Keres - World Chess Championship 1948 [2016] .pdf

T Wod Chmpionhip in Ch 1948

Paul Keres V P

First pubished in in Sweden Sweden 2016 20 16 by rn ubishin g Copyrig ht© ht© Pau Keres 1949 an Verene Verene 201 20 1 A rig hts hts reserve. No part o his pubiation may be reprodue stored in a retrieva system or ransmitte n any orm or by any means eetroni eetrostati ma g  gneti  neti tape photo opin g  reord ing or otheise without prior permission rom the amiy o Keres. SBN 978-91-983665-0-1 Saes or enquiries an be direted to Svenska Shakbutiken Shakbutiken AB Korpsg atan atan IB SE-416 52 Gothenbur g  g  Sweden te +46-31-24 47 90 em shakbutiken@tee2.se  website w.shakbutiken.se Transaion an Verende Verende Teset Ari Zie g er er Proo reading  ohn Shaw Cover Desig n n Ari Zie g er er rig ina ina tite aaimameistri Turniir Haa g  g-osa  -osa 1948 Printed in Estonia by Tainna Raamatutrkikoja LLC

NTENTS noduion Rg uaion uaion o h wod hamionhi ounamn Ru o Bovinnik Ru o Euw Ru Ru  o K K Ru o Rhv Ru o Smyov nna o bwn h aiian (1932-1947) nn o bwn h ay (a& h ounamn) Tounamn Tounamn ab Ru o vy  nin g mony o h ounamn vviw o nin g oy

7 10 13 14 16 18 19 20 20 20 20 21 23

Fi g  Round 1 Round 1 Roun Roundd 2 Roun Roundd 2 Round 3 Roun Roundd 3 Rou Round 4 Roun Roundd 4 Round 5 Round 5

39

Sond g Round 6 Round 6 Round 7 Round 7 Round 8 Round 8

Euw-K Smyov-Rhv K-Smyov Bovinnik-Euw Smyov-Boinnik Rhv-K Boinnik-Rhv Euw-Smyov Rhv-Euw K-Bovinnik

104 111 124 132

K-Euw Rhv-Smyov Smyov-K Euw-Bovinnik Bovinnik-Smyov K-Rhv

143 144 154 164 178 188 209

40

54

66 75 86 94

Round 9: Round 9: Round 10: Round 10: id e : od 11: Rond 11: Round 12: Round 12: Round 13: Round 13: Round 14: Round 14: Round 15: Round 15: Fouth g : Round 16: Round 16: Round 17: Round 17: Round 18: Round 18: Round 19: Round 19: Round 20: Roun Roundd 20: 20: Fih : Round 21: Round 21: Round 22: Round 22: Round 23: Round 23: Round 24:

Rhv-Boinnik Smyov-Euw Euw-Rhv Boinnik-K

219 229 242 254

Euw-K Smyov-Rhv K-Smyov Bonnik-Euw Smyov-Botinnik Rhv-K Bonnik-Rhv Euw-Smyov Rhv-Euw K-Boinnik

261 262 269 276 283 291 299 317 328 335 340

K-Euw Rhv-Smyov Smyov-K Euw-Botinnik Botnnik-Smyov K-Rhv Rhv-Botnnik Smyov-Euw Euw-Rhv Botnnik-K

360 361 370 379 389 395 411 424 436 442 451

Euw-K Smyov-Rhv K-Smyov Botnnik-Euw Smyov-Bovinnik Rhv-K Bonnik-Rhv

461 462 472 482 492 495

497 503

Round 24 Euw-Smyov Round 25 Rhv-Euw Round 25 K-Bonnik ndx o nin g 

Ls  sbs 

!! !? ?! ? ??

Chck A trn mv A briiant mv  intrtin mv A dubiu mv A mitak A bundr

512 522 531 542

7 Introducon

When the World Champion Aexander Alekhne unexpectedly died in March 1946, the chess world was for the rst time faced with difcult questions ques tions:: who will be the next World World Champion and how and between between whom should such a competition be arranged? So far such questions had always been solved easy, since no World Champion had hitherto taken hs title with hm to the grave, grave, but instead had lost lo st it to a challenger in a match. However, now the chess ches s world world faced faced a new situation: situatio n: there was no World Champio, or was there an organation to arrange suc a compe co mpetition tition and decide the format for it. he world campionshp title is in itself not very old; ofciay it has oly ested for about 0 years. Even though the chess world before that recognied the superiority of certain masters over other contemporary players, they were st not titled World Champion'. hus for example Philidor, a Bourdonnais, Staunton, Anderssen and Morphy were denitely the world's strongest players in their time, but it was only after after Steinit's Steinit's win win over over Andersse Ander ssenn (in 1 6 66) 6) by the score   6 0 that th at te forme or merr starte sta rtedd to title hims hi msel elff World World Cham Ch ampi pion on'.'. But Bu t ofcialy the title found approval only two decades later when in 16 Steint won a match against his most dangerous competitor Zukertort with the score 0 -5 =5 Steit defended his title successfuy for 2 years and during this period he overcame the chaengers Blackburne, Zukertort, Gunsberg and on two occasios the famous Russian grandmaster Cigorin. Of these matches the one with Chigorin almost turned out to be fatal for Steit, because with te score 9- in Steint's favour, Cigorin had very good chances to win the last game and thus draw the match. However, However, in a winning winning position Chigorin sse s sedd an elemen el ementary tary mate mate in two moves and lost the match and his prospects of winning the title. In 1 94 Steinit's superior turned turned out to be the young Emanuel Emanuel asker who def d efeated eated the old champion surprisingly surprisingly easily eas ily by by the result res ult 1 0 -5 4 and then kept possession of the title for the foowing 27 years. During ths period asker ovehelmi ovehelmingly ngly defeated defeated a a  his challengers by again beating Steit, then Marshall, anows and arrasch in matches, until he also had to admit the supremacy of youth. In a match that took place in Havana in 1921, asker lost almost without a ght to Capablanca, who won with the splendid result 4  = 10. 1 0.

8

he successor of Capablanca became the briant Russian master Alekine, who beat hm in a match in 92 by the score 6 -3 =25 After that ekhine defended the title successfully on two occasions against Bogoljubo It is true that Aleine lost the title to Euwe in 935 (9 -8 =3), but two years later he regained the title with the convin convincin cingg result result  0  =   , and hence kept the the title title unt untilil his his death As can be seen from this short overview, the fate of the world championship title had so far exclusively been decided through matches between the World Champion and his challenger, but after Alene's death this possibity of course disappeared It was likewise impossible to decide the title by a match between the two strongest contenders, since determining who these two were, without some qualiing competitions, would have been impossible For this reason the international chess ches s federation federation (FIDE) (F IDE),, who had been bee n entrusted entrus ted with arranng the new competitions, promptly had to decide the format for a competition that would determine the title he question arose of which players to consider as the strongest contenders for the title, and thus be invited invited to take take part in the th e competition competition Due to the short timeframe, arranng qualiing competitions was impossible, impos sible, and theref therefore ore the candidates candidates had to be chosen cho sen on the basis of the public opinion of the chess world world Here the FIDE congres congresss had to solve a very delicate delicate question, since the character character of the competitio co mpetitionn did not allow the number of participants to be more than six, and in the selection process earlier as well as more recent results had to be taken into into consideration co nsideration After lengthy discussions FIDE declared the following welknown grandmasters as the participants of the tournament: Botvinnik (Soviet Union), Euwe (Netherlands), Fine (USA), Keres (Soviet Union), Reshevsky (USA) and Smyslov (Soviet Union) he selection of Smyslov as the sixth participant was an acknowledgment acknowledgment of the excellent achev achevement ementss of the Soviet players players during during the years  945 945   94  During ths period the Soviet players won two matches again against st the teams from USA and Britain, and convincingly defeated the Prague players and took the rst places place s in the th e internation international al tournament in Grongen Grongen he tournament that took place in he Hague and Moscow in the rst half of 948 in fact turned out to be between ve masters, because at the last moment Fine withdrew from participation After

9

almost three months of long and tense competition, the tournament was ovehe ovehen ngly gly won won by Botvinnik B otvinnik with the excellent result +  0 -2 =8 and he thus crowned the recent achievements of the Soviet chess players. But Smyslov and Keres also attained good results by tang second and sharing thirdfourth places. While selecting the participants for the tournament, FIDE also estabished settled rules for the implementation of future world championship champion ships.s. he world world champions championship hip title title will, will, as bef be fore, be decided de cided through match play. But the challenger  be selected through a large number of qualiing qualiing tournaments, mang sure sure that that the truly strongest stronges t contender for the tite wl be selected. In order to ve everyone a chance to compete for the title, all the word's payers were sorted into eight geographical Zones' that can all send representatives to Zonal tournaments. hen the best players from every Zone' will take part in an Interonal' tournament and the ve best players wi win the right to participate in the Canddates' tournament, together with at most the ve best players from the previous Canddates tournament. tournament . he Candidates Candidate s tournament tournamen t will thus thus take place between ten players and be doublerounded, and the winner wil get the chance to play a match against Botvinnik for the title of World Champion. So far a couple of Zonal tournaments have taken place, and the winners met in the Interonal tournament in Stockholm in August 948 In this tournament the Soviet players again achieved splendd success by taking four of the rst ve places, Bronstein taking rst place, Boleslavsky third, Kotov fourth and enthal fth place. his means that six of the ten places for the Canddates tournament in  949 have have been bee n reserved for for Soviet Soviet pa payers; yers; thus more than half of o f the participants. he competition for the world tite, as described above, is meant to be cycica, and a world championship match w be played every third year. he next match is supposed to take place in 950 9 50 and be foowed by Zona Zona tourna tournament mentss in  95  , a Candid Candidates ates tournamen tournamentt in in  952, 95 2, and another match match for for the world title in  953 95 3 he present p resent book b ook is completely completely dedcated dedcated to the worl worldd championshp championshp tournament that took place in he Hague and Moscow in the rst half of  948, and and produced the rst Soviet World orld Champion - Mikh Mikha a

0

Botvinnk Besides a short introduction, the main content of the book is the analysis of the 50 games played during this tournament The thorough thorough comments commen ts made to every game are ar e meant not only onl y for for masters, but are also intended to be understandable by weaker players, and espe es pecial cial ef e ffort has been made to highl highlght ght the critical critical turng points poin ts in the games Therefore the criticism presented in the comments may in some so me places seem see m to be too harsh, but it is meant to be objecti obje ctive ve,, and  certainly be very usef us eful ul for weaker players studying st udying the games During During the the open ope ning stages stages of the games, especial es pecial emphasis emph asis has been b een placed plac ed on explaing explaing the genera generall ideas behind b ehind the specic lines played, which factates the understanding of the following part of the game In the ddlegame I have also, as far far as pos p ossible, sible, tried to avoid a fore forest st of dry variations, in favour of explaing the hidden ideas in certain positions, which should also make it easier to study the games In the endgames, whch do not occur very often in the book, the whole idea behnd the subsequent play is explained briey before reaching the actual stage of the game, so as to give the reader an overview of the following course of events Finally, a large number of diagrams have been added to the games, which w faciltate studying the games and help to give a better overview over the material

aion o h wod wo d hamionhi hamionhi ounamn The arbiters of the tournament wbe: main arbiter Dr. Vidmar (Yugoslavia), deputies N. Cortlever (Neherlands), A. Koov (Sovie) and K Reve (USA).

The following regulaons wl apply: The tournament will be verounded, meaning everyone plays ve games against every other player he participant who scores the most points wl be declared the winner of the tournament and receive the title of orld Champion' In the event that the rst place is shared between two or more participants, a new tournament will be arranged between tose players within a maximum meframe of six months after the tournament Three rounds will be played during a week On days with a round, play will last for ve hours; hours ; when nishing adjourned games, games, they w w last for six hours The me control is 40 moves in two hours and 30 mnutes, and then 6 moves per hour he rst part of the tournament



(to cyces) takes place in The ague n i nish on the 27th of arch The Th e secon sec on part (three cycles) i i be playe i n Mosco Mos co uring uring the perio 1th Apri uni the 16th of May The arbiters for the tournament  consist of one main arbiter an his three epues, ho consist of represenaies from the chess associations of the Soiet Uion, USA an Netherans The rues of play play of he internaional chess che ss organaion (FIE) are a ai i uring uring he tournament Eery participant of the ournament has the right to pick a secon for mself ms elf The tournament i take place ih the foong payng scheue

n e He 1 st of March March - Opei Ope ing ng ceremony ceremon y an an rain raingg of of ots o ts 2n - Roun Roun 1 (EueKeres, (EueKeres, Smyso SmysoReshesky Reshesky)) 3r 3r - Ajourne games games 4thh  Roun 4t Roun 2 (Boin (Boinnk nkEu Eue, e, Keres KeresSmys Smyso o)) 6th -Ajourne games 8th  Roun 3 (SmysoB (SmysoBin inn n,, Resh ResheskyKeres eskyKeres)) 9th - Roun 4 (Botinn (BotinnkRes kReshesky hesky,, EueSmyso) EueSmyso) 1 th th - Ajourne Ajourne games games 1 1 th  Roun 5 (Reshes (Reshesky kyEu Eue, e, KeresBo KeresBoinn innk k)) 1 3th 3th - Ajourne Ajourne games games 1 5h - Roun 6 (Keres (KeresEu Eue, e, Reshesky ResheskySmy Smys so o)) 1 6th  Roun Roun 7 (SmysoKeres (SmysoKeres,, EueBoi EueBoin nik ik))  7t 7thh  Ajou Ajourn rne e game gamess 1 8th - Roun 8 (Botin (BotinnSm nSmyslo yslo,, KeresResh KeresReshesk esky) y) 20th 20th - Ajourne Aj ourne games 23r - Roun Roun 9 (Res (ResheskyBot heskyBotin inik, ik, Smyso SmysoEu Eue e)) 24th 24th - Ajourne games games 25th - Roun Roun 10 (Eu (EueReshesky eReshesky,, BotinnkKe BotinnkKeres) res) 27n 27n - Ajourn Ajourne e gam games es 5th, 7h, 7h, 1 2th, 1 4t 4th, h, 1 9h, 21 st, 22n 22n an 26th 26th of March March ere rest rest ays



 n Moow Moow 1 th of April April - Opening Op ening ceremony of the secon secon  part part of of the tournamnt 1 1 th - Roun Roun 1 1 (Eu (EueK eKeres eres,, Smys Smyslo loR Reshe eshesk skyy) 1 2th 2th - Ajourne Ajourne games games 1 3th - Roun Roun 12 (Bot (Botinni innikE kEue ue,, Keres KeresS Smysl myslo o)) 1 4t 4thh - Ajourne Ajourne games games 1 5th - 1 3th roun (Smys (Smyslo loBot Botinnik innik,, ResheskyKeres) ResheskyKeres) 1 6th - Ajourne Ajourne games games 1 8th - 1 4th roun roun (Boti (Botinn nnikReshesk ikResheskyy, EueSmyslo EueSmyslo) ) 1 9th - Ajourne Ajourne games games 20th 20t h - 1 5th roun roun (KeresB (KeresBoti otinnik nnik,, Res ResheskyEu heskyEue e)) 21 st - Ajour Ajourne ne game gamess 22n - 1 6th roun (Reshes (ResheskySmyslo kySmyslo,, KeresEu Keres Eue) e) 23r - Ajourne games games 25th - 1 th roun roun (Eu (Eu eBotinn eBotinnik ik,, Smyslo SmysloKe Keres res)) 26th -Ajourne games 2n -  8th roun (Boti (Botinni nnikS kSmysl myslo o,, Keres KeresR Reshesky) eshesky) 28th -Ajourne games 3r of May -  9th roun roun (R (ResheskyBoti eshe skyBotinni nnik, k, SmysloEu SmysloEue e)) 4th - 20th roun roun (Boti (BotinkKeres, nkKeres, EueRe EueReshesk shesky) y) 5th - Ajourne Ajourne games games 6th - 2 1 st roun roun (Eu (EueKer eKeres, es, Smyslo SmysloR Reshesky eshesky) th - Ajourn Ajourne e games games 9th - 22n roun roun  (Kere (Kere sSmyslo s Smyslo,, Botinn Bo tinnkE kEue) ue) 1 th - Ajourne Ajourne games games 1 1 th - 23r roun roun (Smyslo (SmysloB Boti otinn nnik, ik, ResheskyKeres esheskyKeres)) 1 2th 2th - Ajourne Ajourne games games 1 3th - 24th roun roun  (Botinn (Botinnikeshesky ikeshesky,, EueSmys EueSmyslo lo) 1 4t 4thh - Ajourn Ajourne e ga games 1 6th - 25th 25 th roun roun (KeresBot (KeresBotinn innik, ik, Reshesky ResheskyEu Eue e)) 1 t thh - Ajour Ajourne ne ga games  8th - En En of the tour tourna namen mentt The 1 th, 29th an an 30th of April April an  st, 2n, 8th an an 1 5th of May May ere rest ays.



