Botvinnik - Volume 2.pdf

BOTVINNIK'S BEST GAMES

Volume 2: 1942 -1956

Mikhail Botvinnik

BOTVINNIK'S BEST GAMES

Volume 2: 1942-1956

(Analytical

_&

Critical Works)

Translated and Edited by Ken Neat

Published in the Czech Republic in 2000 by

PUBLISHING HOUSE MORA VIAN CHESS

P.O. Box 101, 772 11 OLOMOUC 2

Czech Republic

This book is an authorised translation of MM

Botvinnik

Analiticheskie

i

kriticheskie raboty

1942-1956 (Moscow 1985)

©English translation copyright Ken Neat 2000

Chess Agency CAISSA-90

All rights reserved

Contents

'Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown'

Selected Games 1943-1956

122 Botvinnik-Ragozin, 1943 123 Botvinnik-Konstantinopolsky, 194 3 124 Botvinnik-Boleslavsky, 1943 125 Smyslov-Botvinnik, 1943 126 Botvinnik-Zagoryansky, 1943 127 Makogonov-Botvinnik, 1943 128 Botvinnik-Kan, 1943 129 Botvinnik-Smyslov, 1943 130 Lyublinsky-Botvinnik, 1943/44 131 Zhivtsov-Botvinnik, 1943/44 132 Botvinnik-Ravinsky, 1944 133 Botvinnik-Khavin, 1944 134 Veresov-Botvinnik, 1944 135 Botvinnik-Flohr, 1944 136 Smyslov-Botvinnik, 1944 137 Botvinnik-Boleslavsky, 1944 138 Botvinnik-Makogonov, 1944 139 Kotov-Botvinnik, 1944 140 Botvinnik-Alatortsev, 1944 141 Lisitsyn-Botvinnik, 1944 142 Botvinnik-Flohr, 1945 143 Tolush-Botvinnik, 1945 144 Botvinnik-Koblenz, 1945 145 Chekhover-Botvinnik, 1945 146 Romanovsky-Botvinnik, 1945 147 Ratner-Botvinnik, 1945 148 Botvinnik-Boleslavsky, 1945 149 Lilienthal-Botvinnik, 1945 150 Botvinnik-Bondarevsky, 1945 151 Ru(iakovsky-Botvinnik, 1945 152 Goldberg-Botvinnik, 1945 153 Botvinnik-Kan, 1945 7

16

16 18 22 26 29 32 36 39 42 45 47 54 56 58 61 65 68 70 72 77 80 82 85 86 88 92 94 98 100 102 105 108

154 Denker-Botvinnik, 1945 155 Botvinnik-Denker, 1945 156 Lundin-Botvinnik, 1946 157 Botvinnik-Smyslov, 1946 158 Steiner-Botvinnik, 1946 159 Botvinnik-Vidmar, 1946 160 Bemstein-Botvinnik, 1946 161 Botvinnik-Euwe, 1946 162 Stoltz-Botvinnik, 1946 163 Tartakower-Botvinnik, 1946 164 Botvinnik-Kottnauer, 1946 165 Botvinnik-Guimard, 1946 166 Reshevsky-Botvinnik, 1946 167 Botvinnik-Kottnauer, 1947 168 Gligoric-Botvinnik, 194 7 169 Kotov-Botvinnik, 1947 170 Botvinnik-Novotelnov, 1947 171 Plater-Botvinnik, 1947 172 Soko1sky-Botvinnik, 1947 173 Botvinnik-Ragozin, 194 7 174 Keres-Botvinnik, 1947 175 Botvinnik-Euwe, 1948 176 Keres-Botvinnik, 1948 177 Botvinnik-Smyslov, 1948 178 Botvinnik-Keres, 1948 179 Botvinnik-Euwe, 1948 180 Smyslov-Botvinnik, 1948 181 Reshevsky-Botvinnik, 1948 182 Botvinnik-Keres, 1948 183 Botvinnik-Reshevsky, 1948

184 Bronstein-Botvinnik, 1951, 6th match game 185 Botvinnik-Bronstein, 1951, 7th match game 186 Botvinnik-Bronstein, 1951, 9th match game 187 Bronstein-Botvinnik, 1951, 10th match game 188 Bronstein-Botvinnik, 1951, 12th match game 189 Bronstein-Botvinnik, 1951, 18th match game 190 Botvinnik-Bronstein, 1951, 19th match game 191 Bronstein-Botvinnik, 1951, 20th match game 192 Botvinnik-Bronstein, 1951, 23rd match game 193 Botvinnik-Moiseev, 1951 194 Botvinnik-Lipnitsky, 1951 110 112 114 118 123 125 129 131 137 139 144 146 150 154 160 162 166 171 175 179 182 187 189 194 ·200 202 205 207 211 214 217 221 225 229 232 235 239 243 245 251 254

195 Bronstein-Botvinnik, 1951 196 Botvinnik-Novotelnov, 1951 197 Botvinnik-Keres, 1951 198 Sliwa-Botvinnik, 1952 199 Szab6-Botvinnik, 1952 200 Kottnauer-Botvinnik, 1952 201 Botvinnik-O'Kelly, 1952 202 Troianescu-Botvinnik, 1952 203 Botvinnik-Pilnik, 1952 204 Botvinnik-Konstantinopolsky, 1952 205 Botvinnik-Goldenov, 1952 206 Tolush-Botvinnik, 1952 207 Bronstein-Botvinnik, 1952 208 Botvinnik-Keres, 1952 209 Botvinnik-Smyslov, 1952 210 Botvinnik-Boleslavsky, 1952 · 211 Botvinnik-Kan, 1952 212 Itivitsky-Botvinnik, 1952 213 Botvinnik-Geller, 1952 214 Moiseev-Botvinnik, 1952 215 Suetin-Botvinnik, 1952 216 Taimanov-Botvinnik, 1953 217 Botvinnik-Taimanov, 1953

218 Smyslov-Botvinnik, 1954, 1st match game 219 Botvinnik-Smyslov, 1954, 2nd match game 220 Botvinnik-Smyslov, 1954, 4th match game 221 Smyslov-Botvinnik, 1954, 5th match game 222 Botvinnik-Smyslov, 1954, 12th match game 223 Smyslov-Botvinnik, 1954, 13th match game 224 Smyslov-Botvinnik, 1954, 15th match game 225 Botvinnik-Smyslov, 1954, 16th match game 226 Smyslov-Botvinnik, 1954, 17th match game 227 Botvinnik-Smyslov, 1954, 18th match game 228 Smyslov-Botvinnik, 1954, 19th match game 229 Smyslov-Botvinnik, 1954, 21st match game 230 Botvinnik-Stahlberg, 1954 231 Botvinnik-Minev, 1954 232 Botvinnik-Najdorf, 1954 233 Botvinnik-Pirc, 1954 234 Unzicker-Botvinnik, 1954 235 Antoshin-Botvinnik, 1955 256 260 265 269 273 278 281 283 285 288 291 294 297 299 302 305 308 312 315 318 323 • . 328 332 ''335 341 344 348 352· 355 358 361 365 368 372 376 379. 383 389 . 392 395 400 ...

