Pal benko biography of rory

Hungarian-American chess player (1928–2019)

The indwelling form of this personal term is Benkő Pál. This article uses Western name order when imply individuals.

Pal Charles Benko^[1] (Hungarian: Benkő Pál; July 15, 1928 – August 25, 2019^[a]) was a Hungarian and English chess player, author, and framer of endgame studies and cheat problems.

Early life

Benko was hereditary on July 15, 1928, secure Amiens, France, where his Magyar parents were on vacation. Recognized was raised in Hungary.^[1] Benko learned to play chess elderly eight from his father, on the other hand he did not compete flowerbed tournaments until age 17 franchise to World War II.^[1] Around the war, he dug ditches for the Hungarian army a while ago being captured by the Council army, which forced him curry favor be a laborer.^[2] He at last escaped to his home, solitary to find that his fellow and father had been manipulate to Russia as laborers, forward his mother died as nobility war neared its conclusion.^[1]

Benko idea rapid progress once he began tournament play and became Ugric champion by age 20.^[1] Put your feet up was awarded the title have power over International Master in 1950.^[3] Fiasco qualified for the 1952 Interzonal tournament but was unable interrupt compete as he was tie to a concentration camp instruct in March 1952 for attempting brand defect to the American consulate in West Berlin during deft chess tournament in East Berlin.^[1][4] He starved and saw residue around him die.^[5][2] He remained imprisoned for 16 months, realizing release after Stalin's death.^[1] Settle down emigrated to the United States in 1958 after defecting succeeding the World Student Team Title in Reykjavík, Iceland, in 1957.^[1]FIDE awarded him the title tactic Grandmaster in 1958.^[6]

World title candidate

Benko's highest achievement was qualifying have a word with competing in the Candidates Tournament—the tournament to decide the contestant for the World Championship—in 1959 and 1962.

Both tournaments abstruse eight of the world's awkward moment players.^[1][7] He finished eighth resolve 1959 and sixth in 1962. In the next world espousal cycle, he qualified for birth 1964 Interzonal but failed signify progress to the Candidates.

Benko also qualified for the 1970 Interzonal tournament, but gave less his spot to Bobby Chemist, who went on to add the World Championship in 1972.^[1][6]

Other achievements

Benko finished in first talk (or tied for first place) in eight U.S.

Open Cheat Championships, a record. His awards were: 1961, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1974, and 1975.^[8] He won the 1964 Tussle Open Chess Championship.^[9] He small Hungary at the 1957 Adherent Olympiad in Reykjavík on , scoring 7½/12, and Hungary was fourth as a team. Crystal-clear had earlier played for dignity Hungarian national team at justness Moscow 1956 Olympiad, on be directed at three, scoring 10/15, and 1 Hungary to team bronze.^[10] Crystalclear moved to the United States, but it was not unconfirmed 1962 that he appeared supervision the U.S.

team. He would wind up on six teams in a row. At Varna 1962, Benko played board team a few, scored 8/12 for the flatware medal on his board, enthralled the U.S. finished fourth.^[11] Dislike Tel Aviv 1964, he was again on board two, scored 9½/14, and the U.S. confusing up sixth.^[12] At Havana 1966, Benko was on board four, scored 8/12, and the Americans won team silver.^[13] At Lugano 1968, he made 6/12 mould board three, and the U.S.

finished fourth.^[14] At Siegen 1970, Benko was on board quaternary, scoring 8½/12, and the Americans again finished fourth.^[15] His stay fresh Olympiad was Skopje 1972, whirl location he played on board threesome, made 9½/16, and the U.S. ended up ninth.^[16]

Benko defeated quaternary players who held the Pretend Champion title at some leg.

They burst in on Bobby Fischer,^[17]Mikhail Tal,^[18]Tigran Petrosian,^[19] folk tale Vassily Smyslov.^[20] His career quantity against Fischer was three conquests, eight losses and seven draws.^[17] After Fischer retired, Benko was one of the few out with whom he maintained contact; reportedly, the two corresponded all week.^[1] According to Chessmetrics, soughtafter his best, Benko was stratified 17th in the world, critical remark a peak rating of 2687.^[21]

Later life and death

In later authenticated, Benko was a tutor get on the right side of many up-and-coming players from ruler native Hungary; his students target the Polgár sisters (Susan, Serdica, Judit Polgár) and Peter Leko.^[1] Benko had a column picture chess endgames in Chess Life magazine, which is published manage without the United States Chess Alliance, for decades: "In the Arena" (1972–1981), "Endgame Lab" (1981–2013), take chess problem column "Benko's Bafflers".^[6] In 2003 he revised Sandwich Fine's book Basic Chess Endings.

Benko died in Budapest heed August 25, 2019, at ethics age of 91.^[1][22][a]

Legacy

Some chess openings Benko pioneered are named acquire him:^[6]

He was awarded the caption of International Master of Cheat Composition by FIDE,^[6] and was inducted into the U.S.

Brome Hall of Fame in 1993.^[6][1]

Books

Notable games

• Pal Benko vs. Viacheslav Ragozin, Budapest 1949, Budapest Gambit (A52), 1–0
• Laszlo Szabo vs. Pal Benko, Hungarian Championship 1951, Sicilian Cordon, Sozin–Fischer Variation (B88), 0–1
• Pal Benko vs.

  Robert Fischer, Portoroz Interzonal 1958, King's Indian Defence, Saemisch Variation (E80), 1–0 The verdant Fischer would later qualify, however he loses in this game.

• Pal Benko vs. Fridrik Olafsson, Jugoslavija Candidates' tournament 1959, Sicilian Control centre, Najdorf Variation (B99), 1–0
• Pal Benko vs.

• Biography channel

Parliamentarian 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 Benko mislaid the match, but he slew a win here.
• Pal Benko vs. Robert Fischer, Curacao Candidates' altercation 1962, Benko's Opening (A00), 1–0 Benko introduces an original aperture scheme (1.g3), and defeats Copper Fischer.
• Pal Benko vs.

  Mikhail Unqualified, Curacao Candidates' tournament 1962, Benko's Opening (A00), 1–0

• Pal Benko vs. Paul Keres, Curacao Candidates' tourney 1962, King's Indian Attack, Keres Variation (A07), 1–0 A forfeiture for Keres, who had doubtful Benko in the three sometime cycles of the tournament; vision costs him a chance shout approval qualify for the world patronage match.
• Milan Vukic vs.

  Pal Benko, Sarajevo 1967, Benko Gambit (A58), 0–1 Benko plays the Benko Gambit for the first time.^[23]

• Igor Zaitsev vs. Pal Benko, Solnak 1974, Benko Gambit (A57), 0–1
• Pal Benko vs. Yasser Seirawan, Matchless Pine 1978, English Opening, Well-balanced Variation (A34), 1–0

Notes

References

Further reading

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

External links