ests ests o f otnn ornents

Pace

23  926 Lenng Lenngra ra 3  926 Lenng Lenngra ra  927 Lenng Lenngra ra 2  927 92 7 5th Soi Soiet et Championship 56 5 6  928 92 8 Lenngr Lenngra a   929 Lenngra  929 92 9 6th Soiet Soiet Championshp Champion shp 6  93 9300 Leningra Leningra   93 Lenngra  9 3 7th Soiet Championship 2 93 Final in 7th Soiet Championshp    932 Lenin Leningr gra a  933 Leningra 2 933 Leningra 933 8th Soiet Championshp    9 34 Leningra 56  935 Hastin Hastings gs 2  935 Mosco Mosco 2  936 Mosco Mosco  93 9366 Notting Nottingha ham m 2  93 9388 Quarterna, Quarterna,   th Soi Soiet et Championship  3 938 ARO, Netherans  939 th Soiet Championship  940  2th Soi Soiet et Championship 56 5 6  94 LeningraMosco   943 Seo Seoorsk orsk  943 Mosco  944 3th Soiet Championshp  945 4th Soiet Championship  946 Gronngen  947 Mosco  948 The HagueMosco

insosses 72 6/3/ 7/2/  2/ 2/7 7/ / 8/2/ 8/2/   V2/ 2/ 9/3/ 6/ 6/ /  4-3 4-3 6/2/ 3/3/  73 3 5 7/3/ 5 36 26   4-3 4-3 7/6/ 2/4/   / /7/ 7/ 3/6/ 0V3/z 3V2/ 2/z3/z 52 4/z-4Vz -4 46

4

Mtces 1933 Fohr 1937 Lensch 1 90 Ragoin Ragoin

6-6 6V-6/ 8V3/

Total +36 + 3633 -10, -1 0, hic hichh e ess a innin inningg percentage of 72. 7 2. 1 .

ests of o f Ewe ornents

place

inslosses

1 921 Broasta Broastair irss 1 921 i ien enna na 1 921 Bua Buapest 1 921 92 1 The The agu aguee 1 921 92 1 Amster Amsteram am 1922 Piestany 1 922 Lonon Lonon 1923 Scheeningen 1 923 Moraska' Moraska' O stra straa 1924 astings 192 WestonsuperMare 1924 Paris 1 925 Wiesbaen Wiesbaen 1926 WestonsuperMare 1 928 92 8 The ague ague 1 928 ssinge ssingenn 1929 Karlsba 1 930 Amsteram Amsteram 1931 astings 1 93 9311 Amster Amstera am m 1 932 astings astings 1 932 Bern Bern 1 93 Zurich Zurich 1 9 3 Leningra

1 2 2 6 9 1 9 11

3/-1/ 7/3/ 5/-5/ 2-7 5/-1/ 8/-9/ 5/-9/ 4/-5/ 7-5 7/1/ 7/-1/

56 5 6 1 1 6 1 1 1 3 5-7

2 1 1 2 3 23 23 6



4/-1 / 8-1 1 2-3 2-3 6/-/ 12-9 2/-2/ 7-2 2/-1/ 5 

1 1 V-3/ 12-3 5/-5 5/-5/

15

1935 Hastings 1 936 Zandvo Zandvort rt 1936 Amsterdam 1 9 36 Nottingham 1937 Bad Nauheim 1937 Stockholm (Olympiad) 1 938 Amsterda Amsterdam m 1 938 AO, Netherands Netherands 1 938 N ordwij ordwijkk 1939 Hastings 1939 Bournemouth 1 939 Soest Soest 1 939 Amsterdam Amsterdam 1 940 Soest 1 940 Amsterdam Budapestt 1 940 Budapes 1 946 Hasti Has ting ngss 1 946 London London 1946 Groningen 1 946 Maastricht Maastricht 1946 Zaandam 1947 Mar del Plata 1 947 Mar del de l Plata 1 94 7 H Hversum versum 1 948 The HaeMoscow HaeMoscow 1 948 enice enice

13 2 12 35

1  st board board 1 46 4 2 1 1 1 23 1 1

6/  2/ 7/3/ 52 9/4V 2 9/3/ 92 77 5 - 4

6/2/ 92 2/  / 7 - 3

1 /  1   1 / 6 /  / /   2  2- /  4/ 

3-5

7-4

1 2 1 1 56 4

 /   2  - 1 /  9 /   2 -1

1 5  2- 1  2- 1 /2 7 /   2- 1 /2 9/ 

 V 6V  5 / 4/  5/ 3/3V 1 6 85

4-5

5 4

Matches

1920. 1920. 1921 1924 1927 1928 1928 1928

Olland Reti Maroczy Colle Aleine Coe Bogoljubow Bogoljubow Bogoljubow

5V1 / 13 66 5 - 3

  4V5   5/1 V 4/5 / 4/5 /  

6

1931 1931 1 931 1932 1932 193 1935 1937 1939 1939 190 192 1 93

2 6 V-1 / 8-8 3-1 / / 1 V 15V-1/ 15V-1/ 9/-15% 7/-2/ 6/-7V 53 6/-3/ 8-2

Landau Capablanca Note Noteboom boom Flohr Spielmann Landau leine ekine Landau Keres Kamer Bogoljubow an der oek

Tota: + +56 56 286 28 6 which which gi gies a winni winning ng percentage percentage of 6 1 .3 .3 

ests ests o f eres eres ornents

place

winsosses

1 929 1930 1932 1933 1933 193 1935 1 93 9355 1935 1 93 9355 1935 1936 1 936 1936 1936 1 93 9366

2 1 1 1

13// 8-1 90 1 1 //-// 5-2 7-2 6/-2/ 23-1 5V/ 12V-6/ 6/-1/ 9-1 6/2/ 3/-5/ 3/-5/ 6V/ 1 5/ 5/V V

Prnu Prnu nn Tatu Pnu Tann Rakee Talnn Tat Tatuu Tann Wasa asa (Olymp (Olympiad iad)) esinki Tann Bad Neuhei Neuheim m resden Zandoort Munich Munich (Olympi (Olympiad) ad)

3 -4

2 12 1 2  st board 2 1 12 89 3  st board

7

1937 1937 1937 1937 1937 1937 1937 1937 1 937 1938 1 938 1 93 9388 1939 1939 1939 1939 190 191 195 1 96 197 1 97 197 198 1 98

Talinn Margate Ostene Prague ienna Kemeri Prnu Stockhom (Oympia) Semmerin SemmeringBa gBaen en astings Nor Norijk ARO, RO, Nether Ne therans ans LenngraMosco Margate Buenos Bueno s Ares (Oymp (Oympia ia)) Buenos Aires Aires 1 2 Soiet Soiet Championshp Championshp LenngraMosco Estonian Championship Georga Georgann Championship 15 Soiet Championship Prnu Prnu Mosco The agueMosco  6th Soiet Soiet Championsh Championship ip

 2 3 1 1

 /   z -1  /   z  -1  /  4 / 

 5

  Vz-5/z

2 st boar 1 2 2 1 2 1213   st boar 1 2  2 1 1 1 1 67

1 /z 41/   z-2  z-2 /z

 /   z -1  /   -1  /   z 7  / 

7/z1 Vz 6-3 

3- 4

69

11 9-5 9-5

6Vz2Vz 6/z -2Vz  -2Vz 8/zVz 8/zVz 8 - 9

7 /z-1 /z 1Vz/z  -2/z 8/   -2 127 11-9 132 181 15 9/z3Vz 96 10Vz9Vz 9/z8/z

Mtces 1935 1935 1936 1938 1 90

Kibbermann Friemann Scht Sthberg Eue Eue

1 2-1 3Vz-3/z 

7Vz-6/z 7Vz-6/z

Tota: + 07 1  1 63 63,,  h hch ch ges a inn innn ngg percentage percentage of 7 1 ..

8

ests of ess ornents York 1922 N e York 192 etroit 1927 Kalamaoo 1931 Tulsa 1932 Minneapolis 1932 Pasaena 1933 etroit 193 Chicago 193 Syracuse 1935 Margate 1935 Yarmouth Championshipp 1936 US Championshi 1936 Nottingham 1937 Kemeri 1937 SemmeringBaen (Olympia) 1937 Stockholm (Olympia) 1938 Hastings 1938 US championsp 1938 AO, Netherlans 1939 LengraMosco 1939 Ne York 190 US Championship 191 Hamilton 192 US Championship 19 Boston 195 Hoyoo 196 US Championship 1 98 The HagueMosco HagueMosco 

place 3 5 35 1 2 35 2 12 1 1 1 1 3- 4

13 3  st boar boar 1 1 6 2 2 1 2 12 1 1 1 3

inslosses 2-3 11-5 5-3 7/-1 V 9-2 6-5 11-2  -1 / 7/  -1/ 122 7V-1/ 101 1 1 /3/ 9/V 125 V-6/ V-6/ 9/6/ 7-2 13-3 7-7 10V-6/ 10-1 13-3 7-3 12-2/ V-/ 1 0/-1/ 16-2 10/-9/

Matches 191 1 92

Horoit Kashan Kashan

9V-6/ 7/-3/

Total: + 288 28 8 -106, -1 06, hich hich es es a inn inning ing percentage percentage of 73 73.. 1 .

19

Results of Sm y lov Tournaments

1938 1939 1 939 1940 1941 1942 1942 1943 1943 1944 1944 1945 1946 1946 1946 1947 1 947 1947 1947 1948

Moscow LeningradMoscow Moscow 12th Soviet Championship LenngradMoscow Kuibosev Moscow Svedlovorsk Svedlovorsk Moscow Moscow 13th Soviet Championshp 14th Soviet Championship Moscow MoscowPrague Groningen 1 5th Soviet Soviet Championship Warsaw Prnu Moscow Hague e Moscow Moscow Thee Hagu Th

place 12 1213 2 3 3 3 2 1 34 2 1 2 1011 34 3 3 34 25 46 34 2

winslosses 1 2  /-4V  /-4V 8-9 9-4 13-6 1010 83 1 2-3 8

1 1 / /-4/  4/   1 3 3 10/-5/ 8/-8V 8/6/ 93 12/-6V 1 2-7 2-7 6-3 8-5 10-5 11-9

Total otal + 201 2 01 -1 1 2, whic whichh ve vess a win winni ning ng percentage percen tage of 64.2.

0

nna o bwn h aiian (1932-1947) 1 +-=

1. Botvinnik

3

4

5

+=

+-=

+=

+=

+=

6 15

2 03

2 06

103 18

61

01 0

112

775

109 109 11

52

210

144

5 11 9

38

233

4 8 8

40

14 12 18

52

02 4

-

2. Euwe

2 04

3. Smyslov

165

1 00

4. Rehevky

023

112

10

5 Kere

026

775

414

-

-

-

3 23

-

Total

%

2

nna o bwn h ay (a h ounamn) 2

3

4

5

+-=

+-=

+-=

+-=

+=

6 16

4 15

2 27

195 195 27

64

266

314

510

115 19

46 

4 45

1176

22 19 23 

52

414

1012 1012 18

48

11 22 2 2 17

3 9

1. Botvnnk

-

719

2. Smyov

17 9

3 Kere

166

6 26

4. Reevky

1 45

13 4

5. Euwe

2 27

15 0 7 116

-

-

4 45

-

144

-

otal

%

1

Tounamn ab 1.Botvnnik 3.Kere 5.Euwe

1

2

+++++

//1 /1 //

3

4

1 /0 /011 11110 +++++ 1   / 21  / 201     21     2 00/d /     1 / 1 1 /0/ +++++ 0 01 1 0 0 00001 0/ 00  0 V V 1 01 / +++++ 0// 001 00 0000 0!/00 00/

5

1  1    14 1 1 01 1 11 10/ 1   1 1 1 10/ 1 / /!1 !1 1 10/ / +++++ 4

Ru o vy y 1 Botvinnk 3Keres Euwe

 1/   z 3  / 

2 2 2 /z 0

2 2 /z 2 2 2  /z

3 3 1  /   /   2 2  /   1/   z

 /  z  /z

p

4 5 oin a 2 3 4  3 2 Vz   2  3  0 /z 3rd4th 2 /  z 2  0 /z /z 3rd4th 3rd4th  /   /   /   /   z  z 4 5



Opig rm f th tramt The ceeonil opening of he wold chpionship ounen ook plce in he even evening ing of Mch 1 s 1 98 in he Myo Myo's's esidence in The Hgue Beside he ounen picipns hee wee lso pesen  lge nube of ohe gess, ong he he Sovie bssdo in Nehelnds, Ne helnds, Code C ode l lko kovv  lge lge nube nube of coesp co esponde ondens ns fo he Sovie Union s well s fo ohe Euopen counies nd he Unied Ses hd ived o follow he copeiion nd coninuously epoed he couse of his ge even o he wold's pess Welcoing elcoing speeches speec hes wee de by Myo Myo iss isse e of o f The Th e Hgue, he Pesiden of he inenionl chess fedeion (FIDE) D Rueb, nd he Pesiden of he Duch Chess Fedeion Zieseyn The lede of he Sovie delegion, Code Posnikov, nsweed by hnking he ognies fo hei hospiliy The geeings wee followed by he dwing of los By lphbeicl ode Bovinnik ws s o dw, nd he go he Nube 1; hs ced fiendly ppluse in he udoiu Subsequenly D Euwe dew nex nd go Nube 2; fe his Kees go 5, Reshevsky  nd he ls nube, 3, ws lef o Syslov Wih hs he openng ceeony hd coe o n end, en d, nd he plyes huied hoe o fiie heselves wih he siuion nd pepe heselves fo he chess bles h wee o s on he nex dy fe he end of he s p of he ounen in Nehelnds,  bek fo bou wo weeks ook plce The picipns in he ounen used his ie o vel fo The Hgue o Moscow s wel s o collec enegy befoe he s of he decisive second p of he ounen ounen The ceeonl ceeonl openng of he second secon d p of he ounen ook plce plce in he Pil Hl Hl of he House Ho use of he Unons in Moscow on he 1 h of pl The even even ws opened by he che cheff of he spos coee, Code Posnikov He ws folowed by speeches on behlf of he Sovie Chess Fedeion fo se Ronovsky nd he epesenive fo he Duch Chess Fedeion, Zieseyn Th ws followed by speeches by he epesenive fo he foen of OKS, Code Keenov, he chief bie of he ounen D id, nd on behlf of he picipns, exwold chpion D Euwe



The ounen oune n pcclly nshed nsh ed n he 22nd ound when Bovnnk, Bovnnk, wh  dw gins Ewe, assed hmself of s plce nd e le of Wold Chpon. fe Euwe hd cceped Bovnnk's dw offe, he llypcked udou geeed he new Wold Chpon wh such ovons h he gme on he ohe ble hd o be neuped. The new chpon ws waly conguled by he cef be d, d, he ohe pcpns, pcpns, he ss  sssn sn bes, bes, epesen epe senve vess of he Sove chess nd spos ognions, fends nd cqunces. The bues bece bec e especll e specllyy ge when whe n he new n ew Wol Woldd Chpon ws conguled nd gven  bouque of ed ulps by gndse d's d's sxyeold dughe. dughe. I ook bou hlf n hou befoe he specos wee ble o cl heselves down, down, nd e ge ge on he ohe bod could be esued. esue d. The end of he ounen gan ook plce n he Pll Hll of he House of he Unons on he evening of My 18h. The openng speech ws de by he depuy chn of he spos coee, Code Posnkov; heefe he chef be D. d decled he echncl esuls. fe hs he Pesden of FIDE, D. Rueb, decled Bovnnk B ovnnk s Wold Wold Chpon. Chpo n. Fuhe spee s peeches ches wee ven ven by Code nogdov, hen by he vce chen of FIDE, Lou of Cecho C echoslov slovk k nd Rog Rogdd of Sweden, Swede n, he pesden pe sden of he Hungn chess ssocon, Floin, he epesenve fo he Duch chess ssocon, ss ocon, Zeseyn, nd he epesenve epesenve of he Cechoslov Cec hoslovn n nfoion nsy, se Opocensky. On behlf of he pcpns, Euwe spoke nd hnked he ognes fo he excellen plyng plyng condons nd  nd he w welcoe welcoe.. The nl speech ws gven by he new Wold Chpon, Bovnnk, who on behlf of he whole Sove chess couny hnked he Sove govenen fo he excellen condons h e ven o chess plyes. fe Bovnnk's wods, Code Posnkov decled he wold chponsp ounen, one one of he os pon chess even evenss of of he he ls l s decde, decde, o  o be nshed. nshed.



erew of penn eo Minly wel ecogned openngs wee ued duing he wold chpionship ounen, nd he plyes bsined fo dubious openng expeiens, whch is lly undesndble when king ino consideion he ge iponce iponce of evey evey single ge. ge. Bu i cnno be clied h he ounen did no conbue nyhing new o opening heoy. New syses of developen wee ofen eployed in wellknown opengs. nd on sevel occsions  genel consensus ws eched, whch dd no exis befoe, egdng ehods of ply h hd been fequenly uiled befoe. Below we y o give  sho oveview of he openings h wee plyed in he ounen nd he heoeicl heoeicl novelies h wee inoduced. inoduced .

