Whilst the local chess fraternity is quietly anticipating the Guyana Chess Federation’s elections set for Sunday, August 4, at the National Resource Centre, with local Frankie Farley challenging the incumbent James Bond for the presidency, it is an appropriate time to publicise some international news.
Hungarian-American grandmaster Pal Benko celebrated his 91st birthday last Sunday, July 14, 2019; the Riga Grand Prix is underway; the Dortmund Sparkassen 8-player round robin event is happening and the Grand Chess Tour Croatia was completed two weeks ago.
Last week, the puzzle produced by Benko and which was published in the Sunday Stabroek, created a mild stir among some chess players. No one provided the answer. I had expected national player Loris Nathoo, the foremost solver of the column’s chess puzzles, to come up with the correct answer. But the problem stumped him. Readers would recall that in 1968, the problem stumped the inimitable Bobby Fischer when Benko presented it to him at the Lugano Olympiad. Perhaps Nathoo did not have enough time to spend on the problem. Fischer had said he would solve it in half of an hour. He didn’t. The answer is: White played: 1. Bc4 Kf5 2. Qf3+ Kg6 Qf7 mate. Or 1. Bc4 Ke5 2. Qd5+ Kf6 3. Qg5 mate.
Benko is one of the most prolific creators of chess puzzles the world has ever seen. At 91, he is still busy playing the ancient game and doing what he does best, creating puzzles and providing enjoyment for thousands. At 20, he was Hungary’s national champion. Benko was instrumental in Fischer’s ascent to the world championship. In 1969, Benko had won the US chess championship and qualified for the Zonals. He was among the top three finishers who advanced to the Interzonals. Fischer had not played in the US Championship and, therefore, was out of the cycle. Benko agreed to give up his spot in the Interzonal in order to give Fischer a chance at the World Championship. Fischer won the Interzonal and eventually the title in 1972. In his career, Benko defeated Fischer and Mikhail Tal, both world champions, on occasions.
