[Event "Marshall Chess Club championship"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1964.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Shelby Lyman"]
[Black "Benjamin Greenwald"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B01"]
[WhiteElo "2260"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "27"]
[EventDate "1964.??.??"]

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Nf6 3. d4 Nxd5 4. c4 Nb6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. d5 Ne5 7. c5 Nbd7 8. f4
Ng6 9. h4 {[#]} (9. Nf3 Nxc5 10. Bb5+ Bd7 11. f5) 9... e6 10. h5 Ne7 (10... Nh4
11. c6 Nb6 (11... Nb8 12. dxe6 Qxd1+ 13. Kxd1 Nf5 14. exf7+) 12. Bb5) 11. d6
cxd6 12. cxd6 Nd5 (12... Nc6 13. Nb5 Nf6 14. Nc7+ Kd7) 13. Nxd5 exd5 14. Qe2+
1-0

[Event "Tournament of Marshall Champions"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1970.10.04"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Shelby Lyman"]
[Black "Andy Soltis"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B71"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "1964.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2019.10.09"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 g6 6. f4 Nbd7 7. g4 Nc5 8. e5
Nfd7 (8... Bxg4 9. Bb5+ Ncd7 10. Qd3 a6) 9. exd6 e5 10. Nf3 (10. Be3 exd4 11.
Qxd4 Qf6 12. Nd5) 10... e4 11. Ng5 Bg7 12. Qd5 O-O 13. Be3 Na6 14. Bc4 (14.
Bxa6 Nf6) 14... Nb4 15. Qxe4 Nf6 {[#]} 16. Nxf7 (16. Bxf7+ Rxf7 17. Nxf7 (17.
Qxb4) 17... Nxe4 18. Nxd8 Nxc2+) 16... Qa5 17. Ne5+ Kh8 18. Qg2 Nxg4 19. Nxg4
Bxg4 20. O-O Bf5 21. Rf2 Rae8 22. Nd1 (22. Re1 Rxe3 23. Rxe3 Qc5) 22... Nxc2
23. Rxc2 Qe1+ 24. Bf1 Bxc2 25. Qxc2 Rxe3 26. Nxe3 Qxa1 27. Nc4 Rxf4 28. Qe2
Bd4+ 29. Kg2 Rf2+ 30. Qxf2 Bxf2 31. Be2 Qg1+ 32. Kf3 Bh4 0-1

[Event "2nd Pan-American Chess Congress"]
[Site "Hollywood, CA USA"]
[Date "1954.07.??"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Jack Moskowitz"]
[Black "Shelby Lyman"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C63"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "54"]
[EventDate "1954.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 f5 4. Nc3 fxe4 5. Nxe4 d5 6. Nxe5 dxe4 7. Nxc6 Qg5
8. Nd4+ c6 9. Bf1 Qe5 10. c3 Nf6 11. Be2 Bd6 12. d3 O-O 13. f4 exf3 14. Nxf3
Qh5 15. Qb3+ Nd5 16. Bd2 Be6 17. Qxb7 Nf4 18. Bxf4 Bxf4 19. O-O Bd5 20. h3 Qg6
21. c4 Rab8 22. Qd7 Be6 23. Qxc6 Rb6 24. Qe4 Qg3 25. Rf2 Bxh3 26. Bf1 {[#]} Re6
27. Qd5 Be3 0-1

[Event "63rd US Open"]
[Site "San Antonio, TX USA"]
[Date "1962.08.19"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Antonio Angel Medina Garcia"]
[Black "Shelby Lyman"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C56"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "43"]
[EventDate "1962.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Bc4 Nf6 5. e5 d5 6. Bb5 Ne4 7. Nxd4 Bd7 8.
Bxc6 bxc6 9. O-O Be7 10. f3 Nc5 11. f4 f5 12. b4 Ne6 13. Nxf5 Bxb4 14. Ng3 Bc5+
15. Kh1 h5 16. f5 h4 17. Qg4 hxg3 18. Qg6+ Kf8 19. fxe6+ Kg8 20. Qf7+ Kh7 {[#]}
21. Rf6 Qxf6 22. exf6 1-0

[Event "61st US Open"]
[Site "St. Louis, MO USA"]
[Date "1960.08.12"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Howard Ohman"]
[Black "Shelby Lyman"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A02"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "50"]
[EventDate "1960.??.??"]

1. f4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. b3 Bg7 4. Bb2 c5 5. c4 O-O 6. e3 d5 7. cxd5 Nxd5 8. Bxg7
Kxg7 9. Qc2 Nc6 10. a3 Bf5 11. e4 e5 12. exf5 e4 13. Ne5 Nd4 14. Qb2 Nxf4 15.
g3 Qf6 16. gxf4 Qh4+ 17. Kd1 Qxf4 18. Nc3 Qxe5 19. Ne2 Rad8 20. Rc1 Qxf5 21.
Qc3 Kg8 22. Nxd4 Rxd4 23. Be2 Rfd8 24. Rc2 {[#]} Rd3 (24... e3 25. Qxe3 (25. d3
Rxd3+) 25... Rxd2+ 26. Rxd2 Qb1#) 25. Qxc5 Rxd2+ 0-1

[Event "65th US Open"]
[Site "Boston, MA USA"]
[Date "1964.08.18"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Jeremiah F Donovan"]
[Black "Shelby Lyman"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D32"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "1964.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Qc2 c5 5. Nf3 Nc6 6. e3 d5 7. cxd5 exd5 8.
dxc5 O-O 9. Bb5 Bxc5 10. O-O Bg4 11. Bxc6 bxc6 12. Ne5 Qd6 13. Nxg4 Nxg4 14. g3
Qh6 15. h4 Bb6 16. Na4 Ne5 17. Nxb6 axb6 18. Kg2 Qe6 19. b3 c5 20. a4 f6 21.
Bb2 Qc6 22. f3 Rfe8 23. Rad1 Ra7 24. Rd2 Rae7 25. Qd1 {[#]} d4 26. exd4 (26. e4
f5 27. exf5 (27. Re2 fxe4 28. fxe4 (28. Rxe4 Nxf3) 28... Ng4) 27... Ng4) 26...
Ng4 27. d5 Ne3+ 28. Kh2 Qd6 29. Qc1 Nxf1+ 30. Qxf1 Re3 31. Qb5 Qe7 32. d6 Re2+
33. Kh1 Qe3 34. Rxe2 Qxe2 35. Qxe2 Rxe2 36. a5 Rxb2 0-1

[Event "2nd Pan-American Chess Congress"]
[Site "Hollywood, CA USA"]
[Date "1954.07.??"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Hyman Gordon"]
[Black "Shelby Lyman"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A48"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "74"]
[EventDate "1954.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. Nf3 g6 3. Nbd2 c5 4. dxc5 Qa5 5. c3 Qxc5 6. Nb3 Qc7 7. g3 Bg7 8.
Bf4 d6 9. Bg2 O-O 10. O-O b6 11. Nfd2 Bb7 12. e4 Nbd7 13. Re1 a5 14. a4 e5 15.
Be3 d5 16. exd5 Nxd5 17. Qe2 Ba6 18. Qf3 Nxe3 19. Qxe3 Rab8 20. Ne4 Bb7 21.
Red1 f5 22. Ng5 Bxg2 23. Kxg2 f4 24. Qd3 Nf6 25. Qd6 Qb7+ 26. f3 Rbe8 27. Ne6
e4 28. Nbd4 exf3+ 29. Nxf3 Ng4 30. gxf4 Be5 31. Qd7 Ne3+ 32. Kg3 {[#]} Bxf4+ (
32... Qe4 33. Nxf8 Bxf4+ 34. Kf2 Rxf8 35. Re1 Bg3+) 33. Nxf4 Qe4 (33... Qb8)
34. Qc7 Re7 35. Rd4 Nf5+ 36. Kg4 Nxd4 37. Qc4+ Rff7 0-1

[Event "Rhode Island op"]
[Site "Providence, RI USA"]
[Date "1961.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Shelby Lyman"]
[Black "John A Curdo"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C30"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "40"]
[EventDate "1961.??.??"]

1. e4 e5 2. f4 Bc5 3. Nf3 d6 4. c3 Nf6 5. d4 exd4 6. cxd4 Bb6 7. Nc3 O-O 8. Bd3
Re8 9. e5 Nc6 10. Be3 Bg4 11. Bb5 dxe5 12. Bxc6 bxc6 13. fxe5 Nd7 14. Kf2 Bxf3
15. Kxf3 c5 16. dxc5 Nxe5+ 17. Kg3 {[#]} Nd3 18. Qf3 (18. Qd2 Rxe3+ 19. Qxe3
Bxc5 20. Qd2 Qd6+ 21. Kh3) (18. Bc1 Bxc5 19. Rf1 Re6) 18... Bxc5 19. Bxc5 Qg5+
20. Kh3 Nf4+ 0-1

[Event "69th US Open"]
[Site "Aspen, CO USA"]
[Date "1968.08.15"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Herbert Avram"]
[Black "Pal Benko"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A59"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "64"]
[EventDate "1968.08.11"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. bxa6 Bxa6 6. Nc3 d6 7. e4 Bxf1 8.
Kxf1 g6 9. g4 Bg7 10. Kg2 O-O 11. h3 e6 12. dxe6 fxe6 13. e5 Ne8 (13... dxe5
14. Nf3) 14. exd6 Nxd6 15. Qe2 Qd7 16. f4 Nc6 17. Nf3 Nd4 18. Nxd4 cxd4 19. Ne4
Qc6 (19... e5 20. fxe5 Nxe4 21. Qxe4 Qf7 22. Qe2 d3) 20. Re1 Rfd8 21. Qf3 Nxe4
22. Rxe4 (22. Qxe4 Qxe4+ 23. Rxe4 d3 24. Be3) 22... d3 23. Bd2 Bxb2 24. Rd1
Rxa2 25. Rb4 Qd6 26. Kg3 Bf6 (26... Bc1 27. Rxc1 Rxd2) 27. Qe4 Rxd2 28. Rxd2
Bc3 29. Rbb2 Bxb2 30. Rxb2 d2 31. Rxd2 {[#]} Qa3+ (31... Qxd2 32. Qxe6+) 32.
Kf2 (32. Kh4 Qe7+) 32... Rxd2+ 0-1

[Event "US Championship 1961/62"]
[Site "New York, NY USA"]
[Date "1961.12.21"]
[Round "4"]
[White "Pal Benko"]
[Black "James T Sherwin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E17"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "1961.12.17"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. Nc3 (6. O-O O-O 7. Nc3)
6... Ne4 7. Bd2 Nxd2 8. Qxd2 d5 9. cxd5 exd5 10. O-O Nd7 11. Rfd1 O-O 12. Ne5
c6 (12... Nxe5 13. dxe5 c6 14. e4 dxe4 15. Qd7 Qxd7) 13. Nd3 Re8 14. b4 Nf6 15.
Qb2 Bd6 16. a4 Qe7 17. e3 Rad8 18. Qb3 h5 19. b5 c5 (19... h4) 20. dxc5 bxc5
21. Nxd5 Nxd5 22. Bxd5 Bxd5 23. Qxd5 Bxg3 24. Qxh5 (24. Qxc5 Bxf2+ 25. Nxf2 (
25. Kxf2 Qh4+ 26. Kg2 Qg4+) 25... Qxc5) 24... Bd6 25. Qg4 Qc7 26. Rac1 Bxh2+
27. Kf1 Bd6 28. Ke2 Be5 29. Rxc5 Qd6 30. Qc4 Bf6 (30... Bd4 31. Rc6 Qh2) 31.
Rc6 Qh2 {[#]} 32. Qc3 Rxe3+ 33. Kxe3 Bxc3 1-0

