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Joel Benjamin
Benjamin 
 

Number of games in database: 1,589
Years covered: 1975 to 2024
Last FIDE rating: 2473 (2428 rapid, 2520 blitz)
Highest rating achieved in database: 2620
Overall record: +608 -288 =590 (60.8%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games in the database. 103 exhibition games, blitz/rapid, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 Sicilian (190) 
    B50 B90 B22 B30 B40
 Ruy Lopez (90) 
    C69 C78 C77 C67 C65
 French Defense (58) 
    C02 C05 C11 C03 C00
 Caro-Kann (37) 
    B12 B17 B13 B10 B14
 King's Indian (37) 
    E73 E80 E97 E94 E75
 Queen's Pawn Game (37) 
    A45 A46 D00 A41 A40
With the Black pieces:
 Sicilian (155) 
    B46 B47 B58 B44 B22
 Queen's Pawn Game (81) 
    A46 A45 A41 E00 A50
 King's Indian (54) 
    E62 E92 E60 E61 E67
 Nimzo Indian (50) 
    E32 E33 E20 E54 E46
 Queen's Indian (43) 
    E15 E12 E17 E13 E14
 Ruy Lopez (42) 
    C60 C78 C77 C67 C91
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   Benjamin vs N Gamboa, 1995 1-0
   Benjamin vs Gufeld, 1998 1-0
   I Ivanov vs Benjamin, 1990 0-1
   Benjamin vs A Stripunsky, 2006 1-0
   Benjamin vs E Tate, 2000 1-0
   Benjamin vs J Bartholomew, 2003 1/2-1/2
   Kamsky vs Benjamin, 1991 0-1
   E W R Brown vs Benjamin, 1992 0-1
   Benjamin vs Mephisto, 1987 1-0
   Miles vs Benjamin, 1989 0-1

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: [what is this?]
   FIDE World Championship Knockout Tournament (1999)
   FIDE World Championship Knockout Tournament (2000)

NOTABLE TOURNAMENTS: [what is this?]
   USA Junior Championship (1983)
   28th World Open (2000)
   102nd US Open (2001)
   United States Championship (1986)
   Croatia Club (1990)
   New York Open (1993)
   World Junior Championship (1982)
   New York Open (1995)
   United States Championship (1989)
   23rd World Open (1995)
   99th US Open (1998)
   European Union Championship (2005)
   United States Championship (1984)
   New York Open (1987)
   HB Global Chess Challenge (2005)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   Joel Benjamin - Selected Games by Resignation Trap
   Joel Benjamin - Selected Games by igiene
   US Championsip 1987 by Phony Benoni
   US Championship 1991 by Phony Benoni
   US Championship 1991 by suenteus po 147
   New York 1996 (Chess-in-the-Schools Festival) by Phony Benoni
   Pan-Pacific GM Tournament, San Francisco 1991 by wanabe2000
   US Open 1988, Boston by Phony Benoni

GAMES ANNOTATED BY BENJAMIN: [what is this?]
   Benjamin vs Korchnoi, 1986

RECENT GAMES:
   🏆 World Blitz Championship
   K George vs Benjamin (Dec-30-24) 1/2-1/2, blitz
   Benjamin vs Gia Huy Banh (Dec-30-24) 1-0, blitz
   I Schnaider vs Benjamin (Dec-30-24) 1/2-1/2, blitz
   Benjamin vs S Lomasov (Dec-30-24) 0-1, blitz
   Grischuk vs Benjamin (Dec-30-24) 1-0, blitz

Search Sacrifice Explorer for Joel Benjamin
Search Google for Joel Benjamin
FIDE player card for Joel Benjamin

JOEL BENJAMIN
(born Mar-11-1964, 61 years old) United States of America

[what is this?]
Joel Lawrence Benjamin was born in New York. He was awarded the IM title in 1980 and the GM title in 1986. At the World Junior Championship 1982 he finished 3rd=. In December 1983 in a match against Nigel Short he won decisively (+4, =3, -0) and finished 2nd= at Hastings 1984-85. In 2011, he tied for 1st-3rd with Walter Arencibia & Dejan Bojkov in the Canadian open. In the US Championships he was 2nd in 1985, 2nd= in 1986, 1st= in 1987 http://graeme.50webs.com/chesschamp..., 1st outright in 1997 http://graeme.50webs.com/chesschamp... and 1st= in 2000 http://graeme.50webs.com/chesschamp....

Wikipedia article: Joel Benjamin

References: (1) http://uschessleague.com/results.ph...