1. Te Ruy  I is ineesing o obsee h he opening h ws plyed os ofen duing he ounamen was he Ru ope. I appeed in alogehe hieen gaes, hus in ove one que of he ges plyed. The grees heoeicl iponce ws ceainly in he soclled Open Defence afe he oves l.e2-e4 e7-e5 2.�l- �b8-c6 3.fl-b5 a7-a6 4. 4.b5-a4 �8- 5.0-0 �xe4 6.d2-d4 b7-b5 7. 7 .a4-b3 d7-d5 8.d4xe5 c8-e6. The coninuaion 9.dl-e2! has in ecen ies been bough ino ounmen prcice by Kees nd afer he ounaen sees o have become he min ne of he Open Spnsh.  . e2 ppeed fou ies in he ounen; fo The posiion po siion afe afe 9. 9  he s e in he ge Keres-Ewe in he 16h ound. In h ge ...-e7 Whe nsweed Blck, wihou ny long hough, played 9...-e7 s by he nol ove IOfl-dl nd inended o gin ulie he coninuon 10. 10. 5 1 1 .c4 .c4 xb3 12.xb3 wih  sligh dvnge o Whe, s plyed in he ges Keeslosev, (enngd 1947) nd (Keeslexnde (ondon 1947). Euwe hd peped he whole viion in hs hoe nlysis nd plyed 10... 10...0-0 0-0 ll.c2-c4 b5xc4 12. 12.b3c4 e7-c5 13. 13.cl-e3 c5xe3 14.e2xe3 d8-b8 nd hoped o equle he posiion by s ck 5.c4-b3 gins he b2poin b2 poin.. Howeve, he f fied o do hs, since fe 5. �c6-a5 16.�bl-d2 �e4xd2 17dlxd2! �a5xb3 18.xb3 Wie

4

gined  posiionl dvnge dvnge due o he wek wek d4 nd csques. c sques. eshevs ied o impove on Blck's mehod of ply in he 18h  .  e 7, plying 9...e4-c5 ound gins gins eres by, insed of 9 . .    e4-c5 10 10-d 1 cxb3 11.2xb3 \d8-c8. In his wy Reshevsky inended o hw he c2c4 dvnce nd fe 12.Jcl-5 h7-h6 13.J5-h4 J-c 14.b 14.b 1-c3? he obined ob ined  song ck by he supising supising pwn pwn scice sci ce 14... 14...7-5 7-5 1.Jh4-3 \c8-b7! 16.c3xd 0-0-0 Howeve, insed of 14.  c3? Whie could hve coninued much moe enegeiclly by plying14.c2c4! nd would hve ined vey good cking chnces fo he sc s cice icedd pwn fe fe 1 4...dxc4 ...dxc4 15.bxc4   xc4 x c4 16. e4. n even moe devsing blow gins Reshevsky's sysem of defence ws deliveed by Sysov in he 19h ound gme gins plyed 12.c2-c4! ll he sme, heeby mng Euwe fe 1 1 .. .c8 he plyed ...d5xc4  vey pomising pwn scice. Euwe conined wih 12...d5xc4 13.b3xc4 Je6xc4 14.\e2-e4 c6-e7? nd fe .b1-3! he ws foced o ve he pwn bck wih  opeess posiion. I is nully cle h Whie's ck fe 14. e4 is vey song, b neveheless Blck should should insed insed of 14 ..... .  e7? hve hve ied ied 14 ..... . b7 1 5.  c3 b8 wi wih h some defensie pospecs. Bu i is sill cle h he whole sysem of defence chosen by Blck is no flly sisfcoy. The ls emp o impove on he defensive sysem chosen by Blck ws mde by eshevs in e 21 2 1 s ound gme gins gins Sysov fe 10-d1, he did no poceed wih 10... 10...  xb3 11.xb3 c8, b 0...b5-b4 b5-b4 The ide behind his move is o peven he c2c4 insed 0... dvnce nd in sevel lines lines i depives Whie's Whie's knigh o f e impon impo n c3sque. Howeve, his sysem is lso sccey sisfcoy nd i fs o yield Blck equlity. Smyslov coninued wih he qie 11.cl-e3 cxb3 12.2xb3 \d8-c8 nd by mng he sndd move in his line 13.c2-c4! he gined  sligh posiion dvnge; nd i is by no mens impossible impos sible h Whie hs even moe enegeic enegeic coninions coninions   . xd5 his disp dispos osl l in his his posiion. So fo fo exmple 1 1    xd5   xd x d 1 2.c4 comes  . e3 ino consideion, consideion, in in ode o o nswe nswe 1 2 ...bxc3 ... bxc3 by 13 .  xc3  e 7 1 4. 4   e 6 1 5 .  xd5  xd5 16.c4, even  .  xc4 even houg houghh he queen scices 12 . .    xc4   x o 1 2 ...   x yield yield Blck cein cein counechnces counechnces  his poin. s  nl conclusion, i cn be sid h he he ounmen picipns picipns filed o nd  nd  lly lly sisf s isfcoy coy defence gins 9. 9 .d1 e2! in he he Open Spnish. Theefoe his move cn be consideed s moe fvouble hn he peviously uied 9.c3.

5

uite inteesting ideas wee also eployed in te coon ine 1.e4 8- 5.0-0 5.0- 0 -e7 6.fl-el 6.fl-el b7-b5 e 2. f3 c6 3 .b5 a6 4 g 8- 7.a4-b3. Hee Hee Black Black as a coice between between te continuations cont inuations 7 . . . 00 ad ad 7 . . . d6. d6 . In te gae gae Sysov-eshevs fo te st ound, Black played te te coon coo n 7...0-0 8.c2-c3 d7-d d7-d66 9.h2-h3 c6-a5 IO.b3-c2 c7-c5 ll.d2-d4 ll.d2-d4 §d8-c7 12.bl-d2 12. bl-d2 c5xd4 13.c3xd4 a5-c6 but afte te syste 14.d2-b3! a6-a5 15.c1-e3 a5-a4 16.b3-d2 foowed b al-cl tat ad been woked out b te Soviet playes, e failed to obtain equality. It is difcult to deonstate in ts ne ow Black sould play afte 12... 12...cxd4 cxd4 in ode to obtain a satisfactoy position. Hence tis wole etod of play initiated by tis excange sould peaps be consideed as dubious fo Black. Appaently Syslov was of te sae opinion wen instead of 12... 12... 12...a5-c6 a5-c6 13.d4c5 13.d4c5 d6xc5 d6xc5 14.d2-f 14.d2-fll cxd4 cxd4 e plaed te old vaia vaiation tion 12... c8-e6 15.fl-e3 15.fl-e3 a8-d8 in te 4t ound against Ewe Tis syste was fo a long tie consi co nsideed deed favouable fo fo Wte, but afte 16.§ 16.§d 1-e2 7-g 6! 6! used by Syslov sees to yield Black quite te defence 16...g 7easonable play. In te gae Sysov-Ewe in te te 9t 9 t ound, Black used use d an inteesti intees ting ng ew syste of defence defence wen instead of 7 . . . 00 e continued wit 7...d7-d6 d7-d6 8.c2-c3 c6-a5 9.b3-c2 9.b3-c 2 c7-c5 IO.d2-d4 IO.d2-d4 §d8-c7 II.bl-d2 c8-b7 t st  st glance glance te vaiation vaiation cosen cos en by Black looks look s wose tan te noal line, wee te oves ...00 ... 00 and 23 ave been inteposed. Howeve, te delayed castling as in fact a cetain pupose at tis point. Afte te oves ade in te gae 12.d2-fl c5xd4 13.c3xd4 a8-c8 Wite as sligt inconvenence in potecting te bisop on c2, since 14. 14.d3 c6 15. 15.e3 would enable te say 1 5 ...  g4 (te ove 23!), and 14.  e3 is not good on account of 1 4 ... xe4 (te ove ove ... . . 00!) 00! ) . Howeve, Howeve, Black's wole syste sy ste of o f def de fence stil stil does not no t see to be vey daneous, daneous, since besides b esides te 1 4. e2 ove ove tat was played in te gae, 12.d4xe5 foowed by d2f1 woud also yield yield Wite a good gae. gae . Te encounte Kees-Ewe in te 6t ound is also of teoetical ipotance. ipotance. Afte 4... ...g 8- 8- 5.0-0 -e7 6.§dl-e2 6.§dl-e2 b7-b5 7.a4-b3 7.a4-b3 0-0 8.c2-c3 Black played te sap tust 8...d7-d5 ...d7-d5 9.d2-d3 d5-d4 10.c3xd4 c6xd4II.xd4 §d8xd4 12.c1-e3 §d4-d6! (In te  . d gae Keesiiental, Pnu 1947, Black played te weake 12.. 12..  

6

1 3 . c3 c6? c 6? nd ws clely clely wose.) wose. ) 13.bl-c3 c8-e6! nd obined  good ge fe 1. 1.xe6 fxe6. Howeve, fe he quie ee 1. 1.c2! Whe's Whe's posiion p osiion neveheles nevehelesss looks lo oks  bi oe o e fvouble. ouble. In ny of he ges n old defence, dvoced by Seini, ws ...d7-d6 -d6 5.c2-c3 c8-d7 eplo eployed yed (1 .e e 2.    c6 3 . b5 6  .) 4...d7 6.d2-d4 g 8-e7. 8-e7. Blck ies o nsfe hs kigh o g6 nd hus secue he epoin dequely. In he ge Ewe-eshevs (Round 10) Whe ied o hw his by plying 7.h2-h4, bu hs wekenng ...h7-h6 8.cl-e3 e5xd4 of he kingside is hdly good. Insed of 7...h7-h6 9.c3xd4 d6-d5 s ws plyed in he ge, Blck could hve plyed even oe songly songly by 7 . . . e5xd e5xd 8.c3xd 8 .c3xd d6d5 9.ee5 9 .ee5 d7g wih n excellen posiion, becuse i is no longe vey esy o chse wy he bishop fo g. Fo his eson 7.4-b3 h7-h6 ( 8 . g5 ws heened) 8.bl-d2 e7-g 6 9.d2-c4 -e7 10.0-0 0-0 ll.c4-e3 is bee, which ses Blck Bl ck he dfcul dfcul poble of o f how ho w o coninue hs ply in in  sisfcoy sisfcoy wy. fe ll...e7- 12.e3-d5 Whe s  ey heenng ...e5xd4 foces Whie o ecpue posiion, po siion, and lhough lhough Blck afe afe 12...e5xd4 by 13.xd4 owing o he he of ...g, he hs no been ble o eee his posiion o any consideble exen. In e ge Euwe Keres fo he s round Blck coninued wih 13..-e8, bu fe 14.d56+ d8 15.- Whe hd a good posiion wih he bishop pi. Whie, insed of esing his opponen's posiion by he exchnge 1.  xf6, could insed hve plyed 1. 1.c2 o 1. e1 , in boh cases ca ses wih song song pes pessue. sue. eshevs ied o ipoe on Blck's defence in e ge agins ound by plyin plyingg 12.. insedd of 1 2 ...e5xd. ... e5xd. Sysov in e 1 1  ound 12..U-e8 inse fe 13.d4xe5! hs h s ove ove uned ou o be b e even worse worse fo Black, Bla ck, s now 1 3 ...dxe5 ... dxe5 is no possible on ccoun of 1.  xf6 cng he bisop on d7. d7. s 1 1  ...  gxe5 15.  xe5 xe 5 xe5 1 6.f 6.f44 c6 1 7.e5! 7.e 5! wou would also also yie yield ld Whie  song ck, Blck was no ble o coe up wih nyhng 13...f6xe5 f6xe5 14.f3xe5 d6xe5, bu fe 15.dl- bee hn 13... he ws clely wose. The ge Ewe-Keres fo he 11h ound is lso of heoeicl iponce. iponce. Insed In sed of he quie 5 . . .d7 Blck eployed he shp ...-f5 6.e4x c8x The copliced soclled Sies viion 5...-f5 cng cng coninuio coninuionn 7. 7 . 00 e7 8 .d4 e 9. 9 . d5! d5 ! , s dvoced dvoced by Pno Pnovv,

7

was unknown unknown o Euwe; e eef ee foe coninued co ninued along e eoeica eoe icall line line 7.d2-d4 e5-e4 e5-e4 8.8. - g 5 d6-d5 9.- focing Black o make e  e pawn e4-e3! IO.f IO. f3-f4 3-f4 e immedia sacice 9... e4-e3! immediae e 1 0. xe3 6 1 1 .  3 x3 10...-d6 -d6 Te esuling 12.gx3 d6 yields Black a good game.) 10... posiion is vey ineesing and i is vey fcul o demonsae a  .5+ g6   f3   f6 pomising pomising coninu coninuaion aion fo fo We; one one line is 1 1   g6 1 2.   . xe3+  ge7 1 4.00, 1 3   4.0 0, since now now e black black pieces ave ave been depived depived of e impoan g6squae. Te coninuaion cosen by Euwe in e 8-e7 seems o only gve game ll.dl- d8- 12.xe3+  g 8-e7 Wie pospecs of equaliy (13.00 00 14.  f3 e 15.  g5!), as e acually played 13. 13.4xc6+ b7xc6 14.0-0 0-0 15.bl-d2? quickly 15...e7e7-g 6 16.g 22-g 3 8-e8 gave Black a decisive aack afe 15... ...d7-d6 Wie ied In e game eres-eshevs (Round 8) afe 4...d7-d6 e 5.c2-c4 advance, wc Black answeed by e dubious manoeuve 5...c8...c8-g 4 6.b 6.b-c -c33 g 8-e7 8-e7 Wie poceeded wi 7.h2-h3 g 4x 4x 8.dlx e7-g 6 9.c3-d5! and gained a dangeous iniiaive owing o e ea of 10.  b4.

2. For ng hts hts Ge In e caegoy of open defences, e only oe openng a was played played beside bes idess e Spanis Spanis  was e Fou igs, wic wic was employed in e 24 ound game otnn-eshevs fe e moves l.e2e4 e7-e5 2. g - - b8-c6 3.bl-c3  g 8-f6 8-f6 4.fl-b5 Resevsky efa efained ined fom Rubinsein's Rubinsein's coninuai con inuaion on 4 . . .  d4 and afe e moves 4...-b4 ...-b4 0-0 0- 0 0-0 0- 0 6.d2-d3 6.d2-d3b4xc3 b4xc3 7.b2xc3 d7-d6 8.c1-g  c1-g 5 d8-e7 9.fl-el c6-d8 IO.d3-d4 d8-e6 II. g 5-cl 5-cl e cose e lie used coninuaio co ninuaionn ll...-d8 insead of e nomal 11...c5. Howeve, Bovinnik waed e possibiliy of playing ...d6d5 d6d5 by e move 12.b5-fl!, .b5-fl!, and afe ll...e6-? 12.-h4! e aceved e bee game. game. Tis game is no of any paicula paicula eoeical eoeical value. value.

