"Forget openings and play good moves."
I believe it was Portisch that said:
A mistake in the opening you can recover from. A mistake in the middlegame will hurt you. A mistake in the endgame will kill you.
I think these are two excellent quotes that point out the importance of the opening, compared to the middle, and endgame.
Playing the Benko is easy:
1. Take some time studying the fundamental Benko pawn structure. The best book I know on the issue is an old one.
http://www.amazon.com/Mastering-Modern-Benoni-Macmillan-Library/dp/0020080913
2. If you expect wild tactics and sacrificial play, then this opening will dissapoint you. It's very far from it. The Benko is at heart a quiet, positional opening, with few "traps"- actually the biggest Benko trap is tricking white into a favourable endgame.
3. Improve your endgame technique. You will not go anywhere with the Benko if you don't have good endgame skills.
4. After you are familiar with the above, you can study some subtleties of the opening. The best book I know is Aveskulov's "Attack with Black".
The opening is 100% sound. I have played it more than 40 times, both OTB and correspondence (engine aided) games, and I have never lost a game with it. The opening basis is absolutely healthy- you just have to know what you are doing.
Thank You pfren!
I will be checking those books out.
All your comments are in vain. theCman has decided not to play the Benko. I've enjoyed the conversation with you all.
To the OP...theCman558,
Now that you have seen that chess openings, like politics, and religion, can be very polarizing. And just like those things, you will need to decide for yourself, what you want to believe. Whatever opening you decide on, have fun, good luck, and maybe we will meet OTB sometime. Keep me updated on your progress.