chessgames.com
Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players · Kibitzing
Pal Benko vs Sawyer
Simul (1964) (exhibition), New York, NY USA
Spanish Game: Cozio Defense. General (C60)  ·  1-0

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

explore this opening
find similar games 1,326 more games of Benko
sac: 9.Nxe5+ PGN: download | view | print Help: general | java-troubleshooting

TIP: To access more information about the players (more games, favorite openings, statistics, sometimes a biography and photograph), click their highlighted names at the top of this page.

PGN Viewer:  What is this?
For help with this chess viewer, please see the Olga Chess Viewer Quickstart Guide.
PREMIUM MEMBERS CAN REQUEST COMPUTER ANALYSIS [more info]

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 4 OF 4 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Sep-09-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: 9.Nxe5+ dxe5 10.Qe6#
Sep-09-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: <Fusilli: I can't believe this was voted one of Benko's "notable games". That's kind of insulting. It was a simul game, against a very weak player who handled the black pieces horribly. Benko has many great games against strong GMs. Come on!>

Au contraire. This game is far greater than the likes of Benko vs Fischer, 1958. I applaud chessgames.com members for their discernment.

Sep-09-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  agb2002: White is a pawn up.

Black threatens Nxb3.

The prosaic 9.Qe6+ is met with 9... Kc6. Hence, 9.Nxe5+ dxe5 10.Qe6#.

Sep-09-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  An Englishman: Good Evening: Mark Twain fans might say that Sawyer got Finned.
Sep-09-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  piltdown man: I played Benko in a simul, in Melbourne in 1985. I wasn't quite as bad as Mr. (or Ms?) Sawyer, but I still got thumped. Mr. Benko seemed to be a grumpy guy, who managed to win every game.
Sep-09-19  stst: 9.NxP+ PxN (forced)
10.Qe6#
Sep-09-19  stst: <...grumpy guy, who managed to win every game.>

without any qualifier, that'd God!? to win every game!!

Sep-09-19  Cheapo by the Dozen: First move to look at is Qe6+. Since this is a puzzle, we should expect it not to work. Figuring out WHY it doesn't work quickly leads to Nxe5+, blowing up the escape route.
Sep-09-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  patzer2: This game, with today's Monday mate-in-two puzzle 9. Nxe5+ dxe5 10. Qe6#, is no doubt a tribute to GM Pal Benko who died Monday Aug 26, 2019 at the age of 91.

The article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pal_B... does a good job of explaining how and why Benko fled Hungary to become a US citizen. It also does a good job of summarizing his accomplishments and contributions to chess.

P.S.: For a Black improvement, I strongly prefer 5...d5 = as in the draw in Dolmatov vs A Rodriguez Cespedes, 1993.

Though it's not the most popular move, 3...Nge7 is not bad and has surprise value. Super GM Alexander Motylev has used it effectively as a weapon in blitz, as evidenced by his wins in P V Vishnu vs Motylev, 2018 and V Sanal vs Motylev, 2018.

Sep-09-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  patzer2: <FSR> Thanks for the link to Pal Benko's win in Benko vs Fischer, 1958, which was a "game of the day" tribute to him on Aug 27, 2019.
Sep-09-19  saturn2: 9. Nxe5+ dxe5 10. Qe6# was seen
Sep-09-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  gezafan: <An Englishman: Good Evening: Mark Twain fans might say that Sawyer got Finned.>

Mark Twain was a great writer. Everyone should read him.

Sep-09-19  malt: 9.N:e5+ does away with the d pawn,
and a King chase, 9...de5 10.Qe6#
Sep-09-19  areknames: Ok, so does 9.Qe6+ lose for White? After 9...Kc6 10.Nxe5+ Kb6 11.Nc4+ Ka7 I think the Q is trapped.
Sep-09-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  keypusher: <areknames: Ok, so does 9.Qe6+ lose for White? After 9...Kc6 10.Nxe5+ Kb6 11.Nc4+ Ka7 I think the Q is trapped.>

White has 10.Be8+! Kb6 (10....Qxe8 11.d5+ Kb6 12.Be3+ c5 13.Qxd6+, etc.) 11.Qf7 (SF).