236 Kotov-Botvinnik, 1955 403 237 Botvinnik-Kan, 1955 408 238 Averbakh-Botvinnik, 1955 411 239 Botvinnik-Borisenko, 1955 414 240 Botvinnik-Stahlberg, 1956 417 241 Botvinnik-Benkner, 1956 420 242 Botvinnik-Padevsky, 1956 421 243 Larsen-Botvinnik, 1956 423 244 Botvinnik-Gligoric, 1956 425 245 Botvinnik-Ciocaltea, 1956 428 246 Padevsky-Botvinnik, 1956 430 247 Botvinnik-Najdorf, 1956 432 248 Sliwa-Botvinnik, 1956 436 249 Botvinnik-Stahlberg, 1956 441 250 Botvinnik-Szab6, 1956 443 251 Botvinnik-Uhlmann, 1956 445 Training Games 44 7

Tournament and Match Cross-tables 474

Summary of Tournament and Match Results (1942-1956) 490

Translator's Notes 491

A terrible time ensued - the War. On

account of my eyesight I was not called up, and was evacuated from Leningrad to Perm.1 I worked as an engineer - as a specialist in high-voltage insulation.

I took hardly anything with me, but my chess notebooks, the most recent publications and a chess set travelled . with me to the east. As soon as an everyday routine had been established, in the evenings I began writing notes to the games from the 1941 Match­ Toumament for the Title of Absolute USSR Champion.

I had to preserve my chess strength for the years of peace to come (the government's decision about a match with the World Champion Alekhine had not been rescinded), and analytical work helped me to do this. When (after the victory at Stalingrad) I received an invitation to a tournament (Sverdlovsk 1943), it transpired that I was ready for battle.

It was a double-round tournament. Against each of the other participants I scored

I

Y2 points and easily won first

place. But there were also some adventures: for two weeks I tried to 'clean up' a continuation in the open variation of the Ruy Lopez (the regional authorities allowed me to prepare for the

'Uneasy lies the head

that wears a crown'

tournament at a state farm near Penn). But I worked completely alone, and my preparation proved to be inferior. Isaak Boleslavsky (against whom I employed this variation) conducted the game very skilfully, and could have given mate if in the diagram position he had played

61 .. �.f8!

After he overlooked this opportunity, I was able to exchange my four con­ nected passed pawns for the opponent's bishops and on move 89 to draw this ending ...

Yes, my analyses needed to be checked with Ragozin, this was clear! When I was preparing with him before the War, such problems did not occur ...

The book of games from the match­ toumament was completed, and I had to

continue my training. The next event was the Moscow Championship (hors concours). Again I prepared alone, and again I suffered a fiasco in the open variation of the Ruy Lopez (this time against Smyslov). But the game with Zhivtsov (No.131) deserves particular attention.

In 1941 in a training game, Ragozin and I tested a variation of the Queen's Gambit, which later became known as the 'Botvinnik Variation', but in the 1941 match-tournament my opponents avoided this variation. But Zhivtsov was not afraid and... he was immediately punished.

For more than ten years I success­ fully employed this variation. Then it went out of fashion, but in recent years it has again begun appearing in tourna­ ment games.

The power stations minister Zhimerin transferred me to the engineering de­ partment of the People's Commissariat, and in the next USSR Championship -the first of -the war years - I was already playing as a Muscovite.

.On this occasion my good prepar­ ation told, and the title of champion, in competition with the young Smyslov, was won without any particular adven­ tures (for the fourth time). Significant in this respect was my game with Lilienthal: he prepared a new move in the Botvinnik Variation (Zhivtsov's experience was used!), and I found myself in a difficult situation.

The · position of the black king is

insecure, whereas White's king is fairly safe, and in addition he has the advantage of the two bishops.

There followed 32 ... t'bd7! (to open the diagonal for the g2 bishop would, of course, be suicidal) 33 .txd5? (greed is the undoing of my opponent; 33 'it'c3 was essential) 33 ... 'i'xd5 (now, despite being the exchange up, it is only White who has difficulties) 34 �4 e5 35 .i.g5

lD:fS! 36 f3 lbe6, and Black's advantage is obvious. A game, typical of this open­ ing variation: in a sharp struggle the winner is the one who has studied more deeply all of its positional complexities!

A year passed, and - a new Cham­ pionship, this time the first after the victory over Hitler's Germany. With Ragozin I prepared particularly dili­ gently, both physically and creatively. I was able to put my nervous system completely in order. Before the tourna­ ment Ragozin and I went to the hairdresser's. I ended up with some inexperienced girl, who made an un­ believable mess of my hair. 'Misha', said my companion, 'you endured this so calmly, that you are already

guaranteed first place ... '.

My friend was right: I scored 16 points out of 18; this time there was no

competition. True, in one game I ended up in a hopeless position against ... Ragozin.

I overlooked the unexpected inter­ mediate move 22 %ldl !, when the in­ vasion by the white rook onto the eighth

rank is inevitable... There followed

22 .. Jla8 23 %ld8+ ii.f8 (23 ... �h7 is no better) 24 axb3 (the critical point of the game; after 24 cxb3 ii.b7 25 ii.b8 a5 26 a4! Black's position would have been lost, whereas now his rook escapes from imprisonment) 24 ... .ab7 25 ii.b8 a5 26

f3 a4 27 bxa4 l:txa4, and the game ended in a draw!

My friend was fatally unlucky with me in tournament games - he several times gained winning positions, but was unable to take them to their logical end. It was no accident that he once presented me with a diagram stamp with an expressive inscription: 'To my friend, the boa constrictor, from his friend the rabbit...'.

Then came the USSR-USA Radio Match. The Soviet team astonished the entire world - the score was 151/2-4Y2. Yes, at the time this seemed fantastic,

but later the USSR team played against the rest of the world (in 1970 and in 1984), and quite successfully: 20Y2-19Y2 and 21-19!

Unofficially we were told of Stalin's evaluation of the match score: 'Well done lads ... '. The American Ambassa­ dor A.Harriman invited us to a reception and showed the film Casablanca with Paul Robeson. 2

But the main result was that, despite the difficult war years, Soviet chess had moved forward. And those masters, who early had been somewhat critical of my play, on this occasion all united and sent a letter to Stalin suggesting that a match for the World Championship be organ­ ised between Alekhine and the Soviet Champion. The question was decided positively, but a few months later the World Champiori suddenly died ... ·

'Troubled times' began - there had not been such a situation in the chess world before; never previously had the Champion died undefeated. The first post-war FIDE Congress in Winterthur (Switzerland, 1946) decided that a match-tournament of the six strongest players should be held to determine the new champion. This signified that from then on FIDE would be staging such events. But at the congress only six delegates were present - rather few for such responsible decisions.

An important say was due to be made by the tournament in Groningen (Au­ gust 1946). After the war this was the ·first big international tournament. It was no accident that Holland was the organ­ iser of this event. The calculation was simple: former World Champion Max

Euwe would win, and he would have to

be proclaimed World Champion. The competitive struggle in Gron­ ingen was exceptionally tense, but Euwe only finished second. After this there followed the team match USSR-USA (Moscow, September 1946), where all six participants in the planned match­ tournament assembled: Euwe (he was the match arbiter), Reshevsky and Fine (USA), Botvinnik, Keres and Smyslov. Agreement about the match-tournament was reached, but then (on the initiative of the Soviet Chess Federation) it was annulled ...

Everything was up in the air, and I cut myself off from chess to work on the dissertation for my doctorate. But in the summer of 1947, at the Congress in The Hague, the Soviet Chess Federation joined FIDE, and the match-tournament of six players was confirmed. From September my scientific work was put aside, and I returned to chess.

Again - creative collaboration with Ragozin, which benefited us both. In the Chigorin Memorial Tournament (Mos­ cow 1947) Ragozin finished second! I managed to win, but of no less impor­ tance was the winning of my game against Keres, who many (after his victory in the 193 8 A VRO Tournament) saw as a future World Champion.

And finally, the match-tournament. I was excellently prepared (with Rago­ zin' s support!) - for the first time I went out on skis with rigid bindings.