[Event "Las Palmas"]
[Site "Las Palmas ESP"]
[Date "1972.06.04"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Pal Benko"]
[Black "Augusto Menvielle Laccourreye"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A87"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "113"]
[EventDate "1972.05.29"]

1. Nf3 f5 2. g3 Nf6 3. Bg2 g6 4. b3 Bg7 5. Bb2 d6 6. d4 O-O 7. O-O c6 8. c4 Ne4
9. Nbd2 d5 10. Qc2 Nd7 11. cxd5 cxd5 12. Rfc1 Ndf6 13. Ne5 Be6 14. f3 Rc8 15.
Qd1 Nxd2 16. Qxd2 Qb6 17. Nd3 Nd7 18. e3 g5 19. Ba3 Bf6 20. f4 g4 21. Nc5 Rfd8
22. Bb4 Qc6 23. Na4 Qa6 24. Bf1 b5 25. Nc3 Qb7 26. Nxb5 a6 27. Na3 Nb8 28. Ba5
Rd6 29. Rxc8+ Bxc8 30. Rc1 Nc6 31. Bc3 h5 32. Nc2 h4 33. Nb4 Qa7 34. Nd3 hxg3
35. hxg3 Bg7 36. Ne5 Qb7 37. Nxc6 Rxc6 38. Ba5 Bd7 39. Rxc6 Bxc6 40. Qb4 Kf7
41. Qxb7 Bxb7 42. a4 e6 43. Kf2 Ke8 44. Ke1 Kd7 45. Kd2 Kc6 46. b4 Bc8 47. Kc3
Kb7 48. b5 Bf6 49. Kb3 axb5 50. Bxb5 Be7 51. Bb4 Bf6 52. a5 Kc7 53. Ka4 Bb7 54.
a6 Ba8 55. Ba5+ Kd6 56. Bb6 Bg7 {[#]} 57. Bd8 1-0

[Event "US Championship"]
[Site "El Paso, TX USA"]
[Date "1973.09.18"]
[Round "8"]
[White "William E Martz"]
[Black "Pal Benko"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B80"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "96"]
[EventDate "1973.09.09"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. Nc3 a6 4. d4 cxd4 5. Nxd4 d6 6. g3 Nf6 7. Bg2 Qc7 8. O-O
Be7 9. Qd2 O-O 10. b3 Nc6 11. Nde2 b5 12. Bb2 Bb7 13. Rfd1 Rfd8 14. Nf4 Rac8
15. Rac1 Qb6 16. Qe1 Ne5 17. Nd3 Ned7 18. Kh1 Rc7 19. Nb1 Rdc8 20. c3 Qa7 21.
Nd2 Qa8 22. f3 h6 23. Qe2 a5 24. Nf1 Ne8 25. Ne3 Bf6 26. c4 bxc4 27. Rxc4 Rxc4
28. Nxc4 d5 29. exd5 Bxd5 30. Nde5 Bxe5 31. Nxe5 Nxe5 32. Bxe5 a4 33. Rb1 f6
34. Bd4 e5 35. Be3 axb3 36. axb3 Rc3 37. b4 Qa3 38. Re1 Qb3 39. b5 Bc4 40. Qd2
Rd3 41. Qf2 Qxb5 42. f4 Bd5 43. g4 Nd6 44. fxe5 fxe5 45. g5 Ne4 46. Qh4 {[#]}
Rxe3 47. Rxe3 Ng3+ 48. Kg1 Qb1+ 0-1

[Event "Hungarian Championship"]
[Site "Budapest, Hungary"]
[Date "1951.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Jeno Kapu"]
[Black "Pal Benko"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E92"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "52"]
[EventDate "1951.??.??"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. d4 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 O-O 5. e4 d6 6. Be2 e5 7. dxe5 dxe5 8.
Qxd8 Rxd8 9. Bg5 Nbd7 10. O-O-O Rf8 11. Nb5 c6 12. Nd6 Nc5 13. Bxf6 Bxf6 14. b4
Ne6 15. Nxc8 Rfxc8 16. Kb2 a5 17. b5 Nc5 18. Bd3 Na4+ 19. Kb3 cxb5 20. cxb5 {
[#]} Rc3+ 21. Kxa4 Be7 22. b6 Rac8 23. Kxa5 Ra3+ 24. Kb5 Rc5+ 25. Kb4 Rc2+ 26.
Kb5 Rb2+ 0-1

[Event "Sarajevo It"]
[Site "BIH"]
[Date "1967.??.??"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Zvonimir Mestrovic"]
[Black "Pal Benko"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B06"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "56"]
[EventDate "1967.??.??"]

1. e4 g6 2. d4 Bg7 3. Nc3 d6 4. Be2 c6 5. Nf3 Bg4 6. h3 Bxf3 7. Bxf3 Qb6 8. Ne2
Nf6 9. O-O Nbd7 10. Bf4 e5 11. dxe5 dxe5 12. Be3 Qc7 13. g4 h5 14. g5 Nh7 15.
Qd3 O-O 16. Qb3 Rfd8 17. Kh2 Nhf8 18. Rg1 Ne6 19. Rad1 Nd4 20. Bxd4 exd4+ 21.
Kh1 Nc5 22. Qc4 b5 23. Qb4 Qe5 24. Qe1 d3 25. b4 {[#]} dxc2 (25... dxe2 26.
Rxd8+ Rxd8 27. bxc5) 26. Rxd8+ Rxd8 27. bxc5 Rd1 28. Qb4 Qa1 0-1

[Event "HUN-ch 07th"]
[Site "Budapest HUN"]
[Date "1951.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Laszlo Szabo"]
[Black "Pal Benko"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B88"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "66"]
[EventDate "1951.??.??"]

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 d6 6. Bc4 e6 7. O-O Be7 8.
Be3 O-O 9. Bb3 Bd7 10. f4 Nxd4 11. Bxd4 Bc6 12. Qd3 b5 13. Nxb5 Bxe4 14. Qe2
Qd7 15. c4 d5 16. Rad1 Qb7 17. cxd5 Bxd5 18. Bxd5 Nxd5 19. f5 a6 20. Nc3 Nxc3
21. bxc3 exf5 22. Rxf5 Rad8 23. Re1 Bd6 24. Qg4 g6 25. Qg5 Bb8 26. Bf6 Rd6 27.
Kh1 Re6 28. Ref1 Qc7 29. g3 Qc6+ 30. R5f3 {[#]} Re1 31. Rxe1 Qxf3+ 32. Kg1 Ba7+
33. Bd4 Qxc3 0-1

[Event "Club Match"]
[Site "Budapest HUN"]
[Date "1951.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "K Korody"]
[Black "Pal Benko"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D47"]
[Annotator "Soltis, Andy"]
[PlyCount "38"]
[EventDate "1951.??.??"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3
Bb7 9. O-O b4 10. Ne4 c5 11. Nxf6+ gxf6 12. Qe2 Qb6 13. a3 Bd6 14. axb4 cxd4
15. exd4 Rg8 16. b5 {[#]} Qxd4 17. h3 Ne5 18. Nxd4 Rxg2+ 19. Kh1 Rh2+ 0-1

[Event "Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2018.03.06"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Justin Lohr"]
[Black "Joseph Cagle"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A03"]
[WhiteElo "2176"]
[BlackElo "1509"]
[Annotator "Alburt, Lev"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "2018.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,55,19,-24,-27,-27,2,-8,-8,-19,-19,-3,-18,-36,-40,-59,-61,-70,-67,-95,
-91,-181,-177,-179,-177,-177,-187,-187,-145,-150,-112,-113,-108,-132,-86,-94,
-106,-79,-104,-97,-100,-171,-117,-247,-112,-102,0,-91,324,339,348,49,1548,
29990,29995,29996,29997,29998]} 1. f4 d5 (1... e5) (1... b5) 2. Nf3 c5 3. e3
Nc6 4. Bb5 Nf6 5. O-O Bd7 6. d4 e6 7. c3 (7. dxc5 Bxc5) 7... Bd6 8. Nbd2 O-O (
8... cxd4) 9. b3 {[#]} (9. Bd3) 9... Nxd4 10. Nxd4 cxd4 11. Bxd7 dxe3 12. Nf3 (
12. Ba4 exd2 13. Bxd2 b5 14. Bxb5 Qb6+) 12... Qxd7 (12... Qb6 13. Qe2 Nxd7 14.
Bxe3 Bc5) 13. Bxe3 {[#]} b6 (13... Qc7 14. Qd2 (14. Qc1 Rac8 15. Bd2 Ne4) 14...
Ne4) 14. Ne5 (14. g3) 14... Bxe5 (14... Qc7 15. Bd4 Ne4 16. Rc1 f6 17. Nd3 e5)
15. fxe5 Ne4 16. Qg4 Rfd8 (16... Qc7 17. Bh6 Qxe5) 17. Bh6 g6 18. Qf4 (18. c4)
18... Qe7 (18... Qc7 19. c4 f5 20. exf6) (18... b5) 19. Rf3 {[#]} (19. c4)
19... Rac8 (19... b5) 20. Re1 (20. c4) 20... Rd7 (20... Rxc3 21. Bg5 Qc5+) 21.
h4 Kh8 (21... Rxc3 22. Rxe4 Rxf3 23. Qxf3 dxe4) 22. Kh1 (22. c4) 22... Rg8 (
22... Rxc3 23. Rxc3 (23. Bg5 Rxf3) 23... Nxc3 24. Bg5 Qf8 (24... Qc5 25. Qf6+)
25. Bh6 Qe7 (25... Qd8) (25... Qg8 26. Qf6+)) (22... b5) 23. Rd3 (23. Rxe4 dxe4
24. Bg5 Qxg5 (24... Qf8 25. Bf6+) (24... Qc5 25. Qf6+ Rg7 26. Bh6 Qf8) 25. hxg5
exf3 26. Qf6+ Rg7 27. gxf3 Kg8) 23... b5 {[#]} (23... g5 24. hxg5 (24. Bxg5
Nxg5 25. hxg5 Qxg5) 24... Rg6 (24... Nxg5 25. Rg3 Ne4 26. Rxg8+ Kxg8 27. Rxe4))
24. Rxe4 g5 (24... dxe4 25. Rxd7) 25. Bxg5 (25. hxg5 Rg6 26. Re1) 25... dxe4 (
25... Rxg5 26. Qxg5 dxe4 27. Rxd7 Qxd7 28. h5) 26. Bxe7 Rxe7 27. Qf6+ Rg7 28.
Rd8+ {[#]} 1-0