Try our new games table.

 page 1 of 64; games 1-25 of 1,589  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. Benjamin vs G Klinglesmith ½-½50197576th US OpenD87 Grunfeld, Exchange
2. C Carlson vs Benjamin  1-036197576th US OpenC77 Ruy Lopez
3. Shamkovich vs Benjamin 1-0421976USAC96 Ruy Lopez, Closed
4. Benjamin vs S Bernstein ½-½671976New York OpenC50 Giuoco Piano
5. Benjamin vs M Rohde ½-½271976New YorkB06 Robatsch
6. Benjamin vs A Feuerstein 1-0251976New YorkA04 Reti Opening
7. Benjamin vs A Lein 0-1611976Manhattan CC InternationalE54 Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3, Gligoric System
8. B Amos vs Benjamin 0-1401976Manhattan CC InternationalC91 Ruy Lopez, Closed
9. Benjamin vs T Throop 1-026197677th US OpenE11 Bogo-Indian Defense
10. Fedorowicz vs Benjamin 1-042197677th US OpenA00 Uncommon Opening
11. Short vs Benjamin 1-0441976London - New York Telex MatchB41 Sicilian, Kan
12. R W Buchanan vs Benjamin  ½-½521977U.S opE16 Queen's Indian
13. Benjamin vs B Rind  1-0381977World OpenB30 Sicilian
14. J Fox vs Benjamin  ½-½36197778th US OpenB23 Sicilian, Closed
15. D Haas vs Benjamin  1-050197778th US OpenB87 Sicilian, Fischer-Sozin with ...a6 and ...b5
16. Benjamin vs W M Buehl  1-049197778th US OpenB02 Alekhine's Defense
17. G Terry vs Benjamin  1-047197778th US OpenB43 Sicilian, Kan, 5.Nc3
18. A L Smith vs Benjamin 0-126197778th US OpenC44 King's Pawn Game
19. Benjamin vs M A Acosta  0-150197778th US OpenA17 English
20. Benjamin vs R Henley  0-1681977New York GHIC46 Three Knights
21. M Rohde vs Benjamin 1-0331977New York GHIB82 Sicilian, Scheveningen
22. Benjamin vs M Valvo  1-0471977New York GHIB02 Alekhine's Defense
23. Benjamin vs G Sigurjonsson  ½-½481977New York GHIB22 Sicilian, Alapin
24. Benjamin vs J L Watson  0-1501977New York GHIC00 French Defense
25. A Soltis vs Benjamin  0-1431977New York GHIB80 Sicilian, Scheveningen
 page 1 of 64; games 1-25 of 1,589  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Benjamin wins | Benjamin loses  

Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 3 OF 7 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Dec-12-06  ToTheKings: I think his game against Seirawan in 1979 where he plays the white pieces in a french tarrash should definitely be in notable games. That game is awesome in my opinion. Anybody agree?
Dec-13-06  Lt. Col. Majid: <ToTheKings: I think his game against Seirawan in 1979 where he plays the white pieces in a french tarrash should definitely be in notable games. That game is awesome in my opinion. Anybody agree?>

No.

Dec-13-06  Karpova: <truthishere: uhm, what the movie, nor noone told you is that deep blue has NEVER been seen in use. Even at the 97 match, no-one saw. Deep blue was never given up to other scientists for inspection, which is odd since half was donated to smithsonian, and usually anything in smithsonian can be used for research, but ibm disallows this. You are all fools if you think deep blue is a ligitimate chess simulator.

the sad thing is, ibm refusal to give a re-match shows their guilt.

remember the boxer who won a huge fight, then they said his corner man cheted by spiking his water? did this boxer say "whatever, i won, no rematch.."? no, he gave the rematch and annihilated the guy.

If ibm and these jack ass programmers are so confident of deep blue, and if they are TRUE scientists, they would agree to a rematch, a final tie breaking re-match, with deep blue OUT IN THE OPEN, so all can see how it is working. Then and only then, will the world see their talentless programmers are hacks and cheaters.>

Who was the boxer?

And who should have beaten Kasparov instead of Deep Blue if Deep Blue didn't work? A human being - Kramnik or Karpov (who else would have been capabla of doing that?) or maybe an even stronger chessprogram (incidentally not called <Deep Blue>?))

Aug-01-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  BishopBerkeley: Joel Benjamin to play Rybka (Computer) at Pawn odds, eight games, two per day Aug. 6 thru Aug. 9:

http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybka...

Given GM Benjamin's role in developing Deep Blue (Computer) , this should be an interesting contest!

(: ♗ Bishop Berkeley ♗ :)

Aug-01-07  Strongest Force: Thx for the news, BB. I have tons of respect for Joel however the best two GMs against the engines are Yasser and Roman.
Sep-11-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  cu8sfan: In the ongoing dispute between Joel Benjamin and Sam Sloan (New in Chess magazine 2007#6), Benjamin wrote "Everything I wrote [...] had already been confirmed on the internet".

I don't want to be a part of this crosstalk and have no idea about who is right and wrong but maybe it will come as a shock to Mr. Benjamin now if I say that one shouldn't trust things written on the internet. It's just not the most reliable place, you know.

Sep-11-07  Strongest Force: <cu8sfan> What is the beef between Joel and Sam all about?
Sep-11-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  cu8sfan: <Strongest Force: <cu8sfan> What is the beef between Joel and Sam all about?> Well, as I said, I'm neither siding nor do I really know who's right and wrong.

However, in NiC 2007/4 Joel Benjamin wrote about the US Championship (page 28ff, "Shaba to the Rescue!"). He wrote "... Anderson received much criticism from Sam Sloan, a Board member despite being a convicted felon..."