Unfortunately, before the Soviet players set off to The Hague a conflict arose. There were some heated argu­ ments regarding the regulations for the

Dutch half of the match-tournament. The scheduling of the rounds was drawn up without any regard for the element­

ary demands of competition. A tourna­ ment should proceed at a measured pace, so that the participants become accustomed to a definite playing rhythm. It is then that one can expect high creative achievements.

The Dutch organisers had disre­ garded this. They had not taken account of the fact that the numerous free days (due to holidays, and also because the number of participants was odd - at the last moment Fine had withdrawn) would disrupt this rhythm and could upset a player's mental balance.

When I established that before the last round of the second cycle, one of the participants would be 'resting' for six days in a row, I suggested to my colleagues Keres and Smyslov that we should make a joint protest. Alas, they did not support me! In a fit of temper, I told them: 'You'll see - one of us in The Hague will be "resting" for six days in a row, and on the seventh he will lose without a fight ... '

And the first part of the prediction came true: after a six-day break, Keres sat down at the board opposite me looking as white as a sheet, evidently fearing that the second part would also be confirmed. And that is what in fact happened ...

After the 'half in The Hague (the Moscow part of the match-tournament was longer, and consisted of three cycles) ·I was 1 Y2 points ahead of my nearest rival, Reshevsky. In our third meeting (the first in Moscow) the

American grandmaster held the initia­ tive; my nerves let me down, and I suffered a defeat. But this did not affect the battle. Before the start of the last cycle my lead was so great, that in my last game with Euwe I was happy with a draw ...

In the diagram position I was due to make my 15th move. Here I sensed that I could not play any more, and I offered my opponent a draw. At that point the tournament position of the former World Champion was hopeless, and I was in no doubt that he would accept the offer. To my surprise, Euwe replied that he would like to play on.

I became angry, and my fighting mood immediately returned. 'Very well', I said, 'we will play on'. Here Euwe sensed the change of situation and extended me his hand, congratulating me on my victory in the tournament.

Draw.

The excitement and noise in the hall were indescribable. Play on the other board had to be halted. It was only after several i:ninutes that the chief arbiter Milan Vidmar was able to calm the

public. A little time later the film cameramen suddenly realised that they had not 'immortalised' the moment when I had made my last move ·14 b4,

which had brought the title of World Champion to the Soviet state. Then they noticed that Yakov Estrin, the demon­ strator of the game, was wearing a suit of the same colour as the new champion. The audiences had nq sus­ picion that the 'historic' move b2-b4 at the chess board in the film clip was made not by the hand of the participant, but of the demonstrator.

The 'history' of the b-pawn did not end at that. It was taken away as a talisman by Elizaveta Bykova in the certainty that this pawn would help her to become Women's World Champion. And this did indeed happen!

Incidentally, the demonstrator who touched this truly 'magical' pawn subsequently also became World Champion, in correspondence chess. ·

Thus a Soviet player had become World Champion. This was not an isolated success, since a whole group of outstanding Soviet grandmasters had assumed a leading position in the chess world. The broad popularity of chess was the direct result of the upsurge in popular culture, aroused by the October Revolution, and also the research work in the field of chess. All this contributed to the triumph of the Soviet Chess School.

After the match-tournament I returned to the work on the dissertation for my doctorate. I thought that there would be sufficient time to prepare for the forthcoming World Championship

match in 195 1 (by the new FIDE rules, matches were due to take place every three years). However, the work

dragged on, and all this time I did not

take part in any tournaments. It is not surprising that, when in the spring of 195 1 I had to sit down at the chess board, to defend my champion's title in

a match with Bronstein, I found myself

in a difficult position.

David Ionovich Bronstein (born 1924) was undoubtedly a colourful fig­ ure among chess grandmasters. A brilliant master of attack, capable of taking original decisions, he forced his way through to a match for the World Championship at the age of 27, pushing aside such outstanding players as Keres, Smyslov, Boleslavsky and others. The situation in our match was favourable for him, since, as already mentioned, for three years I had not played a single tournament game. One should not be surprised that Bronstein, who was inferior to me in experience and positional understanding, did not lose the match, but should rather ask the question: why did he not defeat his out of practice opponent?

My lack of practice can be demonstrated, for example, by the 16th

game of the match. ·

In the diagram position Black is two pawns up with a positional advantage. For the moment his king is not threat­ ened, and be could have calmly played 72 ... b4, when after 73 'ifxb4 ltlxg3 White can only resign. In time trouble I was let down by my nerves - I played

72 ... :xg3+, and the game ended in

per.petual check ... ·

Several similar examples could be given!

So why in fact was I fortunate enough to draw the match?

Two factors played their part. Firstly, Bronstein displayed a clear weakness in endgame play, and in the match he lost three endings in which I stood by no means better (this is also explained partly by non-objective analysis). The second factor was deficiencies in human character: a leaning towards a certain eccentricity and complacency. Alekhine pointed out long ago how important it was for a strong master to have a proper sense of danger! It is probable that this deficiency of Bronstein's revealed his comparatively weak positional under­ standing.

Thus, the champion's title had been

upheld, but I still had to regain my

form! I also did not succeed in doing this in the 195 1 USSR Championship.

Initially I took the lead, but then my

nerves failed me; the same can be said

about the international tournament in

Budapest, with the difference that there I did not even take the lead.

Late in December 1952, in Moscow, the 20th USSR Championship was coming to an end. When I resumed my game from the last round, I was not in the best of spirits. Initially I had retained every chance of winning, but I played weakly, and before Black's 58th move it was already clear that the game should end in a draw: there were opposite­ colour bishops. Meanwhile, only suc­ cess in this game would enable me to catch the leader Mark Taimanov, and keep open an opportunity of fighting for the championship of the country.

And to win this title was simply essential. A few months earlier, on the proposal of other participants, I had been excluded from the Olympiad team, since, in the opinion of my colleagues, I was now a poor chess player. The 20th Championship was the first after the Olympiad, and, naturally, I wanted to demonstrate that the World Champion could still perform successfully.

I managed to win that last round game (No.215) and to share first place in the tournament with Taimanov. Our

match concluded successfully for me, and for the last (and 7th) time I won the title of USSR Champion. True, there were a number of adventures in the match. Here is one of them (see diagram).

The game had just been resumed (this was the third game of the match) and it was Taimanov to move. He played 44 l:txf4, in the hope that after 44 ... 'i'xg3+ 45 l:tf2 'i'e3+ 46 �1 'i'd3+ 47 @gl ltle2+ 48 l:txe2 'ilfxe2 49 'i!fd4 the queen ending would be won for White.

However, there followed 44 ... 'i'gl+!

45 tDfl 00+ 46 l:txf3 'i'xc5 47 l:.d3

'i'f5, and Black, not without difficulty, gained a draw.

A year later came a match for the World Championship with Smyslov (the

FIDE rules were in operation). By that

time the 33-year-old Smyslov had reached the peak of his chess strength. In the period from 1953-1958 he was undoubtedly the strongest tournament player in the world. He played safely: he did not end up in difficult positions, went in for exchanges, with each ex­ change he accumulated some positional plus, and the outcome was a favourable endgame. If his opponent was able to defend it, the result would be a draw, but otherwise, using his very fine end­ game technique, Smyslov would gra­

dually win the game. The combination of good calculation of variations, character, boldness, independence and natural health made Smyslov practically invincible.

Why then in 1954 did he not win the match for the World Championship? I think that there can be only one answer:

in positional understariding I was never­ theless somewhat superior to the challenger ... The final score was 12-12, and I won my third laurel wreath.