[Event "Candidates Tournament"]
[Site "Curacao"]
[Date "1962.06.23"]
[Round "27"]
[White "Benko, Pal C"]
[Black "Keres, Paul"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A07"]
[Annotator "Hess, Robert"]
[PlyCount "93"]
[EventDate "1962.05.02"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "28"]
[EventCountry "AHO"]
[SourceTitle "Candidates"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]

{Pal Benko had an everlasting impact. A couple of openings bear Benko's name.
Chess lovers were treated to his many compositions and problems for decades,
and he was also an extremely well-regarded coach known in particular for his
vast endgame knowledge. In addition to numerous more accomplishments, Benko
penned this very column. Although I never met the legend, I am privileged to
honor his legacy. I long admired not only his off-the-board successes but also
some of his influential games. Benko famously stepped aside to give Bobby
Fischer a shot at the 1970 Interzonal (which Fischer won, allowing him to
capture the 1972 World Championship), and played an instrumental role at the
1962 Candidates. Tigran Petrosian won in Curacao (and went on to win the 1963
World Championship against Mikhail Botvinnik) in large part thanks to Benko's
win over Keres, against whom he'd previously scored seven losses and no wins,
in the penultimate round of an 8-player quadruple round-robin.} 1. Nf3 d5 (1...
g5) 2. g3 Bg4 3. Bg2 Nd7 4. O-O c6 5. d3 e5 6. h3 Bh5 7. c4 dxc4 8. dxc4 Ngf6
9. Be3 Qc7 10. Nc3 {A tame opening approach. Benko cared significantly less
about the memorization of theory than he did the creativity of the game. [#]}
Bb4 {According to my database, this was the first and only time this move was
played. This comes as no surprise given how quickly Keres' position became
uncomfortable.} (10... Bc5 {is logical, as Black has no interest in trading
off his bishop for the knight on c3. Exchanging dark-squared bishops is a much
better deal.}) 11. Qb3 a5 12. Nh4 Be7 $2 {This is hard to comprehend, given
that the bishop was not under attack. Let's chalk up such a move to fatigue
caused by a grueling two-month event. Castling kingside immediately was better.
} ({With a king still in the center, greed is not good:} 12... Bxc3 13. Qxc3
Bxe2 14. Rfe1 Bh5 15. g4 Bg6 16. f4 {is disastrous for Black. The bishop is
about to be trapped and there is no time to castle.}) 13. Na4 ({The immediate} 
13. Nf5 {would have been devastating for Keres. For instance, the 'natural'}
Bf8 14. c5 Bg6 15. Nd6+ Bxd6 16. cxd6 Qb8 {is quite bleak. White has the
bishop pair, more space, and a passed pawn that will soon be defended.} (16...
Qxd6 17. Qxb7 Rb8 18. Qxc6 Qxc6 19. Bxc6 Rxb2 20. Bc5 {looks tragic for Black,
whose king will remain in harm's way.})) 13... O-O 14. g4 {Going right after
the light-squared bishop.} ({A modern approach, thanks to engines, could be to
jettison a pawn and seize the initiative with} 14. Nf5 Bd8 15. Rfd1 Bxe2 16.
Rd2 Bh5 17. c5) 14... Bg6 15. Nxg6 {While it hardly mattered in this specific
instance, the capture was rushed since the bishop was not going anywhere,} (15.
Rfd1 {can't be met by} Be4 $2 {because} 16. g5 {simply nets a piece.}) 15...
hxg6 16. Rfd1 Rab8 ({The preferred move is} 16... Rad8 {but Black's knight is
tied down on d7, where it prevents Bb6 ideas. Perhaps} 17. Rd3 Nh7 {with the
idea of Ng5-e6 is the regrouping Black needs.}) (16... Rfd8 {is inferior, as}
17. Rd3 Nh7 18. Nb6 {lands an important tempo on the a8 rook. White is better
without risk.}) 17. c5 {Responding to Keres' last move, Benko prevents any
ideas involving pushing the b-pawn. This gains White important space, but also
eliminates the bishop's access to b6.} ({The calm} 17. a3 {is appealing because
} b5 18. cxb5 cxb5 19. Qc3 $1 {is a positive development for White, whose
bishops will thrive in any endgame.}) 17... Nh7 ({Another try was} 17... Rfd8 {
but Black hardly is out of the woods. White can even play} 18. a3 {since a
queen trade is welcome after} Nf8 19. Qb6) 18. Nb6 Rfd8 ({White wins an
exchange for a pawn after} 18... Nxc5 19. Bxc5 Bxc5 20. Nd7) (18... Nxb6 19.
cxb6 Qc8 {results in an unpleasant position for Black, who is cramped and has
vulnerable pawns.}) 19. Qc3 Bg5 {[#]} 20. Nc4 {This is not the optimal move
according to the engines, but sometimes chess players must make subjective
decisions to reap rewards.} ({Benko could have won a pawn with the forcing} 20.
Rxd7 Rxd7 21. Nxd7 Qxd7 22. Bxg5 Nxg5 23. Qxe5 Qd8 {but I don't find the
advantage here to be overwhelming. In fact, Black's pieces come to life and
Benko would have had a difficult time converting a position that looks, upon a
cursory glance, easier to defend than to press. The c5 pawn, cemented on a
dark square, is a potential target rather than an asset limiting the
opponent's pieces as in the game. In terms of winning chances, the bind was
worth more than the pawn.}) 20... Bxe3 21. Qxe3 Re8 {A curious decision, since
the pawn on e5 was already defended and the rook was more useful challenging
for the open file.} (21... Nhf8 {to centralize the knight was a better option,
though} 22. Rd6 Ne6 23. Rxe6 fxe6 {looks truly hideous. Black should be fine -
and better in the long term with the surplus exchange - but the two sets of
doubled, isolated pawns are unenviable.}) 22. Qa3 Ra8 23. Rd2 ({Creating a
battery with} 23. Rd6 Nhf8 24. Rad1 Red8 25. Qd3 {looks menacing, but first
Black and then White has a resource that is hard to see and harder to evaluate:
} Ne6 $1 26. Rxd7 Rxd7 27. Qxd7 Rd8 {[#]} 28. Qd6 $1 Rxd6 29. cxd6 Qd8 30. Nxe5
{With Lasker compensation of rook, bishop, and pawn for the queen, White holds
the advantage. Yet Black is perfectly situated to blockade the passer with the
knight while the queen goes after pawns.}) 23... Nhf8 24. Rad1 Red8 25. Qe3 Re8
{Keres again shuffles to maintain the status quo rather than transitioning
into a clearly worse position.} (25... Ne6 26. Nb6 Nxb6 27. cxb6 Qe7 28. Qxe5
Rxd2 29. Rxd2 Qb4 30. Qe3 Nc5 {recoups the sacrificed pawn, but once the White
bishop applies pressure on f7, Black will suffer.}) 26. b3 Rab8 27. a3 Ra8 28.
b4 {Benko expands, allowing his queen to access new squares now that the c5
pawn is defended.} ({Now and over the next batch of moves, Benko could have
gained additional space and opened a new diagonal for his bishop with} 28. g5
Re7 29. h4 {but his restraint was the correct choice. Otherwise, Black would
hop into activity of his own starting with} Ne6) 28... axb4 29. axb4 Ra4 30.
Qc3 Ra6 31. Rd6 {Benko makes use of his wonderful outpost square.} ({In his
vintage time trouble, Benko likely did not have enough time to consider the
ramifications of the sacrifice} 31. Nd6 Rea8 (31... Re7 {protects f7, but
Black lacks coordination. White will follow up with e3, Bf1, Bc4 and take over
the board.}) 32. Nxf7 Kxf7 33. Qc4+ Ke7 34. Qg8 {This is decisive, for Black's
king does not have enough defenders as White not only attacks but collects the
kingside pawns.}) 31... Nf6 {[#]} 32. Nb6 {This strands the rook on a6, but
Benko could have continued restricting Keres' pieces with 32. g5 now that it
comes with a tempo..} (32. g5) 32... e4 {Black finally seizes some space for
his pieces, though the pawn on e4 can quickly become an overextended target.}
33. e3 {Again, 33. g5 would have been strong. But it's hard to commit to a
pawn push when you don't have sufficient time to calculate its repercussions.}
(33. g5) 33... g5 34. Qd2 Qe7 35. Rd8 {Benko liquidates into a favorable
ending, though here he had the powerful} (35. b5 $1 cxb5 36. Bf1 {which to
some degree looks wrong with the knight on f8 heading towards f3, but White is
opening up the board for the bishop.}) 35... Ra3 ({It looks far too
accomodating, but} 35... Qxd8 36. Qxd8 Rxd8 37. Rxd8 Ra1+ {should give Black
very good chances to hold. With Rb1 coming to hound the b4 pawn, it's unlikely
White can claim that substantial of an edge.}) 36. Rxe8 Qxe8 37. Qb2 Ra7 38.
Nc4 Qe6 39. Bf1 Nd5 40. Nb6 {Benko pries open the d-file and the a2-g8
diagonal at the same time. This also removes Black's most promising piece,
which keeps an eye on the b4 pawn. While it makes perfect sense, it misses the
opportunity to go after Black's liability on e4.} (40. Nd6 {with Bg2 and Rd4
to follow looks like it should snag the pawn.}) 40... Nxb6 41. cxb6 {[#]} Ra4 (
{Absolutely necessary was} 41... Ra8 {to defend the back rank. With this
security, Black can venture his knight toward the enemy king and should
stabilize the position.}) 42. b5 Ra2 {Black finally activates his pieces, but
it's too late.} 43. Qb1 cxb5 {This loses immediately, but Keres was in for a
long defense that probably would have fallen short regardless.} (43... Ra8 44.
bxc6 Qxc6 45. Rc1) (43... c5 44. Rd8 g6 45. Rb8 Qd5 46. Qc1 Rd2 47. Qc3 {
Black can't defend b7 and prevent the queen's infiltration.}) 44. Rd8 f5 {
A sad move to play, though Black had no reasonable means of meeting Qb4.} 45.
gxf5 Qf7 46. Bxb5 g6 47. Rc8 {After dozens of moves under pressure, Keres
resigned. By no means his best game, but Benko's most influential one against
a player who dominated their matchup. He literally altered the course of chess
history with this victory: Paul Keres, despite being an elite player for
decades, never contended for the World Championship.} 1-0

