Talk:Modern Benoni

First Impressions
Very good article indeed. I would not change much at all. By referencing all of the major, contemporary works, it should be much less susceptible to nuisance edits in the future. That's not to say that it won't evolve as more modern books appear, but blocking the casual POV entry can be problematic when the original sources are murky or non-existent. I think the depth is about right too. Some long lines were probably necessary to show typical long term plans/play in the strategy sections, whereas you have been much more restrained when discussing individual lines, thus avoiding any arguments over the absolute, up-to-date, cutting edge theory. Well judged I think. A couple of small suggestions - for consistency, I'd probably move the Snake Benoni stuff to Benoni Defense- it is after all just another deviation away from the Modern Benoni, not unlike the Czech Benoni or Benko Gambit. Secondly, not sure if I saw Albert Kapengut wiki-linked - maybe it happened early in the article and I missed it. Finally, I'd probably mention the Mikenas Attack in the Variations section. I think it has enough history/notoriety to be regularly looked up by readers and its inclusion there will make it much easier to find. Maybe just say something like "7.f4 - Leading in most cases to the Taimanov, or the less popular Mikenas Attack" if you are concerned about it having an unwarranted equal emphasis. Brittle heaven (talk) 12:50, 26 August 2013 (UTC)


 * I love your suggestions and have incorporated all of them. I didn't see how I could avoid mentioning the Four Pawns if I mentioned the Mikenas there (the latter is half as common as 8.Nf3), so now I've mentioned all of them. That Four Pawns transposition is an unusual situation—ECO actually classifies that line under the Modern Benoni, so it's not wrong to call it the Four Pawns Attack of the Modern Benoni and some books that do just that (even though White's only got three pawns!), but it's become the main line of the Four Pawns Attack in the KID these days, which is covered in some detail over at King's Indian Defence, Four Pawns Attack and there was no point in me duplicating the coverage in this article. Originally I decided not to mention the Mikenas in the spot you mentioned just to avoid the whole issue of whether or not to call the Four Pawns a transposition, but now the cat's out of the bag :)


 * If you ever get a second chance to look at the article, let me know if you have more thoughts. Thanks again. Cobblet (talk) 03:07, 27 August 2013 (UTC)


 * Thanks. I scanned my copy of Beating The Indian Defences (1997) by Burgess & Pedersen (about 10 pages on the Modern Benoni), to see if there was anything of independent worth, but it really just mirrored part of your historical summary—and whilst the analysis there appeared well referenced (several named originators and sources), it probably wouldn't add anything useful at the entry level, where I think the article should stay.


 * I'm curious that you've referenced Donner as 'Erven J. H.' in connection with The King. Can you elaborate on that? Brittle heaven (talk) 11:39, 27 August 2013 (UTC)


 * Good catch. That's how he gives his name next to the copyright, but elsewhere in the book it's just J. H. Donner. I'll fix that. Thanks for pointing out Burgess & Pedersen — it could come in handy if we ever wanted to expand on the history of the MML. Cobblet (talk) 15:44, 27 August 2013 (UTC)


 * Apparently, 'Erven' means that the copyright is with the inheritors of Donner's estate, as the book was published after his death. Brittle heaven (talk) 11:28, 28 August 2013 (UTC)


 * Of course. That makes sense. Thanks again for spotting that. Cobblet (talk) 16:39, 28 August 2013 (UTC)

Incorrect quotation from Nimzowitsch?
″History″ says: ″Nimzowitsch […] labelled Marshall’s opening an ′unfortunate′ ′extravagance′ in his annotations […]″. This is possibly not correct. What does the original quotation from Nimzowitsch say? And what is the original source of this quotation? It is a well-known fact that Nimzowitsch’s books and articles are in German. Nimzowitsch says in his annotations on the game against Marshall (New York 1927) only this (after 1. c4 Nf6 2.d4 e6 3. Nf3 c5): ″Ergibt ein beeengtes Spiel.″ (″Results in a cramped play.″) The source of this quotation is Nimzowitsch’s book Die Praxis meines Systems. --Wikiraven65 (talk) 15:17, 18 March 2017 (UTC)
 * Unlike Keene, I do not have access to Nimzowitsch's extensive writings. If I had to find the original quote I'd probably start by looking through issues of Bernhard Kagan's Neueste Schachnachrichten. Cobblet (talk) 19:11, 18 March 2017 (UTC)