But, I have to admit, I was now over forty, and the time of my successes in

the 1940s had passed. Then there had not even been any competition, whereas now I was playing opponents who were my equal. But with equality of strength, there is always some advantage on the side of the player who is more skilled in research work. It was this that enabled me to retain my crown, however uneasily ...

In 1955 for the last (12th!) time I took part in the USSR Championship. On this occasion too there was no 'purity' in my play. I think that my three-year break from chess (1948-1951) was continuing to tell - the nervous system possesses great inertia. In the tournament there were 'adven­ tures', for example in my game with Vladimir Simagin.

White's position is lost. The pawn ending is lost, and hence, in accordance with Ragozin' s rule, it should be the

same in the knight ending, since the white king is as far away as it can be from the bl square. There was a win by 98 ... �5 99 00 tl'lg5 ! 100 tl'lh4+ '1ti>g4 101 tl'lg6 lill3 ! , and after ... �g5 my opponent would have promoted his h­ pawn unhindered.

Tired after an adjournment session lasting several hours, Simagin (who was never noted for his stamina) played 98 ... GDd2, but this allowed White to bring up his king with gain of tempo, and after 99 'it>b4 ! '1t>f5 100 '1t>c3 ! tl'le4+ (or 100 .. �xe5 101 �d2, and the draw is obvious) 101 �d4 tl'lg5 102 tl'ld3 the knight ending could no longer be won.

Before the last round I still had reasonable chances of becoming USSR Champion for the eighth time. But, apparently, in some way I had angered the chess goddess Caissa: feeble play in my game with Keres pushed me back from first to third place.

And then came the last test before a new match with Smyslov - the Alekhine Memorial Tournament in Moscow. In 1956 it was decided to mark the tenth anniversary of the great player's death. On this occasion I played with composure, and in the last round it was sufficient to draw my game with Keres to become sole winner of the tour­ nament. But here too I suffered a defeat, and Smyslov caught me.

The training games given at the end of the book deserve particular attention. They clearly demonstrate the research aspect of preparing for events and its practical benefit. It stands to reason that, without specific research ability, this method cannot be used!

From time to time the research tendency (and it ensured the lengthy and solid achievements of the Soviet chess school) has come in for criticism. Thus

in 1950, on the pages of the magazine

Shakhmaty v SSSR, Grigory Levenfish expressed the view that the use of preparation in tournament play reduces the creative aspect of chess. Today too they sometimes try to reject the research method as being outdated, as a method that could only be used in the 'stage­ coach' era.

I think there is little basis to either of

this conceptions. The research method did not appear out of thin air (it was also used earlier, although to a lesser

degree), and the practical results achieved have been very impressive.

The games given in this book demonstrate fairly clearly both a steady rise to the chess summit in the period

1943-1948, as well as some reduction in

creative achievements immediately after my three-year break from play, and then my play stabilising at a fairly high level, despite the fact that I was already in my fifth decade. Here I was undoubtedly helped by my ability in self­ programming. But it can only be used with the aid of painstaking work.

Yes, the poet was right - 'Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown!' 3

Game 122

M.Botvinnik-V.Ragozin

A1aster Tournament Sverdlovsk 1943 Nimzo-Indian Defence

1

d4

ltlf6

2 c4

e6

3 ltlc3

..tb4 4

e3

·

b6

5

ltlge2

.ib7

A few years later 5 ... iLa6, which leads to more interesting play, began to be employed. In particular, this con­ tinuation occurred in my match with Bronstein (1951 ), and also slightly later in my games from the 19th USSR Championship with Moiseev (No.193) and Novotelnov (No. 196), and in my 1954 match with Smyslov (No.2 19).

6 a3

..te7

7 d5

This was played several times by Reshevsky, but even earlier by Rubin­ stein, for example in Moscow (1925) against Rabinovich.

7 • • •

0-0

8 ltlg3

The alternative plan is to fianchetto the king's bishop. For example, Euwe played 8 e4 d6 9 g3 against O'Kelly (Groningen 1946).

8

. . •

d6

Selected Games

1 943-1 956

Also in Groningen, O'Kelly played

the interesting move 8 ... b5 against me.

However, it would seem that Black cannot equalise in this way. After 9 dxe6 fxe6 10 lbxb5 c5 White should have continued 11 fl with an obvious

advantage. He can also advantageously

decline the sacrifice - 9 e4.

9 .tel

c6

10 e4

ltla6

Now White has an opportunity to begin immediate active play on the queenside, which could have been avoided by 10 ... cxd5 11 cxd5 exd5 12 exd5 t'Da6. This recommendation was subsequently employed in a game Bondarevsky-Kan ( 1949), and indeed

after 13 0--0 lD.c7 14 ii.f3 'ilfd7 Black

achieved a satisfactory game.

12 b4

li::Jc7

13 0-0

11fb8

Black intends the freeing advance ... d6-d5, but for this he must first exchange his b-pawn for the white c4 pawn. The drawback to this plan is that White gains a queenside pawn majority.

14 ..te3

b5

15 a4

bxc4

16 b5

.i.b7

17 .i.xc4

17

18 exd5

19 li::Jxd5

20 .i.xd5

d5

li::Jcxd5

li::Jxd5

.i.xd5

Thus Black has carried out his plan, and he has even gained the advantage of the two bishops. Immediately, however, this latter factor will no longer apply, as White has available an interesting tactical stroke.

21 li::Jf5!

.i.f6

22 i.d4

exf5

A mistake, as a result of which Black's position sharply deteriorates. It is also unlikely that he could have resisted successfully with 22 ... i.xd4 23 'i'xd4 f6, as 8.fter 24 tlle7+ 'it>h8 25

ll'ixd5 l::td8 26 'il'e3 exd5 27 l::tfdl the ending is favourable for White. However, the energetic reply 22 ... 'i'f4 (23 .i.xf6 'ii'xf5) would have left White with only a symbolic advantage - with opposite-colour bishops, there is no way that he could have exploited his extra pawn on the queenside.

23 .i.xf6

i!fb7

It was on this move that Ragozin was pinning his hopes, since now the bishop and the g2 pawn are simultaneously attacked. However, disillusionment awaits him.

24 l:Z.aJ!

An unexpected turn of events. Black cannot reply 24 ... ..txg2 on account of 25 :g3, while if 24 ... 'it>h8 there follows 25 'i'd4 l:.g8 26 :g3, and there is no way of defending the g7 square. Therefore he is forced to accept the breaking up of his kingside. ;

24

25 l:r.g3+

26 'i!fd4

gxf6

'it>h8

The bishop is regained, since only the queen can save the black king from being mated.

26

27 1!Fxd5

28 9'd4

29 1!fh4

11e7

1t'e6

l:lfd8

A new threat has appeared: 30 l:lh3.

29

llg8

30 l:ldl

_Jlg4

31 l:l.xg4

·

fxg4

The situation seems to have eased for Black: he has slightly improved his ·

pawn formation and has exchanged a pair of rooks. But with simplification, the organic defects of his position become even more evident. .

32 h3

Ilg8

32 ... gxh3 33

1!fxh3

is no better.

33 hxg4

llxg4

34 1ih6

1!f e7

35 a5

In the end the outcome is C:iecided by White's main trump - his queenside pawns.

35

• •

.

:g6·

36 1ih3

9'e2

36 ... 1t'b7 was rather more tenacious, but Ragozin, as usual, was' '

ai

ming to play actively.

37 1i'd3

1!Fg4

38 g3

1!f'h3

39

'fff3 h5

This counter-attack, alas, is too late.