[Event "Club Match"]
[Site "Budapest HUN"]
[Date "1951.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "K Korody"]
[Black "Pal Benko"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D47"]
[Annotator "Hartmann, John"]
[PlyCount "42"]
[EventDate "1951.??.??"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nf3 Nf6 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3
Bb7 9. O-O b4 10. Ne4 c5 11. Nxf6+ gxf6 12. Qe2 Qb6 13. a3 Bd6 14. axb4 cxd4
15. exd4 Rg8 16. b5 Qxd4 17. h3 (17. Nxd4 Rxg2+ 18. Kh1 Rxh2+ 19. Kg1 Rh1#)
17... Ne5 18. Nxd4 Rxg2+ 19. Kh1 Rh2+ 20. Kxh2 (20. Kg1 Rh1#) 20... Ng4+ 21.
Kg1 Bh2# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Benko Baffler"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Hartmann, John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "5K1k/1p1q4/1p6/6NP/1P3P2/8/P7/5B2 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "11"]

{[#]} 1. Nf7+ Kh7 2. Bh3 Qb5 (2... Qd5 3. Bg4 Qb5 4. Ng5+ Kh8 5. a3 Qd3 6. Nf7+
Kh7 7. Bf3) 3. Ng5+ Kh6 4. Bg4 Qxb4+ (4... Qd3 5. Nf7+ Kh7 6. Bf3) 5. Kg8 Qxf4
6. Nf7+ 1-0

[Event "2019 US Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.08.11"]
[Round "9"]
[White "Gareyev, Timur"]
[Black "Nyzhnyk, Illia"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D44"]
[WhiteElo "2600"]
[BlackElo "2666"]
[Annotator "Nyzhnyk, Illia"]
[PlyCount "62"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]

{Leading the tournament with 7 points out of 8, my plan was to go for a
relatively safe opening where I would still have chances to play for a win in
case my opponent decided to overpush} 1. d4 d5 2. Nf3 Nf6 3. c4 e6 {Another
good option here would be to transpose into Slav by playing 3...c6, but I did
not want to potentially face exchanged Slav, where white can pose significant
problems for black in certain lines if black is not precise} (3... c6 {As far
as I remember, I tried Slav against Timur a few years ago in a rapid G-10
National Championship, but it did not work out for me and I lost that game}) 4.
Bg5 $5 {Although this move order is somewhat unusual, it seems that I can
simply transpose into the Ragozin line that I had prepared beforehand} Bb4+ 5.
Nc3 (5. Nbd2 {Would be an alternative, but in these Queen's Gambit Structures
the kinght would be better off on c3} dxc4 $5 6. e3 b5 7. a4 c6 8. Be2 O-O 9.
O-O Nbd7 $13 {0-1 (40) Mamedyarov,S (2808)-Caruana,F (2816) Paris 2018}) 5...
dxc4 {I have played this particular Ragozin line a few times before. Both of
the times my opponents opted for 6.e4, which has a reputation of a complicated
but drawish line} 6. e3 (6. e4 c5 7. dxc5 Qxd1+ 8. Rxd1 Bxc3+ 9. bxc3 Nbd7 10.
c6 bxc6 11. Bxf6 Nxf6 12. Nd2 Ba6 13. f3 Ke7 14. Bxc4 Bb5 15. Rb1 Rab8 16. Ke2
Rhd8 {1/2-1/2 (16) Checa,N (2415)-Nyzhnyk,I (2612) Philadelphia 2017} 17. Bxb5
cxb5 18. a4 bxa4 19. Rxb8 Rxb8 20. Ra1 Nd7 21. Rxa4 Rb7 22. Ra5 Rc7 23. Kd3 f6
24. c4 Nc5+ {1/2-1/2 (24) Troff,K (2482)-Nyzhnyk,I (2610) Chicago 2017}) 6...
b5 7. a4 c6 8. Nd2 a6 $5 {A move that is made very often here, but it actually
works out pretty well for black} 9. axb5 {White is forced to accept the
sacrifice, because otherwise black will simply finish developing his queenside
and end up with an extra pawn} (9. g3) 9... cxb5 10. Nxb5 axb5 11. Rxa8 Bb7 12.
Bxf6 $6 {Honestly, I did not remember much of my analysis at this point.
However, I did remember the following two games:} (12. Ra1 $5 e5 $1 (12... Nbd7
$2 13. Be2 Bxg2 14. Rg1 Bd5 15. Bf3 h6 16. Bxd5 exd5 17. Bxf6 {1-0 (36)
Korobov,A (2680) -Aronian,L (2815) Dubai 2014}) 13. dxe5 Bxd2+ 14. Qxd2 Qxd2+
15. Kxd2 Ne4+ 16. Kc2 Nxg5 17. b3 O-O 18. bxc4 bxc4 19. f3 $11 {1/2-1/2 (60)
Stark,L (2398) -Hammes,M (2340) Germany 2018}) 12... gxf6 {Although white did
prevent potential Ne4 from happening, I now have a very straightforward plan
of breaking through with e5} 13. Ra1 e5 14. Qh5 {The move I expected during
the game, which seems to be losing the game by force. I also briefly looked at
14. Qg4:} (14. Qg4 exd4 15. Qxd4 (15. exd4 Nc6 $19 {[%csl Re1][%cal Gc6d4]})
15... O-O $1 {[%cal Gb8c6]} 16. Be2 Nc6 17. Qxd8 Rxd8 18. Rd1 Na5 $19 {[%cal
Ga5b3,Rb4e1]}) 14... O-O {I made this move for various reasons. First and
foremost, to prevent any potential Qb5+ from happening as soon as I take on d4,
and second - to bring the rook into the game} 15. Be2 exd4 16. Qxb5 $2 {
[#] Obvious move that loses by force. The engine claims that white could have
tried to hold with 16.Rd1:} (16. Rd1 $5 dxe3 17. fxe3 Qe7 18. Kf2 Re8 19. Nf1
Bc5 $15 {[%csl Rf2][%cal Yc5f2] Also looks quite ugly for white, but at least
he does not lose immediately}) 16... Bxd2+ $1 17. Kxd2 dxe3+ 18. Ke1 Bxg2 19.
Rd1 Qc7 20. Rg1 Qxh2 21. Rxg2+ Qxg2 22. fxe3 Nc6 23. Qxc4 {This position was
reached by force, and I believe that I gave Timur a small chance for survival
here} Rb8 $6 {Allowing queen trade. During the game I was not worried about
the occurence of an endgame, as I believed that it would be practically
impossible to hold. Although I might be correct (or wrong, a deeper
examination of the endgame occuring after 24.Qg4 would be needed), I still
should not have allowed it and played 23...Ne5 instead} (23... Ne5 $1 $19 {
[%csl Re1]}) 24. Qc3 (24. Qg4+ $5 {Was white's best chance, but even here it
would be insanely hard to escape for a draw} Qxg4 25. Bxg4 Rxb2 26. Be2 Ne5 $19
{[%cal Gg8g6,Gh7h5]}) 24... Ne5 {The rest is simple, as I can utilize the
perfect synergy of my pieces to overwhelm white's position by moving my passed
h pawn} 25. b4 h5 26. Qd4 Rc8 {[%cal Gc8c2]} 27. Qd5 Qg1+ 28. Kd2 Qf2 {[#]} 29.
Rf1 (29. Qb7 Nc4+ 30. Kc3 Qxe3+) (29. Qb3 Nc4+ 30. Kc1 Na3+ (30... Nxe3+) 31.
Kd2) 29... Rc2+ 30. Kxc2 Qxe2+ 31. Kb3 Qxf1 0-1

[Event "2019 US Open"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.08.11"]
[Round "9.6"]
[White "Moradiabadi, Elshan"]
[Black "Molner, Mackenzie S"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ECO "D90"]
[WhiteElo "2632"]
[BlackElo "2545"]
[Annotator "Lawrence, Al"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. h4 dxc4 6. e4 c5 7. d5 O-O 8. h5
Nxh5 9. Bxc4 Bg4 10. Rh4 Bxf3 11. Qxf3 Nd7 12. Qh3 Ne5 13. Be2 c4 14. Be3 Nd3+
15. Bxd3 cxd3 16. Rd1 b5 17. Rxd3 b4 18. Nd1 Qd6 19. f4 e5 {[#]} 20. Rxh5 $1
gxh5 21. f5 Bh6 22. Qxh5 Bxe3 23. Nxe3 f6 24. Nc4 (24. g4 $1) 24... Qc5 25.
Rg3+ $2 (25. Qe2) 25... Kh8 26. Qh6 Rf7 27. b3 Qg1+ (27... Rg8) 28. Ke2 Rg8 29.
Rxg8+ Kxg8 30. Ne3 Qb1 31. Kf3 Qxa2 32. g4 Qxb3 33. g5 Qb1 34. g6 hxg6 35. fxg6
Rg7 36. Qh3 Rxg6 37. Qc8+ $11 Kh7 38. Qd7+ Rg7 39. Qh3+ 1/2-1/2

[Event "2019 US Open Armageddon"]
[Site "Orlando, Florida"]
[Date "2019.08.11"]
[Round "10.1"]
[White "Tiglon, Bryce"]
[Black "Moradiabadi, Elshan"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "C65"]
[WhiteElo "2454"]
[BlackElo "2632"]
[Annotator "Lawrence, Al"]
[PlyCount "122"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[WhiteClock "0:00:54"]
[BlackClock "0:00:44"]

{[%evp 0,122,19,38,25,7,30,13,26,29,24,8,20,-8,-9,4,11,16,18,10,34,22,22,14,14,
13,18,8,0,14,42,23,31,38,35,35,31,26,21,23,27,15,21,17,35,18,35,21,25,26,74,61,
71,71,62,74,88,40,33,26,27,22,18,13,16,8,13,7,6,-41,-41,-122,0,-41,-48,-40,-48,
-47,-45,-57,-28,-41,-19,0,-15,-7,-14,-8,-6,24,24,34,454,16,25,0,12,-15,-8,-8,
-27,-40,-23,-51,-81,-87,-64,-66,-63,-59,-63,-59,-77,-67,-67,-94,-67,-141,-160,
-151,-157,-104,-37,-591,-621]} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 Nf6 4. d3 Bc5 5. Bxc6
dxc6 6. Nbd2 Be6 7. O-O Nd7 8. Nb3 Bb6 9. Ng5 Bxb3 10. axb3 Qe7 11. Nf3 O-O 12.
Nd2 f6 13. Kh1 Bc5 14. Nc4 Bd6 15. f4 exf4 16. Nxd6 cxd6 17. Bxf4 a6 18. Qe1
Ne5 19. Bg3 Rad8 20. Qf2 Qe6 21. Rae1 Rf7 22. Bf4 Ng6 23. Bd2 Rdf8 24. Qf5 Qxf5
25. exf5 Ne7 26. Re6 Rd8 27. g4 Nc8 28. Kg2 Re7 29. Rxe7 Nxe7 30. Kg3 Kf7 31.
Ba5 Rd7 32. Re1 c5 33. Bd2 Nc6 34. Bf4 Nd4 35. Bd2 Nc6 36. Bf4 Nd4 37. c3 Nxb3
38. Re6 d5 39. h4 d4 40. c4 b5 41. cxb5 axb5 42. Rb6 b4 43. g5 Na1 44. Bd6 Nc2
45. Bxc5 Ne1 {[#]} (45... Ne3 46. Rxb4 Nxf5+ 47. Kg4 Rd5 48. Rb7+ Ke6 49. Rc7
Ne3+ 50. Kf3) 46. Bxb4 $11 (46. Rb8 g6 47. Rf8+ Kg7 48. gxf6+ Kh6) 46... Nxd3
47. Bd2 Ne5 48. Rb4 g6 49. fxg6+ hxg6 50. gxf6 Kxf6 51. Rb8 Kf5 52. b3 Ke4 53.
Re8 Rb7 54. b4 Kd5 55. Rd8+ Ke4 56. Re8 Kd5 57. Rc8 Ke4 58. Rc5 (58. Re8 $11)
58... Nf3 59. Bf4 Rxb4 60. Rc6 Ne5 61. Re6 Rb3+ 0-1

