Pal Benko facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Pal Benko |
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Benko in 1964
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| Full name | Pál C. Benkő |
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| Born | July 15, 1928 Amiens, France |
| Died | August 25, 2019 (aged 91) Budapest, Hungary |
| Title | Grandmaster (1958) |
| Peak rating | 2530 (July 1973) |
Pál C. Benkő (born July 15, 1928 – died August 25, 2019) was a famous chess player. He was born in France to Hungarian parents but grew up in Hungary. Later, he became an American citizen. Pál Benkő was also a talented writer and a composer who created interesting chess puzzles and problems.
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Early Life and Challenges
Pál Benkő was born on July 15, 1928, in Amiens, France. His family was on vacation there from Hungary. He grew up in Hungary. Pál learned chess from his father when he was eight years old. However, he could not play in tournaments until he was 17 because of World War II.
During the war, he had to dig ditches for the Hungarian army. He was later captured by the Soviet army and forced to work. He managed to escape and return home. Sadly, he found that his brother and father had been sent to Russia for labor. His mother also passed away as the war ended.
Becoming a Chess Master
Once Pál Benkő started playing in tournaments, he quickly became very good. By the age of 20, he was the Hungarian chess champion. In 1950, he earned the title of International Master.
He qualified for a big tournament in 1952, the Interzonal tournament. But he could not play. He was sent to a camp in March 1952 for trying to leave Hungary and go to the American embassy in West Berlin. He was held for 16 months. After the leader Stalin died, Pál was released.
In 1958, he moved to the United States. This happened after he left Hungary during a chess tournament in Iceland in 1957. In 1958, FIDE, the world chess organization, gave him the title of Grandmaster.
Competing for the World Title
One of Pál Benkő's biggest achievements was playing in the Candidates Tournament. This tournament decides who will challenge the current World Champion. He played in these important tournaments in 1959 and 1962. Both tournaments featured eight of the best chess players in the world. He finished eighth in 1959 and sixth in 1962.
Pál Benkő also qualified for the 1970 Interzonal tournament. But he gave his spot to another famous player, Bobby Fischer. Bobby Fischer then went on to win the World Championship in 1972.
Other Chess Successes
Pál Benkő won or tied for first place in the U.S. Open Chess Championship eight times. This is a record! He won in 1961, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1974, and 1975. He also won the 1964 Canadian Open Chess Championship.
He played for Hungary's national team at the 1956 Chess Olympiad in Moscow. His team won a bronze medal. After moving to the U.S., he played for the American team in six Olympiads in a row, starting in 1962. At the Havana 1966 Olympiad, the American team won a silver medal.
Pál Benkő managed to beat four players who later became World Champions. These were Bobby Fischer, Mikhail Tal, Tigran Petrosian, and Vassily Smyslov. He and Bobby Fischer stayed in touch even after Fischer stopped playing chess. At his best, Pál Benkő was ranked among the top 20 players in the world.
Later Life and Legacy
In his later years, Pál Benkő helped coach many young chess players from Hungary. Some of his students included the famous Polgár sisters (Susan, Sofia, and Judit Polgár) and Peter Leko.
Pál Benkő also wrote columns for Chess Life magazine for many years. He wrote about chess endgames (the final part of a chess game) and chess puzzles. In 2003, he helped update a famous chess book called Basic Chess Endings. Pál Benkő passed away on August 25, 2019, in Budapest, at the age of 91.
Chess Openings Named After Benkő
| This section uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves. |
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Some chess openings (the first moves of a chess game) are named after Pál Benkő:
- The Benko Gambit (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5): He made this opening very popular and used it successfully from the mid-1960s.
- Benko's Opening (1.g3): He first used this opening at the 1962 Candidates Tournament. He even used it to beat Bobby Fischer and Mikhail Tal in those games!
Pál Benkő was also given the title of International Master of Chess Composition by FIDE. In 1993, he was added to the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame.
Books
- The Benko Gambit. 1974. RHM Press. ISBN: 0-713-42912-7
- Winning with Chess Psychology by Pal Benko and Burt Hochberg. 1991. Random House Puzzles & Games ISBN: 0-8129-1866-5
- Basic Chess Endings by Reuben Fine, revised by Pal Benko. 2003. Random House Puzzles & Games ISBN: 0-8129-3493-8
- Pal Benko: My Life, Games and Compositions by Pal Benko, Jeremy Silman, and John L. Watson. 2004. Siles Press. ISBN: 1-890085-08-1
- Pal Benko's Endgame Laboratory. 2007. Ishi Press. ISBN: 978-0-923891-88-6
Notable Games
- Pal Benko vs. Viacheslav Ragozin, Budapest 1949, Budapest Gambit (A52), 1–0
- Laszlo Szabo vs. Pal Benko, Hungarian Championship 1951, Sicilian Defence, Sozin–Fischer Variation (B88), 0–1
- Pal Benko vs. Robert Fischer, Portoroz Interzonal 1958, King's Indian Defence, Saemisch Variation (E80), 1–0
- Pal Benko vs. Fridrik Olafsson, Yugoslavia Candidates' tournament 1959, Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation (B99), 1–0
- Pal Benko vs. Robert Fischer, Buenos Aires 1960, King's Indian Defence, Fianchetto Variation (E62), 1–0
- Pal Benko vs. Samuel Reshevsky, New York match 1960, Grunfeld Defence (D76), 1–0
- Pal Benko vs. Robert Fischer, Curacao Candidates' tournament 1962, Benko's Opening (A00), 1–0
- Pal Benko vs. Mikhail Tal, Curacao Candidates' tournament 1962, Benko's Opening (A00), 1–0
- Pal Benko vs. Paul Keres, Curacao Candidates' tournament 1962, King's Indian Attack, Keres Variation (A07), 1–0
- Milan Vukic vs. Pal Benko, Sarajevo 1967, Benko Gambit (A58), 0–1
- Igor Zaitsev vs. Pal Benko, Solnak 1974, Benko Gambit (A57), 0–1
- Pal Benko vs. Yasser Seirawan, Lone Pine 1978, English Opening, Symmetrical Variation (A34), 1–0
See also
In Spanish: Pal Benko para niños
