In this mini-course on the Benkö Gambit, it seems to me a good time to take a look at familiar plans in this opening. Let's assume that White accepts the pawn sacrifice and exchanges the white-squared bishops. This means that White gives up the right to castle and has to find a good square for his king. It cannot remain on f1 because then the rook on h1 would remain out of play.
Therefore, the king can either go to g2 or to he. Let's call this the king's walk and let's have a look at the subtle differences in positions with the king on g2 and positions with the king on h2.
In the diagram position below White played g2-g3 and Kf1-g2. Black can follow the classical patterns (with ...Qa5 etc.) but also has another, interesting option that I would like to discuss by looking at a model game.
In the diagram position, Black put his rook to a6 to clear the square a8 for the queen. In this way he can make an attempt to blow up white's pawn center. How should he proceed?
This week’s show (for Premium Members only)