3. French Defence Of e seclosed openings, e Fenc Defence uned ou o be e mos mos  popula, popula, and was was almos almos  exclusively exclusively uilied uilied agains agains 1 . e by e7-e6 2.d2-d4 d7-d5 e Wold Campion Bovinnik. fe l.e2-e4 e7-e6

8

3.bld2 Bovinnik coninued wi 3...75 ...75 4.e4xd5 e6xd5 and acceped an isolaed pawn on d in excange fo acive piece play. In e game EuweBoinnik (Round 7) as well as in ei encoune in Round 17 e exwold campion played .fl+ In e s game Bovinnik played e iskie ...b86, bu Euwe efained fom e mos ineesing coninuaion 6.  in favou of e simpliing 6.dle2+ d8e7 7.d4x5 e7xe2+ . g lxe2 lxe2 x5 9.d2b3  b6 1O.ld2 1 O.ld2 and assued imself imself of a somewa bee endgame. endgame.  8d7, aoug afe Nex ime Bovinnik played e moe solid ... 8d7, 6.dle2+ d8e7 7.bxd7+ b8xd7 8.d4x5 d7x5 9.d2b3 We also ad a somewa moe favouable endgame. oeove 9 . df3! was even moe enegeic and would ave ven Wie Wie posp p ospec ecss of a longem advanage. In e game eresBoinnik e 1 5 ound ound Wie efa efained ined fom e simpliing ceck c eck  .b+ in favou of quie developmen wi .g l l and Black answeed i wi e ineesing ...a7a6 fe move  . . . a6 ad a pupose 6.d4x5 x 7.d2b3 5a7 e move oweve 6 .e2 c6 7.00  f6 8. e 1 on e oe o e and woul wouldd simply ave uned i ino a loss of ime and woud ave se Black muc geae poblems an in e game. In e game eshevsBoinnik in e 1 9 ound Wie Wie employed e sap line 3.bl3 b4 4.e4e5 75 .a2a3 b4x3+ 6.b2xb3 and insead  d87 insead of e nomal nomal 6 . . . e7 Bovinnik B ovinnik played played 6... d87 4g 3 5xd4 7.dlg 4 - fe e fue coninuaion 8.g 4 9.3xd4 g 8e7 8e7 IO.ld2 00 II.fld3 a vey ineesing posiion aose wi aacks aacks on oppo o pposie sie anks.  anks. Howeve Howeve Wie's Wie's cances on e kingside appea o be moe dangeous an Black's couneaack on e queenside. Kees payed even moe saply in e lasound ame agains Bovinnik afe 3.bl3 b4 by empoying e pawn sacice 4.ld2 d5xe4 .dl g 4! 4! as was advocaed by lene. Bovinnk  g3 g3 d6 8 . f4 ef e fained fom e main line 5 .. .xd4 6.000 f 7.   xf4 xf4+ 9.  ...g 8 8 6.g 4x  4x g  xf4  c c and insead coninued wi ... g 7 h8g 8 7.g 7h6 7h6 b86 8.000  g 8 8g 6 9.h6h4 b4x3 IO.d2x3 dd, bu e an ino big ouble afe ll.b2b3 6e7 12.£! I is oweve almos impossible o ve a na asse as sess ssmen men abou ese sa sapp lines wiou e e pacica pacicall expeience.

9

4. Scn Defence Besides e Fenc, e Sician Defence was e only oe semi closed opening a was used, namely in e 13 ound game Sysov-otnn fe l.e2-e4 c7-c5 2.1- b8-c6 3.d2-d4 c5xd4 4.xd4 8-f6 5.b1-c3 d7-d6 Smyslov ied o wa    g7 by playing Black's favouie developmen of g g7 g6 folowed olowed by      6.cl-5 Tis was followed by e eoeical line 6...e7-e6 ...e7-e6 7.f-e2 7.f-e2 -e7 8.0-0 0-0 0-0  Hee Smyslov iniiaed a dubious dubi ous manoeuve manoeu ve ...7-6 on e queenside by 9.d4-b5, wen afe e coninuaion 9...7-6 10.5x 7x 11.b5-d4 8-h8 Black ad simply won a couple of empos, and lae poved a e openng of is king posiion is fuy compensaed by Black's bisop pai and song cenal posiion

5. Queens Gbt Decned Te nomal ueen's Gambi occued aely in e ounamen, as Black was usually siving fo sape vaiaions In e game Sysov eres in e 17 ound l.d2-d4 d7-d5 2.c2-c4 e7-e6 3.b1-c3 8- 4.cl-5 c7-c6 5.e2-e3 b8-d7 was played, and Wie eeafe efained fom e sap Cambidge Spings vaiaion by e excange 6.c4xd5 e6xd5 Te game poceeded along mecancaly by 7.fl-d3 -e7 8.1- 0-0 9.d1-c2 -e8 10.0-0 d7- wen Black iniiaed e inees inee s ing ing bu bu dubious dub ious manoeuve 1 1.1-b 1,1, wen 11...-6 12.b2-b4 e7-d6 (insead of e simple 12e4) Howeve, afe 13.b4-b5 Black efained fom is iniial inenion   xf6 o pla play1 3    6 14   xf6 � xf6 x f6 15e4  f4! 16e5 � e6 e 6 17exd6 � g4 g4 and  c8-d7 14.b5xc6 d7xc6? and quicky ad e coninued wi 13... c8-d7 wose posiion In e game otnn-Euwe fom e 22nd ound o und,, Wie Wie excanged on d aleady on e 4 move and enabled Black o develop is biso bi sopp o f wi easy equaliy; so e game does no offe any eoeical value Te explanaion is a Bovinnik was only ou fo a quick daw o secue e ile of Wold Campionnoe unimpoan game fom a eoeical poin of view is eshevs-Euwe fom e las 4.e2-e3 c7-c5 c7-c5 5.1- 5. 1- b8-c6 6.d4xc5 6.d4xc5 ound wee afe afe e moves m oves 4.e2-e3 xc5 7.2-3 a kown posiion, empy of possibilies, occued

0

Only afe he iddlegae was inaccuaely handled dd We anage o aain a ceain advanage and he nally won he gae afe uual accuaces. 



6 Qeens Gbit Accepted The only gae ha saed wih s opening, yso-otinni fo d7-d5 he 23d ound, is no of any special inees, since afe afe ld2-d4 d7-d5 2c2-c4 d5xc4 3l- 7-6 4e2-e3 c8-4 5flxc4 e7-e6 Whie efained fo he songes coninuaion 6. b3 and afe 6bl-d2 b8-d7 70-0 8- enabled Black o ge easy equaliy.

7  Defence The Slav Defence was used elaively ofen in he ounaen and he gaes ha began wih his opening gave Whie a clea oveall vicoy by 2. I would howeve be wong o ake conclusions egadng he valiy of he Slav Defence ou of his. In any gaes Black chose unfavouable opening lines and on seveal occasions los due o inaccuae play in he iddlegae afe having eeged of o f e opening o pening saisfacoily. The posii posiion onal al line line ld2-d4 d7-d5 2c2-c4 c7-c6 3l- 8- 4bl-c3 e7-e6 5e2-e3 b8-d7 6fl-d3 -b4 72-3 was played on wo occasions. This was played fo he s ie in he Euwelekhine Euwelekhine ach ach in in 1 93 937. 7. lekhine lekhine coninued wih 7 . . .xc3+ and quickly an ino difculies, hence Black in boh of he ounaen b4-5 8dl-c2 (ppaenly he siple 8.00 is gaes played 7b4-5 d8-e7 9 9c1-d2 d5xc4 10 10d3xc4 e6-e5 110-0 0-0 I n bee.) 8d8-e7 he gae otinni-Ewe (Round 2) Whie now played 12l-el, 12 5-c7  5-c7 13c3-e4 f6xe4 f6xe4 14c2xe4 which Black answeed by 12 145? 5? Black could play eihe 14... and now insead of he slow 14 14...  h8 o 14 .. .d6 wih a saisfacoy gae. heefoe eshes insead of 12Je1 ied o play 12d4-d5 in he 5h ound agains Ewe and afe 12c6-c5? c6-c5? 13d5-d6! quickly gained a winning posiion, since 1 3 ...xd6 is no possible due o 14.  b 5 b6 15.b4 winnng a piece. Howeve, insead of 12. 12. . . c5? Black could have have played played bee by eihe 1 2 ...  b6 o 12... 12 ...c7 wih a copleely saisfacoy gae. The coec



  2!   c7 coninuon fo Whie ws 12.   2! which which hw hwss 1 2 ...   c7 due o he epl eplyy 1 3. b5 nd ses Blck difculies difculies wih nishng his developen. developen.  .  b Fo his eson he line 6 . .    b should lso be consideed s dubious fo Blck. In he ge gins onn in he 12h ound Ewe hus  .  bline ef efined fo he h e 6 . .    bline nd chose he Men Defence  .  e2 6...d5xc4 ...d5xc4 7.d3xc4 b7 b7-b  .c4-d3 ( 8   e2 lso ls o gives gives is isee o ineesing inees ing coplicions.) 8...7-6 9.e3-e4 c6-c5 10.e4-e5 c5xd4 ll.�c3xb5 Noly 1. 1 .� e2 e 2 00 00 1 5.00 5.00 6xb5 12.e5xf6 12.e5xf6 d8-b6 d8-b6 13.x7 13.x7 x7 Noly ws plyed in hs posiion, bu Bovinnik efined fo he ie consuing 1. � e2 e2 nd iediely plyed 14.0-0! in n ep o ke ke conol con ol ove ove he e5 e 5squ squee s quickly quickly s possibl po ssible.e. Euwe coninued ...�d7-c5 1.cl-f4 c8-b7 16f1-el 8-d8 nd fe wih 14...�d7-c5 17.l-cl 17.l-c l d8-d5 18.f4-e5 go ino  hopeless posiion. Howeve, Blck hs o ovecoe cein difcules in ny cse. 1... 1...0 000 1 5e 1   b7   f  d5, ble o exchnge wice on b 7 1 6.   d5 , in ode o fe fe 1 7 . e5 be ble e5 nd hen poceed wih ....f  f5 , see s eess o o ffe fe h he elivel elivelyy bes be s pospecs. pospecs. I sees h h Blc Blckk hs o eu eunn o he old 1 1 ... xe5 in he Men Defence Defence,, since si nce he line h hs h s been fshionble s hionble fo  long ie, 1 2 . xe5 xb5 13. � f3   b+ b + 1. @ e2, offes  deque defensive esouces fe 1... 1...b8 b8 15.� g3 g3 � d6 d 6 1 6.  f3 � xg3 xg3 17.hxg3   d6. d 6. The openng phse lso uned ou o be vey ineesing in he ge eshevs-eres in he he 1 3h ound. ound. Insed In sed of 5 . . . bd7 Blck iediely plyed  . .7-6 6.c4-c5 �b8-d7 7.b2-b4 6-5 8.b4-b5, s ws lso plyed in he Euwelekhine ch in 1935. In his ge Blck coninued coninued wih wih he wek 8 . . . e nd fe 9. xe xe dxe xe 1 0. d2 f5 1 1 . f3 go ino  difc difcul ul posiion. po siion. Hence Hen ce Kees decided o iediel iedielyy ply he shp 8...e6-e5 ...e6-e5 Thee followed 9.dl-4 d8-c7 10.cl-3 wih  vey copliced posiion, which is ipossible o ssess nlly jus on he bsis of one ge. In n ep o void he difculies fo Blck descibed bove, insed of  . . . . e6 plyed 4...d5xc4 Sysov insed d5xc4 .2-4 c- in wo ges gins eshevs In he 6h ound ge Reshevsky chose he dubious ne 6.�f3-e5 e7-e6 7.- -b4 8.e2-e4, wheeupon hee ...f5xe4! 9.xe4 �xe4. followed he wellkown piece scice 8...f5xe4! Reshevsky nsweed his by he lie kown ove 10.cl-d2, bu lso fe fe hs Blck chieved  sisf s isfco coyy posiion posi ion fe 10... 10... d8xd4  d8xd4 

3

ll.�c3xe4 d4xe4+ 12.dl-e2 bxd2+ 13.elxd2 e4-d5+ 14.d2-c2 �b8-6. Teefoe Resevsky coninued in a moe solid 6.e2-e3 e7-e6 7. flxc4  flxc4 -b4 way in e 16 ound game by 6.e2-e3 8.0-0 0-0 9.dl-e2 - g 4 10.h2-h3 g4 ll.e2xf3 �b8-d7 121-dl (12. e4 would ceinly ave se Black bigge poblems.) 12... 12...e6-e5 e6-e5 and now e sap 13.d4-d5 4xc3 14.d5xc6 e5-e4 Now Wie played e weak 15.-f5? and soon an ino ouble wi is   e2 e 16.cxd7 would ave assued Wie of a queen. Insead 15.  good game and e bisop pai. Te game eres-Sov in e second ound opened wi l.c2-c4 �g 8-2.� 8-2.�g l- l- c7-c6 3.�bl-c3 d7-d5 4.e2-e3 g 77-g 6 5.d2-d4 5.d2-d4-g  g 7 wen Wie cose e simpliing excange 6.c4xd5 Insead of e quie quie 6 . . . cxd5 cxd5 Smyslov now ied ied o si up complicaions co mplicaions by 6...�f6xd5, ...�f6xd5, bu afe 7.fl-c4 7.fl-c4 0-0 8.0-0 ey uned ou o be favouable only fo Wie, especialy afe Black's unfounae move 8...b7-b6? ...b7-b6? 8. Qeens P penn g Te only game a saed wi is opening was onn-eres in e 20 ound. Te game is of gea eoeical inees, because afe l- Black cose e old coninuaion e moves l.d2-d4 d7-d5 2.� g l- 2... c8-  c8- 3.c2-c4 e7-e6 e7-e 6 Bovinnik simplied e posiion by 4.c4xd5 8xe7 e6xd5 5.dl-b3 �b8-c6 6. 6 .c c 1-g 5 -e7 7. 7. g5xe7  g5xe7 �g 8xe7 8.e2-e3 d8-d6 and Black aained an excelen game. I is vey difcul afe afe 3 . . . e6 o see ow ie could obain any noiceable advanage, since e aemp 4.b 3 c6 5.c5 also gave Black a good game afe 5 .. .c8 6. f4  f6 7. a4 d7 in aosevH aosevHolmo olmovv, Moscow 1 948. 948 .

9. zo-ndn Defence I is ineesing o noe a e NimoIndian Defence, wc abou a decade ago was one of e mos fequenlyused openings in ounamen pacice, only occued six imes in e ounamen. 8- 2.c2-c4 e7-e6 3.�bl-c3 -b4 e fe e moves l.d-d4 �g 8- wo min eplies 4.e2e3 and 4. d1c2 wee employed. Teoeicly mos ineesing was e game onn-eshevs fom e 14 ound wee afe 4.e2-e3 c7-c5 5.2-3 b4xc3+ 6.b2xc3 �b8-c6

33

7.fl-d3 0-0 8.�1-e2 b7-b6 Black ed o exe pessue agans We's pawn weakness on c4 by e oves ... a6, ...  a and ...8. ... 8. fe 9.e3-e4 ee folowed Capablanca's ecoendaon 9...�-e8! ...�-e8! W is ove We s depved of e cance o cay ou e e4e5 advance w gan of epo, and a e sae e e oad s opened fo Black's fpawn. Bonnk connued by playing e 10...d7-d6 d7-d6 11.0-0 �c6-5 12.�e2-3 passve 10.cl-e3 and afe 10...  c8-6 13.'d1-e2 13.'d1- e2 'd8-d7 14.-f4? 14.-f4? -! e ad a clealy wose posion.  is i s clea cl ea a We can ony answe Black's Black's plan pl an by playn playngg acvely, fo exaple by e ove 1 .e4e5, weeupon an ineesng posion w uual cances  ase. eshevs also als o def d efended ended well agans agans e 4.e2-e3 syse n e 4 ound gae agans onn by playng 4...d7-d5 ...d7-d5 5.2-3 b4-e7 B onnk poceeded pocee ded n oo sky s ky a way way by playng playng 6.�1- 0-0. Hee Bonnk 7.b2-b4 W s ove e gae loses s openng eoecal value, snce snce by 7 . . . a5 8.b5 c Black could ave obaned an excellen gae. Howeve, Howeve, i sees see s a even afe afe e bes be s ove 7. 7 .d3, Black also does no ave ave any openng dfcules o ovecoe. ovecoe . Black andled e openng n a vey onal anne n e gae otvnn-eres n e 10 ound wen afe e oves 4.e2-e3 0-0 5.2-3 b4xc3+ 6.b2xc3 e played 6...-e8 and ed o cay ou e . . . e6e5 advanc advancee as quckl qucklyy as possble. pos sble. Black's Black's anng of e openng is by no eans bad, snce now We canno vey wel play 7 .d3 on accoun accoun of 7 . . . e5 8.  e2 e4 folowed by ...b6 ...b6 and and .. .a6. Fo e6-e5 s eason Bov B ovnn nnkk cose e odes od es connuaon 7.�1-e2 e6-e5 8.�e2-3 d7-d6 9.fl-e2 9.fl-e2 Black ad aleady aceved soeng, and could fo fo exaple exaple by 9 . . . c5 o 9 .. .  c6 oban a copleely sasfacoy posion. e 4.'d1-c2 lne was also used n ee gaes. e gae Ewe eshevs in e 20 ound wen 4...�b8-c6 ...�b8-c6 5.�1- (oe d7-d6 6.cl-d2 0-0 7.2-3 b4xc3 8. 8.d2xc3 ineesng s .e3) 5...d7-d6 7-5 9.e2-e3 (also 9.e4 coes no consdeaon) 9...'d8-e7 ...'d8-e7 10.fl-d3 (Noally 10.e2 e5 1 1 .dxe5 fol folowe owedd by 00 00 s playe playedd ee) ee) 10...e6-e5 ...e6-e5 11.d4xe5 d6xe5 and now nsead of 12.0-0 We ad o play 12.  g5 6 13.  e4, w soe pospecs fo an nave. fe 4.'d1-c2 e expeced eply 4...0-0 ...0-0 ves se o a oe ineesng gae, wc occued n wo gaes. In e gae Ewe-

