Pedersen Steffen. The Gambit Guide to the Benko Gambit

Gambit Publications Ltd, 1999. — 178 p. — ISBN: 1-901983-15-3.Nowadays, chess-players of all playing standards spend more time than ever before on opening preparation.
With today's easy access to recent games, it has become so simple Lookup your next opponent that a dubious gambit is often almost buried before it is born. Such gambits can only be used in one or two games before the risk becomes too great.If I were to comment on the opening moves 1 d4 !Df6 2 c4 c5 3 d5 b5 without the knowledge that it is a respectable modern opening, I would say that Black bas simply thrown away a pawn, and for what? A few open lines and a small lead in development?White has no weaknesses and can hardly be said to have made any mistakes so far. A rather dubious gambit would conclude. However, the reality
is that the Benko Gambit (named after Pal Charles Benko; a French-born Hungarian grandmaster who settled in USA and was one of the world's strongest players in the 1960s) has been around in some form or another since the 1920s, and is still alive and well. In fact, even today new ways are constantly being found to strengthen Black's fight for the initiative. The Benko's soundness is witnessed by the popularity of such moves as 5 b6 and 5 f3 (amongst others), by which White makes no effort to keep an extra pawn.This book is aimed primarily at the average club or tournament player, but I think (and hope) that players up to IM/GM strength will find something
useful here. Each chapter begins with an introduction including 'Common Themes and Planning' and a 'Quick Summary' before the main theoretical section.These two sections will, I think, be of use mainly to club players and those relatively new to the Benko, while also providing a quick overview of the relevant ideas and main lines.