I play the Nimzo and QID after 1 d4. I am considering playing the Benoni instead of the QID - I just feel that some of the QID positions are a little too equal for my liking and would like a position with a bit more life in where I would feel more confident of outplaying a weaker player once theory ended. One of the big plus points from my point of view is that the Benoni has only one pawn structure from Black's perspective. I feel that this would make it easier to study as I can go into much greater depth when studying it. This will help when coping with deviations too as I'll have more knowledge/understanding of typical plans and how deviations will affect this. There are two reasons why I probably won't play the Benoni after 3 Nc3 - even though this would avoid having to learn numerous pawn structures in the Nimzo. Firstly, lines with f4 and Nge2 etc tend to be quite sharp and harder to defend. However, studying the themes are still important as even Benoni players e.g. Chris Ward who play it only after Nf3 are bound to have faced a position where white has played f4 at some point. Secondly, fashion. Lots of people say the Benoni is risky after Nc3 if f4 follows. Who am I to disagree with this body of theory. I know club players up to 200BCF who only play the Benoni after Nf3. Even if there is nothing wrong with Blacks position  all these people must have some reasons for disliking it.

Thanks IM Palliser for covering 9.Nf3!? and 9.a4 in this months update.  Looks like there's still life in these variations for Black even if it is quite complicated.

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The reason why it is not popular at club(read my) level is that unlike a nimzo/QI, QG or even KI, the black setup is not that logical to the eyes. Furthermore it takes quite some time to learn the MB and as 1 d4 2.c4 is certainly not the most frequent at my level it is quite a matter of inefficient spending of time. Ie this season out of about 40 games as black only 3 featured this, which is equal to the amount of me facing the english and the annoying d4 openings (tromp and the likes). This is also the reason many club players give up the Budapest and even the Volga gambit as white players tend to avoid it.

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That's IM R.Palliser's original question so he was talking about most GM's.  I guess he believes (or fears) that this is putting off a lot of club players too.  I just haven't been to enough tournaments lately to really know.  It be interesting to hear from those who frequent the tournament scene.

I was under the impression that both the King's Indian and the Modern Benoni were popular at club level.  They both seem like good choices for enterprising club players.  I agree that the MB doesn't have the flexibility of the KID but I can understand why someone still might prefer it.  Just as one example I don't recall in MB variations like the KID ones where Black plays ...e5 and queens come right off.  Gallagher has argued of course that Black can still play those positions for a win but no less a player than Markovich has found that to be a problem win playing for a win.  (Correct me if I'm wrong Markovich.)  I personally have only played the KID but I'm often tempted to take up the MB (I think it requires even more courage!).  One last note: when I refer to the MB here I am refering to the pure move order.

and one might add, on top of it all......that while the kid is indeed a very challenging opening for black at times, it has a universality that the _modern_ benoni does not......and who really wants to find themselves trying to play a mb and ending up on the black side of a schmid.  that universality (you can use it against the english, d4 oddities, etc.......if you are really stubborn, i think they call it a pirc when you play it against 1.e4) gives it an appeal to the time-challenged tournament player that the mb cant match.


-jaq

Smyslov_Fan wrote on 06/24/06 at 23:54:24:


That it should come to this ... my language corrected by an American