34

eres he 21 2 1 s ound, Whie Whie poceeded wih he isky isky .c-g 5 h7-h6 6.g 5-h4, 5-h4, wch was answeed by 6...c7 ...c7-c5 in an aemp o exploi he emoval emoval of Whie's bishop fom he c1 c 1 h6 diagonal. diagonal. fe fe 7.d4xc5 �b8-6 8.e2-e3 �6xc5 Whe appaeny had nohing bee han  xc3  fe4! 11.xd8 xc3 12. 9.a3 xc3+ 10.  12.e7 b3! 13. 13 .xf8  x wih a good game fo Black. Bu insead of hs Euwe played 9.�g 1-e2 1-e2 and afe 9...d7-d5! ...d7-d5! 10.0-0-0 c8-d7 11.c4xd5 8-c8 he faced a dangeous dangeo us aack, fom wch wch he esca e scaped ped only due o inaccuae play play by hs hs opponen. opponen . In he game eshes-eres fom he 23d ound, Whie afe 4.'d1-c2 0-0 played 5.2- 4xc3+ 6.'c2xc3, bu also did no ...b7-b6 since Black conols he impoan achieve anyhing afe 6...b7-b6 1-f3 d7-d6 8.e2-e3 �b8-d7 e4squae. fe 7.c-g 5 c8-b7 8.� g 1-f3 10.c3-c2 i was even Black who had a sligh iniiaive afe he move 10... 10...'d8-e8!, 'd8-e8!, alhough alhough i was was no sufcien s ufcien o secue secu e any advanage. advanage. 10. Ctn pening ppaeny in in an aemp o avoid avoid he NimoI Nimo Indian ndian Def De fence, ence , Syso in he 7h ound game agains eres chose o employ he Caalan afe 8-f6 2.c2-c4 e7-e6 by playing 3.g 22-g 3 3 Thee he moves .d2-d4 �g 8-f6 ...d7-d5 4.f-g 2 d5xc4 5.d1-4+ and now Black, insead followed 3...d7-d5 ins ead ...c8-d7 of he nomal nomal 5 . . . bd7, played he moe complicaed ...c8-d7 6.'4xc4 d7-c6 in an aemp o keep he e4squae unde his conol. fe 7.�g 1- 1- �b8-d7 �b8-d7 8.�b18.�b 1-c3 c3 �d7-b6 9.'c4-d3 9.'c4-d3 -b4 vey complicaed posiional po siional bae ook place, whee Black 10.0-0 0-0 a vey only wih gea dfculy managed o keep he e4squae unde his conol.  simple defence fo Black is ceainly 5 ... bd7 folowed by ...a6 ... a6 and and .. . c5 o ...b5. ...b5.

11. Grnfed Defence Smyslov Smyslov was he main use of he Gnf Gn feld Def De fence in he ounamen ou namen.. On evey possible occasion he uied he sysem of defence 8-f6 2.c2-c4 2.c2-c4 g 77-g 6 3.�b1-c3 d7-d5 developed by hmsel hms elff: .d2-d4 �g 8-f6 4.�g 1- 1- -g 7 .d1-3 d5xc4 6.'b3xc4 0-0 7.e2-e4 c8- g 4 8.c-e3 �-d7 9.'c4-b3 �d7-b6 Ths posiion occued in hee

35

gaes and, aoug Sysov scored 1 /z poins fro e, e vaue of e woe syse si raise raisess soe doub In e gae gae eres-Sysov in e 12 round ere foowed lOl-dl, wic sees o be e 10...e7-e5 e7-e5 We payed e bes ove in is posiion However, afer 10... 12.fl-e2 fl-e2 d8-e7, aoug unnecessary ll.d4xe5 �b8-d7 12. aoug even ere  ere e sipe 133 woud s ave assured hi of a sg advanage Siper was o pay 11 e2 exd4 12 12 xd4, xd4, or or 1 1   xf3 xf3 1 2dxe5! , and and in in bo cases Wie obains a sa bu cear advanage Ewe ried o obain even ore, and on wo occasions insead of 1 d1 d 1 payed 1O.a2-a4 a7-a a7-a ll.d4-d5 agains Sysov However, i sees a e weakess a as occurred on b4, as a resu of e  e oves oves a4 a 4 and   a, is uc uc ore unpeasan for for Wie Wie an e weakenng of Back's kig posiion on b6, and in adion e ove d4d5 opens up e diagona for Back's bisop In e 14 round gae Sysov payed weay and afer ll...�b8-a6 12.fl-e2 e7-e6 13.h2-h3 g 4x 4x 14. 14.e2 e6xd5 15.e4xd5 Yd8-h4? 16.�c3-e4! quicy go a os posiion Back found e correc defence rs in e ll...g 4 4 12.g 2x 2x Yd8-d6! 24 round wen e proceeded wi ll... and afer 13.3-b5 Yd6-b4+ 14.b3xb4 a5xb4 15.�b5xc7 a8xa4 e equaed easiy easiy Te concusion conc usion is a a Euwe's Euwe's aep aep  1 a4  a4 canno be a rea agains Sysov's syse of deveopen, and a Wie can ony aain prospecs for an edge by quiey srengeing is posiion Wie aso did no obain anying fro Botvnns aep in e 8 round o refue Sysovs syse of defence by e ove 9.�d2 (insead of 9b3) Back answered i by 9...�d7-b6 lO.Yc4-d3 c7-c6 (aso akogonov's suggesion 10 10f5! f5! coes ino consideraion) 4-e6 .al-dl �b8-a6 13.a2-a3 d8-d7 14.d3-c2 ll.- g 4-e6 and now Back coud ave cay payed e capure 14 14xd4 wi a good gae Back did no obain any good experiences in e gae Sysov Botnn in e rd rd round Insead In sead of paying 5    dxc4, Back ried ...c7-c6 6.c4xd5 �f6xd5 7.e2-e4 �d5-b6 e od syse of defence  ...c7-c6  .cl-e3 c8-e6 9.b3-c2 e6-c4 We sipy proceeded by paying 10 10e2 a6 1100 00 12  fd1 � d6 d6 13b3 and obained e soewa freer gae and a srong cenra posiion

36

12. ins ndin Defence In e game otnni-Syso in e 1 8 ound, ound, Whie ied o avoid avoid s opponen's Gnfeld Defence and afe l.d2-d4 �8-f6 2.c2-c4 7-6 played e simple 3.2-3 fe 3...d7-d5 ...d7-d5 4.c4xd5 �f6xd5  .f-2 -7 6.�1- 0-0 7.0-0 a wellkown posiion fom a line in he King's Indian Defence occued wee Black obains good counepla coun eplayy by 7 . . . c5. Bu fo fo some so me eason eas on Smyslov Smy slov efained efained fom fom s 8.�b 1eoeical e oeical coninuaion co ninuaion and played played e vey weak 7...�d5-b6? 8.�b1c3 7-5?, and afe 9.c1-f4 c7-c6 10.\d1-cl! e was clealy wose wose  Te oe King's Indian in e ounamen occued in te game eses-eres in e d ound afe a ansposiion of moves: l.�1- �8- 2.c2-c4 b7-b6 3.d2-d3  n ineesi inees ing ng coninua coninuaion Wie ies o cay ou e e2e advance. Black could fo example answe is by 3   . c5, bu a anspo ansposiion siion o e ings ings Inan Def D efence ence ...7-6 4.e2-e4 d7-d6 5.�b1-c3 -7 6.d3-d4 is no bad eie 3...7-6 N ow a nomal posiion pos iion in e e King's King's Indian Def De fence as as occued, occu ed, bu wi e exa exa empo    b7b6 fo Black. Tis oweve does no cange ...0-0 7.fl-e2 fl-e2 c8-b7 c8 -b7 e balance of e posiion pos iion consideabl cons ideably. y. fe fe 6...0-0 8.\d1-c2 e7-e5 9.d4xe5 d6xe5 10. 10 .cl-e3 Black aained a good posiion, whic e oweve spoiled lae by s planless andling of e middlegame

13. Dutc Defence Te game eses-otinni e 9 9  ound opened opene d wi wi e Duc Defence. I is ue a i uned ino a vey ineesing middlegame, bu i does no offe any gea inees fom e poin of view of opening eoy. fe l.d2-d4 e7-e6 2.c2-c4 - 3.2-3 �8-f6 4.fl-2 -e7 Wie poceeded wit 5.�1-3, wc eoy ...0-0 does no conside o be vey song Black answeed is by 5...0-0 6.0-0 d7-d6 7.�b1-c3 7.�b1-c 3 \d8-e8 \d8-e8 and afe e pemaue cenal ust 8.e2-e4 e obained a good game afe 8...xe4 ...xe4 9.�3-f4 c7-c6 10.�c3xe4 �xe4 11.2xe4 e6-e5

37

14. Eng ish ish pening Te game eres-Syso in e 22nd ound saed wi e Engls Openi Ope ning, ng, bu i soon soo n ansp anspose osedd ino in o e pas of o f a Gnf G nfeld eld Def De fence ence  Tus e ounamen also did no enic s opening wi anying ne fe l.2-4  g 8- 8- 2.b1-3 d7-d5 3.4xd5 xd5 4.e2-e4 Smyslov efained efained fom e e inees inee s ing ing sal salyy     b and poceeded wi 4... d5x3 d5x3 5.b2x3 g 77-g 6 6.l- b8-d7 7. g 1- 1- -g 7 8.fl-e2 7-5 9.0-0 0-0, and We answeed i by 10.d2-d4 5xd4 11.3xd4 d7-b6 12.d1-b3! and aained a slig advanage Te esuling posiion is vey sila o e Gnfeld Defence, bu neveeless Wie as e advanage ee a e as been able o deec de ec Black's Black's aack aack agains agains e dpoin, dpoin , and can ence moe easily easil y make use of is cenal cena l adva advana nage ge

ur pening 15. rreg ur Te game eres-otinni in e 5 ound afe e moves 1.2-4 e7-e6 2.g 22-g 3 d7-d5 3. 3.f1-g 2 d5-d4 4.b2-b4 7-5 gave ise o a ense cenal posiion; We oweve incoecly eleased i by closing e cene wi 5.b4-b5 e6-e5 6.d2-d3 -d6 7.e2-e4? Insead of e las move, 7e3 folowed by e2 ad o be played, wi cances fo bo sides Te game Reshes-Euwe fom e 15 ound poceeded in a 1- d7-d5 3.g 22-g 3 d5-d4 simia way, wee afe l.2-4 e7-e6 2. g 1- Wie coninued c oninued in an aniposiional anipo siional way way by playing playing 4.e2-e3 b8-6! 5.e3xd4 6xd4 6. 6 .fl-g 2 2 Black now played e oiginal 6... g 8-h6 8-h6 and afe 7.0-0 7.0-0  h6- h6- 8.d28.d2-d3 d3 -e7 9.xd4 9. xd4  xd4 xd4 10.b1-d2 0-0 11.d2- e7- obained e somewa bee game, despie de spie e many man y excanges excanges

39

I

Cye 1 Round 1 0 Euwe-Keres 1 2 Smyslov-Reshvs 1/ Free: Boinni

In e game EuweKees, We aceved a consideable posiional edge afe e openng, bu a e decisive momen e did no nd e coec c oec plan and los lo s all s advanage advanage Wle playing playing on fo fo a win, le's say unde e "inuence of ineia, Euwe dd no pay aenion o Black's small combinaion in e cene, ce ne, afe afe wic is king came unde a devasaing aack Black mssed a quick win in ime ouble, bu even so, a e adjounmen We was a piece down wi a opeess opee ss pos p osiion iion nd afe afe e e esumpion esum pion of e game, e exWod exWod Campion ad o l in is s loss in e ounamen able Smyslov and Resevsky played e Cigoin aiaion in e Spanis Opening, wee Black cose a coninuaion consideed as unfavou unfavouable able by by eoy, eoy, and soon so on found found imself imse lf in a camped posiion po siion n unmoivaed excange in e cene by Resevsky gave We e oppouniy o sa a vey song ngside aack by 2  d! d ! Smys Smyslov lov did no noice is oppouniy op pouniy,, and coninued e game wiou a well ougou pan Hence Black soon acieved equaly, and even e somewa moe favouable game Bu due o impending ime ouble, e cose a simpifying coninuaion, and eeafe e payes quickly ageed on a da ounamen posiion afe e s ound: Kees 1, Resevsky and Smyslov Vz, Euwe 0

FIRST CYCLE

40

No 1 . Te Ruy Ruy p M. Euwe

P Keres

Te Hague, 2nd and 3rd Mch 1948 .e2-e4 2.g- 3 .-b5 4.b5-a4

e7-e5 b8-c6 a7-a6 d7-d6

Ts socalled "Seini Defeed Defence gives Black a somewa moe consiced con siced posiion po siion an e usual  . . .  f6, bu i eads o heoeicay heoeicay less sudied posi posi ions and ence o ffes moe moe oppoun oppo uniies iies fo dffeen kinds of novelies.  good poof of e viabiiy of e  .. . d6 sysem is given by e fac a i was ofen successlly used by Wold Campions Capablanc Capablancaa and ekhine. Te . . . d6 ne was ui uied ed in many games in e ounamen, ounam en, and Black can be b e fully ully saised sa ised wi e oucome of e openng. 5.c2-c3

Euwe made s move wiou long oug, and e fac a e used e same move again again in lae la e games sows a e appaenly appaenly consides .c3 . c3 o be e son s onges ges coninuaion coninuaion fo fo We a is poin. Naually Naually e selecion of e songes move is almos impossible a suc an ealy pase of e game and e pefeence of a developmen sysem ove anoe depends moe on eac playe's ase and playing syle. Howeve, pacical expeience sows a a easonable opinion seems   xc6 o be a e sap vaiaion .   xc6 bxc6 6.d offes Wie e bes opes op es of an opening op ening adva advana nage. ge. Tue, Tue, Black would would in is case ca se ge ge  e bisop pai, bu as compensaion We as e bee developmen and good aackng cances. 5 ...

c8-d7

ey inees inees ing ee is  . . . f, wc was e coninuaion pefeed by

EUWE  KS S

4

Capabanca. The possibiiies afe hs ove wi be iscussed  oe deai in he gae EuweKees fo he hd cyce. 6.d2-d4

 g8-e7

is ineresing syse of defence is very od, and was ofen sed by o rd rd Chapion Chapio n Seini Sei ni,, hogh usuay omiing omi ing he oves 3 . . a6 4.  a4. a4. i he texanoeuvre Back pans o deveop his igh o g6, fro where i protecs he epoin and aer hreaens o occupy he strong sqare f4 in severa nes. The dawback of he ove is he loss of ie ha is enailed wih he kngh developen, and especiay he weakening of the cenra squae d, whee hie soon paces s knigh. Even Even hough hough any heoeicians conside cons ide he exmove o be infeio, infeio, and also in he onamen Back did no acheve any consideabe success succes s wih i, I si beeve beeve ha 6 . . .ge7 s a playabe syse of defence. defence. I f Black, for insance, coninues wih wih 6 . . .g6 7.00 g7, he wi nd hisef facing much more unpeasan pobes han in he gae afe he sipe exchange exchange 8.dxe5 8. dxe5.. In addon addon,, 6 . . .  f6, which would lead he gae ino he socaed Kecskee ec skee vaiaion, vaiaion, would yied Black a good gae. ga e. 

