{{Short description|Dutch chess player (1838–1922)}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox chess biography | honorific_prefix = | name = Levi Benima | honorific_suffix = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = benima.jpg | image_size = | caption = | full_name = Levi Benima | country = Netherlands | birth_date = {{Birth date|1838|5|11}} | birth_place = Nieuweschans, Netherlands | death_date = {{Death date and age|1922|2|3|1838|5|11}} | death_place = Amsterdam, Netherlands | title = Chess master | worldchampion = | womensworldchampion = | ICCFworldchampion = | yearsactive = 1878–1898 | rating = | peakrating = | ranking = | peakranking = | FideID = | show-medals = | medaltemplates = | medaltemplates-title = | module = }}
'''Levi Benima''' (11 May 1838, Nieuweschans<ref>[http://www.levie-kanes.com/new-website/famtree/f_566.htm#4 Family Tree]levie-kanes.com {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019133650/http://www.levie-kanes.com/new-website/famtree/f_566.htm#4 |date=19 October 2007 }}</ref> – 3 February 1922, Amsterdam) was a Dutch chess master who twice won the Dutch Championship, in 1881 in The Hague and in 1883 in Rotterdam.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.chessmetrics.com/cm/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060414132700/http://www.chessmetrics.com/|url-status=dead|title=Welcome to the Chessmetrics site|archive-date=14 April 2006|website=www.chessmetrics.com}}</ref>
In other tournaments, he took 2nd at The Hague 1878 (A. Polak Daniels won),<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://xoomer.alice.it/cserica/scacchi/storiascacchi/tornei/1851-99/1878%20Den%20Haag%20.htm |title=Den Haag<!-- Bot generated title --> |access-date=28 March 2008 |archive-date=29 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080329020358/http://xoomer.alice.it/cserica/scacchi/storiascacchi/tornei/1851-99/1878%20Den%20Haag%20.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> tied for 3rd-4th at Gouda 1880 (Henry Edward Bird 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 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).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.anders.thulin.name/SUBJECTS/CHESS/CTCIndex.pdf |title=Archived copy |accessdate=2007-07-04 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070704030849/http://www.anders.thulin.name/SUBJECTS/CHESS/CTCIndex.pdf |archivedate=2007-07-04 }} Name Index to Jeremy Gaige's ''Chess Tournament Crosstables'', An Electronic Edition, Anders Thulin, Malmö, 2004-09-01</ref>
Benima was a peddler by profession when he married Meike Engers in 1866 in Winschoten. 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.<ref>Niemeyer, [https://web.archive.org/web/20091013194913/http://www.geocities.com/scvanderlinde/tot1907.html History of Chess Club Van der Linde] (in Dutch)</ref> 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).<ref>[http://www.schaakclubutrecht.nl/histdirkforeest.html Dirk en Arnold van Foreest], with a picture including Benima (in Dutch)</ref> His son Fred Benima (born 14 March 1876 in Winschoten) became an international tournament player as well.
==Benima Defence== {{algebraic notation|pos=secright}} A line in the Scotch Gambit (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.d4 exd4 4.Bc4 Be7) named after Levi Benima (although played by Johann Löwenthal in 1856) that has an affinity with the Hungarian Defense (i.e. equally reached by 1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bc4 Be7 3.d4 exd4).<ref name="OxComp">{{citation | author-link=Hooper & Whylde | year=1992 | title=Oxford Companion to Chess | publisher=Oxford University Press | isbn=0-19-866164-9 | page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont0000hoop/page/35 35] | url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordcompaniont0000hoop/page/35 }}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== *[http://www.newinchess.com/Benima__Levi-ip-75803.html Levi Benima - Chessgames - New In Chess] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110524064511/http://www.newinchess.com/Benima__Levi-ip-75803.html |date=24 May 2011 }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benima, Levi}} Category:1838 births Category:1922 deaths Category:Dutch Jews Category:Dutch chess players Category:Jewish Dutch sportspeople Category:Jewish chess players Category:People from Oldambt (municipality) Category:Sportspeople from Groningen (province)