1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 1 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 1 Botvinnik • l y, y. y, y, Y. l y, y, l l l y, I I I y, 12% 2 Kotov 0 • y, l 0 y, l I 0 I y, y. l I I I I y, 1 1% 3 Belavenets y, y, • y, I y, l y, I I 0 y, y, Y. I y, y, + 1 1 4 V.Makogonov y, 0 y, • l Y:z Y:z Y. I Y:z Y. Y:z I l y. Y:z Y:z I lOY. 5 Chekhover Y:z l 0 0 • l Y:z y, y, 0 y. I I y, I I y. l lOY. 6 Bondarevsky Y:z Y:z Y:z Y:z 0 • 0 y. 0 I l Y:z Y:z y, I I I + 10 7 Lisitsyn Y:z 0 0 Y:z y. l Y:z I 0 Y:z Y:z I y, Y:z Y:z I y, 9 8 Dubinin 0 0 Y. Y:z Y:z Y:z Y:z • Y:z Y:z y, I y, 0 I Y:z I y, 8% 9 Levenfish Y:z l 0 0 Y. l 0 y, • I y, I y. 0 0 0 I + 8% 10 Ragozin y, 0 0 y, l 0 I Y. 0 • I 0 y. 0 I I y, l 8% 11 Panov 0 Y. l Y:z y. 0 y, y. y. 0 • y. 0 y, Y:z y, I I 8 12 !.Rabinovich 0 y. y. Y:z 0 y, y. 0 0 l Y:z • l y. 0 I y, I 8 13 Kan 0 0 y, 0 0 Y:z 0 y, y, y, I 0 • y. I I Y:z I 7% 14 Yudovich y. 0 y, 0 Y:z Y:z Y:z I l I Y:z Y:z Y:z • 0 0 0 Y:z 7% 15 Pogrebyssky 0 0 0 Y. 0 0 Y:z 0 l 0 y. I 0 l • 0 I I 6% 16 Tolush 0 0 Y:z Y:z 0 0 Y:z y. I 0 y, 0 0 I I • 0 1 6% 17 Chistyakov 0 0 Y:z Y:z Y. 0 0 0 0 y, 0 Y. Y:z I 0 1 • 0 5 18 Romanovsky Y:z y. - 0 0 - Y:z Y. - 0 0 0 0 Y:z 0 0 I • 3%
(Note that Romanovsky withdrew ill, defaulting his last three games)
B
OTVINNIK TOOK BACK the title in opponent was Kotov, who had made great strides as a result of the disciplined private study 1 939, after an absence of six years. This time his main which he had given to the game, as described in his great work Think Like a Grandmaster. Thedraw worked out in such a way that the two met in the last round and the more experienced man, who had led throughout, won, as Black. All the tickets had been sold out and demonstration boards were set up outside to ease the pressure. Crowds were so great in the vicinity of the tournament hall that traffic had to be diverted - not the first time that enthusiasm for chess on the part of the man in the street was manifest.
Remarkably, the tournament book came out in the same year, a superb example of topicality, and carried a seminal article by Botvinnik on how to train and counter time-trouble tendencies: you have to play training games in which the quality of play matters less than coming to a decision in line with the time allowance. This valuable article was first published in the West in the English translation of Botvinnik's best games -One Hundred Selected Games, Macgibbon & Kee Ltd, London 195 1 , with a later Dover reprint.
Pyotr Dubinin-Mikhail Botvinnik
Ruy Lopez C90
1 e4 e5 2 ttlf3 lbc6 3 .i.bS a6 4 .i.a4 ttlf6 S 0-0
.i.e7 6 l:le1 bS 7 .i.b3 d6 8 c3 0-0 9 d3 ttlas 10 .i.c2 cS 11 ttlbd2 Wc7 12 ttln h6 13 h3 .i.e6 14 ttle3 l:lad8 IS iLlfS? .i.xfS 16 exfS ttlc6 17 d4
'Too late. The game opens up and the attack based on advancing g4 does not have any
chance of succeeding, while Black will have a clear plan of realizing his pawn advantage on the queenside' (Botvinnik).
