One night during the tournament, Benko was looking for Bisguier and found him in Fischer's room. He was looking for some help from Bisguier, but Fischer objected, saying Bisguier was only there to help him. According to Bisguier himself, this led to a heated argument which ended in some punches being thrown.
So, if not for friendship, why did Benko just decide to give up his chance at becoming World Champion? It was unheard of, which led many to think that Benko was paid to withdraw from the Interzonal. At the time, Benko made no statement about his withdrawal, which only led to more speculation. Five years later in 1975, Benko would write this in "Chess Life":
The idea for me to step down and give Fischer my place was my own; it was made voluntarily and without pressure from anyone. I felt that as one of the world's strongest players he should have the right to participate in that critical Interzonal.
And in his biography, Benko would further explain his decision.
When I gave my place to Fischer for the Interzonal in Palma de Mallorca in 1970, I was sure Bobby would advance to the Candidates Matches and beat the Russians. My own career was nearing its end, so why shouldn’t I give Fischer a chance to embrace his fate? I never had any doubts about his success, and he didn’t disappoint me.
In the following years Benko's decision became one of the most celebrated acts of selflessness in chess history. Without Benko’s withdrawal, the legendary run that would make Fischer the World Champion might never have happened. And to top it all off, Benko reconciled with Fischer and became very close friends, later being one of the only people Fischer would talk to from his reclusive home in Iceland.
As the Americans celebrated their triumph, Benko's professional career was slowly coming to a close. Yet even as his window at the World Championship faded, Benko’s passion for chess hadn't yet, and he soon turned his energy to other avenues where he could still have an impact on the game.
As the 1970s quickly passed, Pal Benko's tournament presence was fading more and more. This was due partially to his increasing age, but also because he had another untapped passion he wanted to pursue: Writing.
In 1974, Benko would release his first book aptly titled, "The Benko Gambit". In it, he explored in depth the opening that he had created, providing analysis, illustrative games, and strategic ideas for players looking to adopt the aggressive, counterattacking system. The book quickly became a go-to reference for tournament players and helped cement the Benko Gambit as one of the most respected and widely played openings in chess.
When asked what inspired him to write this book, Benko had this to say:
I desperately wanted a new opening that would allow me to avoid mainstream theory, and would force my opponents to think for themselves. Looking at the ….b7-b5 gambit idea in more detail, I soon realized that I was onto something!
Here was a complete system (against 1.d4) that had no body of theory (thus no memorization!), that was largely unknown (my opponents would not know what was going on), that lent itself well to general ideas and strategic motifs, and that gave black excellent chances in most endgames!
Over the years, Benko’s writing would expand beyond openings. After establishing himself as the authority on the Benko Gambit, he turned his focus to endgame studies and chess compositions, writing countless "Endgame Lab" columns for Chess Life between 1980-2013.
In 1991, Benko would co-author "Winning with Chess Pyschology" with chess book publisher Burt Hochberg. The book was well received among some, praising it's practical insights while others found that the advice was not useful or at best very generic. After the lackluster reception of the book, Benko stuck to his Chess Life columns for the time being.
In these columns, Benko focused primarily on endgame studies and compositions from his own career. Many of his studies first published in Chess Life would later be compiled into books like "Pal Benko’s Endgame Laboratory" (2007), ensuring that his insights reached a wider audience.
While these columns took a deep dive into his reputation as a master of endgames, Benko’s life and career had a story that went far beyond his educational columns. By the late 1990s, Benko and his good friend, the late great Jeremy Silman, had decided to write a biography on Benko's life and career. The book would be 100% Benko's own words and annotations, but Silman would be the one presenting it. The entire process took nearly five years, but in 2003, "Pal Benko: My Life, Games, and Compositions" was released.
The biography was very well received among both audiences and critics who called it his magnum opus. The book would go on to win multiple awards including the British Chess Federation Book of the Year Award. With the success of his biography, Benko's story would be cemented into chess history forever. And with that final success, Pal Benko would eventually bow out from everything including his Chess Life column, which he retired from in 2013.
Most importantly though, Pal Benko had left a lasting legacy to be examined by generations of aspiring players who wanted not just to be great chess players, but great people.
When he retired from Chess Life in 2013, Pal Benko still wrote some pieces from time to time for the magazine up until 2018. In the remaining years of his life, Benko would spend his time traveling the world with his life. His final dream fulfilled. Pal Benko died on August 25th, 2019 at the age of 91. His loss was mourned by chess players around the world. Even though Benko wasn't American by birth, he died an American chess hero. He had repaid the country that gave him freedom by stepping aside so they could have its champion.
Benko truly loved the game of chess, and if you ever come across any of his books you'll be able to tell right away. He contributed to the game in more ways than people recognize. He wasn't just a good player; He was a good person. The way his life started could have given him a number of reasons to give up, but he didn't. There's no doubt in my mind he will continue to inspire young players for years to come, not just through his wins, but through his words. An American chess hero for the ages.
Continue to rest in peace, Pal.
Thank you for reading this post! I hope you enjoyed it and came away with a deeper appreciation for Pal Benko, not just as a chess player but as a man. If you have any questions about the blog or about Benko himself, feel free to put them in the comments below.
As always I really enjoyed myself writing this post. Hopefully I'll be writing more historical posts as 2026 rolls by. Since I'm writing for BlogChamps currently, you'll see frequent posts from me, at least for the time being. But for now, that'll be it for me. See you in the next post!
- @HornetCruise
