Swapnil Dhopade - Chessable: Lifetime Repertoires Benko Gambit

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{ Hello dear friends! Welcome to my lifetime repertoire against 1.d4 based on the Benko and Vienna openings. For those who dont know me, I am a Grandmaster from India. I have been coaching chess for the last 5 years where one of my students, Raunak Sadhwani, became a Grandmaster at the young age of 13 years and 9 months. I have seconded the Indian Womens team in the Chess Olympiad 2018. I was also the coach of the Indian Womens team in the World team chess championship held in Georgia in 2019 and the Asian Nations Cup held in Iran in 2018. As a player, the Vienna Opening and the Benko Gambit were my main weapons against 1. d4. I have played it for many years in numerous games, against opponents of varied strengths and tried almost all the variations that these two openings have to offer. When you try to master a certain thing in life, you get your share of bitter and sweet memories. I experienced the same with these openings throughout my career. I learnt some really important lessons the hard way and scored some delicious sweet victories in the crucial rounds. At one point, I was so confident in the Benko Gambit that I played it in one of my crucial games when I needed a win to score my final GM norm. My opponent was the experienced Belarusian GM Aleksej Aleksandrov @@StartBracket@@who at one point of his career was 2700!@@EndBracket@@. In a topsy-turvy game @@StartBracket@@to be honest I was almost lost at one point@@EndBracket@@ I managed to win by playing a combination that involved sacrificing a queen! When you win such an important game in your career with the Benko Gambit, you are bound to fall in love with this opening! Both the Vienna and the Benko Gambit have stayed close to my heart and I wish to share my knowledge in these openings in this lifetime repertoire. There has always been a notion in the Chess world that the Benko Gambit is objectively worse but practically a good opening weapon. With this repertoire, it is my humble attempt to change this belief and present the Benko Gambit as an objectively sound opening as well. Apart from the main openings of this repertoire @@StartBracket@@Vienna and Benko@@EndBracket@@, I have also analyzed the deviations including popular openings like the Catalan, London, etc with the strongest engines! Against these openings, I have recommended some relatively rare lines that will carry an element of surprise! I hope that whenever you wish to get a fighting position out of the opening you will look forward to playing the lines suggested in this repertoire. All the best! }

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4

{ 2.Bf4 The London system is covered in Chapter 1. Our main line is based on bringing our light-squared bishop out of the pawn chain to g4 or f5 and then playing e6. 2.Bg5 The Trompowsky is covered in Chapter 2. We answer with 2d5 and get ready to play an unbalanced position in case White exchanges on f6. 2.Nc3 this is the entrance to the Veresov or the Jobava Attack. 2d5 and now we cover both: 3.Bf4 The Jobava Attack and 3.Bg5 The Veresov in Chapter 3 2.Nf3 d5 3.c4 3.Bg5 The Torre Attack is covered in Chapter 4 where I again recommend developing our light-squared bishop out of the pawn chain before playing e6. 3.e3 The Colle Zukertort variation is covered in Chapter 5. I have analyzed both the setups: 1. If White plays c2-c3 and 2. If White plays b2-b3. 3.g3 Has witnessed some top-level games occasionally so I made sure to analyze it in a separate chapter. White fianchettos his bishop on g2 without playing c2-c4 which gives it an independent value. This line is analyzed in Chapter 6. e6 4.Nc3 4.g3 The super solid Catalan Opening is analyzed in Chapter 7. I have recommended a relatively rare line played frequently by GM Anton Guijarro in recent times. 4.e3 is a safe but dull way of playing with the White pieces and is analyzed under Deviations to Vienna in Chapter 8. dxc4 This is the doorway to the Vienna! 5.e4 This aggressive way of playing against the Vienna has become the main weapon for White lately. 5.Qa4+ White decides to recapture the c4-pawn with his queen and is analyzed in Chapter 9. 5.g3 is analyzed in Chapter 10 where I recommend a novelty as early as the 7th move in the mainline. 5.Bg5 Has been played rarely but is analyzed in detail in Chapter 11. 5.e3 This has been the main response for White since the early days of the Vienna opening. 5a6 6.Bxc4 6.a4 White prevents b7-b5 and is covered in Chapter 12. b5 7.Bb3 seems to be the best of the bishop retreats and is analyzed in Chapter 14. 7.Be2 and 7.Bd3 is covered in Chapter 13. 5Bb4 6.Bg5 6.Bxc4!? an interesting line where White sacrifices a pawn early in the opening in an attempt to seize the initiative. This is covered in Chapter 15. c5 7.Bxc4 The most popular line for White which is analyzed in Chapters 18, 19 and 20. 7.dxc5 is not so challenging and leads to an endgame. You can check Chapter 16 for this line. 7.e5 This leads to complicated play and is covered in Chapter 17. }

2 c5 3. d5

{ 3.Nf3 cxd4 4.Nxd4 e6 5.Nc3 is covered in Chapter 22. 5.g3 Bb4+ 6.Nc3 leads to the Romanishin Variation in the Nimzo-Indian Defence and is analyzed in Chapter 21. 3.e3 along with 3.dxc5 is covered in Chapter 23. }

3 b5

{ Welcome to the world of the Benko Gambit! Now White has two options. Either he can decline the Gambit or accept it and I have covered variations arising from both ways of handling the Benko. }

4. cxb5

{ 4.Nd2 is a sideline covered in Chapter 24. 4.a4 is analyzed on Chapter 25. 4.f3 is covered in Chapter 26. 4.Nf3 is one of the mainlines in Benko Gambit Declined and is analyzed in Chapter 27. 4.Qc2 is a popular way of declining the sacrifice and is covered in Chapter 28. }

4 a6 5. bxa6

{ 5.f3 White sacrifices the pawn back to quickly put his pawns in the centre with f3-e4. This is analyzed in detail in Chapter 28. 5.Nc3 This is known as the Zaitsev line and is covered in Chapter 29. 5.e3 is a popular line frequently seen in Grandmaster games. This is covered in Chapter 30. 5.b6 White gives the pawn back keeping the lines closed on the queenside. This line is analyzed in Chapter 31. }

5 g6 6. Nc3 Bg7 7. e4

{ 7.Nf3 O-O 8.g3 Fianchettoing the Bishop on g2 has always been an attractive way of playing from the White side in the Benko Gambit Accepted lines. I have analyzed this line in Chapter 33. }

7 O-O 8. e5

{ this is one of the most critical continuations along with 8.Bc4!? and 8.a7 . All these options are covered in detail in Chapter 32. }

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[Black The London System]

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1. d4 Nf6 2. Bf4

{ The London System has become a main weapon these days thanks to the efforts of the World Champion Magnus Carlsen for reviving this opening. }

2 d5

{ We face the London System in traditional style by playing in the centre. } 3.

e3 { This is the most flexible move order for White. } 3 c5 4. Nf3 Nc6

{ We develop both our knights before deciding on the future of our bishops. }

5. Nbd2 cxd4 { This makes sure that White does not have the option of dxc5. }

6. exd4 Qb6 { Attacking both the d4-and b2-pawns. } 7. Nb3

{ The only way to defend against Blacks dual threats. } 7 Bf5

{ It is important to develop our light-squared bishop out of the pawn chain before we play e6. Otherwise, the bishop gets locked in on c8. }

8. Be2 e6 9. O-O Be7 { Preparing O-O. } 10. a4

{ White plans to gain space on the queenside with a5-a6. } 10 a6

{ Preventing Whites a-pawn from reaching a6. } 11. a5 Qd8 12. Ne5 Rc8

{ Black is ready to capture on c6 with the rook. Next Black would simply O-O with a completely fine position. }

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