17 .•• exd4 18 cxd4 dS 19 .i.e3 l:lfe8 20 l:lcl
c4 21 g4 ttle4 22 .i.bl .i.d6 23 ttlh4 .i.f4 24 ikf3 .i.gS! 25 ttlg2 .i.xe3 26 ikxe3 l:le7 27 ikf4? (D)
'A blunder, but White's position is hopeless, since there is no defence against the many threats, such as ... ttlg5, ... l:lde8 and ... Wb6'.
27 •.. l2Jxd4 28 Wxc7
'It is comical that White, confident that 28 ... l:r.xc7 29 �xe4 dxe4 30 l:txe4 (which wasn't very good for him anyway) has to follow, overlooked the main threat.'
28 • . • l2Jf3+ 29 'it>n l2Jed2# (0-1)
The game that everyone had waited for justified expectations.
Alexander Kotov-Mikhail Botvinnik
Nimzo-Indian Defence E33
1 d4 lDf6 2 c4 e6 3 lDc3 �b4 4 Wc2 l2Jc6 5 lDf3 d5 6 e3 0--0 7 a3 �xc3+ 8 Wxc3 �d7
So Botvinnik's fourth and fifth moves had turned a Nimzo-Indian into a Ragozin Defence, where Black has conceded space in order to mobilize quickly.
9 b3
The most elastic method of mobilizing. The tempting idea of gaining more space on the queenside by 9 b4 enables Black to use his advantage in development to seize the init iative: 9 ... a5 !? 10 b5 l2Ja7 I I a4 c6!? 12 �a3 l:.e8 13 l:.bl dxc4 14 b6 lDb5! 1 5 axb5 cxb5, as in the game Ryumin-Ragozin, 9th Cham pionship, Leningrad 1934. Note that 9 �d3 a5 10 b3 (10 0--0 a4!) 10 ... a4 transposes into the game.
9 aS
Early active play on the queenside is the main theme of the Ragozin Defence.
10 �d3
An imperceptible but significant inaccuracy costing White a valuable tempo. As Black plans to exchange on c4, it was worth while waiting by 10 �b2, and if 10 ... a4, then 1 1 b4 dxc4 I2 �xc4, when White having saved a tempo can meet the thematic 12 ... l2Ja7 by 13 d5, a strong move opening up the game to his advantage. This energetic method of play was not found, however, until almost 30 years later in the game Donner-Taimanov, Havana I967.
10 a4
1 1 lDd2
Kotov felt that he had committed an inaccuracy and hurries to bolster his queenside pawns. Yet, even if he did not like the look of I I b4 dxc4 I2 �xc4 l2Ja7 13 0--0 �b5 I4 .l:tei where the chances are about equal, he certainly should not move the knight from the centre and lose more time.
11 .:te8
12 0--0 e5
Now it is obvious that Botvinnik has won the opening battle.
13 dxe5
The lack of experience of a young player in positional play becomes obvious at every move. White has fallen behind in development and opening the position does not work in his favour. Possibly Kotov hoped to activate his b2-bishop along the long dark-square diagonal, but this proves illusory. Botvinnik thought the least evil for White to be 13 �b2 e4 I4 �e2, though, in this case, after I4 ... l2Ja5 I 5 b4 lDxc4 I6 l2Jxc4 dxc4 I7 �xc4 �e6 White's position is unenviable. 13 14 �b2 15 l2Jxb3 lDxe5 axb3
Possibly I5 Wxb3, to rule out the following knight leap, was preferable.
15
16 'ii'c2
l2Je4
He has to retreat, as I6 �xe4 dxe4 would leave Black ready for direct attack on the king by I7 ... 'ji' g5 and then transferring a rook along the sixth rank to g6 or h6.
