Benko Gambit

What is the Benko Gambit?

The Benko Gambit begins 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5. You offer a queenside pawn to open the a- and b-files, and in the main line, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.bxa6 Bxa6, you get quick development, a bishop on g7 and lasting pressure on White's queenside. It is a positional gambit: you play for steady compensation that often lasts into the endgame, not for a quick mating attack. It is a respected, mainstream answer to 1.d4, also known as the Volga Gambit.

Main ideas and plans

Your set-up hardly changes: ...d6, ...g6, ...Bg7, castling, ...Nbd7, the queen to a5 or b6 and the rooks on a8 and b8. The g7-bishop bears down on b2, the rooks press along the open files and the knights head for b6, c4 or e5. In the King Walk Variation, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.bxa6 g6 6.Nc3 Bxa6 7.Nf3 d6 8.e4 Bxf1 9.Kxf1 Bg7 10.g3 O-O 11.Kg2, White gives up castling after the bishop trade and tucks the king on g2; in the Fianchetto Variation White puts the king's bishop on g2 instead. Either way White dreams of a timely e4 and e5, so keep an eye on the e5 square.

Many opponents decline or return the pawn. The Modern Variation, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.e3, develops calmly and gives the pawn back on White's terms, the Pawn Return Variation returns it at once with b6 to blunt your play, and the Dlugy Variation prepares e4 with f3. The sharpest try is the Zaitsev System, 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 4.cxb5 a6 5.Nc3 axb5 6.e4 b4 7.Nb5, where the Nescafe Frappe Attack adds Bc4. Against quiet declines on move four, such as Nf3, a4 (the Sosonko Variation) or Bg5, keep the queenside tension and you usually reach a comfortable Benoni-like game.

Who is it for?

The Benko suits patient, positional players who like long-term pressure and are happy to play endgames a pawn down. The plans repeat from game to game, so it is quicker to learn than its long variation list suggests, but a well-prepared opponent can return the pawn and leave you fighting for equality, and it only arises if White plays c4 on move two. Start with the standard piece set-up and doubling rooks on the a- and b-files, then study endgames where pressure on a2 and b2 wins the pawn back.