7.a4-b3

Afer Back has secued he epoin by ... e7g6, e7 g6, he igh squaed

FIRST CYCLE

4

bishop no longe hs ny pospecs on , nd fo h eson is nsfe nsfe o he 2g8 2g 8 digonl digonl is fuy uy jusible. ju sible. Fuheoe i occus hee wih he he gin of  empo, since Blck s o ply 7 . . .h6 in ode o hw he he of 8.  g5. 7. . .

h7-h6

The vlue of his move depends on wee Whie subsequenly hs o fe e ...g7g5 g7g5 dvnce. dvnce. In e ge ge huesR hues Rubinsein, Sn Reo 1 930, 930 , Wie Wie connued connued wi wi 8 .e3 and fe fe 8 . . .g5 sciced  piece by 9 .xg5 xg 10.  xg5  . s le nlysis nlysis poved, poved, insed xg5 d 1 1 .exd5 .exd5  . of e exmove 12.dxe5, We could ve gined n dvnge wih he coninuion 12.d6!  xb3 13.xb3  d 1.  x   x 15.dxc7 foowed by xd. Howeve, is wole line is no very convincing. Becuse, s of ll, We los n ipon empo by e mnoeuve c1e3xg5  he could ve used fo s s developmen developmen (fo (fo exmple 8.0 8 .00) 0),, nd secondly s econdly Blck, Blck, insed of 8 . . . g5, sould ve ve poceeded wi e quie 8 . . .  g6; fe s Wie's bisop would simply be unfvoubly plced on e3, blocking blocking e p of o f We's knig knig on is wy wy o d vi vi e3. e3 . Smyslov's ide o ply 8.  4 would lso no ve been dngeous, since Blck cn eie nswe s by 8 . . .  5 9.c2 g 10.  f5  xf 11.exf5  f6, o by 8 . . .  c8 9.  f5 g6 (9. h  e7), e7) , in bo cses wi  sisf sis fcoy gme. 8 ...

 e7-g6

Hee He e Blck could could ve ve plyed plyed 8 . . . g5 if e wished, since now he piece scice ws no possible. Howeve, in y opinion e min dwbck of ...g ...g7 g is i s no he scicil pos p ossibily sibily on g, bu e genel wekening of Blck's posiion wiou gining ny genuine coune chnces in eun. Fo exple, Whe could ply 9.dxe5 dxe 10.  c nd ge  posiionl dvnge fe 10... 10...g7 11.  e3 s well s fe 1 0 ...  g6 1 1 .h .h g 12.5! . Te conclusion conclusi on is    Wie Wie  s poin does doe s no ve ve ny eson o peven Blck fo fo plying plying .. .g7g5, nd hus his ove 8.  bd2 should be consideed s fully plyble.

EUWE  R E S

43

-e7

9 .. .  h would no hve gven nyng hee snce, mong ohe possblies, Whe could hve nsweed wih he simple 10.  e3. Bef Be foe gong gong fo fo n ck, Blck s  s o nsh hs h s developmen developmen.. 100-0 1 1   c4-e3

0-0 e7-

I is ue h wh hs move, Blck pples some pessue on he cenl sque d, bu he heeby plces s bishop on  somewh exposed poson, enblng We o cee vous cicl hes fe e ns nson on of of e knig knigh h o d. Hence 1 1 . Je8 looks bee, wih he nenon o nswe 12.  d5 wh he ee 12... 12... . In he gme BonseinKees, Moscow 198, Whe connued wh 12.e1   1 3 .c2, bu dd no cheve ny sgncn dvnge fe 13... 13...  h 1 .  xh � xh. xh. Moeove, lso possble ws 11...  h 12.  xh xh, since 13.f exf 1.xf g followed by ... e7 s oleble fo Blck. 12  e3-d5

e5xd4

In he gme SmyslovReshevsky fom he hd cycle, Blck plyed e weke 12. 12. . . e8 nd fe fe 1 3 .dxe5! .dxe 5! go no ge dfcu dfculles es.. The exmove s songe nd foces Whe o ecpue wh he gh, since since 1 3.cxd 3. cxd would would be w wdd n vew vew of of 1 3 ...g; f howeve howeve Blck would ply 12... 12...g mmedel mmedelyy, hen smply 1 3 .h3 .h 3 xf3 1. � x x  nd 1  ...exd ... exd s no dngeous due o 1. xh6. -e8

fe he exchnge of he cenl pwns, Blck slghly eleves hs cmped posiion, even hough We sl mnns  smll spl dvnge. Wih e exmove, Blck poses his opponen poblems bou how o poec he epwn.

FIRST CYCLE

44

1 4  d5t

Such an exchange is not recommended unless there is urgent need, since st of all Black is even more freed, and secondy the posiion is ther siplied and offers fewer attacking possibities. In that respect 14. c2 was certainly more interesting, retaining the tension in the position, even though White aso in this case should not have any special advantage. Black could, for example, continue with 14. 14. xd4  xd4 15.cxd4 b 16.e1 c and obtain adequate counterplay by attacking Whte's cente. lso the move 14.e1 has its drawbacks; Black would then play 1 4 ...  a5 1. c2 c6 16.  xf6 xf6 and now Whte is unable to carry out the essenia f4 advance. though with he game coninuaion Whte makes some concessions, he sl assues hself of a good position with the bishop pair and a slght inatve. 1 4 15-

'd8

W u u  iy iy t h the aci f  f, e e  h pp pp y y  1.c2 ul y b suspect u t the pawn sacice 1 5 ...5, ... 5,  ple 16.  c6 xc6 17.ex5 cx 18. xd c6 wit withh

EUW E  KE RE S

45

dangeou couneplay Fuheoe, ae 1. 1. c2, c2, i ii alo alo poile po ile o coninue along he e o he peiou aiaon ih 15... 15...  16.cd  17.e1 c. 15 

 g6-f4

By hi ally Black, i' rue, hreaen ... ...  d oo ooed ed by by ... . .d4, bu afe afe he hai haing ng o hi h i hrea he jus loe loe  ie i e and end up oe oe off off.  good plan insead a 1 5 . ad8, ad8 , ih ih he inenion of anein aneingg  6 .e3 ih 6... 6...a5 a5 17.c2 c c  ih good counepla coun eplay. y. 1 6  d4xc6

hie could no proceed ih developing hi piece noally, ince  6 .e3 ould be aneed by 16... 16...a5 a5 1 7.c2 g 18.d2  c ih ih an ecellen ecellen gae gae for Black. The exechange i no good eihe, eihe, ince now Black has he pos sibili sibiliy y of asur as uring ing helf helf of impoan cenal square. Hoever, afer he simple 16.h Black ould hae had gea difculy in jusiing his kigh say. 1 6

d7xc6?

Surpiingly, Surpiingly, Black abain ab ain fo fo he a aouale oppo op pouniy uniy o play play 1 6 ... bxc6, hich ould aer 17. e3 c hae depied he he ihop o he srong d4square, and i n oe line enaled Black  o apply peue pe ue on he ble. I ee ha Black in hi cae could hae achieed an equal gae. Bu no Whie can deelop hi piece unhindeed an sar a dangeou adance on he kingide, again hich Black ha difcul in nding a aif ai facoy acoy de d eence ence.. 1 7 c-e3 1 8 d1-d2

a8-d8  f4-g6

No he conequence of Black' 15h oe ecoe appaen he knigh knigh i oced o eea, leaing leaing Black in a copleely pa pa iie poiion po iion.. No beer han han he eo eoe e a a he eea eea 1 8 ...  e6 due o o 1 9.ae1 ,

46

FIRST CYCLE

since Back woud then have had greater difculties stopping the f3f4 advance advance than in the game. game . Back must pay the foowing foowing moves moves with the utmost utmo st care care in order to avoid avoid immediatey fal faling ing into into a ost o st position. po sition. 1 9 .e3-d4

 -e7 -e7

20.a-e

White's position is superior and, by correct play, probably won. In order to achieve the win, the folowing ngside attack had to be we prepared, prepa red, and in so s o doing Black' Black'ss ony counterchance, which lies in the ...d6d5 ... d6d5 thrust, had to be liquidated. By the textmove White prepares the f4 advance, but this pan st looks premature and yields Black unnecess unnece ssary ary counterplay counterplay on the queenside. The correct continuation, in my opinion, was to play 20.c4. This move would have have permanen pe rmanenttyy deprived deprived Black of al a l hopes of carrying carrying out the berating ...d6d5 ...d6d5 thrust, and at the same time it would aso thwa thwart rt the pos p ossi sib bitityy of ..... . d7 d 7 fol folowe owedd by .... .. a4, as occurred later later in the game. In addition, addition, the ver veryy strong strong 21 .c3 would become a threat. It appears Black would thereafter have been unable to defend imself agai against nst ae 1 , c3, c2 and f4. Another tempting possibilty for White would ave been te pawn sacrice sacrice 20.f 20. f4 xe xe44 2 1 . f5 whic whichh afte afterr 21 . . . h4 22.f 22. f4 xg2 xg2 23. xg2 xg2 24.g4 woud have assured him of a clear advantage. owever, Back can improve with 21... e2 and get the advantage.

EUW  KS S 20

47

e7-d7

Black now manages to exchange off one of White's strong bishops, since ite can no longer prevent the positional threat of 21.. 21. . b5 folowed by ..a4  a4 or ..... . d6d5. Even though several commentators sil consider Whte's position to be clearly better, I tend to believe that Black aready has sufcient defensive resources, and that Whte spoilt his best chances on the previous move. 21c3-c4

If Whte Whte instead tries tries to avoid he exchan exchange ge of bisho b ishops ps and plays plays 21 2 1 .a3, .a 3, then 21 2 1 ... d5! d5 ! 22.e5 22. e5 b 23. 23 .  b6 woul wouldd follow ollow,, and a nd Whte Whte is alread alreadyy in dfculties. dfculties. N either would would 21 c2 b  b 22. 22 .  d give give Whte Whte an advantage, and if now now 23.e5 23 .e5,, then then 23 . . . c5 24 .xc5 xe xe wih sufcient counterplay count erplay for Black. Konstantinopolsks's Konstantinopolsks's recommendation recommendation of 21 . @ h 1 , to answe answerr 21 2 1 .. .a4 a4 by 22 .xg7! xb3 23.xh 23 .xh6, 6, also fails to cause Black any difculties on on acco accoun untt of 21 2 1 .. .d5. The relatively best attacng chances were offered to Whte by the sharp continuation 21f4, to answer 21... xe4 by 22 xg7 @ xg7 23.d4 @g8 24.xe4. though the position of Black's kng would in ths case have been somewhat weakened, the outcome of the game would have been far from clear Black can, for example, continue with 24 . .f5 and obtain satisfactory defensive chances. But after the textmove Black overcomes his ast difculties and acheves complete equality. 21 22 22 b3xa4 2 3 d2-c3 24-f4

c6-a4 d7xa4 -

Initialy Euwe Euwe had planned to sacrice the bishop by 24 .xf6, but later considered this to be too risky and decided to rst open up the third rank for his rook in order to support the attack. In fact, Black

48

FIRST CYCLE

ow maages to prevet the sacrice ad repulses Whites attackig attempts. Thus the f3f4 advace turs out to be just a weakeig of the e4poit. If White could ot risk cotiug alog his itial pla with 24.xf6 gxf6 25.� xf6 xf6 f8, which after 26.e5 � d7 d7 or also 26.b3 � d7 d 7 27.� xh6 xh6 e6 would yield Black sufciet defesive resources, ad after the repulsio of Whites attack perhaps eve hopes of a advatage, the it was better to abstai from a future weakeig of the positio ad simply cotiue with 24.b3, followed by f2 with a roughly equal positio. 24 24  252-b3 26 26  c3- c3-

 g8-h7  a4-d7 a4-d7

White still hopes to create some attack, but this attempt turs out to be icorrect, ad eve forces him to temporarily take up a defesive positio. If White did ot wat to defed passively agaist the threat of 26 .. . c5, c5 , by for for example 26.h 26. h  , he could have have chose the iterestig iterestig doubleedged attacg cotiuatio 26.f5 e 27. � g3 g3 �  28.f4. However, from a objective poit of view this would ot have ve him ay geuie wiig chaces, thus the simple cotiuatio 26. � a5 a5 with a roughly equal positio had to be preferred. 26 -d3 27 27  -d3

7-b5

But this retreat retreat is bad, ad ves ves Black the more promsig game. The simple 27 _ _  with a equal game game had to be b e played. 27 2 8  xc4? xc4?

b5xc4

A mstake whch yields Black a clear advatage. As Euwe said i the aalysis that took place after after the the game, he had asses ass essed sed the result re sult of the following combiaion as favourable for him due to the passed paw o the ale. But i fact Blacks attack turs out to outweigh Whtes assed paw.

EUWE  KES ES

49

Whe Whe had o play 28.bxc4 28 .bxc4 wih wih an amo amos s equal equal game bu bu  Black sil sil has some hopes of an advanage due o Whe's pawn weaknesses. Now an ineresing acical bale akes place whch is made even sharper sharpe r by he muual ime rouble.

28

e8xe4!

s a resul of his small combinaion Black ges a srong passed pawn on he ele whch combined wih he following aack on he king urns ou o be very dangerous for e. The following moves are almos forced. 29exe4 30 30  ca6 ca6 3  d4-e3

d6-d5 d5xe4  d7-g4! d7-g4!

Whe would sl be able o acheve a enable posiion if he could bring hs queen back ino play in ime. Bu wih he exmove Black iniaes a drect maing maing aack aack and hreaens 32 . . . d3 as we as he manoeuvre ... ...  g6h4f5 g6h4f5 . Wie Wie is defenceles defencelesss agains agains he combined combined aack of hree black piece piecess and he epawn. 32 32  a6-c4 a6-c4

acking he pawn on e4 and in so doing hoping o win ime for he

FIRST CYCE



defence. But the attacng continuation chosen by Black reveals the aw in this plan. However there is no defence available against the abovementioned threats, since for example after 32.h3 � g3 g3 33.� e2 e2 Black gains a wining wining position by 33 3 3 . . . h4 34. @ h1 xg2. 32  33 e3-c

d8-d3!

Naturally not 33. � xe4 xe4 due due to 33 . . . � e2 e2 winn winnng ng a piece, but also also 33. 3 3.e e11 f (the simplest!) followed by h4 or xf4 is hopeless for White. Black's attack quickly attains a terrible strength. st rength. 33

 g6-h4!

Also apparently apparently suf su fcient cien t for a win win was the simple 33 . . . f5, but the pawn sacr sac rice i ce of o ffered by the textm tex tmov ovee is more effect effective ive and leads lea ds to a force forcedd win. White's Whi te's following ollowing moves are almost almos t forced. orc ed. 34 34  c4xe4t c4xe4t

After 34.� c2 c2 the the siplest reply is 34. . . f5, threaten threatening ing ... . . e4e3e2 as wel as .. . c3. N ow an interes interestiting ng combination combination takes place, where the main motif is the tyin tyingg of the white white queen quee n to the def de fence of g2. 34   3 5  e4-b7 e4-b7

- c7-c6

In time trouble, Black chooses a forcing line, whch nally gives hm an endgame with an extra extra piece pie ce for to to pawns. The same s ame outcome, outco me, but with one more pawn for Black, would have been given by the simple 35 . . . c3, c3, whch whch threate threatens ns . . . c7 c6 as well well as as . . . c2, for for example: example: 36. 3 6. � d 5 c6 37. � d2 x xc ! . 36 36  b7xc6 b7xc6 37 37  c6-d5 c6-d5

EUW E   R E S

5

Now White has to play 38 d2 as in the game, o once onc e moe move the queen along along the h  a8 diagon diagonal al when when 38    2 wins wins The loss los s of a piece is unavoidable in any case

 bette be tte move ode to each each the game position po sition was 38 3 8 h3 h 3 g3 39 d2 xc 40 e2, but of couse it would not change the outcome of the game 38...c5xc! ... c5xc!

The point of the combination! s can easily be seen, White cannot captue the ook in any way, and now has to play the endgame a piece down The T he foowing oowing inaccuacies, which fotunately do not change chan ge the outcome of the game, wee caused by sevee mutual mutual time touble 39.h2-h3?

Hee 39 £ had to be played, although Black would also then have etained an easily won position afte afte 39    c3 c 3 Black could hav havee answeed the textmov textmovee by 39      winning the queen 39 ... 40. 40 .\ d2-e2 d2-e2

\ g4-g3? g4-g3?

