Botvinik once said ,when asked if an opening is good, ''if it works,it's good.''
Therefore, whether at club level or GM level, if a player plays a sound opening,understands it,suits him and does well in practice, it is good.
Is the Czech Benoni good/sound?
Sort:
Computers hate the Czech Benoni because they put a premium on space. I don't see why anyone playing black would like the Czech Benoni because unlike the Modern Benoni there aren't any open lines for black. In the Modern Benoni black plays on the e file and the c file and has a great dark squared bishop. What does black have in the Czech Benoni? For a long while ... not much.
Oct 24, 2022
0
#45
I looked at this for a while, no expert by any means. But if you want a closed centre why not go for the stonewall dutch since it both scores better and the computer is a bigger fan of?
Oct 24, 2022
0
#46
MisterOakwood wrote:
I looked at this for a while, no expert by any means. But if you want a closed centre why not go for the stonewall dutch since it both scores better and the computer is a bigger fan of?
I've never understood why someone would want to play 1.e4 as white. If you were going to put a pawn in the centre on move 1 why not play 1.d4 which scores better?
Oct 24, 2022
0
#47
Post #50 is basically right though. Czech Benoni is sound, but not good. In contrast, the related 1...c5 2.d5 e5 is not sound, and if you don't understand the difference between the two, then you shouldn't be playing either.
Oct 25, 2022
0
#48
Its just really hard to play at a high level. Engines hate it, and when you get an eval of 1.6+, you begin wondering if god just gave his judgement or its just a very uncomfortable draw. Then there is the fact that it cant be played like a system without getting in trouble, and to play certain ideas (like be7-bg5) accurately, you need to keep track of so many exceptions, you may as well learn a mainstream opening for all that effort.
its simply the kind of defense where white can play like 3 inaccuracies in 10 moves and still not be worse than black
Oct 25, 2022
0
#49
Yea, I’ve been running into that problem recently at ~2000+ online and have pretty much stopped playing it in long time controls now. White just gets a better position (objectively) every time, and experience isn’t enough to combat that.
still one of my favorite openings but…
Oct 25, 2022
0
#50
ninjaswat wrote:
Yea, I’ve been running into that problem recently at ~2000+ online and have pretty much stopped playing it in long time controls now. White just gets a better position (objectively) every time, and experience isn’t enough to combat that.
still one of my favorite openings but…
yeah its a shame because i like defenses where white gets the space advantage and black gets counterattacking chances for it ,but one thing such defenses have is that 1. black gets a piece majority on the side where his pawn counterattack is focused (Think french on queenside, KID on kingside) or 2. like in the black knights tango, he gets really well played pieces around the holes in the center
But czech benoni provides neither! no piece really gets an ideal spot nor does he have a majority in either side so his resources are divided between the f-thrust and the a6-b5 thrust.
Oct 25, 2022
0
#51
Is there any other way to force a closed positional game against d4 except the czech, stonewall or QGD/semislav?
May 12, 2023
0
#52
Started a daily tournament with Czech Benoni https://www.chess.com/tournament/czech-benoni-1-d4-nf6-2-c4-c5-3-d5-e5
could the Czech benoni be compared to something like the Sveshnikov sicilian? where black puts everything and sacs for an attack?
Jun 13, 2023
0
#54
mrOpenRuy skrev:
could the Czech benoni be compared to something like the Sveshnikov sicilian? where black puts everything and sacs for an attack?
The Czech benoni is much more positional than the Sveshnikov. You wont win by attacking white in the Czech.
MisterOakwood wrote:
mrOpenRuy skrev:
could the Czech benoni be compared to something like the Sveshnikov sicilian? where black puts everything and sacs for an attack?
The Czech benoni is much more positional than the Sveshnikov. You wont win by attacking white in the Czech.
It's the opposite. Czech Benoni is primarily designed to attack whites King. The locking of the center is the preparation for a kingside pawn storm.
I'm interested in the Czech Benoni and will definitely look at Palliser and Hoffman's books on the topic. It seems like an interesting opening that is neglected at lower levels of play. Familiarity with the plans should give most players an edge over their opponents.