40 b6

axb6

41 axb6

1t'c8

Black resigned,

without waiting for

42 b7 'flc7 43 lhl (or 43 l::td7). Game 123

M.Botvinnik-A.Koristantinopolsky

Master Tournament Sverdlovsk 1943 Caro-Kann Defence

1 e4

c6

2 d4

d5

3 exd5

cxd5

4 c4

it)f6

5

ft)cJ

e6

5 ... lbc6 would nevertheless seem to be stronger, since then after 6 JJ..g5 (cf.

Game 56*) Black can reply 6 ... e6, and the position of White's pishop at g5 restricts his choice of plan. In the game, by contrast (after 5 ... e6), he can also

opt for other continuations.

6

ft)f3

JJ..e7

7

.i.g5

Premature was 7 c5 0-0 8 JJ..d3 b6 9 b4 a,5, when Black achieves double­ edged play. On the other hand, the quiet continuation 7 cxd5 exd5 8 i.b5+ i.d7 9 '1Vb3 assures White of a slight, but enduring advantage.

7.

• • • 0--0

* Games 1- 12 1 have been published in

the first book. Botvinnik's Best Games

8 Act

It can be mentioned that again after 8 c5 White cannot gain an advantage, on account of 8 ... b6 9 b4 a5 10 a3 ll:le4 11 Ji..xe7 1!fxe7 12 ll:lxe4' dxe4 13 ll:le5 ltld7.

8 . . .

ltlc6

8 ... ltle4 would have given equal chances.

9 cs

A similar situation had already occurred in my game with Krnoch (No.62). White aims to exploit his extra pawn on the queenside, but this plan involves a loss of time, and Black could later have avoided any difficulties.

9

ll:le4

10 Ji..xe7

1!f xe7

11 .i.e2

This move is made in order to block the e-file inunediately, in view of the possible threat of ... e6-e5. For example, if 11 Ji..b5 there could have followed 11... ll:lxc3 12 .l':xc3 e5.

11

. • •

.ild7

Interesting complications would have resulted after l 1...l:ld8 12 'i'c2 (if 12 0-0 e5) 12 ... ll:lxc3 13 'i'xc3 e5 14 tt:Jxe5 (if

�

14 0-0 e4 or 14 ... exd4) 14 ... ll:lxe5 15 dxe5 d4 16 'iig3 Ji..f5 17 0-0 d3. Black's activity is sufficient compen­ sation for the sacrificed pawn. There is no simpler way for Black to resolve this problem: if l 1...ltlxc3 12 l:f.xc3 e5 there would have followed 13 tt:lxe5 ttlxe5 14 l:f.e3.

12 a3

f S

A mistake, as a result of which the e5 square is irreparably weakened. Why defend the knight again, when for the moment it was not threatened? After 12 ... f6 13 b4 ltJxc3 14 l:f.xc3 a6 15 0-0 l:f.fd8 Black would have gradually prepared ... e6-e5.

13 Ji..bS!

Perfectly consistent. White aims to exchange Black's queen's knight, in order to gain control of e5.

13

• • • ll:lg5

Black, in turn, wants to eliminate White's king's knight, in order to hinder the opponent's occupation of e5.

14 .i.xc6

ltlxf3+

15 1!f xf3

bxc6

16 'lff4!

l:lae8

17 0-0

es

In this way Black prevents the manoeuvre of the white knight to e5, but later one of the white pieces will be able to occupy the no less important d4 square, which is now vacated.

18 9xeS

White transposes into a favourable ending.

18

. • •

1!fxeS

19 dxeS

l:beS

After 19 ... d4 20 ltle2 d3 21 ltlr4 d2

22 '1cdl l:txe5 23 I:txd2 White would

20 f4

It is important to blockade the f5 pawn, which restricts the black bishop.

20

• . •

:e7

If 20 ... l:te3 there would have followed 21 <ifi>f2 d4 22 l:lfdl.

21 l'!fel

White needs to exchange one pair of rooks in order to activate his king.

21

.tlfe8

22 l'!xe7

l:lxe7

23

<if.Jf2 c;t>n

After 23 ... d4 24 lDe2 d3 25 tLlc3 (25 ... .i.cS 26 l:lel) the loss of the d­ pawn was inevitable.

24 l'!dl

A useful move. fixing the unfavourable arrangement of the black pawns. It would have been wrong to play for further simplification: 24 l:te I l:txel 25 <ifi>xel d4 26 tDe2 �e6 27 �xd4+ ltid5, and Black should not lose.

24

. • • l1e8

In the variation 24 ... .i.c8 25 tLle2 l:te4 the simplest for White is 26 ;cld4 h6 27 l::txe4 fxe4 28 ttid4 with an obvious advantage .

. 25 l'!d2!

Defending the b2 pawn and preparing White's next move ..

25 .

h6

26 lle2

In contrast to the vanation given earlier, 24 l:tel l:txe l 25 lttxel, in which the king moved away from the centre of the board, now after 26 .. J:txe2+ 27 tLlxe2 White would gain time to play his knight to d4.

26

27 �eJ

28 �d4

l1b8

l:lbJ

Thus the central d4 square has been occupied, and Black is obliged merely to observe the development of events -such is the fate of the side with a bad bishop.

28

• . •

<itr6

29

�a2

llb8

The white pawns cannot be blocked: 29 ... a5 30 tDcl l:tb8 31 b3 etc.

30 b4

_g5

On the queenside Black is obliged to remain inactive, since if 30 ... aS there

would have followed 31 bxa5 l:!a8 32 lDc3 l:lxa5 33 a4, and the black rook is condemned to a passive role - it is

obliged to halt the advance of the opposing outside passed pawn. There­ fore he makes an attempt to create counterplay on the kingside, but nothing significant can come of this.

31 g3

gxf4

32 gxf4

a6

33 tt'lc3

_:gS

A rare situation: the invasion of the black rook does not bring any gains.

Now, when I am working on formalising the way that a chess master searches for a move, I can explain this easily: the point is that that the black rook has no feasible trajectories for attacking the white pieces.

34 a4

ng4

35

J:tf2

�e6

White would have won more quickly after 35 ... .i.e8 36 b5 axb5 37 axb5 cxb5 38 tLixd5+ <Jo>e6 (38 ... <M? 39 <Jo>e5) 39

�e2+ '3if7 40 .l:txe8 �xe8 41 tLif6+ rl;e7 42 tl:ixg4 f.xg4 43 f5. However, now too the breakthrough on the queenside is unavoidable.

36 b5!

37 . axb5

38 lllxb5

axb5

cxb5

l:tgl

39 tt'lcJ!

Precautionary measures are never superfluous.

39

�

40 ltb2

llfl

41 lDe2!

If

41 <Jo>e5 Black would not have replied 41...:eI+ on account of 42 ft'le2, but immediately 41 ... d4 with . some altogether unnecessary complications.

41

:&t.el

The e5 square cannot be defended (41...�6 42 c6 llf2 43 c7 I:txh2 44 llb6, and Black must resign).

42 <!>es

d4

This delays slightly the inevitable end. After 42 ... <Jo>e7 43 c6 and only now 43 ... d4 there is no point in White wasting time on the eliminating the d­ pawn, since he can decide matters with 44 llb7+ 'it>d8 45 'it>d6! l:be2 46 l:tb8+ i.c8 47 c7+.

43 'it>xd4

<io>g6

Now 44 'it>e5 would be a mistake because of 44 ... i.c4.

44

tLlc3

<io>h5

45 lle2

:xe2

46 l£lxe2

�g4

Even an active king can no longer do anything to help.

