Introduction
When Benko first introduced the idea of playing b5 to disrupt white’s central control in a typical Benoni position, the idea was new, seldom played and barely theoretically explored. Pal Benko, being one of the best theoreticians at the time, continued to develop it. Today, after years of research and thousands of master games, the Benko Gambit is widely accepted as a main-line opening, akin to the King’s Indian or the modern Benoni – a dynamic way to play for a win with black.
In the first book of the two-volume set, Vassilios Kotronian and Mikhail Ivanov cover the Accepted Benko in detail. In addition to theory, they did something not many opening books have. The book contains 300 typical endgame positions as well as all important tabiya positions and structures needed to understand how to play the Benko. Those two segments alone are enough to get you further than most club players will ever go in understanding an opening.
“An impressive work by excellent authors. I particularly like the QuickStarter! Section and the chapter on the endgames arising out of the Benko Gambit.” – GM Lev Alburt
The thing about the Benko is that its reputation is very wrong. Players who play 1.d4 consider it a sideline or a risky defense at best. They couldn’t be more wrong. The Benko is dynamic, but very positional in nature, and not risky for black in the least. By sacrificing one queenside pawn to open crucial lines for both rooks, the queen, and the g7-bishop, and has a very safe king, whereas white struggles to hold on to the pawn and to keep strategic equality due to the supreme activity of the black pieces.
I’ve been playing main-line d4 for years now, and there are very few openings I hate facing. The Benko is by far the worst. I’ve recently gone over Squeezing the Gambits by Georgiev, a book I would recommend to any d4 player and anyone who plays the Benko, the Budapest, the Albin, or the Blumenfeld. I read it in order to learn how to fight four annoying gambits I face almost more frequently than the main lines. Georgiev recommends the declined Benko with Nf3 instead of immediately taking on b5. I’ve started employing his strategy and had much better results since (1/1 in tournament games).
The Benko Accepted has been my archenemy for years. I remember being crushed against an 1800 in the Barcelona Sants Open in 2023 despite having great prep and understanding (or so I thought) the middlegames I get out of the opening. Accepting the Gambit leads to wild positions in which it feels like black always has more to play for. So I stopped taking on b5.
The Benko Bible isn’t a book written for white or black. It covers ideas for both sides, although emphasizing black’s potential more. It covers every important variation, middlegame strategy and endgame structure you could get from the opening. A remarkable book which will arm you to the teeth regardless of whether you play or face this incredibly rich opening.
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About the Authors
Vassilios Kotronias is a Greek Grandmaster and a prolific chess author. He has won the Greek Championship 10 times and played for the national team on countless occasions. He is a renowned opening theoretician and a very respected author, whose books never fail to deliver quality and instructive content. His best book yet, in my opinion, is The Exchange Sacrifice according to Tigran Petrosian.
Mikhail Ivanov is a Russian-Serbian Grandmaster and a chess coach. He has worked with GM Kotronias on several books.
Structure of the Book
The Benko Bible is divided into three main sections: tabiya positions, theory, and typical endgames. It begins with the Quickstarter and the tabiya positions, in which Kotronian covers 11 tabiya positions – key structures for understanding the accepted gambit.
Each of the 11 tabiyas is then explained in detail in the quickstarter, my favorite part of the book. Without ever going over the theory, and by reading the first 30 or so pages alone, and learning about the key tabiyas, you’d become ready to play the Benko.
The second part of the book is the theory. 400 pages of variations, ideas, structures, tactical motifs, and middlegame patterns divided into 11 chapters by theme and topical variations. Each chapter covers a main branch of the Benko, such as the fianchetto variation, the zaitsev, the 5.f3, and so on.
The final section covers 318 typical Benko endgames. I cannot emphasize enough just how unique and incredibly useful this part of the book is. By adding the tabiyas and the endgames, the authors have managed to create not just an opening book, but a true bible that covers the opening lines, the middlegames and the endgames of the Benko Gambit.
Tabiya Positions
My favorite part, and the most instructive part of the Benko Bible are the 11 tabiyas explained at the beginning. Each important position is explained in detail, with structural nuances, piece positioning, tactical motifs and potential problems for both sides.
Tabiya 6, which arises after 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. bxa6 g6 6. Nc3 Bxa6 7. e4 Bxf1 8. Kxf1 d6 9. g3 Bg7 10. Kg2 O-O 11. Nf3 Nbd7 is a position I have had in maaany tournament and endless training games. I wish I had been able to read the section on it two years ago. It would have saved me about 50 rating points. Each tabiya comes with detailed annotations and three types of comments by the authors; implementation, important remarks, and solutions to potential issues.
That kind of structure makes it very easy to understand key elements of each structure and position. For tabiya 6, Kotronias writes: “White’s main plan is to neutralize our queenside counterplay. He will most commonly resort to a4, Qe2, Nc3-b5 and Ra4. If black fails to confront that idea he will be slowly suffocated.” What he wrote is exactly what I have been playing against the Benko for years. This game, again, is the best example of how that plan could go wrong. Then they go on to explain how black can fight against that plan, and introduce numerous interesting ideas for the structure.
The tabiyas and their explanations are a goldmine. I wish there was a similar section written by Kotronias and Ivanov on every opening in chess.
Endgame Positions
Another wonderful thing about the Benko Bible is the endgame segment, something that opening books seldom or never contain. The authors cover 318 typical Benko endgames.
Analyzing them would prepare you for any eventuality and make you much better at understanding what each side is playing for in the Benko. They aren’t annotated in detail, and that’s the biggest downside of the section, albeit somewhat irrelevant, since you should analyze them yourself in order to understand them anyway.
Quality of Annotations
The Benko Bible is not divided into games. Instead, the main body of the book, the theory, spans over 400 pages of sometimes mindnumbing variations and annotations explaining the critical moments, important ideas, and the theory.
The annotations are good, albeit less detailed than I’d like. Still, expecting someone to annotate each move for thousands of variations is not likely. The variations and moves that have been described, have been described well, in a way most advanced players could easily follow.
Difficulty and Target Audience
This is a very advanced opening book. I think no one below 1800 FIDE should touch it, nor would they have a need to study it. It covers theory and middlegame ideas on a level beginners could follow, but expecting your opponents to even reach the positions the book teaches is very unlikely on lower levels. You will need a board to follow the theory. I used two boards in fact, when I was going over the main body of the book. There are numerous sidelines and I found it useful to have a board on which I would set up the main line, and a separate one for analyzing the sidelines.
Conclusion
The best book on the Benko ever written by far. No contest. It’s also one of the best opening books I’ve held in my hands as well. It’s not beginner-friendly or an easy read. It requires hard labour to go over but if you manage to do it, you will reap the benefits for years. The Benko Bible alone will equip you with a weapon so powerful that you will be better out of the opening in most d4 games.