In the newest issue of NiC, 2007/6, Sam Sloan wrote a letter to the editor, telling things from his point of view and demanding an apology from Benjamin.

Benjamin replied in the same issue and his reply started with what I quoted earlier.

Sep-11-07  Strongest Force: I know both Joel and Sam fairly well. If one of them was pissed at the other and said something that sounded odd about the other, i wouldn't question it and i wouldn't believe that the oddity wasn't just based on junk from the internet. However, there's some serious freuds happening in NYC that are downright silly when you know how they started.
Sep-11-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  cu8sfan: <However, there's some serious freuds happening in NYC that are downright silly when you know how they started.> Lol, not surprising for a city full with Sicilian blood. (-:

Just to make this clear, my initial point was not "Joel Benjamin is wrong because he got his information from the internet", it was "If you want a really reliable source of information, don't go on the internet".

Sep-11-07  unsound: <However, there's some serious freuds happening in NYC that are downright silly when you know how they started.> That's a freudian slip. Thankyou, thankyou very much.
Sep-15-07  Cactus: Funny quote of the day!
Dec-03-07
Premium Chessgames Member
  ketchuplover: His "biography" has been released.
Dec-29-07  MrSpock: Overall record: Nigel Short beat Joel Benjamin 5 to 3, with 2 draws.* Source: chessgames.com
Dec-29-07  MrSpock: Some Logs of the match Kasparow - Deep Blue: http://www.research.ibm.com/deepblu...
Jan-03-08  minasina: 'Rybka (Computer) vs Joel Benjamin II - Match at Draw Odds' (Jan-03-08 ... Jan-06-08)? http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybka...
Jan-04-08  timhortons: [Event "?"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "2008.01.03"]
[Round "?"]
[White "GM_Benjamin"]
[Black "Rybka(C)"]
[Result "0-1"]
[WhiteElo "2575"]
[Opening "Philidor: exchange variation"]
[ECO "C41"]
[NIC "KP.08"]
[Time "11:02:03"]
[TimeControl "7200+0"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Be7 6. Be2 O-O 7. O-O c5 8. Nf3 Nc6 9. Re1 Be6 10. b3 a6 11. Bb2 Re8 12. Bf1 d5 13. exd5 Nxd5 14. Nxd5 Qxd5 15. Qxd5 Bxd5 16. Rad1 Rad8 17. a3 Kf8 18. Bd3 g6 19. Kf1 b5 20. c4 bxc4 21. Bxc4 Bxc4+ 22. bxc4 Rxd1 23. Rxd1 Rb8 24. Rd2 f6 25. Rc2 Kf7 26. Ke2 g5 27. h3 h5 28. Kd1 g4 29. hxg4 hxg4 30. Nh4 Bd6 31. Nf5 Be5 32. Kc1 Kg6 33. Ne3 Bf4 34. g3 Bxe3+ 35. fxe3 Ne5 36. Bxe5 fxe5 37. Rf2 Rb3 38. Kd2 Rxa3 39. Rf8 a5 40. Ke2 a4 41. Kf2 ♗lack wins 0-1

Jan-04-08  timhortons:


click for larger view

Jan-04-08  minasina: LIVE NOW! 'Rybka (Computer) vs Joel Benjamin II - Match at Draw Odds' (Jan-03-08 ... Jan-06-08) http://www.chessok.com/broadcast/li... Click on '2008', then 'Draw odd match' and 'Live' and 3rd game.
Jan-04-08  MichAdams: Not to be confused with Stuart Rachels.
Jan-04-08  Petrosianic: Not by anyone but you, apparently. (!?)
Jan-04-08  capatal: http://rybkaforum.net/cgi-bin/rybka...

Different version of Rybka will play starting in game #3.

Jan-05-08  timhortons:


click for larger view

3rd game of benjamin versus rybka match...position after 26....d4 27.Nxh6 sacking rybkas kingside...lolz...no respect to rybka at all...these sac well go down to history...lolz

Jan-05-08  timhortons:


click for larger view

<4th game benjamin versus rybka postion after 139 .Rb1 a draw here means won for benjamin...its a tie now for 2 loss and 2 draw...these game is a draw

Jan-06-08  timhortons: [Event "ICC 3 0"]
[Site "Internet Chess Club"]
[Date "2008.01.03"]
[Round "-"]
[White "timhortonsknigt"]
[Black "Great4Me"]
[Result "1/2-1/2"]
[ICCResult "Game drawn by repetition"]
[WhiteElo "1556"]
[BlackElo "2919"]
[Opening "Scotch game"]
[ECO "C45"]
[NIC "SO.05"]
[Time "05:36:30"]
[TimeControl "180+0"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. d4 exd4 4. Nxd4 Bc5 5. Be3 Qf6 6. c3 Nge7 7. Bc4 O-O 8. O-O d6 9. Re1 Ne5 10. Be2 Qg6 11. Bh5 Qf6 12. Be2 Qg6 13. Bh5 Qf6 14. Be2 Game drawn by repetition
1/2-1/2

<my drawn game with rybka at icc in 3 minute rated game..right in the opening she would lock in for a draw>

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