47 �e5

Ac8

48 ll'ld4

h5

49 ll'lxf5

i.d7

If

49 ... i.xf5, then of course 50 h3+.

50

!

tt'lg7

·

i.a4

51 f5

<io>g5

52 'tlle6+

Black resigns

A classic �xample of exploiting a bad light-square bishop: ·White controlled the dark squares of the.. board in

combination with the exploitation of his pawn majority on the queenside.

Game 124

M.Botvinnik-LBoleslavsky

Alaster Tournament Sverdlovsk I 943 Sicilian Defence

1 e4

One of the few games of that period in which I opened with the king's pawn. After a training game with Ragozin (Zacherenye, 1936), which was men­ tioned in the notes to game 77, I largely lost my taste for open games. However, I knew that against Boleslavsky it was advantageous to play 1 e4, since the opening variations that my opponent employed after this with Black were rather passive. In such a situation my somewhat superior positional under­ standing could bear fruit without any particular risk.

1

c5

2 ltlf3

ltlc6

3 d4

cxd4

4 ltlxd4

ltlf6

5 ltlcJ

d6

6 i.e2

e5

One of Boleslavsky's numerous clever opening set -ups. Black achieves a comfortable development. and the weakness of the d5 square proves immaterial. However, giveri careful play by White, Black will be unable . to achieve any activity.

7 ltlb3 .te7

Black should not waste time on the prophylactic advance ... h7-h6,

prevent-ing .tcl -g5xf6. The point is that if 8 .tg5 there follows 8 ... tt:lxe4 9 lllxe4 .txg5 10 tt:lxd6+ <l;e7, and his position is sound enough.

8 0-0

0-0

9 f4

I made this move in order to enliven the play somewhat. Modem theory gives preference to 9 .te3 ..ie6 10 ..if3 llla5, which, however, is also harmless for Black.

9

. . •

exf4

Now White gains an important tempo for the development of his queen's bishop. Later it was shown that Black should play 9 ... a5 10 a4 lllb4 11 .tf3

i.e6, when after ... �c8 and ... .tc4 he has the initiative.

10 .txf4

i.e6

11 ..td3

In the game Bronstein-Leven:fish from the 17th USSR Championship (1949) White played 11 �bl immediately, on which there followed 11 ... d5, but Black did not succeed in equalising fully: 12 e5 tt:le4 13 .Jld3 f5 14 exf6 lllxf6 15 'ilfe l 'i'd7 16 llla4 .i.fl 17 tt:lac5.

11

In this situation too Black could have played 1 l...d5 (to which White was intending to reply 12 e5), since in the given position the opening of the d3-h7 diagonal has no great importance. Boleslavsky, however, avoids sharpen­ ing the play.

12 'it>hl

11fb6

13 11f'e2

A cunning idea. White sacrifices a pawn in order to gain several tempi and exchange the active bishop at e6.

13 . . .

lnxdJ

Black was unable to refrain from making this exchange, assuming that White would be bound to recapture with the queen, when there would have followed 14 ... Itac8 with a good game.

14 cxd3!

J.xb3

15 J.eJ?

Opening the f-file with gain of tempo and preparing to play the bishop to d4.

15

. • •

'i'b4

The young Boleslavsky demonstrates that he has a good appetite! It was not yet too late to decline the sacrifice: 15 ... 'i'c6 16 axb3 d5 with counterplay

for Black. Now, however, the initiative passes for a long time to White.

16 axbJ

1lf xbJ

17

.:,35

White does not waste time capturing the a7 pawn, but transfers his rook by the shortest way to the kingside to join the attack. This plan can prove success­ ful, since for the sacrificed pawn he achieves an excellent arrangement of his

pieces.

17 . . .

We6

18 .i.d4

.i.d8

Black aims to consolidate his material advantage, since it is dangerous for White to regain the pawn: 19 l1xa7 l:txa7 20 .i.xa7 b6. However, the white rook was in any case aiming for the kingside.

19

fiaf5

On the kmgside the first threat has appeared: 20 �xf6! ilxf6 21 �xf6! gxf6 22 tlid5 with a decisive attack. ·

19

..•

lnd7

20 1i'g4

And now White wants to give mate.

20

• • • ll)eS

21 'l'gJ

Of course, it would have been a mistake to play 21 Iixf7 'i'xf7! 22 l:.xf7 tlixg4, and 21 i.xe5 dxe5 22 l:.xf7

11f xf7 was also unfavourable for White.

21

f6

22

tlid5

_a6

Although in this position it is hard for Black to do anything active, White's task is also not easy: the opponent is well entrenched. There is nothing else, other than to make a pawn offensive on the kingside. In this situation Boleslavsky should have tried to use his

pawn maJonty on the queenside, for which, without loss of time, 22 ... a5

should be played immediately.

23 'ilh3

l:te8

Now the threatened 24 l::txf6 is no longer possible.

24 g4

h6

25 1fg3

First the queen made way for the g­ pawn, and now for the h-pawn.

25

:cs

26 .i.cJ

a5

Admitting his error on the 22nd move.

27 h4

b5

What should White do next? For the moment g4-g5 does not work, and Black has already created the threat of 28 ... b4 followed by 29 ... :tc2. But White finds another latent possibility.

28 1llb3!

A quiet move, but an unpleasant one for Black. The white queen continues manoeuvring between g3 and h3, on this occasion seemingly without any point. In reality, in this way the queen's vulnerable position at e6 is exploited. If Black allows the �dvance 29 g5 fxg5 30 ii.xe5 dxe5 31 hxg5 hxg5 or 3 L . .i.xg5, then White wins by 32 l:liS+!

In reply to 28 ... &bd7, so as in the above variation to take the rook with the

knight at f8, there follows 29 lLJf4! 1Wb3

30 g5 fxg5 31 hxg5 ii.xg5 32 l::txg5 hxg5 33 lbg6 with a mating attack.

The only saving move was 28 ... <ifi>h7!, in tum exploiting the insecure position of the white queen (29 g5 fxg5 30 hxg5 ..txg5!). In this case Black would probably have achieved an equal game.

Boleslavsky, however, becomes

neivous and overlooks a tactical stroke.

28

tl)f7

Now White gains the opportunity to go into an ending with queen against two rooks. Despite the material equality, Black's chances are unfavourable on account of the poor position of his king and the weakness of his pawns.

29 .i.xf6!

An unpleasant surprise!

29

.i.xf6

30 lbxf6+

gxf6

Jt

. .

:xr6

11fd7

32 l::txf7

'lfxf7

33

:xn <iti>-xn

In the new situation the main thing for White is to avoid the pursuit of his king by the black rooks. This could have been achieved by 34 <t>g2! l:.c2+ 35 � d5 (or 35 ... lhb2) 36 g5 dxe4+ 37 dxe4

l:tf8 38 'it>e3, when he has every reason to coWlt on a win.

Instead of this White hastens to force events, which is highly tempting, but equally incorrect.

34 g5

Now a pawn is quickly won, but Black succeeds in cutting off the white king's retreat from the kingside, and its position becomes insecure.

34 . . .

hxg5

35 11'f5+

After 35 'i'd7+ 'it>g6! 36 ifxd6+ 'it>h5 3 7 hxg5 l:.cd8 the passive position of White's king would again have made it hard to convert his material advantage.

35

'it>g7

36 1bg5+ <itih7

37 1fxb5

l:tftl!

Now both black rooks are on open files, and the path of the white king to the centre is blocked.

38 ild7+

..t>g8

39 1!fe6+

@g7

40 1ld7+

White defers making a decision Wltil after the time control.