[Event "120th U.S. Open Championship"]
[Site "Orlando, Florida"]
[Date "2019.08.07"]
[Round "3"]
[White "GM Elshan Moradiabadi"]
[Black "Bach Ngo"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E17"]
[WhiteElo "2632"]
[BlackElo "2189"]
[Annotator "Moradiabadi, Elshan"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2019.10.02"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. g3 b6 4. Bg2 Bb7 5. O-O Be7 6. b3 (6. d4 O-O 7. Re1 Na6
8. h4 Re8 9. Nc3 Ne4 10. Bd2 c5 11. d5 exd5 12. cxd5 Bf6 13. Nxe4 Rxe4 14. Ng5
Rd4 15. Qc2 g6 16. Bc3 Nb4 17. Qb3 a5 18. Bxd4 Bxd4 19. d6 Qf6 20. Bxb7) 6...
O-O 7. Bb2 d6 (7... c5) 8. d4 (8. e3) 8... Nbd7 9. Nc3 Ne4 10. d5 Nxc3 11. Bxc3
{[#]} Bf6 (11... e5 12. e4 a5 13. Ne1 c6) 12. Nd4 e5 13. Nc2 (13. Nc6 Bxc6 14.
dxc6 Nc5 15. b4 Ne6 16. Bd5) 13... Qe7 (13... a5) 14. e4 g6 15. Ne3 a6 (15...
a5) 16. Qc2 c6 17. Rad1 Rad8 18. b4 b5 19. dxc6 (19. c5 dxc5 20. d6 Qe6 21.
bxc5 Nxc5 22. f4) 19... Bxc6 20. cxb5 Bxb5 21. Nd5 Qe6 22. Rfe1 (22. a4 Bxf1
23. Bxf1 Nb8 24. b5) 22... Rc8 23. a4 Bc4 24. Bf1 Bxf1 25. Rxf1 {[#]} Be7 (
25... Bg7) 26. Qd3 Nf6 27. Bd2 (27. Qxa6 Nxd5 28. Ba1) 27... Nxd5 28. exd5 Qd7
29. Qxa6 Ra8 30. Qc6 Qa7 (30... Qxc6) 31. a5 Rfc8 32. Qb5 Rab8 33. Qd3 Bd8 34.
Rc1 f5 35. Rc6 Qa8 36. Rfc1 Kf8 37. Qc4 Rxc6 38. dxc6 Rc8 39. Qe6 Qb8 40. Bh6#
{[#]} 1-0

[Event "NGIT 2019"]
[Site "Orlando"]
[Date "2019.08.05"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Lee, Alice"]
[Black "Lei, Amy"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E90"]
[WhiteElo "2081"]
[BlackElo "1955"]
[Annotator "Lawrence, Al"]
[PlyCount "79"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]

1. d4 d6 2. Nf3 g6 3. c4 Bg7 4. Nc3 Nd7 5. e4 e5 6. Bg5 Ngf6 7. d5 O-O 8. Nd2
h6 9. Be3 a5 10. Be2 Nc5 11. O-O Bd7 12. b3 Nh7 13. a3 f5 14. f3 f4 15. Bf2 Qe7
16. b4 axb4 17. axb4 Na6 18. Qb3 Kh8 19. c5 Rfb8 {[#]} 20. c6 Bc8 21. Ra4 bxc6
22. Qa3 cxd5 23. Bxa6 Bxa6 24. Nxd5 Qd7 25. Rxa6 Rxa6 26. Qxa6 c6 27. Nb6 Qc7
28. Rc1 c5 29. bxc5 dxc5 30. Nd5 Qd8 31. Bxc5 Ra8 32. Qxg6 Ra2 33. Be7 Qa8 34.
Bf6 Ra7 35. Nb6 Qg8 36. Rc8 Nxf6 37. Rxg8+ Kxg8 38. Nd5 Ra6 39. Ne7+ Kf8 40.
Nf5 1-0

[Event "2019 Barber"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.08.06"]
[Round "6.5"]
[White "Shlyakhtenko, Robert"]
[Black "Poliannikov, Danila"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A65"]
[WhiteElo "2394"]
[BlackElo "2283"]
[Annotator "Shlyakhtenko, Robert"]
[PlyCount "69"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,65,25,29,21,-9,11,42,45,60,72,61,82,68,104,65,48,50,70,31,50,39,90,33,
61,60,60,61,62,26,48,22,9,48,50,-26,73,49,49,16,49,34,20,-45,45,51,27,-6,9,0,
147,147,102,112,165,128,87,108,108,79,192,221,310,156,204,209,359,422] This
was the final and most important game of the tournament. Before this game I
had 4/5, behind my opponent and FM Shunkai Peng, who both had 4.5/5. Peng was
black against FM Jason Wang (who also had 4 points), and Shunkai's tiebreaks
were better than mine, so I needed to win my game and pray that he lost. This
is indeed what happened.} 1. d4 {Some may wonder why I chose this move over
something sharper like 1.e4. First of all, playing for a win doesn't
necessarily mean playing an extremely sharp line; it was my goal just to get
an interesting position and play chess. Secondly, I expected that my opponent
would play the Benoni, against which I have never lost a game as white.} Nf6 2.
c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. Nge2 {A scheme that is more
often played against the King's Indian, e.g. 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4
d6 5.f3 0-0 6.Nge2. One of the main advantages of Nge2 here compared to the
KID is that white does not have to play f3 -- in many cases he is able to play
f2-f4 in one go.} Bg7 8. Ng3 a6 ({I assume that my opponent was prepared for
this line, since I had played it before against IM John Daniel Bryant:} 8... h5
$5 9. Be2 h4 10. Nf1 O-O 11. Bg5 h3 12. g3 b5 $5 {with a complex game in
Shlyakhtenko,R (2063)-Bryant,J (2468) Rancho Cucamonga 2018, 1-0 (42)}) 9. a4
h5 10. Be2 O-O 11. O-O $6 ({More accurate was} 11. Bg5 {, preventing h5-h4
once and for all.}) 11... Re8 {In my opinion, having said "A," black should
say "B" and play ...h4 anyway. Likely, my opponent analyzed 11.Bg5 Re8 before
the game and simply decided to transpose in this manner.} (11... h4 12. Nh1 Nh7
13. f4 $1 f5 14. Nf2 {and white is slightly better, Serper,G (2540)
-Malisauskas,V (2490) Manila 1992, 1-0 (40)} (14. g4 $5)) 12. Bg5 Nbd7 13. Qd2
Qa5 {Probably best.} (13... Qb6 $5 {was once played by Kazhgaleyev against
Bareev. Against this I think white should play} 14. a5 $1 Qc7 15. f4 $36 {
, where it is up to black to prove that his Qb6-Qc7 was not simply a loss of
time.}) 14. f4 {As stated in the note to 6.Nge2, this is the most logical
approach to the position.} (14. f3 {is equally possible, however.} Nh7 15. Bh6
Bh8 16. Nh1 c4 17. Nf2 Nc5 18. Bxc4 Bd7 19. Nd3 {and black lacked compensation
for the sacrificed pawn in Hellsten,J (2534)-Flores Rios,M (2417) Santiago de
Chile 2007, 1-0 (50)}) 14... Nh7 15. Bh4 Qb4 16. Kh1 {In order to prevent the
trade of queens with 16...Qd4+.} Ndf6 17. f5 $6 {An ambitious plan, but not
the best. Generally speaking, white can only play f4-f5 when black lacks
control over e5. In the game black managed to do this and should have achieved
near-equity. There were two superior alternatives:} (17. h3 $5 {. One of the
main reasons for my playing 17.f5 was a fear of 17...Bg4. With 17.h3 white
continues playing positionally and has the better position.}) (17. a5 $5 {
, with the threat of Ra4, was an entirely different idea, trying to play
against the queen on b4.} Bd7 18. Ra3 Bb5 (18... Qd4 $5 19. Qc1 Nxe4 20. Ncxe4
Rxe4 21. Nxe4 Qxe4 22. Re3 Qxd5 23. Bc4 Qc6 24. Rd1 Bd4 $44) 19. Qc2 {with the
idea of Rb3.} Bxe2 20. Ngxe2 b5 21. axb6 Qxb6 {and now white gains the
advantage with an original manuever:} 22. Ng1 $1 Rab8 23. Rf2 Ng4 24. Re2 f5 {
and white's advantage is somewhere between += and +/-.}) 17... Qd4 (17... Bd7 {
was also worth considering; black intends ...Re5-Rae8 with pressure against
the e4 pawn.}) 18. Qf4 Qe5 19. Qd2 {I allowed a repetition here just to see
what my opponent's intentions were. Did he think the position called for a
draw, or did he think he could safely play on? (Note that a draw would not
give him any guarantees of first place).} Qd4 20. Qf4 Qe5 21. Qe3 Qd4 ({Not} 
21... Nxd5 $2 22. Nxd5 Qxd5 23. Qf3 Qe5 24. fxg6 fxg6 25. Qf7+ Kh8 26. Qxg6) (
21... Bxf5 $5 {leads to complex play after} 22. Nxf5 gxf5 23. Qh3 $1 f4 (23...
fxe4 24. Rf5 Qd4 25. Raf1 {gives white a strong attack.}) 24. g3 f3 $1 25. Bxf3
b5 $13) 22. Qc1 {I didn't feel that I had anything more than a slight pull
here, but the tournament situation required me to play for a win. Also, I hold
a certain disdain for (early) draws: in my past 20 games I have only drawn
once.} Qe5 23. Bf3 $5 {As is well-known, the queen is a poor blockader; with
this move white envisions the manuever Nge2-Bg3, chasing the black queen away
from e5. In the game this worked wonderfully, but objectively speaking white's
last move is not good.} ({White should have went for a typical rook lift:} 23.
Ra3 $1 Rb8 {and now} 24. Rb3 {prevents b5.} (24. a5 b5 25. axb6 Rxb6) 24... b6
25. Re1 {with a sharp position.}) 23... Bd7 {[#]} (23... gxf5 {fails
tactically:} 24. Nxf5 Bxf5 25. Bg3 $1 Qe7 26. exf5) ({Best was} 23... Rb8 $1 {
with a very rich position. Both sides have many options and the evaluation is
probably objectively equal. I like the following idea:} 24. Re1 $5 {Preparing
Nf1 and an eventual Bg3.} b5 25. axb5 axb5 26. Nf1 b4 $5 27. fxg6 fxg6 28. Nd1
$13) 24. Nge2 $5 b5 $2 {An unfortunate blunder, which ends the game very
prematurely.} ({Now} 24... gxf5 {was perfectly possible.} 25. Bg3 Qe7 26. exf5
Bxf5 27. Qf4 (27. Bxh5 Nxh5 28. Rxf5 Bxc3 $1 29. Rxh5 Bxb2 30. Qxb2 Qxe2 31.
Qxe2 Rxe2 32. Bxd6 Nf6 33. Rg5+ Kh7 34. Rf5 Kg6 35. Raf1 Ne4 36. Rxf7 Nxd6 37.
R7f6+ $11) (27. h3 $5) 27... Bd3 28. Rfe1 (28. Qxd6 Qxd6 29. Bxd6 Ng5 $1) 28...
c4 $132) 25. Bg3 Qe7 26. axb5 axb5 27. Rxa8 Rxa8 28. fxg6 (28. e5 {gives black
some counterplay after} Bxf5 29. exf6 Nxf6 30. Nxb5 {. This is probably a
stylistic thing; however I preferred a position with equal material but
complete domination over a position with extra material but some defensive
work to be done.}) 28... fxg6 29. e5 $1 Ne8 (29... dxe5 30. d6 {is the point.
After} Qe8 {it's better not to take on a8 but to play the completely crushing}
31. Nd5 $1 (31. Bd5+ Kh8 (31... Nxd5 32. Nxd5 Rb8 33. Ne7+ Kh8 34. Qxc5) 32.
Bxa8 Qxa8) 31... Nxd5 32. Bxd5+ Kh8 33. Bxa8 Qxa8 34. Qxc5 $18) 30. e6 Bc8 31.
Nf4 Qg5 32. Be4 b4 33. Bxg6 $1 {and black resigned. After 33...bxc3 34.Bf7+
Kh8 35. Ng6+ white wins the queen. Jason also ended up winning his game, so as
a result the two of us tied for first and I won on tiebreaks.} bxc3 34. Bf7+
Kh8 35. Ng6+ 1-0

