| Oct-27-02 | | ksadler: I realize that it is slow on tempo, but other than that, what is wrong with playign 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 e6 4. Nc3 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. e4 g6 7. f4 a6 to stop the 8. Bb5+ if 7. .. Bg7 is played. |
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Oct-27-02
 | | Sneaky: Excellent question ksadler. The Taimanov Benoni is one of the most fearsome attacks against the defense, and that Bb5+ move is the one that absolutely slays Black since (a) 8...Nfd7 is awkward, and (b) 8...Nbd7 leads to mindbending complications which probably favor White, and (c) 8...Bb7 9. e5! is not appealing for the second player. One of my favorite chess books is a thin little manual called "Kasparov's Chess Openings" written by IM Otto Borik. In this book he writes: <Although 7...a6 prevents the following check, it allows White time to act energetically in the centre with 8.e5 dxe5 9.fxe5 Ng4 10.e6! and the knight hangs; or here 9...Nfd7 10.e6> By the way, these aggressive central pawn pushes are exactly how I like to handle the Benoni's strange cousin, the Benko gambit. |
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| Dec-18-06 | | 2021: Is this the rarest opening? |
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Dec-18-06
 | | WannaBe: Looks pretty "Phony" to me! :-)) |
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| Dec-18-06 | | 2021: I found that it isin't: A74 has only 16 games. A76 comes close with only 32 games. |
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Dec-19-06
 | | Phony Benoni: <2021> E57 beats that, with 13 games. In the case of A66, I think that its rarity is due to the fact that White generally follows 7.f4 with 8.Bb5+. That's A67, while this section covers other 8th moves. |
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May-22-12
 | | Infohunter: <Phony Benoni: <2021> E57 beats that, with 13 games.> Hey, what happened? As of now E57 has only five games! Where did the other eight get off to? See Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Main line with 8...dc and 9...cd (E57) |
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May-22-12
| | Phony Benoni: <Infohunter> The ECO index gets refined from time to time, and games often switch allegiance. Here's a more complete update: Phony Benoni chessforum |
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May-23-12
| | Infohunter: <Phony Benoni> Thanks--though I must say, this does undermine my faith in Mr. Rabar. Here I always thought he had come up with the ultimate, infallible classification system! (Well, then again, there IS that little matter of why openings in 1.d4 should run from A40-A99 and then pick up again at D00 to run through E99 but, as they say: "Pish posh--such a trifle!") (And let's not even ask who "they" are!) |
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May-23-12
| | Phony Benoni: <Infohunter> Don't blame Mr. Rabar. The reclassifications are basically due to tinkering with the program which automatically assigns ECO codes to the games, not to his system. And ECO is actually an outgrowth of Rabar's original system. That used the letters "R", "E", "D", which I thought of as "rest", "e-pawn", "d-pawn". If you ever get a hold of some very early Informants, you can see it in action. But as I recall, it never really caught on and was replaced when the Encyclopedia of Chess Openings came out with the revised system. |
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May-23-12
| | Infohunter: <Phony Benoni> Well glory be! My faith is restored! Hallelujah! Pseudoreligious hyperbole aside, thank you for filling me in on the history of this matter. Somehow I had assumed that this system had sprung forth like Athena, "fully formed and fully armed," without the rough spots you mention. In retrospect I see that that was a highly illogical assumption. Now that you mention it, I think I would like to order some back issues of Informant (as if I didn't already have enough chess books!). |
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