The Modern Benoni was invented in 1927 by Frank Marshall at the New York Chess Tournament. Marshall played it twice, first for a draw against Capablanca, and again later losing to Aron Nimzowitsch whom labeled the Modern Benoni an “unfortunate extravagance” in his annotations. In the 1950s interest in the system revived, as the King’s Indian Defense gained in popularity among Soviet players and their investigations branched into related opening systems such as the Benoni.
Modern Themes in the Benoni
The Modern Benoni was invented in 1927 by Frank Marshall at the New York Chess Tournament. Marshall played it twice, first for a draw against Capablanca, and again later losing to Aron Nimzowitsch who labeled the Modern Benoni an “unfortunate extravagance” in his annotations. In the 1950s interest in the system revived, as the King’s Indian Defense gained in popularity among Soviet players and their investigations branched into related opening systems such as the Benoni. The imbalance inherent in the pawn structure of the Modern Benoni and the counter-chances this implies for Black appeals to aggressive players.
Content: 3.4 hours of chess theory and discussion, with example games, over a series of 7 lectures on 2 DVDs.
Includes: ECO: A70, A67, A77
Recommended for: Intermediate Players.
Users rated this series: 4.05 out of 5
Chess Fans have said: A great game by Tal, demonstrating some typical black ideas. Well presented.
IM Bryan Smith grew up in Anchorage, Alaska, and currently resides in Philadelphia, PA. Some of his accomplishments include clear first in the 2008 National Chess Congress, first place in the 2006 U.S. Masters (qualifying to the 2007 U.S. Championship) and first place in the 2008 King’s Island Open, as well as winning many other Grand Prix tournaments. He was on the national champion UMBC chess team from 1999 to 2001. Bryan is the highest rated player ever from Alaska.
Outline
DVD 1
- Part 1: Introduction
Benoni Defense: Classical Variation
Jan Hein Donner vs. Mikhail Tal
Run Time: 00:33:50 - Part 2: Pressure on the Center
Benoni Defense: Taimanov Variation
Daniel Tapia vs. Bryan Smith
Run Time: 00:27:01 - Part 3: The e5 break
Benoni Defense: Taimanov Variation
Mikhail Tal vs. Dragoljub Velimirovic
Run Time: 00:30:48 - Part 4: The Dark Squares
Benoni Defense: Classical Variation
Jose Hernando Rodrigo vs. Alfonso Almeida
Run Time: 00:34:10
DVD 2
- Part 5: White’s Kingside Pressure
Benoni Defense: Taimanov Variation
Garry Kasparov vs. John Nunn
Run Time: 00:22:59 - Part 6: Lightning Attack
Benoni Defense: Classical Variation
Alexander Evdokimov vs. Andrei Volokiti
Run Time: 00:33:41 - Part 7: Fighting Chess
Benoni Defense: Classical Variation
Spyridon Skembris vs. Lev Psakhis
Run Time: 00:37:59