[Event "Denke Tourn. of High School Champions"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2019.08.03"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Tiglon, Bryce"]
[Black "Kothapalli, Pradhyumna"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B52"]
[WhiteElo "2454"]
[BlackElo "2152"]
[Annotator "Tiglon, Bryce"]
[PlyCount "103"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]

{[%evp 0,103,18,18,54,54,82,36,50,36,48,35,35,10,17,-1,6,6,31,37,60,56,60,54,
46,56,46,31,48,20,17,12,32,30,39,40,53,41,61,49,87,79,79,97,83,67,76,82,67,81,
108,91,91,91,102,102,102,65,108,108,108,108,130,149,165,142,166,158,196,166,
195,176,249,188,179,196,196,240,193,211,211,211,211,211,254,244,366,369,698,
634,834,876,1016,804,836,1060,1013,1191,1416,1858,2103,1869,2183,2268,29965,
29966]} 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. Bb5+ {In the past I've primarily favored 3.d4
here, but for whatever reason on this day I didn't feel like playing against
the Najdorf.} (3. d4) 3... Bd7 4. Bxd7+ Nxd7 {5.Qxd7 is more popular, but I'm
not exactly sure why. I think 5.Nxd7 is just as good (if not better) and I
know Nakamura has essayed the move on a number of occasions.} (4... Qxd7) 5.
O-O g6 $6 {This came as a suprise.} 6. c3 Ngf6 7. Qe2 Bg7 {7.Bh6 was seen in
Caruana-Nakamura from the 2015 Saint Louis Blitz Showdown. In any case, I like
white's position.} 8. d4 cxd4 9. cxd4 e5 10. dxe5 dxe5 11. Rd1 Qe7 12. Nc3 $146
{According to my database this is a novelty, but 12.b3 looks good as well.} (
12. b3) 12... O-O 13. Bg5 Qe6 14. Nd2 $5 {It's not clear that this is a good
idea, however meanuevring the Knight via d2-f1-e3-d5 is certainly interesting.}
Rac8 15. Nf1 {Continuing with my aformentioned plan.} h6 16. Bxf6 Nxf6 17. Ne3
Nd7 18. Nb5 {Here, I spotted a cute tactic that actually occurs in the game on
move 20!} a6 19. Nd6 Rc7 $2 {[#]} 20. Nd5 $1 {the point behind 18.Nb5.} Rc6 {
Qxd6 doesn't work:} (20... Qxd6 21. Nxc7 Qxc7 22. Rac1 Qd8 (22... Nc5 23. b4
$18) 23. Qd3 $18) 21. Nxb7 $18 Rfc8 22. Na5 Rc2 23. Rd2 Rxd2 24. Qxd2 f5 25.
Rc1 Rxc1+ 26. Qxc1 fxe4 27. Qc4 Kh7 28. Qxe4 $2 {White is a little careless.} (
28. Qc6 Qxc6 29. Nxc6 Bf8 30. Nc7 Kg7 31. Nxa6 Kf6 32. Kf1 {looks clean enough.
}) 28... Nf6 (28... Nc5 29. Qc4 Qf5 {offers black some defensive chances}) 29.
Nxf6+ Qxf6 {But now, with the knights exchanged black has basically given up.}
30. Nc4 Qg5 31. g3 Qe7 32. Kg2 Qc5 33. b3 Qb4 34. Qd5 Qe1 35. Nd6 Qe2 36. Ne8
e4 37. Qf7 Qb2 38. Qxg7+ Qxg7 39. Nxg7 Kxg7 {The pawn endgame is a trivial win
for white.} 40. f3 exf3+ 41. Kxf3 Kf6 42. Ke4 Ke6 43. b4 Kd6 44. a4 Ke6 45. b5
a5 46. Kd4 Kd6 47. h3 Kc7 48. Ke5 Kb6 49. Kf6 Kc5 50. Kxg6 Kb4 51. b6 Kxa4 52.
b7 {A great start to what ended up being a fantastic tournament!} 1-0

[Event "2019 US Open Invitationals (Denker, Barb"]
[Site "Orlando, United States"]
[Date "2019.08.05"]
[Round "5.3"]
[White "Nguyen, Emily"]
[Black "Titus, Andrew"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D37"]
[WhiteElo "2278"]
[BlackElo "2326"]
[Annotator "Nguyen, Emily"]
[PlyCount "111"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]

{Two years ago, I played Andrew in the 2017 US Cadet Championships. It had
been a QGD-type position, so in this game, I was expecting more or less the
same.} 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Be7 5. Bf4 {One of the most topical
lines in the QGD} O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 {On move 6, Black has a choice between c5, b6,
and Nbd7. I was slightly shook when he played Nbd7 because I have faced the
other lines more frequently.} 7. c5 Nh5 8. Bd3 Nxf4 9. exf4 b6 10. b4 a5 11. a3
c6 12. O-O {This is all still pretty much theory apparently. I hadn't studied
this line for a fat second, but he was still blitzing out his moves, which was
pretty reassuring.} Qc7 13. Ne5 (13. g3 {g3 is the main move here, but Ne5
looked more natural to me}) 13... Nxe5 14. fxe5 {I thought my position was
pretty comfortable here because my pawn structure is fixed and I just have a
nice space advantage.} Ba6 $6 {I think Ba6 here was a bit of an inaccuracy. He
wanted to trade off his bad bishop for my strong bishop, but this allowed me
to play} ({Better was probably} 14... axb4 15. axb4 Rxa1 16. Qxa1 bxc5 17. bxc5
f6 {to try to open up the position and queenside.}) 15. Na4 $1 {Na4 forces him
to take on c5, and in doing so Black is unable to open the a-file and free his
pieces on the queenside. I can now also lock up the b-file and have a strong
outpost for my knight on b6.} bxc5 (15... b5 {does not work here due to} 16.
Nb6 Rab8 17. bxa5) 16. bxc5 Bb5 {I was a little surprised at this move because
I thought he had just blundered a pawn and I didn't see where the compensation
was.} ({I expected} 16... Bxd3 {instead, and after} 17. Qxd3 f6 18. f4 $14 {
I think I'm slightly better here, but it's still pretty unclear because he can
now open up the f-file.}) 17. Nb6 Rab8 (17... Ra7 {Ra7 was also a viable
option to keep the pawn, because after} 18. Bxb5 ({but after} 18. a4 Bxd3 19.
Qxd3 {My position is much more comfortable and his rooks are disconnected})
18... cxb5 19. Qd3 Bxc5 $1 20. dxc5 Qxc5 {and my Knight is trapped.}) 18. Bxb5
cxb5 19. Qd3 {[#] and now it's impossible for him to defend b5.} Qc6 ({During
the game, I thought he might have considered sacrificing the exchange, after
which I think black's position is still pretty playable.} 19... Rxb6 20. cxb6
Qxb6 $14 {White's certainly better here, but I'm not sure if this is winning.})
(19... Bxc5 $2 {no longer works due to} 20. dxc5 Qxc5 21. Nd7) 20. Rab1 f6 {
This was probably his idea all along, to sacrifice a pawn in order to open up
the position, activate his bishop, and weaken my central pawns.} 21. exf6 Bxf6
22. Rfd1 {with the idea of taking on b5 next} b4 23. axb4 axb4 24. Rxb4 e5 {
with the idea of breaking apart my central pawns and weakening c5} 25. dxe5
Qxc5 {Here, he missed the intermediate} 26. Rb5 $1 {[#] after which Black's
position pretty much collapses} (26. Qxd5+ Qxd5 27. Rxd5 $16 {looks pretty
compelling as well}) 26... Qc6 27. exf6 Rxb6 28. Rxb6 Qxb6 29. Qxd5+ {and now
the endgame wasn't too difficult to win.} Kh8 30. fxg7+ Kxg7 31. Qe5+ Kg8 32.
Qd5+ Kg7 33. Qe5+ Kg8 34. Qg3+ Kh8 35. h3 Qf6 36. Rd6 Qf4 37. Qxf4 Rxf4 38. Rd7
Kg8 39. g3 Ra4 40. Kg2 Ra3 41. g4 Rb3 42. Re7 Ra3 43. Re3 Ra4 44. Kg3 Kf7 45.
f4 Kf6 46. g5+ Kg6 47. Re6+ Kf7 48. Rb6 Kg7 49. Kg4 Ra7 50. h4 Ra5 51. Rb7+ Kg8
52. f5 Ra6 53. Kh5 Ra5 54. f6 Ra4 55. Rb8+ Kf7 56. Rh8 {This game in round 5
was critical to my win in the tournament. I had just upset a 2350 in round 4,
and I honestly was not expecting to win this round or the next (which I
somehow finessed again). However, I won the last round, too, after pulling off
my third upset in a row to catch up to the leaders -- Bryce Tiglon and Ben Li
-- and tie for first. Coming into the tournament, I honestly had zero
expectations because, well, it was Denker and I was also fifteenth seed. In
addition to all of that, I had been playing such inconsistent and poor chess
throughout summer, so winning such a prestigious tournament came as a big but
pleasant surprise. Denker was such an enjoyable tournament to participate in,
though, and I'd like to thank the organizers for such a great opportunity. I'm
looking forward to coming back next year!} 1-0

