GM Pál Benkö

Benko was born in Amiens, France, but was raised in Hungary. He was Hungarian champion by age 20. He defected to the United States in 1958, and received the title of Grandmaster the same year. Some chess openings Benko pioneered are named for him: The Benko Gambit (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5), which he popularised, and played with great success from the mid-1960s, and Benko's Opening (1.g3), which he introduced at the 1962 Candidates Tournament, defeating Bobby Fischer and Mikhail Tal with it. Benko was inducted into the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame in 1993.

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