"Sam Sloan" wrote in message
...
At 10:32 AM 4/29/2005 -0600, Brian Wall wrote:

snip
You can check all the databases. There is no game with the opening
moves 1. d5 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 in any database anywhere, prior to
when Benko started playing it.

My database, which came with Chessbase 9, gives over 50 such games that were
played prior to 1967. Many of these were played by well known players (eg
with black:Udovcic; Bilek, O'Kelly de Galway; Littlewood and with
White:Gligoric; Najdorf;Saidy; Uhlmann etc) in high-level tournaments.


Actually, I watched the first game with the Benko Gambit as it was
played. The game was Laver-Benko, American Open, Santa Monica 1967.
That is the first game in Benko's book, but he gives the wrong year,
1968. I know it was 1967 because I was there. That was the same
tournament where I beat Walter Browne.

snip

Here's a nice example of a Benko Gambit from 1948, showing the typical
themes of white keeping the extra pawn but eventually succumbing to the
long-term queenside pressure and on the dark squares:[Event "YUG-ch"]
[Site "Belgrade"]
[Date "1948.??.??"]
[Round "14"]
[White "Bozic, Aleksandar"]
[Black "Udovcic, Mijo"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "A59"]
[EventDate "1948.??.??"]
[EventType "tourn"]
[EventRounds "17"]
[EventCountry "YUG"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "1999.11.16"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 c5 3. d5 b5 4. cxb5 a6 5. bxa6 Bxa6 6. Nc3 d6 7. e4 g6 8.
Bxa6
Nxa6 9. Nge2 Bg7 10. O-O O-O 11. f3 Qd7 12. Be3 Rfb8 13. Qd2 Nc7 14. Rac1
Rb4
15. Rc2 Rab8 16. Nc1 Nfe8 17. Nd3 R4b7 18. Rb1 Na6 19. Ne2 Nec7 20. Rbc1 f5
21.
b3 fxe4 22. fxe4 Nb4 23. Nxb4 Rxb4 24. Rc4 Rxc4 25. Rxc4 Rf8 26. Rc1 Qg4 27.
Qd3 Be5 28. h3 Qh4 29. Kh1 g5 30. Bg1 g4 31. Nc3 Rf3 32. Qd2 Bf4 33. Qe2
Bxc1
34. gxf3 Qxh3+ 35. Qh2 Qxf3+ 36. Qg2 Qxc3 37. Qxg4+ Qg7 38. Qc8+ Qf8 39.
Qg4+
0-1

Regards,
Arfur