Benko's Opening is a chess opening

Chess opening

A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game. Recognized sequences of opening moves are referred to as openings as initiated by White or defenses, as created in reply by Black. There are many dozens of different openings, and hundreds of named variants. The Oxford Companion to...

 characterized by the move

1. g3

It is named after Pal Benko

Pál Benko

Pal Benko is a chess grandmaster, author, and composer of endgame studies and chess problems.- Early life :Benko was born in France but was raised in Hungary. He was Hungarian champion by age 20. He emigrated to the United States in 1958, after defecting following the World Student Team...

, who used 1.g3 to defeat Bobby Fischer

Bobby Fischer

Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...

 and Mikhail Tal

Mikhail Tal

Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....

 in rounds one and three of the 1962 Candidates Tournament

Candidates Tournament

The Candidates Tournament is a chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship...

 in Curaçao

Curaçao

Curaçao is an island in the southern Caribbean Sea, off the Venezuelan coast. The Country of Curaçao , which includes the main island plus the small, uninhabited island of Klein Curaçao , is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands...

, part of the 1963 World Championship cycle. Benko used the opening the first eleven times he was White in the tournament.

White's 1.g3 is a fairly popular first move; of the twenty possible opening moves, it ranks fifth in popularity. It is usually followed by 2.Bg2, fianchetto

Fianchetto

In chess the fianchetto is a pattern of development wherein a bishop is developed to the second rank of the adjacent knight file, the knight pawn having been moved one or two squares forward....

ing the bishop

Bishop (chess)

A bishop is a piece in the board game of chess. Each player begins the game with two bishops. One starts between the king's knight and the king, the other between the queen's knight and the queen...

. Usually the game will transpose to another opening such as the Catalan Opening

Catalan Opening

The Catalan is a chess opening which can be considered to be White adopting a mixture of the Queen's Gambit and Réti Opening: White plays d4 and c4 and fianchettoes the white bishop on g2. A common opening sequence is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.g3 d5 4.Bg2, though the opening can arise from a large number...

, King's Indian Attack

King's Indian Attack

The King's Indian Attack , also known as the Barcza System , is a chess opening system for White, most notably used by Bobby Fischer. Its typical formation is shown in the diagram to the right....

 or some variation of the English Opening

English Opening

In chess, the English Opening is the opening where White begins:A flank opening, it is the fourth most popular and, according to various databases, anywhere from one of the two most successful to the fourth most successful of White's twenty possible first moves. White begins the fight for the...

. The move 1.g3 can also be followed by 1...e5 2.Bg2 d5 3.Nf3 followed by 4.0-0 in which White has development and king safety while Black has the pawn center with d- and e-pawns.

In spite of being among the more common first moves, the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings

Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings

The Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings is a classification system for the opening moves in a game of chess. It is presented as a five volume book collection describing chess openings...

 has no specific code devoted to 1.g3, so it is classified under A00. However, most games will transpose

Transposition (chess)

A transposition in chess is a sequence of moves that results in a position which may also be reached by another, more common sequence of moves. Transpositions are particularly common in opening, where a given position may be reached by different sequences of moves...

 to some other opening with another code.

Perhaps the most common move is 1...d5. White can play 2.Nf3, which is usually reached by 1.Nf3 d5 2.g3 so see Réti Opening

Réti Opening

The Réti Opening is a hypermodern chess opening whose traditional or classic method begins with the moves:White plans to bring the d5-pawn under attack from the flank, or entice it to advance to d4 and undermine it later...

. Then Black may play 2...Nf6 for King's Indian Attack

King's Indian Attack

The King's Indian Attack , also known as the Barcza System , is a chess opening system for White, most notably used by Bobby Fischer. Its typical formation is shown in the diagram to the right....

 (A07, see 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. g3 d5), or Black may play 2...c6 for King's Indian Attack (A07, see 1. Nf3 d5 2. g3 c6). Also White can play 2.Bg2. Then Black may play 2...Nf6 for uncommon opening (see 1. g3 d5 2. Bg2 Nf6). This can lead to King's Indian Attack (A07) or still uncommon opening. Or Black may play 2...e5 for uncommon opening (see 1. g3 d5 2. Bg2 e5). This can lead to still uncommon opening.

A possible move is the symmetrical 1...g6. White can play 2.c4, which is usually reached by 1.c4 g6 2.g3 so see English Opening

English Opening

In chess, the English Opening is the opening where White begins:A flank opening, it is the fourth most popular and, according to various databases, anywhere from one of the two most successful to the fourth most successful of White's twenty possible first moves. White begins the fight for the...

. Then Black may play 2...Bg7 for English (A10, see 1. c4 g6 2. g3 Bg7), or Black may play 2...Nf6 for English (A15, see 1. c4 g6 2. g3 Nf6). Also White can play 2.Bg2. Then Black can play 2...Bg7 for an uncommon opening (see 1. g3 g6 2. Bg2 Bg7). This can lead to English (A36), English (A15), King's Indian Attack

King's Indian Attack

The King's Indian Attack , also known as the Barcza System , is a chess opening system for White, most notably used by Bobby Fischer. Its typical formation is shown in the diagram to the right....

 (A07), or Réti Opening

Réti Opening

The Réti Opening is a hypermodern chess opening whose traditional or classic method begins with the moves:White plans to bring the d5-pawn under attack from the flank, or entice it to advance to d4 and undermine it later...

 (A04). Or Black can play 2...c5 for an uncommon opening (see 1. g3 g6 2. Bg2 c5). This can lead to still more uncommon openings.