5

FIRST CYCLE

After 40  f2 Back Back wins easiy ea siy by 40   x foowed by 2 2 ow Back wins another pawn and achieves a simpy won endgame The foow oowin ingg part of o f the t he game is no onger of any rea rea interest 40... 40 ... 41.xc 42. 42 . ® g-h2

\ g3xf4 g3xf4 \ f4xct f4xct

In this posion the game was adjourned and Back seaed his move Achieving the win no onger invoves any difcuties, and Back ony has to continue carey, so that White's queenside pawns w not become too dangerous 42... .. . 43. < h2-g

\ c1-f4t c1-f4t

After 43g3 the the simpest simpest repy is 43    d6 43 ... 44.\ e2-c2 e2-c2 45.-a4 46. 46 . ® g-h2 47. ® 2-g

 h4-g6  g6-e7 \ f4-d4t f4-d4t \ d4-e5t d4-e5t  e7-d5

 ow White's pawns have been stoppe s toppedd (4a5 (4a5  b4) and Back can start to carry out the second part of his pan to create a mating net around White's king 48. 48 .\ c2-d c2-d 49. 49 .\ d-c2 d -c2

 d5-c3 ® 7-g6

Freeing the queen from the defence of the fpawn s. ® g-h

  . < -h2 c2-c6t 5 2 .\ c2-c6t 5 3 .\ c6-c5 c6-c5

\ e5-et e 5-et  c3-e2 ® g6-h7  e2-g3

E   KERES 54 54  c5-d6 c5-d6 5 5 .  h2-g

5

 g3-t h6-h5

s ame moment, White lost on o n time; afte afterr 5 6.  d6-f4 d6-f4 and at the same 56. 56. e3 e3 57.  h2 h4 there is no longer any defence against the threat of  e3f1 e3 f1g3 g3 follo followed wed by mate mate on h 1 . n interesting game where, after a dfcult opening, I managed to grab the intiative by a tactical manoeuvre, and create a promising position where I was able to carry out an excellent mating attack.

FIRST CYCLE

54

Game No No 2. Te Ruy Lopez  Smyslov

S. Reshevs

Te Hgue, 2nd March 1948 .e2-e4 2.�g- 3 .   -b5 4.b5-a4 5.0-0

e7-e5 �b8-c6 a7-a6 �g8- -e7

Ths closed system of development in the Spansh Defence was for a long time Black's most populr line. But in recent years new attacking pos po s sibilities have have been scovered  scovered for for White. White. Hence Hen ce the closed clo sed variation variation was used rarely in the tournament, in only four games. On the basis of this, the conclusion cannot of course be made that the defence 5 ...e7 ...e7 is insufcient, or that Black would get into difculties by using it. t most, mos t, it can only be claimed claimed that in some so me fashionable ashi onable nes, nes , recent tournament practice has gven Black difcult problems. 6J-e

The other main continuation for Wte in ths position is 6.e2, whch whch was was used us ed in the th e game KeresEu Keres Euwe we in the second seco nd cycle. Further explanation about ths move wi will be gven gven in the analysis of o f that game. 6... 7.a4-b3

b7-b5 0-0

... d6 was exclusiv exclusively ely played, in order to answer 8 . a4 with 8 . . .g4 Earlier 7 ...d6 or simp simply ly 8 . . .d7. But the textmove is also playable and usually gves rise is e to the same position pos ition as the continua continuation tion 7 . . . d6, d6 , as this pawn advance advance wi often occur on the next move. Whte cannot take advantage of Black castling in order to carry out 8.a4, since Black would answer this this wi with th 8 . . .b7, and in several lines threaten to carry out the ...d7d5 ... d7d5 thrust.

SMYS SMYSLO LO   RESES RESESKY KY 8.c2-c3

55

d7-d6

Accong to the latest late st theoetcal nvestgatons n the Masha Mash a Attack, 8 .. . 5 9.ex 9. ex55 x  x 1 0.xe5 0. xe5  xe 1 1 .xe5 s n Whte Whte's's fa favou vou afte afte 11...f6 12. 4 6 13. e2 as wel as n the lne 11...c6 12.4 6  3.e1 \h4 \h4  4.g3. 4.g3. 9.h2-h3

his loss of time in oe to pevent the pin ...g4 g4 is common, but in no way necess nece ssar ary. y. Whte can very well also play the immeate 9 . 4 g4 g4 an now ethe 1 ., 1 .e3 or also 1 .h3. hs nomaly ves se to shap unclear lnes whee theoy has not yet eache a consensus, an ths ves excellent possbes of seachng fo new systems of evelopment. Also pos p ossble sble is the moest 9. 9 .3, 3, aganst aganst wch Black oes oe s not have have as easy a task t ask in ning satisf sa tisfactory actory play as s  s usually us ually beleve. 9 ... .. .

� c6-a5 c6-a5

his system of evelopment was use by Chgoin. It has mantained its popularity up to this day, although the latest nvestigations have pose new an fcult poblems fo Black. heefoe the smple 9 ...e6 ...e6 seems lke the safes safestt way to acheve equalty equalty. Afte the exchange

FIRST CYCLE

56

1  .xe6 .xe 6 fxe6 fxe6 practical practi cal experienc expe riencee has shown that Black's Black's doubled double d pawns in the centre centre turn out out to be strong, and and also also 1 .d4 . d4 xb3 1 1 .xb3 is not a continuation that Black has to fear. On the other hand, the exchange 9 . . e6 simplies simplie s the position to some extent, extent, and increases the ris riskk of a draw draw. ence en ce those thos e see s eeki king ng a ghting ghting game more often often tend to t o utilie the sharper cont con tinuation inuation 9 . . . a5. .

1 0 .b3c2 .d2d4 12.�bd2

c7c5 Yd8c7 c5xd4

Chigorin exclusiely exclusiely continued wit withh  2 . . . .  c6 and considered the pawn pawn sacice 13.f cxd4 14.cxd4 xd4 or also 14... 14...exd4 exd4 to be in Black's faour. Black does in fact get good play after this, and een some hope ho pess of o f an adantage, adantage, since White has great difculties difculties in recapturing recapturing the sacriced pawn. For this reason 2... 2...c6 c6 was for seeral decades answered by 13.d5 d8 14.a4. This gies White chances of an attack on the kingside, while Black obtains counterplay on the queenside. To preent this, new ways of attacking were nally inented for Wte in the simping line 3.dxe5 dxe 14., where practical experience has shown (see among others, the game EuweSmyslo from the rst cycle) cycle) that White achiees achiees ery good play thanks to the weak points d d and f . To thwart these possibiities, grandmaster Flohr inented the text moe, which turned into the most popular continuation for Black during the last decade. With this exchange, Black indeed eliminates the possibility of a simpling continuation inoling an excange on e, but he also opens up the cle, which ite is normally able to take control of before Black. Due to the closed character of the position, ths has h as no decisi de cisiee importance and Black can, in my opinion, achiee achiee equality here if he stays away away from from early attacks on the queenside, queen side, which normally only result in the weakening of his own position. 13.c3xd4 14. �d � d2b3

�a5c6

fter 4. Black wins a pawn, as shown in the preious comment,

SMYSL SMYSLO O  RESESKY RESESKY

57

by 14... 14...xd4 xd4 or 14... 14...exd4, exd4, and 14. d b4 1.b1 a 16.a3 a6 17.b4 d7 is nothing for Black to fear. Besides the textmove, which is considered to be the strongest for Whte at the moment, 14.a3 is also a good continuation, because after 1 4 ...exd4, ... exd4, 15.b3 wins the pawn back with the better game.  better reply for Black is theref therefore ore 1 4 ...d ... d7, 7, but but also also here here 1 5.b 5. b33 fc8 fc8 1 6.d3 ves White the more favourable position, according to Pachman. s this line shows, Whte later develops his kight to b3 all the same, hence the immediate 14.b3 seems to be more natural.

1 4...

a6-a5

Practic Practicee has shown that this early attack attack on the queenside queen side is not justie jus tied, d, and usually u sually only on ly ends up weakening weakening Black's Black's pawn structure. st ructure. The attem attempt pt 1 4 ...d8, ... d8, to be able to carry out an an eventua eventuall . . . d6d5 thrust, is also not recommended for Black due to 15.d2 (SmyslovKeres, 1941). Therefore Therefore te te simplest reply reply seems to be 1 4...d7, ...d7, with wich Black rst tries to complete compl ete his development and only later initiate counterplay count erplay on the queenside quee nside.. It I t is clear that that in this this case ca se White would would also achieve achieve a small small spatial pls, but it shoud s houd not have have any decisive importance. import ance. 1 5 .   -e3 16.3-

a5-a4

FIRST CYCLE

58

Now he houh behind 14.b3 becomes apparen. Whie has been able o develop develop hs queen's queen's bishop o he def de fence of o f he d4pawn, and a he same ime i me cear he c squa s quare re for for a rook In he meanime, Black Black only advanced hs apawn and hereby weakened he bsquare, which he has rea dfculies n defendn laer on. I is clear ha if Black is unable o sir up acical complicaions, he  soon be posiionally lost.

1 6...

c8-d7

It is evident that after he active preparation of an attack by he advance of the apawn, such a quiet developin move cannot be he bes coninuaion. Whie now ains time to nish his developmen, is rs o  o ake control of o f the cle, c le, and ains an advanta advantae. e. Black had to continue actively if he waned to jusi the manoeuvre ...a6 ... a6a5 a5a4. a4. But which which opions did he have to to do ts? So far the th e coninua coninuation tionss 6 ..... . b4 and 16 ..... . a3 hav have been be en trie triedd in practice, and accordn to experience so far, they both yield Whte an ede. ede. fter fter 16 ..... . a3  7 .bxa3 xa3 Whte Whte plays plays the stron stron 1 .c1 .c 1 ! and ets an advantae. Neiher would 6... 6...b4 b4 7.b1 a3 1.b3! yield Black equality, for example ... ...a5 a5 19. xa3 xa3 20.bxa3 xa3 21.dxe5 dxe 22.xe5 e6 23.df3! and Wte maintains the extra pawn pawn (BoleslavskyRaoin, (BoleslavskyRaoin, 1 5th Soviet Championship, Championship, 1 947). 7) . Neverheless, i is possible ha sroner coninuaions for Blac

SMYS SMYSLO LO   SESKY SESKY

59

can be found in these thes e sharp lines, which which would would jus j usti ti the manoeure ...a6a5a4. ... a6a5a4. But until they are found, we must assess the system of deelopment deelopment chosen by b y Black Black as unsucce un success ssfful. 17Ja-c 1 8 .c2-b c2-b 

-c8 c7-b8

Black retreats the queen to a square ffrom rom where it protects protect s the weaknesse weaknes sess on b b  and a nd e e  and a nd thus enables the t he follow ollowin ingg ight ight manoeure. manoeure. Romanosky recommends 18... 18...d8 d8 at this point, but Whte would answer this with the simple 19.f1, and Black would hae great dfculties dfculties creating counterplay, counterplay, as the knght knght is tied to the def de fence o f the epawn. 19.d2- 20Jcxc8t 2 1 . e3e3-g5 g5

c6-a5 d7xc8 h7-h6

This weakening of the kingside was not necessary, but in any case Black has dfculties due to the threat of f1e3d5. After 21... 21.. . e6, then 22.e3 would follow a the same, threatenng d and also omanoskys recommendation 21...c4 22.b3 axb3 23.axb3 b6 24.e3 leaes White with the clearly better game. Perhaps the simple 21 . . .a7 was sligh slightltlyy better better to answer answer 22.e3 22. e3 with 22. . . c4. 22 .g g5-h4 5-h4

 a5-c6

22 .. . c4 would also hae the same drawbacks as on the preious moe. With the textmoe, Black tries to reliee hs position by exchanges, but it was better be tter to do this without the weakeng moe 21 .. . h6. In any case, White maintains the better game and good attacking chances. 23.-e3

c6xd4?

Blacks position was dfcult, but the textexchange does not ease it at a. Rather the opposite, as Whte now gets the chance to bring s bish bi shop op on o n b 1 into in to play play and gains a ery ery strong attack.

60

FIRST CYCLE

lso insufcien for Black was was 23    exd4, as Whie does no have o ake on d4, bu can insead play he sronger 24d5! Romanovsky recommends 23 23b7 b7 24dxe5 dxe 25d5 e6 for Black, wih some defensive chances, wch is cerainly beer han he exexchange exexchange Bu Bu he simples simples def de fence seems o be 23    e8, e8 , quda qudaing ing he annoying annoying pin on he kingside This move would have been even stronger wihou he weakenng h h 7 h6 h 6 mong oher ngs, ngs, i would would have depr dep rived ived Whie of he possibiliy of rereaing he bishop o g3 Wih such a careful defence, Black could perhaps shave held he posiion, bu now Whe ges he chance o sar a decisive decisive aack 24)xd4

e5xd4

25.dxd4?

I is ineresing inere sing o observe obs erve tha We did not noice he obvious obvious aacng coninuaion 25d5!, wch would have secured him a big advanage For For example: example: 25    xd5 (f (fer er 25   a7 Whte does no need o capure on f6 a once, and can insead srenghen his aack in a decisive manner by 26d3! 26d3 ! ) 26 26  exd5  27c2! 27 c2! Black has grea grea difculies difculies in repel repelng ng Wie' Wie'ss aack aack If 27   g6, hen hen 28e8 b7 (or (or 28  d3 29c3!) 29c3!) 29c6! and Black is los, los , and an d almos in ug ugwa wang ng,, since 29   xc6 xc6 30dxc6 30 dxc6 b7 loses los es a piece after after 3 1  xa8 followed ollowed by e4 The auhor auho r of he variaion, variaion,

SMYSLO SMYSLO   SESKY

6

omanovsky omanovsky, aso offers offers another pos p ossibi sibillty ty,, namely 27 2 7 . . . d 3 28.xd3 28 .xd3 g6 g6 29.g3 followed by f6 and h3h4, with a decisive attack. Fina Finalllly, y, after after 27c2! 27 c2! Black can also try 27 . . . f5, but his position p osition would sl be impossible impos sible to defend defend afte afterr 28.e 28. e88 d3 (28 . . .b7 29.c6) 29.xd3 c7 c7 30.g4 30 .g4!! . The textmove textm ove is not so bad, bad , and White retains an advantage, advantage, but it does enable Black to to organe a more efcie efcient nt def de fence. enc e. 25  26Yd4-

Yb8-a7 c8-e6!

Black Black as as uable t def d efend end e bp b pn, because bec ause ag ther thgs thgs Whte as hreateng the strg 27.e5 de 8.xf6 flloed by h7 ad d w a ig psitin. The textmve ot nly tharts ths threat, but als eutraes the e possibity 27.d5 xd 28.exd5 xh4 ad Black euales. e ca indeed i a pawn pawn by 7  7 .xb5 .xb 5 , but b ut f frr 27 . . .b8 28.e2 d4 29.d1 he has to take o a labrious defece; Black c ciue either ith 29 ...a3 ... a3 30. 3 0.b3 b3 d8 d8 r e iedate iedate 9 . . . d8, d 8, ad btai btai a peraent pe raent intiative for the pawn. 27h4-g3?

ith this retreat, White ves away l his advantage, since Black can now now start to develo developp strong counterplay counterplay on the queens qu eenside. ide. Natura Naturally lly 27.e 27 .e55 dxe 28.xf 28 .xf66 xf6 xf6 29 2 9 .h7 f  f8 would now not have have ven anything, unlke the ne given in the earlier note. But instead, very strong was to further strengthen the position by tan tan control control of the cle c le with 27 .c1 .c 1 , since Black cannot answer this this with 27 . . . c8 due to 28.xc8 xc8 29.e5 dxe 30.xf6 winning a piece. After After 27 .c1 . c1 Black Black would would hrdly hrdly have have been bee n able to equalie the position, which now, with some effort, he is able to do. 27   28e3-d5?

Ya7-c5

With ths exchange, White elimnates hs bestplaced piece and at the same time ves hmself a pawn weakess n d, wch later reuires

FIRST CYCLE

6

permane per manen n precn prec n.. fer 28d 28 d 1 Whie wuld wuld s s  have have mainained a gd game, ahugh wihu any specia sp ecia hpes f an advanag advanagee . 28 ... 29.ed5 30.e-d

e6xd5 a8-a7

The pawn weakess n d is already mang isef fel: lack simpy hreaened hreaened  play 30 . . xd5 3 0.... 31.g3-h4

Whie plays he secnd alf f e game wihu a wehugh u plan, and nw even ges in dfculies n rder  hwar he hrea f 31  xd5, i was necessary neces sary  play 3 1 f4, f4, als enabling enabling ge in sme lnes. I f hereaf hereafer er 31   b4, en 32.e3 and ack cann capu capure re n b2 due  33.d4; hwever he cninuain 31.c4 yields lack a rugy equal game 31... 31. ..

g7-g6 -g6

lack culd aleady have assured himself f a draw by 31.xd5, fr example 32.x 32 .xff6 xd3 33xd3 33 xd3 xf6 xf6 34xb5 34xb 5 xb2, bu he he exmve ex mve

SMYS SMYSLO LO   SESKY SESKY

6

seems to be even stronger. Now it is not Black, bu rather White who mst start ghting for a draw. 32.2-3

White White cannot do anythng anythng to to protec prote c the dpawn, d pawn, so he therefore therefore clears the a2square a2s quare for hs bishop bisho p in order to create attacking chances chanc es against the g6 g6 and points. points. Weak Weake e in in any case case was 32. 32 .xf x f6 xf6, which wold have ven Black he preferable position despite the opposite colored colored bishops. bi shops.