[Event "Curacao Candidates"]
[Site "Willemstad CUW"]
[Date "1962.05.05"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Pal Benko"]
[Black "Mikhail Tal"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B07"]
[Annotator "Benjamin, Joel"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "1962.05.02"]

1. g3 g6 2. Bg2 Bg7 3. d4 d6 4. e4 Nf6 5. Ne2 O-O 6. O-O Nbd7 7. Nbc3 c6 8. a4
a5 9. b3 {[#]} Re8 10. Ba3 Qc7 11. Qd2 e5 12. Rad1 exd4 13. Nxd4 Nc5 14. f3 b6
15. Nde2 Bf8 16. Bb2 Qe7 17. Nd4 Bb7 18. Rfe1 Bg7 19. f4 Rad8 20. Bf3 Qd7 21.
Qg2 d5 22. e5 Nfe4 23. Nxe4 dxe4 24. Be2 Qe7 25. Ba3 {[#]} f6 26. Bc4+ Kh8 27.
Ne6 Rd5 (27... Rxd1 28. Rxd1 fxe5 29. Bxc5 bxc5 30. Ng5 Bf8 (30... Rf8 31. Qh3)
31. Nf7+ Kg7 32. fxe5) 28. Bxd5 cxd5 29. Nxg7 Kxg7 30. exf6+ Qxf6 31. Qf2 Ne6
32. Qxb6 Ba8 33. Bd6 Qf5 34. Qxa5 Kh6 35. c4 Rd8 36. Be7 e3 37. Rxe3 Re8 38.
Bg5+ Kg7 39. Rde1 Nxg5 40. fxg5 Rf8 41. Qa7+ 1-0

[Event "Sao Paulo"]
[Site "Sao Paulo"]
[Date "1973.??.??"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Segal, Alexandru Sorin"]
[Black "Benko, Pal C"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A58"]
[WhiteElo "2340"]
[BlackElo "2530"]
[Annotator "Benjamin, Joel"]
[PlyCount "101"]
[EventDate "1973.??.??"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 {[#]} 5. bxa6 (5. e3) (5. b6) 5... Bxa6
(5... g6 6. Nc3 Bxa6) 6. Nc3 d6 7. Nf3 g6 8. Nd2 Qa5 9. Qc2 (9. e4 Bxf1 10.
Nxf1 Nxe4) 9... Bg7 10. g3 O-O 11. Bg2 Nbd7 12. O-O Ne8 13. Nb3 Qc7 14. Bg5 Ne5
15. Rad1 Nf6 16. Rfe1 Rfb8 17. Bc1 Nfd7 18. h3 Nc4 19. Kh2 (19. Nd2) 19... Qb6
20. Ne4 Qb4 {[#]} 21. Ned2 Qa4 22. Nxc4 Bxc4 23. Bg5 Rxb3 24. axb3 Bxb3 25. Qd2
Bxd1 26. Rxd1 Bf6 27. Bf4 Rb8 28. Rb1 h5 29. Bg5 Bxg5 30. Qxg5 Nf6 31. Qe3 Rb7
32. Rc1 Qb3 33. Rc3 (33. Qxb3 Rxb3 34. Rc2 Nd7) 33... Qxb2 34. Ra3 Kg7 35. Ra8
Rc7 36. f4 c4 37. f5 c3 38. fxg6 fxg6 39. Ra7 Qb8 40. Ra1 Qb2 41. Rc1 Qd2 42.
Qxd2 cxd2 43. Rd1 Rc2 44. Bf3 g5 45. g4 hxg4 46. hxg4 Nd7 47. Kg3 Nc5 48. Kf2
Na4 49. Ke3 Nb2 50. Rxd2 Nc4+ 51. Kd3 0-1

[Event "Torremolinos"]
[Site "Sao Paulo"]
[Date "1973.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "William Martz"]
[Black "GM Pal Benko"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A28"]
[Annotator "Benjamin, Joel"]
[PlyCount "114"]
[EventDate "1973.??.??"]
[SourceDate "2019.10.04"]

1. c4 e5 2. Nc3 Nc6 3. e3 Nf6 4. Nf3 Bb4 5. Qc2 O-O 6. d3 Re8 7. Bd2 d6 8. Be2
Bf5 9. O-O e4 10. Nd4 Nxd4 11. exd4 Bxc3 12. Bxc3 d5 13. b3 Qd7 14. dxe4 Nxe4
15. Bd3 Nd6 16. Bb4 Bxd3 17. Qxd3 Nf5 18. Rad1 Re4 19. Bc3 Rae8 20. c5 c6 21.
Rfe1 Rxe1+ 22. Rxe1 Rxe1+ 23. Bxe1 Qe6 24. Bc3 Qe4 25. Qxe4 dxe4 26. g4 Ne7 27.
f3 Nd5 28. Bd2 exf3 29. Kf2 Kf8 30. Kxf3 Ke7 31. Ke4 Ke6 32. Be1 Nf6+ 33. Kf4
Kd5 34. Bc3 Nd7 35. Bb2 f6 36. g5 fxg5+ 37. Kxg5 Nf8 38. Kf5 Ne6 39. h4 Nxd4+
40. Bxd4 Kxd4 41. Ke6 {[#]} g6 (41... Kxc5 42. Kf7 Kb4 43. Kxg7 h5 44. Kg6 c5
45. Kxh5 b5 46. Kg6 c4 47. bxc4 bxc4 48. h5) (41... Ke4 42. b4 h5 43. a4 (43.
Kd7 g5 44. hxg5 Kf5) 43... a6 44. a5 Kf4 (44... Kd4 45. Kf5 Kc4 46. Kg6 Kxb4
47. Kxg7 Kxc5 48. Kg6 b5 49. axb6 Kxb6) 45. Kd7 g5 46. hxg5 Kxg5 47. Kc7 h4 48.
Kxb7 h3 49. Kxa6 h2 50. Kb7 h1=Q 51. a6 Qh7+ 52. Kb8 Qg8+ 53. Kb7 Qf7+ 54. Kb8
Qf4+ 55. Kc8 Qxb4 56. a7 Qxc5 57. a8=Q Qf8+ 58. Kb7 Qxa8+ 59. Kxa8 c5) 42. Kf6
Ke4 43. Kg7 Kf4 44. Kh6 Kg4 45. Kxh7 g5 46. hxg5 Kxg5 47. Kg7 Kf5 48. Kf7 Ke5
49. Ke7 Kd5 50. Kd7 Kxc5 51. Kc7 b5 52. Kb7 a5 53. a3 b4 54. a4 Kd4 55. Kxc6
Kc3 56. Kb5 Kxb3 57. Kxa5 Ka3 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Problem"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Benjamin, Joel"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/8/8/8/4k3/8/8/2BQKB2 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "5"]

{[#]} 1. Bc4 Ke5 (1... Kf5 2. Qh5+ (2. Qf3+ Kg6 (2... Ke5 3. Qf4#) 3. Qf7#)
2... Ke4 3. Qd5#) 2. Qd5+ Kf6 3. Qg5# 1-0

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Date "2019.09.18"]
[Round "3.6"]
[White "Giri, Anish"]
[Black "Xiong, Jeffery"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A04"]
[WhiteElo "2780"]
[BlackElo "2707"]
[Annotator "Hartmann, John"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2r5/4Rpkp/3p1np1/pp1P1P2/1qr5/nPNQ4/PKP1N1PP/2R5 b - - 0 25"]
[PlyCount "23"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]

{[#]} 25... Rxc3 $1 26. Nxc3 Rxc3 27. Qe2 (27. Qxc3 Nc4+ {loses the queen})
27... Nc4+ 28. Ka1 Ne5 29. fxg6 hxg6 30. Rf1 Qd4 31. Kb1 Nxd5 32. Rd1 Rd3 $1
33. Rxd3 (33. cxd3 $2 Nc3+) 33... Nxd3 34. Qxd3 Qxd3 35. Rxf7+ Kxf7 36. cxd3
Nf4 0-1

[Event "FIDE World Cup 2019"]
[Site "Khanty-Mansiysk"]
[Date "2019.09.22"]
[Round "4.8"]
[White "Xiong, Jeffery"]
[Black "Duda, Jan-Krzysztof"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B03"]
[WhiteElo "2707"]
[BlackElo "2730"]
[Annotator "Watson, John"]
[PlyCount "63"]
[EventDate "2019.??.??"]
[SourceTitle "2019 World Cup"]
[SourceDate "2019.10.06"]

1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. c4 Nb6 4. d4 d6 5. f4 {Kudos to both players for going
into this sharp variation when everything is on the line.} Bf5 6. Nc3 e6 7. Nf3
Be7 8. Be3 O-O 9. Be2 dxe5 10. fxe5 Nc6 11. O-O f6 12. exf6 Bxf6 13. b3 {
Quite unusual. There are hundreds of master games with the main line} (13. Qd2
Qe7 14. Rad1 Rad8) 13... Qe7 14. Qe1 Rad8 (14... Nb4 $5 {tries to exploit the
position of the queen on e1, e.g.,} 15. Rd1 Nc2 16. Qf2 Rad8 17. Bd3 $5 Nxd4 $1
18. Bxf5 Nxf5 19. Rxd8 Qxd8 20. Ne4 {and White has compensation for the pawn,
but no more.}) (14... e5 {is known to theory.}) 15. Rd1 Bg4 $2 {In a Blitz
game it's not immediately obvious that after White's next, the threat to d4 is
gone and this bishop is badly misplaced. There are two reasonable options:} (
15... Nb4 {transposes to the previous note, and}) (15... Rd7 16. h3 Qd8 $5 (
16... Bg6 $14) 17. d5 $1 Bxc3 $2 18. Qxc3 exd5 19. Bxb6 axb6 20. cxd5 $16 {
was very good for White in Windhager, H (2159)-Lautner,J (2230) Austria 2016.})
16. Ne4 $1 h6 (16... Bxf3 17. Nxf6+ Qxf6 18. Rxf3 {and there's no time to take
the d-pawn.}) 17. Qg3 Bf5 18. Nxf6+ Rxf6 19. Nh4 {White has the bishop pair
and superior pawn structure.} (19. Ne5 {was also strong.}) 19... Bc2 20. Rxf6
$6 {Logical, but it gives away much of White's advantage. Simply} (20. Rd2 {
keeps White's well on top with every chance of winning.}) 20... Bxd1 $4 {
A total miscalculation. Playing such a position with a few seconds per move
isn't realistic. Correct was} (20... Qxf6 21. Rf1 (21. Rd2 Nxd4) 21... Nxd4 $1
{with forking ideas and near-equality.}) 21. Rg6 $2 {Again the effects of time
and pressure.} (21. Rxh6 $1 {wins after} Bxe2 22. Rh8+ $1 Kxh8 (22... Kf7 23.
Qg6#) 23. Ng6+ Kg8 24. Nxe7+ Nxe7 25. Qe5 $1 ({or} 25. Qxc7) 25... Bd3 26.
Qxe6+ Kf8 27. d5 {with a dominating position. White was understandably
reluctant to risk this type of material imbalance.}) 21... Nxd4 $1 22. Bd3 $1 (
22. Bxd1 Nf5 $1 23. Qe1 Nxh4) 22... Ne2+ $1 {Else 23 Bxh6 will win.} 23. Bxe2
Bxe2 24. Bxh6 Rd1+ $4 {Tragic! This move is natural but losing. With a few
more seconds to think about it, Black probably would have found} (24... Qc5+ $1
25. Be3 (25. Qe3 Qxe3+ 26. Bxe3 Kf7 $14) 25... Rd1+ 26. Kf2 Qf8+ $1 27. Nf3 Bd3
$1 {(threatening mate)} 28. Bxb6 axb6 ({or} 28... Bxg6 29. Qxg6 axb6 30. Qxe6+
Qf7 31. Qc8+ Qf8 32. Qe6+ {, which draws}) 29. Rg5 Qf7 $11) 25. Kf2 Qf8+ {
It's simply lost now.} 26. Nf3 Rd7 (26... Bxf3 {loses to} 27. Rxg7+ Kh8 28.
Rh7+ Kxh7 29. Bxf8) 27. Kxe2 {White is a piece up with an ongoing attack.} Kh7
28. Ng5+ Kh8 29. Nxe6 Qf5 30. Bxg7+ Kg8 31. Bd4+ Kf7 32. Rf6+ 1-0

