Hamilton Chess Club

Last night Matt entertained us with the Benko Gambit. The Benko Gambit is characterised by the move 3…b5 in the Benoni Defense (1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5). When White accepts with 4.cxb5 we are entering into a lively encounter as Black will almost certainly come back with 4…a6 offering the second pawn. If White accepts this (he will often refuse playing 5.b6 instead) we are in true Benko territory. Before long we have Bxa6 and the gloves are off. White’s main dilemma is what to do on his kingside. Playing his pawn to e4 has the drawback of the light-square bishop exchange where he will lose the right to castle. Now he’s in the King Walk Variation where he will lose a number of moves getting his king safe and developing his rook. This is the variation we played last night. Richard, Daniel, and Graham now lead on 5 points. The crosstable has been updated. Richard has volunteered to bring along an opening for the final two rounds next week.