40

• • •

@gS

41 @g2

If

41 "ii'xd6 there would have follow­

ed 41 ...l:.c2. Now White improves the position of his king, but spends some precious tempi in so doing.

41

l:.c2+

42 <itig3

Now Black should have played 42 ... lhb2! 43 1i'xd6 l:.bf2 44 'ild5+ l:.2f7 45 e5 a4, when he would possibly have gained a draw, since he could have checked with his rooks on the f-file thanks to his outside passed pawn. Instead he makes another . error, which this time proves decisive.

42

. . • l:.cf2

43 9xd6

l:l2ti

Now White succeeds in panying the attack by the enemy rooks, and wins by combining defence with the advance of his central pawns.

44 9'd5

45 .

e5 .

�h8

· l:lg7+

46 WhJ

l:g6

In order after 47 e6 l:te8 48 e7 <li/g7 to win the e7 pawn.

47 d4

:a.

Again hindering 48 e6, when there would have followed 48 .. Jlel with numerous threats.

48 11f e4

llggl

49 d5

llhl+

49 ... l::te l would have offered a more tenacious resistance.

50 'it>g4

51 Wh5

52 e6!

llhgl+

llti

. The whole point is that if 52 .. J%h7+ there follows 53 'i'xh7+, and one of the white pawns soon becomes a queen.

Black resigns.

. Game 125

V.Smyslov-M.Botvinnik

Master Tournament Sverdlovsk 1943 French Defence

1 e4

e6

2 d4

d5

3 lhc3

4 e5

5 aJ

6 bxcJ

7 a4

.tb4

cs

.i.xcJ+

l£ie7

In our previous meeting where the French Defence was employed (Game 1 15), Smyslov played differently: after the standard development 7 00, 8 .td3 and 9 'i'd2 he launched an immediate pawn attack on the kingside. This strategy did not prove successful.

7

lL'ibc6

8 lL'ifJ

.i.d7

9 .te2

'ilc7

10 0-0

10

h6

This is not only a loss of time, but also a weakening of the kingside that for the moment is quite unnecessary. After the immediate attack on White's pawn centre by 10 ... f6 he has the unpleasant 11 exf6 gxf6 12 .i.a3 (suggested by Uhlmann). A step forward is 10 ... b6, as I played against Tolush in the 1943/44 Moscow Championship.

11 J.aJ

b6

12 dxc5!

bxc5

In the event of 12 . . . tt'lxeS 13 tt'lxe5 "it'xe5 White's queen's bishop would have been very active.

13 .i.xc5

14 tt'lxe5

tt'lxe5

1!f xc5

Black cannot leave such a dangerous bishop on the board. Besides, if

14 ... 'i'xe5 there could have followed' 15 i.d4 'i'g5 16 f4 with

a

dangerous initiative for White.

15 tt'lxd7

�xd7

16 i.b5+

After gaining an advantage from the opening, White promptly makes an impulsive move. The bishop at b5 will be badly placed, since White will have to reckon with the threat of . . . a7-a6 (in the event of c3-c4 ). He should have consistently opened up the position of the black king by 16 c4.

16

17

18

19

'i!lh5

'i'e5+

11i'f6

<3Jc7

g6

'if

_d6

Black's pos1tion looks very hazardous, but he nevertheless finds defensive resources.

19

e5

20

'iff3

After 20 'ilf xf7 Black could have forced a draw: 20 . . . l:tafS 2 1 'W'g7 l:tfg8, but he would have been unable to exploit the bad position of the enemy queen by 21...'i'e6 on account of22 f4.

20

e4

In view of Black's insecure king, 20 ... f5 leads to great difficulties, since the queens remain on the board. Now, however, if White wants to achieve anything, he has to accept the pawn sacrifice, but then the exchange of queens is unavoidable.

21

'ifxf7

Even in his youth, Smyslov very much liked playing endgames. He conducts this one with great skill, but . . .

21

llaf8

22 ilg7

'&f6

23 11i'xf6

:xr6

White's slight advantage consists in his doubled, but nevertheless extra pawn. In order to activate his pieces, he must open up the position.

24 :adl

:ds

25 :ret

tt'lf5

Black's main objective is to be able to answer c3-c4 with . . . d5-d4; it follows that the e4 pawn must be securely defended. Therefore White must switch to attacking the enemy pawn centre by

f2-f3. Then, however, after the

exchange of White's f3 pawn for the black d5 pawn his material advantage is somewhat flevalued, since he is not able to exchange his doubled c3 pawn.

27 g3

h5

28

f3

J:le7

29 i.g2

If29 c4, then 29 . . . exf3.

29

l:td6

30 fxe4

dxe4

31 lbd6

ltlxd6

32

<it>f.2 lle5

33 �e3

Or 33 lldl (to answer 33 ... l:ta5 with 34 l:td4), but then 33 .. J:tcs.

33

l:ta5

34 i.xe4

ltlxe4

35 <itxe4

J:lxa4+

Now, with the appearance of a passed pawn on the a-file, Black's drawing chances improve.

36 �d5

36

• • • l:ta5+

Black is saved by the possibility of driving back slightly the very active white king. If 37

'it>e6

there follows, of course, 37 . . . llf5. Smyslov prefers not to move his king away from his c-pawns.

37 'it>d4

ci?d6

38 c4

l:lf5

39

l:te8 llf2

40 h4

llg2

40 ... llxc2 was bad in view of 4 1 J:lg8.

41 c5+

<iftd7

42 Ae3

a5

43 llaJ

«ii?c6

44 c4

a4

Smyslov played unsuccessfully in this tournament, but he conducted some

individual games with great strength. Back in 1938 Alekhine had spoken respectfully about the play of the young Smyslov, and my opponent conducts this ending at a very high level.

45 �e4!

The only possible winning try.

Smyslov intends to return his extra pawn, but to exploit the remoteness of the black king from the g-and h-pawns.

Black must now defend with excep­ tional precision.

45

46

@fl

47 l:lxa4

48 �4

49 <.tel

<it>xc5

l:ld2

l:ld3+

l:ld4+

lld6

There is no question of Black going into the pawn ending, but he is quite satisfied with the status quo: because of the passive position of his rook, White is forced to sacrifice his c4 pawn.

50 Aal

�xc4

51 <i>f4

lld4+

52 <ote5

lld3

52 ... l:lg4 was not possible on account of 53 l:la4+.

53 J:lct+

'it>b5

54 J:lgl

llf3

The black king is remote, but White's is also cut off.

55 ci>e6

56 g4

57 g5

58 llal

59 l:ta7

'it>c4

llf 4

�d3

�e3

Apparently with the aim of attacking the g6 pawn, but in fact a clever trap.

SmyslQv was always very strong in tactics.

59 .

• •

�e2

Here too care was essential. In the event of 59 ... � 60 :t7 White wins easily in the pawn ending: 60 . . .

:xn

6 1

ri;}xf7 'it>g4 62 @xg6 �4 63 @h6 'it>g4

64 g6 h4 65 g7 h3 66 g8'ii'+.

60 ltb7

If 60

ll

g7, then 60 . . Jtxh4 61 'it>f6

l:la4 with a ckaw. However, the move played also does not change anything.

60

'it>e3

61 l:lh6

D.xh4

62 <it>f6

l:la4

63 'it>xg6

h4

64 'it>h5

@fl

65

g6

b3

66

Wg5

Draw agreed

A game which typifies the play of the young Smyslov. He was capable of making errors in the transition to the midcllega.me (16 i.bS+), but he con­ ducted the endgame with staggering precision and composur�

I was able to make partial use of the experience gained in this rook ending 27 years later in my game with Spassky (Leiden 1970). Game 126

M.Botvinnik-Y.Zagoryansky

Master Tournament Sverdlovsk 1943 Reti Opening

1 li)f3

2 c4

3 b3

d5

e6

lDf6

4 ..tb2

..te7

5 el

0-0

6 �CJ

c5

At that time this continuation was

considered almost obligatory. 6 ... b6

leads to more complicated play. In an

analogous position Chekhover chose

against me 6 . . . c6, which is undoubtedly

passive (Game 70).

