Henrik Danielsen: The Benko Gambit with g3

4/12/2012 – The search for a refutation of the Benko Gambit – 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5 – continues. According to the well-known trainer White should accept the gambit pawn and go on to fianchetto his king's bishop. The Danish/Icelandic GM shows us that the key to success is 10.Rb1. You can download his video instructions, which are part of our 60 Minutes series, and start working on it right away. Price: €9.90.

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The Benko Gambit with g3

The Benko Gambit is an opening characterised by the move 3...b5 in the Benoni Defense: 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 b5

The idea of sacrificing a pawn with ...b5 and ...a6 is quite old. The original name of the opening was the Volga Gambit, named after the Volga River because of an article about 3...b5!? published in 1946. The term is still widely used in Russian literature.

The search continues for a refutation of the Volga Gambit. White is quite happy if he can achieve a slight advantage. According to Danish/Icelandic grandmaster Henrik Danielsen, to get this White should accept the gambit and go on to fianchetto his king's bishop. The key move is 10.Rb1 – meaning that at any point White is prepared to play b3. And the key game is Kramnik-Topalov from Wijk 2003 – since then the Bulgarian has never again played the Volga Gambit.

With his video series the author provides a complete repertoire for White against this gambit which still remains very popular with club players. You can download Henrik Danielsen's Benko Gambit with g3 as part of our 60 Minutes series for € 9.90 in the ChessBase Shop.

How to download and use the 60 Minutes series

Incidentally, if you are looking for a new attacking plan against the popular Queen’s Gambit, you may want to try another 60 Minutes lecture by GM Danielsen: Pressing straight away – The London System 1.d4 d5 2.Bf4. It provides completely new ideas after 1.d4 d5 2.Bf4, turning the solid London System into a serious weapon. New approaches and Fritz analyses will catch out an unprepared opponent.

Henrik Danielsen used this system to win the Icelandic blitz championship in 2011. Some strong GMs and IMs didn't realise the danger before it was too late. Even after Black’s best defence White will be able to fight for an advantage.

After watching these 60 Minutes lectures you have a total opening plan against the Queen’s Gambit.