[Event "67th US Open"]
[Site "Seattle, WA USA"]
[Date "1966.08.14"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Pal Benko"]
[Black "William Lyons"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B01"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[PlyCount "55"]
[EventDate "1966.??.??"]

1. e4 d5 2. exd5 Qxd5 3. Nc3 Qa5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Bc4 c6 6. Nf3 e6 7. O-O Be7 8.
Re1 O-O {[#]} 9. Bg5 Nbd7 10. Ne4 Re8 11. Ng3 Qc7 12. Qe2 Nb6 (12... b5) 13.
Bd3 (13. Bb3) 13... Nbd5 14. Ne5 h6 15. Bd2 Bd6 16. Nh5 Nxh5 17. Qxh5 Nf6 18.
Qh4 Qd8 (18... Qe7) (18... Bf8 19. Bxh6) 19. Bxh6 gxh6 20. Re3 h5 21. Qg5+ Kf8
(21... Kh8 22. Nxf7#) 22. Qh6+ (22. Rf3) 22... Ke7 (22... Kg8 23. Rg3+ Ng4 24.
Qh7+ Kf8 25. Qxf7#) 23. Rf3 Bxe5 24. dxe5 Nd5 25. Rxf7+ Kxf7 26. Bg6+ Kg8 (
26... Ke7 27. Qg7#) 27. Qh7+ Kf8 28. Qf7# 1-0

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM I"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/5b2/8/8/3p4/q2P4/2K5/3RQ3 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "5"]

{[#]} 1... Bb3+ 2. Kb1 (2. Kd2 Qb2#) 2... Qa2+ 3. Kc1 Qc2# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM II"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "8/6k1/8/8/8/7q/5P1b/3QR2K b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "5"]

{[#]} 1... Bg3+ 2. Kg1 Qh2+ 3. Kf1 Qxf2# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM III"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2q5/6k1/8/8/4n3/8/4pP1P/2Q1R1K1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{[#]} 1... Qg4+ 2. Kh1 Nxf2# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM IV"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "6k1/5r2/8/5qp1/4n3/3QP2P/5RK1/4B1N1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "5"]

{[#]} 1... Qxf2+ 2. Bxf2 Rxf2+ 3. Kh1 Ng3# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM V"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1k6/3Q4/8/2b5/6n1/q7/5P2/5RK1 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{[#]} 1... Qg3+ 2. Kh1 Qh2# 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "PROBLEM VI"]
[Black "Mating Net"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "Pandolfini, Bruce"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "1b4r1/2q1k3/8/8/4p3/4Q3/5KP1/4BR2 b - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{[#]} 1... Rxg2+ 2. Kxg2 Qh2# 0-1

[Event "Lone Pine op Louis D. Statham Masters"]
[Site "Lone Pine"]
[Date "1978.04.08"]
[Round "7"]
[White "Benko, Pal C"]
[Black "Sahovic, Dragutin"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E17"]
[WhiteElo "2485"]
[BlackElo "2490"]
[Annotator "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[PlyCount "96"]
[EventDate "1978.04.02"]
[EventType "swiss"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "MCL"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.07.01"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. g3 Bb7 5. Bg2 Be7 6. d4 Ne4 7. Bd2 O-O 8. d5
Nxd2 9. Qxd2 Bf6 10. O-O c5 11. Ne1 Bxc3 12. Qxc3 exd5 13. Qd2 Na6 14. Nc2 Nc7
15. Ne3 Re8 16. cxd5 d6 17. a4 Na6 18. Nc2 Qf6 19. b3 Nb4 20. Nxb4 cxb4 21.
Qxb4 Rxe2 22. Rae1 Rxe1 23. Rxe1 g6 24. a5 Kg7 25. axb6 axb6 26. Qxb6 Ra1 27.
Qe3 Rxe1+ 28. Qxe1 Qd4 29. Bf3 Bxd5 30. Qd1 Qxd1+ 31. Bxd1 Kf6 32. f4 Ke6 33.
Kf2 Kd7 34. b4 Kc7 35. Ke3 Kb6 36. Kd4 Be6 37. Be2 Kc6 {[#]} 38. Bc4 Kb6 39. h4
(39. Bxe6 fxe6 40. g4 Kb5 41. f5 exf5 42. gxf5 gxf5) 39... Kc6 {[#]} (39... h5
40. f5 gxf5 (40... Bxf5 41. Bxf7) (40... Bxc4 41. Kxc4 gxf5 42. Kd5 Kc7 43. b5
Kd7 44. b6 f6 45. b7 Kc7 46. b8=Q+ Kxb8 47. Kxd6) 41. Be2 f6 42. Bxh5 Kc6 43.
Bg6) 40. Be2 h5 (40... Kb6 41. g4 Kc6 (41... h6 42. Bc4 Kc6 43. f5 gxf5 44.
Bxe6 fxe6 45. g5) 42. g5 Kb6 43. Bc4 Kc6 {[#]} 44. f5 Bxf5 (44... gxf5 45. Bxe6
fxe6 46. h5 Kd7 47. g6 hxg6 48. h6 (48. hxg6)) 45. Bxf7 Kb5 46. Bg8 Kxb4 47.
Bxh7) (40... f5 41. Bc4 Bd7) 41. Bc4 Kb6 (41... d5 42. b5+ Kd6 43. Bb3) 42. f5
Bxf5 43. Bxf7 Kb5 44. Kd5 Kxb4 45. Kxd6 Kc3 46. Ke5 Kd3 47. Kf4 (47. Kf6 Ke2
48. Bxg6 Bg4 49. Kg5) 47... Ke2 48. Kg5 Kf2 1-0

[Event "Budapest Centaris"]
[Site "Budapest"]
[Date "1948.05.15"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Benko, Pal C"]
[Black "Fuster, Geza"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A28"]
[Annotator "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[PlyCount "73"]
[EventDate "1948.05.02"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "15"]
[EventCountry "HUN"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 1999"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1998.11.16"]

1. c4 Nf6 2. Nc3 e5 3. Nf3 Nc6 4. d3 Be7 5. e3 O-O 6. Be2 d6 7. O-O Be6 8. a3
Qd7 9. b4 Rae8 10. Bb2 Bd8 11. Qc2 h6 12. Rad1 Bf5 13. Nd5 Nxd5 14. cxd5 Ne7
15. Qc4 Bh7 16. e4 Ng6 17. g3 f5 18. Nd2 f4 19. Kg2 Rf6 20. h3 Kh8 21. Bg4 Qe7
22. Qb5 b6 23. Nf3 Ref8 24. Qd7 Bg8 25. Qxe7 Bxe7 26. d4 fxg3 27. fxg3 Bh7 28.
Bf5 exd4 29. Bxd4 Rxf5 30. exf5 Rxf5 31. Rc1 Bd8 32. Rfe1 Ne7 {[#]} 33. Rxc7
Bxc7 34. Rxe7 Bg8 35. Rxg7 Bd8 36. Rf7+ Re5 37. Nxe5 1-0

[Event "USA"]
[Site "USA"]
[Date "1967.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Bisguier, Arthur Bernard"]
[Black "Benko, Pal C"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B22"]
[Annotator "Naroditsky, Daniel"]
[PlyCount "108"]
[EventDate "1967.??.??"]
[EventType "game"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "USA"]
[SourceTitle "EXT 2010"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2010.11.25"]

1. e4 c5 2. c3 Nf6 3. e5 Nd5 4. Nf3 Nc6 5. d4 cxd4 6. cxd4 d6 7. Nc3 dxe5 8.
dxe5 Nxc3 9. Qxd8+ Kxd8 10. bxc3 h6 11. Bb5 Bd7 12. O-O e6 13. Rd1 Kc7 14. c4
Bc5 15. Bb2 a6 16. Ba4 Rhd8 17. Nd2 Bd4 18. Bxd4 Nxd4 19. Bxd7 Rxd7 20. Ne4
Rad8 21. Nd6 f6 22. Rxd4 fxe5 23. Nb5+ axb5 24. Rxd7+ Rxd7 25. cxb5 Kb6 26. a4
Ka5 27. f3 b6 28. Re1 Kxa4 29. Rxe5 Rd5 30. Rxe6 Kxb5 31. Re7 g5 32. h4 gxh4
33. Kh2 Kc4 34. Kh3 Rd4 35. Rc7+ Kb4 36. Rc6 b5 37. Rxh6 Kc3 38. g4 hxg3 39.
Kxg3 b4 40. f4 b3 41. Kg4 b2 42. Rh1 Ra4 43. Rb1 Ra1 44. Rxb2 Kxb2 45. Kf5 Kc3
46. Ke5 Re1+ 47. Kd5 {[#]} Rf1 48. Ke5 Kc4 (48... Kd3 49. f5) 49. f5 Kc5 50.
Ke6 Kc6 (50... Re1+ 51. Kd7) 51. f6 Re1+ 52. Kf7 Kd7 53. Kf8 Ke6 54. f7 Rf1 0-1

[Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "????.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Benko Baffler"]
[Black "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[Annotator "Benko, Pal"]
[SetUp "1"]
[FEN "2N1n3/1N1B1b2/r1pp3r/8/p1k5/6B1/KQ1R4/6b1 w - - 0 1"]
[PlyCount "3"]

{[#]} 1. Bg4 Re6 (1... Bg6 2. Ncxd6+) (1... Rh2 2. Bf2) 2. Qc1+ 1-0

