Ree, Hans – Kortschnoj, Viktor

2520 1980 · Draw

Benko Gambit, 1980: Hans Ree (2520) faces Viktor Kortschnoj (2695), who takes the classical route with 3...b5 and 4...a6, gives up the pawn and builds pressure on the a- and b-files with 12...Rfb8. White answers in the centre, trades bishops on a6, then pushes with e5 to open lines. What follows is a steady stream of simplifications: knights, queens and bishops leave the board up to 20...Qxd1, and the game ends in a draw. The engine found no turning point at all: both sides scored 90% of moves at least good. The takeaway is plain: in the Benko, Black’s activity pays for the pawn, but once every piece finds a trade, the position simply runs out of material to fight with.