9.Nxe5+ certainly is a big improvement, though.

Sep-09-19  zb2cr: I saw this quickly, exactly as I did when it was featured in January 2008. I have to say I didn't remember that previous appearance of this game.

9. Nxe5+, dxe5; 10. Qe6#.

Sep-09-19  areknames: Thanks, <keypusher>. 10.Be8+ is an unexpected resource, although the mate in 2 as played is of course preferable.
Sep-09-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  saffuna: I wonder which player in the db has the fewest total moves (assuming Korchnoi has the most).

Sawyer has eight total moves. Might be hard to beat.

Sep-09-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  thegoodanarchist: Saw your mistake
Sep-09-19  TheTamale: I admire Sawyer's optimism, at least, playing the Corzio variation against a strong Grandmaster and then making no effort to free up his cramped position. Just a weird game, IMO.
Sep-09-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  gawain: A very fine Monday puzzle. I ran through a couple of inconclusive lines involving Q checks and K chases before seeing how a queen check at e6 could, by first sacrificing a knight, be converted into a checkmate.
Sep-09-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  Breunor: Bleep! Missed it.
Sep-09-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: <saffuna> Peter Napetschnig played five moves in the database.
Sep-09-19
Premium Chessgames Member
  FSR: <saffuna> Lance Darling has two.
Sep-10-19  Damenlaeuferbauer: After long pondering, my old Hungarian-American friend Pal finally found the mate in two moves with 9.Nxe5+!, dxe5 10.Qe6#. May his soul rest in eternal peace!
Jump to page #    (enter # from 1 to 4)
search thread:   
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 4 OF 4 ·  Later Kibitzing>

NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

  1. No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
  2. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts.
  3. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members.
  4. Nothing in violation of United States law.
  5. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members.
  6. No trolling.
  7. The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited.
  8. Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers.

Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times.

Blow the Whistle

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator.


NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific game only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.
All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration.

This game is type: EXHIBITION. Please report incorrect or missing information by submitting a correction slip to help us improve the quality of our content.

<This page contains Editor Notes. Click here to read them.>

Featured in the Following Game Collections[what is this?]
Ruy Lopez
from Traps in the openings by Mateen by Mateen
simple and neat
from stunning attack by ice lemon tea
8. Bxf7+! preceeds 9. Nxe5+ to solve a mate-in-two puzzle
from Mate (Mate-in-Three) by patzer2
9 Nf3xe5+! Black d6-pawn must block the 6th rank from e6 to c6
from OVERLOADED! by notyetagm
9 Nf3xe5+! Black d6-pawn blocks 6th rank to c6-flight square
from Blocking a line is a full-time job by notyetagm
Enslavement--In Between Move
from Frank124c's Favorite Games--Themes by frank124c
Exposed King---quick loss
from Early Knockouts by Grampmaster
potd WHITE TO PLAY.9?
from coralsea's openning traps by coralsea
White 9?...
from Guess The Move l by Ercan
Game collection: 2
by ph2ca
Blitzpartien
by shakespeare
Game collection: 7
by gr2ca
215
from Karpov Right Plan by cgrob
9.? (Monday, January 7)
from Puzzle of the Day 2008 by Phony Benoni
83 9. minature
from Sharpen Your Tactics 1- 350 by Sharpen Your Tactics
9.? (January 7, 2008)
from Monday Puzzles, 2004-2010 by Phony Benoni
215
from Karpov Right Plan by GregoryBattis
Spanish Game: Cozio Def Nge7 (C60) 1-0 Nxe5 sac, Spearhead
from yw 10 Take Ten Steps Gentlemen, Turn and Fire! by fredthebear

Home | About | Login | Logout | F.A.Q. | Profile | Preferences | Premium Membership | Kibitzer's Café | Biographer's Bistro | New Kibitzing | Chessforums | Tournament Index | Player Directory | Notable Games | World Chess Championships | Opening Explorer | Guess the Move | Game Collections | ChessBookie Game | Chessgames Challenge | Store | Privacy Notice | Contact Us

Copyright 2001-2023, Chessgames Services LLC