7 cxd5

�xd5

More complicated problems arise in the event of 7 ... exd5, as Euwe played

against me in a similar situation (A VRO

Tournament 1938).

8 �xd5

exd5

Now Black is left with an isolated pawn. After 8 ... 'ii'xd5 9 ..tc4 he would

have given the opponent an important

tempo for development, as in one of the games from the Botvinnik-Levenfish match, 1937 (the ending of which is given in the introduction to Volume 1).

9 d4

cxd4

10 1!fxd4

The point of the manoeuvre begun with 9 d4. After any other capture of the pawn on d4 there would have followed

10 ... ..tb4+, to Black's advantage.

10

• . .

..tf6

11 11fd2

The exchange of the dark-square bishops is now unavoidable, after which White's control of the blockading d4 square becomes even more appreciable.

11

�

12 ..tel

..te6

12 ... ..tg4 was somewhat more active, whereas 12 ... ..txb2 13 1!fxb2 'i!fa5+ 14 'i!fd2 'i!fxd2+ 15 <it?xd2 would have given White a significant advantage in the endgame. A role would have been played not only by the weakness of the black d5 pawn, but mainly by the centralised position of the white king.

13 0-0

..txb2

14 1'xb2

Wa5

15 :fdl

White embarks on a systematic siege of the weak d5 pawn. The fact that such a position gives White good prospects was known to me after studying the

game Duz-Khotimirsky-Romanovsky

(4th USSR Championship), which I had

personally observed in the Leningrad House of Scientists in the summer of

1925.

15

llfd8

16 l:td2

lld7

17 J:tadl

llad8

18 bl

h6

19 �e5!

Thanks to this non-routine decision the game is simplified, the dark squares in the opponent's position are weakened still further, the bishop obtains an excellent post at f3, and the white queen acquires complete freedom of move­ ment. How could White refrain from such a continuation?

19

20 1!fxe5

21 .fLf3

ltlxe5

1!f

c5

With the threat of winning a pawn by 22 e4.

21

b6

22 1!fb2

llc8

23 1!fe5

White has an obvious positional advantage, but he does not immediately find the correct, although highly paradoxical, plan of further action.

23

l%.cd8

24 :ld4

a5

25 g4!

At the cost of weakening the position of his own king (which is possible only thanks to the fact that the enemy pieces are tied down), White opens up the play on the kingside. It soon transpires that Black is unable simultaneously to defend his king's fortress and the ill­ starred d5 pawn.

25

11fc6

26 g5

hxg5

27 1!fxg5

f6

The doubling of heavy pieces on the h-file was already threatened (28 l::th4 and 29 Wh5), and Black has to take ilmnediate measures to oppose this plan.

28 1lf g6

1Lf7

29 1!fg3

f5

An impulsive move, assisting the development of White's initiative, al­

though the inevitable transference of the rook from d l to gl would in any case have set Black insoluble problems.

30 1!lg5

'iie6

31 <ifi>hl

1lre5

32 :gt

llf8

33 1!fb6

l:l.b8

33 . .. !!d6 was not possible on account

done against the threat of 34 l:.h4. If 33 ... g6 the pawn advance h3-h4-h5 is

decisive. Therefore Black vacates the f8

square to allow his king to flee, and at the same time defends his b6 pawn.

34 l:th4

@f8

35 1!fb8+

.i.gS

36 l:X.f4

A new target has appeared - the f5 pawn, which White easily wins.

36

l:tbb7

37 l:tg5

%!ti

38 1!fh5

1!f al+

One of those so-called 'spite' checks .

.

.

39

40

41

42

Wg2

1!f xg6

1!fd6+

'lld8+

g6

iLh7

l:X.be7

White's aim was merely to adjourn the game, since it was obvious that Black would not bother to continue it. For this it was simplest to give a check, without thinking about which pawn to capture and with wl)at.

Black resigns.

In its time a strong impression was made on me by Bogoljubow's win against Reti at the tournament in Bad Homburg ( 1927). As it seemed to me, White exploited in classical style the drawbacks to the enemy position with an isolated pawn at d5. Later this method became widely adopted in tournament play. And I, for example, tried to create a similar situation in my afore-mentioned 1938 game with Euwe, who, however, preferred play with hanging c- and d-pawns. See what an influence on the praxis and theory of chess can be made by one single game!

Game 127

V.Makogonov-M.Botvinnik

Master Tournament Sverdlovsk 1943 Slav Defence

1 d4

d5

2 c4

e6

3 lhcJ

c6

In those years I often went in for this position, which may lead to the Meran Variation, the Dutch Defence, the Queen's Gambit. . . All these openings (or more precisely, systems) I had prepared in every detail. As Furman picturesquely expressed it, in such situa­ tions the opponent feels like a wolf in a forest, when the hunters surround its location with red flags.

For me things were much easier, since all these openings had also been tested in training games before the War.

4 e3

lhf6

5 lbfJ

lhbd7

6 lhe5

Vladimir Andreevich Makogonov ( 1 904-1993) was without doubt an outstanding chess master. In style he was close to the great Rubinstein, and he often created games that were deep and interesting in the positional sense. The somewhat one-sided nature of his style prevented him from rising even higher. We together gained the master title in the 1 927 USSR Championship, by sharing 5th-6th places.

The move played is typical of Makogonov. He, of course, avoided

'my' systems, and employed Rubin­ stein's anti-Meran variation. In this position Nimzowitsch used to make the

waiting move 6 'ifc2, but this was not in accordance with my opponent's style.

6

iiJxe5

7 dxe5

iiJd7

8 f4

iLb4

Intending subsequently to play the knight from d7 via c5 to e4.

9 cxd5

Makogonov liked Clarity and certainty, but now Black easily solves the problem of activating his queen's bishop. Stronger is 9 Ad2, as played by Rubinstein against Vidmar in San Remo ( 1930). The point of this move is that after 9 . . . dxc4 10 iiJe4! (but not 10 iLxc4 t'Dxe5 1 1 fxe5 'i'h4+) White has the advantage. Makogonov evidently did not know this opening subtlety, and he exchanged on d5 so that he would not have to worry about tl1e defence of his c4 pawn.

9

exd5

10 J.d3

This position, only with the differ­ ence that Black's king's bishop was at e7, had already occurred in the game Makogonov-Yudovich . (1 1th USSR Championship, i939). A seemingly

slight distinction, but it is of consider­ able importance.

10

iiJcS

11 iLc2

Played on general grounds - the bishop must be retained, but now White gets into difficulties. Therefore he should have preferred 1 1 0-0 (1 1 . . . d4 12 liJe4!) with approximate equality.

11

'ilh4+

12 g3

White still refuses to accept the fact that his position is worse, and he makes a move that allows Black to exchange the light-square bishops. This leads to a critical position. Meanwhile, after 12 <t>fl it would not have been so easy for Black to demonstrate his superiority.

12

1!fh3

Creating two threats: 13 ... llf g2 and

13 ... il.f5. It is already clear that the cen­ tral squares are under Black's control.

13

<it;f.2

Axc3

This later allows the black knight to comfortably establish itself at e4.

14 bxc3

Af5

15 i.xf5

Wxfs