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Pal Benko

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The native form of thispersonal nameisBenkő Pál.This article usesWestern name orderwhen mentioning individuals.
Pal Benko
Benko in 1964
Full namePal Charles Benko
Country
  • Hungary (before 1962)
  • United States (from 1962)
Born(1928-07-15)July 15, 1928
Amiens,France
DiedAugust 25, 2019(2019-08-25)(aged 91)[a]
Budapest,Hungary
TitleGrandmaster(1958)
Peak rating2530 (July 1973)

Pal Charles Benko[1](Hungarian:Benkő Pál;July 15, 1928 – August 25, 2019[a]) was a Hungarian and American chess player, author, andcomposerofendgame studiesandchess problems.

Early life

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Benko was born on July 15, 1928, inAmiens,France, where his Hungarian parents were on vacation. He was raised inHungary.[1]Benko learned to play chess aged eight from his father, but he did not compete in tournaments until age 17 due to World War II.[1]During the war, he dug ditches for the Hungarian army before being captured by the Soviet army, which forced him to be a laborer.[2]He eventually escaped to his home, only to find that his brother and father had been sent to Russia as laborers, and his mother died as the war neared its conclusion.[1]

Benko made rapid progress once he began tournament play and becameHungarian championby age 20.[1]He was awarded the title ofInternational Masterin 1950.[3]He qualified for the1952 Interzonal tournamentbut was unable to compete as he was sent to a concentration camp in March 1952 for attempting todefectto the American embassy in West Berlin during a chess tournament in East Berlin.[1][4]He starved and saw others around him die.[5][2]He remained imprisoned for 16 months, attaining release after Stalin's death.[1]He emigrated to the United States in 1958 after defecting following the World Student Team Championship inReykjavík,Iceland, in 1957.[1]FIDEawarded him the title ofGrandmasterin 1958.[6]

World title candidate

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Benko's highest achievement was qualifying and competing in theCandidates Tournament—the tournament to decide the challenger for theWorld Championship—in1959and1962.Both tournaments had eight of the world's top players.[1][7]He finished eighth in 1959 and sixth in 1962. In the next world championship cycle, he qualified for the1964 Interzonalbut failed to progress to the Candidates.

Benko also qualified for the1970 Interzonaltournament, but gave up his spot toBobby Fischer,who went on to win theWorld Championship in 1972.[1][6]

Other achievements

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Benko finished in first place (or tied for first place) in eightU.S. Open Chess Championships,a record. His titles were: 1961, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1974, and 1975.[8]He won the 1964Canadian Open Chess Championship.[9]He represented Hungary at the 1957 Student Olympiad inReykjavíkonboard one,scoring 7½/12, and Hungary was fourth as a team. He had earlier played for the Hungarian national team at theMoscow 1956 Olympiad,on board three, scoring 10/15, and helping Hungary to team bronze.[10]He moved to the United States, but it was not until 1962 that he appeared on the U.S. team. He would wind up on six teams in a row. AtVarna 1962,Benko played board two, scored 8/12 for the silver medal on his board, and the U.S. finished fourth.[11]AtTel Aviv 1964,he was again on board two, scored 9½/14, and the U.S. ended up sixth.[12]AtHavana 1966,Benko was on board three, scored 8/12, and the Americans won team silver.[13]AtLugano 1968,he made 6/12 on board three, and the U.S. finished fourth.[14]AtSiegen 1970,Benko was on board four, scoring 8½/12, and the Americans again finished fourth.[15]His last Olympiad wasSkopje 1972,where he played on board three, made 9½/16, and the U.S. ended up ninth.[16]

Benko defeated four players who held the World Champion title at some point. They areBobby Fischer,[17]Mikhail Tal,[18]Tigran Petrosian,[19]andVassily Smyslov.[20]His career score against Fischer was three wins, eight losses and seven draws.[17]After Fischer retired, Benko was one of the few players with whom he maintained contact; reportedly, the two corresponded every week.[1]According toChessmetrics,at his best, Benko was ranked 17th in the world, with a peak rating of 2687.[21]

Later life and death

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In later life, Benko was a tutor to many up-and-coming players from his native Hungary; his students included the Polgár sisters (Susan,Sofia,Judit Polgár) andPeter Leko.[1]Benko had a column onchess endgamesinChess Lifemagazine, which is published by theUnited States Chess Federation,for decades: "In the Arena" (1972–1981), "Endgame Lab" (1981–2013), and chess problem column "Benko's Bafflers".[6]In 2003 he revisedReuben Fine's bookBasic Chess Endings.Benko died in Budapest on August 25, 2019, at the age of 91.[1][22][a]

Legacy

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This section usesalgebraic notationto describe chess moves.
Benko in 2005 with theBenko Gambitposition

