Levi Benima Levi Benima (11 May 1838,

Nieuweschans Bad Nieuweschans (; ; ; also Lange Akkeren) is a village in the north-eastern Netherlands on the border with Germany. It forms part of the municipality of Oldambt. Nieuweschans means "new fortification ( sconce)". In 2009, the word Bad (" spa") ...

– 3 February 1922, Amsterdam) was a Dutch

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

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 won), tied for 3rd-4th at Gouda 1880 (

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 ( Christiaan Messemaker won), took 3rd at Gouda 1884 ( Christiaan Messemaker won), took 3rd at The Hague 1885 ( Dirk van Foreest won), shared 2nd at Utrecht 1886 (D. van Foreest won), took 5th at Rotterdam 1888 ( Rudolf Loman 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 Chess Championship, Dutch Championship in 1889, 1893, and 1902. He is the great-great grandfather ...

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 ( Jan Diderik Tresling won). Benima was a peddler by profession when he married Meike Engers in 1866 in

Winschoten Winschoten (; ) is a city with a population of 18,518 in the municipality of Oldambt (municipality), Oldambt in the northeast of the Netherlands. It is the largest city in the region of Oldambt (region), Oldambt in the province of Groningen (prov ...

. 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 Dirk van Foreest 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 ...

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

Johann Löwenthal Johann Jacob Löwenthal (; 15 July 1810 – 24 July 1876) was a Hungarian-born professional chess master. He was among the top 3 players of the 1850s. Biography Löwenthal was born in Budapest, the son of a Jewish merchant. He was educated a ...

in 1856) that has an affinity with the

Hungarian Defense The Hungarian Defense is a chess opening that begins with the moves: :1. b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4, e4 b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5, e5 :2. b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3, Nf3 b:Chess Opening Theory/1. e4/1...e5/2. Nf3/2...Nc ...

(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)