16
17 �xc4
l2Jxc4 dxc4
46 The Soviet Championships IS 'ili'xc4 'iWgS! (D)
Black's initiative takes on concrete form - the threats are 19 ... i..h3 and 1 9 ... i..b5.
19 f4
Obviously, such a weakening of the light squares is hard to decide upon, but 19 'ili'c2 i..a4! 20 llfdl lla6 is, alas, no better.
19 'ili'g6
20 llfdl
There was no time for White to pocket a pawn as compensation for his positional con cessions: 20 'ili'xc7 i..h3 2 1 'ili'c2 llac8 22 'ili'e2 �d6! would be hopeless in view of the threats 23 ... llc2 and 23 .. Jlxe3, e.g. 23 llf2 i..g4! 24 'i'el �e4 25 l:l.fl .:tc2, or 23 .:tacl .:txe3 24 l:l.xc8+ �xeS 25 'ili'd2 lld3 26 'ili'c2 'ili'xg2+.
20 �d6!
21 'ili'd3
Obviously 2 1 'ili'xc7 fails to 2 l ...i..c6.
21 .trs
22 'ili'c3 i..e4
Black has achieved his aim, seizing control of the strategically important diagonal, but in Botvinnik's opinion there was a quicker way to win: 22 ... i..h3 23 g3 (23 'ili'xg7+? 'ili'xg7 24 i..xg7 i..e6) 23 ... h5 !.
23 lld2 i..c6 24 'ili'd3 �fS
25 i..eS
Forced, as 25 llel i..e4 and then 26 ... �4 crashes through. 25 f6 26 i..xc7 Nothing is changed by 26 e4 �h4!. 26 llxe3 27 'i'c4+ �hS 2S i.b6 lleeS 29 wn
Kotov has repulsed the direct threats, but his positional weaknesses and the disharmony of his pieces cannot be overcome.
29 h5!
30 �d4 �xd4
31 i..xd4 lle4!
Despite the exchange of knights, or possibly because of it, Black's pressure mounts. It is well known that in middlegames with opposite coloured bishops the side with the initiative seems to be playing with an extra piece.
32 llel
Ready to part with a pawn rather than allow the enemy rooks to be doubled on the e-file.
32 llxel
33 'ili'xel llxa3 34 �hi :as
In time-trouble Botvinnik misses the chance to win another pawn by 34 ... :£3, probably his
only slip of the game, but it makes no difference in principle. 35 lle2 36 h3 37 'ili'fl �h7 lieS!
Speeding the inevitable end. After 37 'ili'd2 Black would have the fairly simple technical win by 37 ... lld8 38 'ili'e3 'ili'f5 39 �gl ! b5.
37 'ili'xg2+! 3S 'ili'xg2 llxe2
0-1
A fine example of 'light-square strategy' . Kotov's speciality as a young man was attacking play. Here is a typical example, the fine finish of his game with Yudovich.
Exploiting the somewhat exposed position of Black's king in the middle of the board, Kotov lets loose a hail of blows.
21 e5! fxe5
The threat was 22 lbf5+!, a motif that dominates the next few moves.
22 fxe5 :xeS
23 .:tcd1 ! 'ifc5 24 'ifg3! .:te4
Black could also try to defend against the threat of 25 'ilh4+ by 24 ... .:th5, but then 25 lbxe6! ! wins, e.g. 25 ... �xe6 26 .:tfel+ �f6 (26 ... .:te5 27 :Xe5+ 'ifxe5 28 c5+!) 27 .:td6+.
25 .:tf5!!
The study-like theme of interference. The rest is all forced.
25 26 lbxf5+! Or 26 ... 'ifxf5 27 'ifd6#. 27 .:td6+ 28 'iff3+ 29 'ifh5+ 30 i.c2+ 31 .:td3+ exf5 �f6 �xf5 :r4 �e4 �e3
Black resigned (1--0) in view of the forced mate in two.