Career
Banikas is well known for entering into tactical complications. With the black pieces he usually plays the Sicilian Defence against 1.e4. With the white pieces he prefers 1.d4, but occasionally plays 1.
Nf3 or 1.c4.
Banikas is well known for entering into tactical complications. With the black pieces he usually plays the Sicilian Defence against 1.e4. With the white pieces he prefers 1.d4, but occasionally plays 1.
Nf3 or 1.c4.
Banikas won the 1990 Greek U-12 championship, the 1993 Greek U-16 championship, and the 1996 Greek U-20 championship. He won eight Greek championships from 2000 through 2005 and from 2008 to 2009. Banikas has received the Grandmaster title from FIDE in 2001. In 2001 he lost a Manitoba versus Machine match against Deep Junior. In 2002 Banikas won the European Rapid Chess Championship in Panormo, Crete edging out on tiebreak score Sergei Movsesian.
