A Detailed Guide to the Benko Gambit

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The Benko Gambit is one of the most aggressive ways to play the Benoni, one of the most popular, most interesting, most offensive, and, at the same time, riskiest defenses black could choose to play against d4. For an introduction to the Benoni, watch this video on the basics:    • Introduction to the Benoni Defense  

The Benko Gambit, also known as the Volga Gambit, is an opening that branches out of the Benoni Defense, in which black quickly gives up his b5 pawn, thus trying to weaken white’s central control and develop the initiative very early on in the game.

The opening was named after Pal Benko, one of its biggest exponents. It has been played by some of the best tacticians in the history of the game – Kasparov, Tal, Topalov, Shirov, Ivanchuk, and many others.

In compensation for the pawn, black gets active play on the queenside, especially on the semi-open a file. He also gets an easier game generally, with the initiative being in his favor, since white had to take time to capture the pawn.

White has an extra pawn, first of all. Furthermore, since he now has more queenside pawns, he has a chance of creating a passer on the a file. He also gets to play for the center, with e4 and e5, and an easier attack on black’s king since the black pieces will usually be on the queenside.

That means that it’s an interesting opening with both sides having something to play for.

White can choose to accept or decline the gambit, which is the main branching in the Benko. I have covered all the main variations in both options. You can find the video timings for each below.

08:45 Benko Gambit Declined

Benko Gambit Accepted:

21:20 Fully Accepted Variation
31:55 Pawn Return Variation
39:15 Modern Variation
49:59 Dlugy Variation
54:13 Zaitsev System

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