Levi Benima Levi Benima (11 May 1838,

Nieuweschans Bad Nieuweschans (also ''Lange Akkeren''; ; Gronings: ''Nij-Schans''; German: ''Bad Neuschanz'') is a village in the north-eastern Netherlands on the border with Germany. It forms part of the municipality of Oldambt. Nieuweschans means "new fort ...

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– 3 February 1922, Amsterdam) was a Dutch

chess Chess is a board game for two players, called White and Black, each controlling an army of chess pieces in their color, with the objective to checkmate the opponent's king. It is sometimes called international chess or Western chess to disti ...

master who twice won the Dutch Championship, in 1881 in The Hague and in 1883 in Rotterdam. In other tournaments, he took 2nd at The Hague 1878 (

A. Polak Daniels Ansel Polak Daniels (2 August 1842, The Hague - 1 April 1891, The Hague)Henry Edward Bird Henry Edward Bird (14 July 1829A date of 1830 has been given, but baptismal records indicate 1829. – 11 April 1908) was an English chess player, author and accountant. He wrote the books ''Chess History and Reminiscences'' and ''An Analysis ...

won), took 3rd at The Hague 1882 (Messemaker won), took 3rd at Gouda 1884 (Messemaker won), took 3rd at The Hague 1885 (

Dirk van Foreest Dirk van Foreest (3 May 1862 – 24 February 1956) was a Dutch chess master. The elder brother of Arnold van Foreest, he thrice won Dutch Championship (in 1885, 1886, and 1887). He also took fifth place in 1884 and took second place, behind ...

won), shared 2nd at Utrecht 1886 (D. van Foreest won), took 5th at Rotterdam 1888 (

Rudolf Loman Rudolf Loman (14 October 1861 – 5 November 1932) was a Dutch chess master, the son of Abraham Dirk Loman. Born in Amsterdam, Loman lived in London for a number of years. He played chess for money against rich Englishmen, like his Dutch pupil Ja ...

won), tied for 4-5th at Groningen 1893 (

Arnold van Foreest Arnold Engelinus van Foreest (29 June 1863 – 24 June 1954) was a Dutch chess master. The younger brother of Dirk van Foreest, he thrice won Dutch Championship. He is the great-great grandfather of the siblings Jorden van Foreest, the 2016 Du ...

won), tied for 3rd-4th at Rotterdam 1894 (Loman won), took 3rd at Groningen 1896 (A. van Foreest won), and took 11th at The Hague 1898 (Tresling won). Benima was a peddler by profession when he married Meike Engers in 1866 in

Winschoten Winschoten (; gos, Winschoot) is a city with a population of 18,518 in the municipality of Oldambt in the northeast of the Netherlands. It is the largest city in the region of Oldambt in the province of Groningen which has 38,213 inhabitants. ...

. In 1874 he joined or perhaps co-founded the local chess club "Van der Linde", one of the three oldest extant chess clubs in the Netherlands. He was the only Dutchman to have a positive record against

in the latter's heyday in the 1880s (+3−2=2).Dirk en Arnold van Foreest
with a picture including Benima (in Dutch) His son Fred Benima (born 14 March 1876 in Winschoten) became an international tournament player as well.

Benima Defence

A line in the

Scotch Gambit The Scotch Game, or Scotch Opening, is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. d4 Ercole del Rio, in his 1750 treatise ''Sopra il giuoco degli Scacchi, Osservazioni pratiche d’anonimo Autore Modenese'' ("On t ...

(1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Be7) named after Levi Benima (although played by

Johann Löwenthal Johann Jacob Löwenthal ( hu, Löwenthal János Jakab; 15 July 1810 – 24 July 1876) was a professional chess master. He was among the top six players of the 1850s. Biography Löwenthal was born in Budapest, the son of a Jewish merchant. He ...

in 1856) that has an affinity with the

Hungarian Defense The Hungarian Defense is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. e4 e5 :2. Nf3 Nc6 :3. Bc4 Be7 The Hungarian Defense is a line in the Italian Game typically chosen as a response to the aggressive 3.Bc4. With the move 3...Be7, Blac ...

(i.e. equally reached by 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Be7 3.d4 exd4).

References

External links

Levi Benima - Chessgames - New In Chess
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benima, Levi 1838 births 1922 deaths Dutch Jews Dutch chess players Jewish Dutch sportspeople Jewish chess players People from Oldambt (municipality) Sportspeople from Groningen (province)