Somechess openingsBenko pioneered arenamedfor him:[6]

He was awarded the title of International Master of Chess Composition byFIDE,[6]and was inducted into theU.S. Chess Hall of Famein 1993.[6][1]

Books

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  • The Benko Gambit.1974. RHM Press.ISBN0-713-42912-7
  • Winning with Chess Psychologyby Pal Benko and Burt Hochberg. 1991. Random House Puzzles & GamesISBN0-8129-1866-5
  • Basic Chess EndingsbyReuben Fine,revised by Pal Benko. 2003. Random House Puzzles & GamesISBN0-8129-3493-8
  • Pal Benko: My Life, Games and Compositionsby Pal Benko,Jeremy Silman,andJohn L. Watson.2004. Siles Press.ISBN1-890085-08-1
  • Pal Benko's Endgame Laboratory.2007. Ishi Press.ISBN978-0-923891-88-6

Notable games

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Notes

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  1. ^abcThe New York Timesstates that Benko died "on Monday" (in other words, August 26).[1]However, according toChessBase,Benko's wife wrote toFrederic Friedel:"Dear Frederic, sorry, my husband could not write to you, because he died on 25 of August."[22]

References

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  1. ^abcdefghijklmnoMcClain, Dylan Loeb (August 25, 2019)."Pal Benko, Who Stepped Aside for Bobby Fischer, Dies at 91".The New York Times.Archived fromthe originalon August 26, 2019.
  2. ^abBenko, Pal. Silman, Jeremy.Pal Benko: My Life, Games, and Compositions.Siles Press.ISBN978-1890085087(2004)
  3. ^"Pal Benko's rating card".FIDE.Archivedfrom the original on August 27, 2019.RetrievedSeptember 5,2019.
  4. ^Zeller, Frank (July 15, 2018)."Pal Benko celebrates his 90th birthday".ChessBase.
  5. ^The Early Life of Pal Benko,chess
  6. ^abcdefgh"Pal Benko".World Chess Hall of Fame.March 23, 2017. Archived fromthe originalon August 28, 2019.RetrievedAugust 28,2019.
  7. ^"Pal Benko dies aged 91".Chess24.RetrievedAugust 27,2019.
  8. ^"Yearbook"(PDF).USchess.org.2016. Archived fromthe original(PDF)on December 5, 2018.RetrievedAugust 28,2019.
  9. ^"Canadian Championship History".Chess.ca.Archived fromthe originalon August 28, 2019.RetrievedAugust 28,2019.
  10. ^"12th Chess Olympiad, Moscow 1956, Group 4 standings".Olimpbase.org.Archived fromthe originalon October 8, 2017.RetrievedAugust 28,2019.
  11. ^"15th Chess Olympiad, Varna 1962, Group 2 standings".Olimpbase.org.Archived fromthe originalon October 9, 2017.RetrievedAugust 28,2019.
  12. ^"16th Chess Olympiad, Tel Aviv 1964, Group 4 standings".Olimpbase.org.Archived fromthe originalon August 11, 2019.RetrievedAugust 28,2019.
  13. ^"17th Chess Olympiad, Havana 1966, Group 3 standings".Olimpbase.org.Archived fromthe originalon November 28, 2018.RetrievedAugust 28,2019.
  14. ^"18th Chess Olympiad, Lugano 1968, Group 2 standings".Olimpbase.org.Archived fromthe originalon May 6, 2016.RetrievedAugust 28,2019.
  15. ^"19th Chess Olympiad, Siegen 1970, Group 3 standings".Olimpbase.org.Archived fromthe originalon February 16, 2018.RetrievedAugust 28,2019.
  16. ^"20th Chess Olympiad, Skopje 1972, Group 8 standings".Olimpbase.org.Archived fromthe originalon January 10, 2018.RetrievedAugust 28,2019.
  17. ^abCHESSGAMES.COM * Chess game search engine – Games where Pal Benko defeated Robert James Fischer
  18. ^CHESSGAMES.COM * Chess game search engine – Games where Pal Benko defeated Mikhail Tal
  19. ^CHESSGAMES.COM * Chess game search engine – Games where Pal Benko defeated Tigran Petrosian
  20. ^CHESSGAMES.COM * Chess game search engine – Games where Pal Benko defeated Vassily Smyslov
  21. ^Chessmetrics Player Profile: Pal Benko
  22. ^abFriedel, Frederic(August 27, 2019)."Pál Benkö dies at 91".ChessBase.Archivedfrom the original on August 28, 2019.
  23. ^Benko Counter-Gambit,David Levy,(Batsford, 1978), p.11

Further reading

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  • Benko's Ultimate Truth,by Diana Mihajlova,Chess Life,Oct. 2013, pp. 36–40.
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