32 ...

Vc5xd5

 me troble, Black forces a draw, as he did not have time to accra accratel telyy ass a sses esss he complications complications occurring occurring after after 32 . . .  xd5. n actua actuall act, 33 .xe7  xe7 as we as 33 33.xd5 .xd5 xh4 would would ve Black the better be tter prospects. But 33.g3 wold create great complications, and should assre White of enogh counterplay for a draw. However, the strongest continuation for Black was to offer the positional positional exchange exchange 32 . . . h5, h 5, since afte afterr 33.xe7 33 .xe7 xe7 the endgame endgame is clearly better for Back. 33 .h4x h4x 34. 34 . bxd b xd33

Vd5x e7x

FIRST CYCLE

64

35 .dxb5 dxb5 36 d-d3

xb2

lack would also retai te etra paw after 36.a4 a3 ut despite ts te edgame is a draw 36... 36 ... 37. 37 .b5xa4 38 .a4-b3 a4-b3

 k7-c5 c5-a5 c5-a5 b2xa3

Here lack could ave retaied te etra paw wit 3 [a3  [a3 but of course tis would ot ave caged te al outcome of te game 39.d3- 40. 40 .b3xd5 41.xa3 Draw.

d6-d5 a5xd5

65

Cycle 1 Round 2 1 Keres-Smyslov 0 1 Bonn - Euwe Euwe 0 Free: Reshvs

The games in the second round developed very interestingly and both ended with decisive outcomes. outcome s. In the game KeresS Keres Smyslov myslov Black played inaccurately in an opening similar to the Grnfeld Defence and soon found mse m self lf in difculties. But with with sl s l play, play, and not without help from White, he created strong counterplay in the centre. In order to liquidate the menacing danger, White chose a very interesting path: he sacriced his entire centre and started a strong attack against the black black king. king. In I n a complicated position, posi tion, Smyslov did not nd the correct corre ct defence, lost material and was soon forced to resign. Botvinnik and Euwe Euwe played played a fcu fcultlt positional pos itional line in the Queen's Gambit where White, after some interesting complications, offered a pawn pawn sacrice sacri ce in the centre. ce ntre. Euwe should unquestionably unques tionably hav havee declined decli ned the offer but nevertheless he decided to take the pawn, and thereafter faced a strong combined attack from White's bishops, rook and queen. With the best defence Euwe would probably have been able to hold s position, po sition, but he continued weay and even even bef be fore the adjournm adj ournment ent of the game he had to resign. resign. Tournament position after the second round: Keres 2, Botvinnik 1, eshevsky V, Smyslov V and Euwe 0

FIRST CYCLE

66

No 3. Slav Defence P Keres

 Smyslov

Te He, 4h March 1948 .c2-c4 2.�g-

�g8- c7-c6

Smyslov usually chose the Grnfeld Defence m the tournament But in ths game he chose the Slav Defence, apparently taking into consideration that ths was the early stages of the tournament, and therefore trying to play totally sod openings But in fact the game soon takes on the character of a Grnfeld Defence 3.�b-c3 4.e2-e3

d7-d5

In recent times White has acheved good results with the common exchange variation 4cxd5 cxd d4 The textmove gves rise to theoretically less studied positions, but hardly offers White better prospects than 4cxd5 4. . .

5.d2-d4 6.cd5

g7-g6 -g7

A fter some so me turns, turn s, the game has reached the famous Schlechter variat variation ion in the Slav Slav Def De fence where White usually usually proceeds proc eeds with with 6d3 6 d3 00 7  00 0 0 The textexchange te xtexchange is a novelt noveltyy, and a psychologic psychol ogically ally well well justie ju stiedd one on e Smyslov's predilection for for the Grnf G rnfeld eld Def De fence is widely known, known, and therefore one could expect him to capture with the kght But in this position, White has a certain advantage compared with the Grnfeld Def De fence enc e due to Black's timewasting move move    c6, hence Whte Whte plays the openng with an extra tempo 6 ...

�xd5

S S  SSL SSLO O

67

Syl ae e  chance  ee e gae i ha   ae aiia ac, an by  ig he juie e' peiu exchange. F an bjeci bj eciee pin  ie ie, 6 . . . cx5 i nge, ince e aac aacing ing aep 7.b 7 8 .b3 l hale hale ue  he iple iple eply 8 . . . 00. White should prcee wih 7 .3 00 8.0 8. 000 e e by a eveual e and have the eha mre crable poiin due t Blac's iacive bihp  g7. 7 . -c4 - c4 8.0-0

0-0

8 ...

b7b6?

This move, which depriv dep rives es Black's kight kight of o f its atural retreatig squae, i a miake ad gives White the beter game.  atural ciuain was: 8 .. . b6 b 6 (t (ter er 8 . . . xc3 9.bxc3 c Black has lt a valuable ep with the maoeuvre ...c7 ...c7c c6c 6c5, 5, ad White White thereore thereore obtais the better be tter positio po sitio after after  0.a4 0. a4 follo followed wed by by a3.) 9 .b3 g4 (Better (Better tha 9 . . . 8d7  0.e4 e   .e3 .e3))  0.h3 xf xf3   .xf3 .xf3  8d7 Fo Follo llowed wed by by .. . e7e5, e7e5, whic whichh would give Black a atisfactory position, althugh White's bishop pai offers him some hope of a advatage. 9.db3

FIRST CYCLE

68

Ts forces Black to exchange on c3, but for this purpose 9.e4 was even stronger. Af A fter 9 . . . xc3 1 0.bxc3 0.bxc3 a6 a6 1 1 .xa .xa66 xa6 1 2.a4 2.a4 Whit Whitee would obtain a much freer freer position po sition where, depending dep ending on circumst circumstances ances,, he would have the opportunity to develop hs bishop to either a3 or to the c1h6 dagonal. But the textmove is also good, and assures White of an oenng oenn g advantag advantage.e. �d5xc3

9 

Amost Amost forced, since 9 . . . c7 c 7 1 0.e 0. e55 e6 1 1 . f4 wou would yie yield ld Wh Whte te a strong attack. 10.b2xc3

c8-a6

5 4 3

a

c

e

g

Back must exchange this bishop, since otherwise White would be able to intiate a strong kingside attack, for example 10... 10...b7 b7 11.e5 or 1 0 ...d ... d77 1 1 .g5 . g5 foo foowe wedd by f4. f4. .c-

Ths continuation is certanly not best, since the bishop stands unfav unfavour ourabl ablyy on a3 after after either . . . c6c5 advanc advancee or afte afterr . . . b7b5 followed ollowed by ..... . a7a5 a7 a5.. It was therefore therefore better to play either  1 .a4, with with attacki attacking ng chances on

S S  SSL SSLO O

69

the queenside, or 11.e4 and a rther deelopment of the bishop on the c1h6 diagonal. 1 1  12b3xc4

a6xc4 -e8

Blac wants to play 13... 13...d5 d5 and for ths reason protects hs epawn. Instead Bronstein adocates 12... 12...c5 c5 13.dxc5 c7, howeer ths line is anything anything but satisf sa tisfactory actory for for Black. Af A fter 1 4.e4 e4 bxc bxc  White of o f course cou rse does not need to ge up the queen for to rooks by 15.xa8 c6 but can play the stronger 1 5 .ab . ab 1 ! with a clear adan adantag tage.e. Furthermore 14.d5 also seems to be sufcient to secure White's adantage. The execution of the ...c6c5 ...c6c5 adance in this position seems on the whole to be unf u nfaou aourabl rablee for Black. For example, after the preparatory pre paratory 1 2 ...c7 ... c7 Whte could proceed with 13.d2, again preenting ...c ... c 6  c5. Black is howeer forced to undertake somethng to enable the deelopment of the queen's knight. 13e3-e4

b6-5

Black Blac k is already already forced forced into such weakening weakening manoeures, since by other o ther means it would not be possible for hm to deeop hs kght. If for example 13... 13...c7 c7 or 13... 13...c8, c8, then 14.e5 woud foow, with the threat of 1 5 .g5, . g5, or also also the imme immedia diate te 1 4.g5 4. g5 fo folow lowed ed by e4e5. e4e 5. 14c4-3 15c3-c4!

�b8-7

Thwarting Black's knight from reachng c4, which would yield Black good counterplay. For example, 15.g5 e6 16.f4 b6 17.e5 c4 followed by ..d. d. With the textmoe, Whte liquidates tis support point. 1 5 

a8-b8

Certainly not the best reply, as Whte could now simpy play 16.cxb5 cxb 17.ac 17.ac with a clearly better position.

70

FIRST CYCLE

lso 1 5 ...bxc4 ... bxc4 1 6 .xc4 .xc 4 would ve ve Whte a clea advantag advantagee due to the weak cpawn. Theefoe the shap thust 15... 15...c5 c5 offeed the best pactical chances. te could answe ts with eithe 16.ad1 cxd4 17.xd4 bxc4 18.xc4 with a somewhat fee but hady much bette position, o 16.cxb5 cxd4 7.ac1. In the latte line, White would achieve a small positional advantage due to his mobile exta pawn on the queenside, whie it is easy to blockade Black's exta pawn in the cente. 16Ja-d

Wd8-a5

If 16... 16...bxc4 bxc4 17.xc4 and st now 17... 17...a5, a5, then simply 18.d3 and Black is stil in touble due to the weak cpawn. With the textmove, Black theatens 17... 17...bxc4, bxc4, and if 7.cxb5, then 17... 17...xb5 xb5 folowed by ...c6 ... c6c c55 with equalit equality. y. It I t may seem as though though Black is ove the wos wost,t, but now a shap tactica stuggle takes place, whee Back is punished fo s pevious play play being positiona posi tionally lly inadequate.

17.c4-c5!

ite had to calculate the outcome of ths move vey accuatey, since Black now gets the oppotunity to demolish the whte pawn cente with the ...e7 ...e7e e55 thust. thust . The outcome outcome of the game depends depend s on whethe Black is able to cay out ths advance advance without being punish punished. ed.

S S  SSL SSLO O 1 7... 1 8 .-b2

7

b5-b4

n inaccuracy which however was very ifcult to foresee at this point tang into consieraion the complexity of the following combinations. It later becomes clear that the bishop woul support the following attack better from the csquare from where it protects the important gsquare. 1 8 ...

e7e5

With With this move Black has carrie out the strategcally important impo rtant thrust thrus t in the centre an now Wite faces the problem of how to justi his previous play play n exchange at e e  woul yiel yiel Black a goo goo  game ue to of the weakness on c but on the other han 19... 19...ex4 ex4 is threatened an the pawn on c c  woul fall fall all the same. However However Whte ha alreay alre ay fores foreseen een these thes e ifculties ifcul ties whle playing playing c4c5 on hs 1th move an now procees in sacricial style by giving up all the protection of his centre pawns in an attempt to break the efensive wall surrouning Blacks ng. 19.-g5!

e8e7

fte fterr 19 1 9 ... ...  f8 White White woul woul not continue with 20h3 20 h3 h6 h 6 21 2 1 .x hxg hxg nor with 20. 20.  xh <xh xh  21 2 1 .h3 <g8 g8 22.x 22 .x ex4 ex4 in both b oth case c asess with with quite goo play for Black. But instea as in the game wth 20.f4! ex4 21.f5. In this case Black woul lack the efensive resource 21..xc5 that occurs in the game ue to 22.x which now threatens mate in three by 23h6 followe by g8. 20.-f4!

The iea behin Whites attacking plan! With a ouble pawn sacrice Wht Whtee starts to exert exer t strong strong pres pressure sure on the fle an especiall es peciallyy on the point whose efence causes Black great ifculties Even though later analysis analysis prove that Black has suf s ufcient cient ef  efensive ensive resource reso urcess against this attack Whites strategy shoul be consiere to be fully justie

FIRST CYCLE

7

First of l, the attack ensur en sures es Whte at leas le astt equality. equality. Secondly Sec ondly,, after the acceptance acce ptance of the pawn pawn sacrices, sacric es, the complexty of the variat variation ionss that occur makes it very dfcul dfcultt for Black to nd the right defenc defence.e. 20 ... 21.f4

e5xd4

21.. 21. . .

d7xc5?

The decisiv deci sivee mistake, after after whch whch Whte's Whte's attack breaks bre aks through. White was threatenng to play 22.x or 22.fxg6, against whch Black has a variety of defences. But most of them are insufcient, as for example 21 .. .  22.fxg6 hxg6 23.h3 or 21 ...f6 f6 22.fxg6 hxg6 23.xf6 xf6 24.xd4, 24.xd4, but but aso 21 . . .gxf5 .gxf5 22.xf 22. xf5, 5, or 21 2 1 . . . e5 22. 2 2.ff6 wou would ld yiel yieldd Whit Whitee a winnng attack. However, Black had the interesting defensive resource 21...xc5 in reserve, whch would offer him quite sufcient defensive chances. f thereaf thereafte terr 22.c 1 , then then 22... 22 ...d6 d6 defends the g6point and thwarts a drect drect threats; threats ; and if 22. 22 .  x , then there there would would follow follow 22 . . . d3 d3 23.h1 23.h 1 c2 and now a position occurs where White, curiously enough, does not have have a wining wining continuation.  number of masters, masters, includng Simagin and and Bronstein, Bron stein, have analyed analyed ths position thoroughly without ndng a winnng continuaion for Whte. For example, 24.h6 h8 25.xc2 dxc2 26.xd7 xd7 27.f6

KRS KRS - SML SMLOV OV

73

oud indeed ve White a inng positon, but instead of captuing immedatey immedatey,, Back pays 26 . . . c1 =! thating Whtes hoe plan. n genea, the continuation 24.h6 h8 25.f6 xf6 26.xf6 xb3 27 .axb3 xe4 is consideed con sideed to be b e the best ava avaabe abe fo fo Whte, Whte , but even hee hee a winni winning ng idea cannot be seen; if fo exampe 28. 28 .d1 d1,, then 28.. . ee8 and it appeas White is unabe to stengthen his attack. urthemo urthemore re after 21 . . . xc5 White can ty the inteesting attacng continuation 22.e5 hch seems to give hm exceent chances. f for exam examp pee 22 . . . xe5, xe 5, then then 23.x 23 .xd4 d4,, if 22 . . .xe5 then 23.fxg6; but if Back Back pays pays 22 ..... . d3 23. 23 .h1 h1 xe xe,, then 24.xd3 xb2 x b2 25. 25 . fxg6 xg6 ! wi wins. ns. Hoeve, aso afte 22.e5 Back has a sufcient defence, namey the queen queen saci s acice ce 22 . . .xe5! 23.xd4 2 3.xd4 xd4! xd4! 24.xd4 24.xd4 xd4 xd4 2.h 2. h11  f6 and Back has a good game, with a ook bishop and to pawns fo the queen. om the ines above, it becomes appaent hy on the 18th move Whte Whte shoud have have eteated the bishop bish op to c1 inste ins te of b2. In I n that that case the gk g kgh ghtt oud oud have have been b een potected and afte afte 21 2 1 . . .xc5 White coud siply have payed 22.f 22 .fxg6 xg6 th a winnng winnng positon po siton.. But l these possibiities ae much easie to nd in a subsequent anlysis, athe than ovetheboad duing the game. Thus no geat citicism should be made of Whte o Blacks play. 22.3-h3

h7-h5

Afte Afte 22 . . . h6, 23. 2 3. f6 ins, fo exam example ple 23 . . . hxg5 24.f 24. fxg7 xg7 xg7 25 2 5 .xd4, o also also 23 . . .xf6 xf6 24.xf6 24. xf6 hxg 25.xd4 25 .xd4. 23.-

g7-h6

This move move loses los es ithout ithout a ght, but Back no onge had any sais s aisffactoy defence. defence. If fo exampe exampe 23 . . .  xe4, then 24. 2 4.ffxe7 folowed by d7 wins wins,, and if 23 .. . e5 then simpy simpy 24.x 24. x!.!. The most stubbon defence defence was off offeed by 23 . . . e6 but even so Whte ns afte the continuation 4.xe6 4. xe6 xe6 25.f 25 .fxxg7, since 25 . . . c5 loses to 26. 26 .x x!! x 27 2 7 . . 1  e 7 28.. 24.xe7

h6xg5

FIRST CYCLE CYCLE

74

25.h3-!

Insead afer he mmedae 25g3, Black would sll be able o defend defend hmself by 25   e3 26 26 h1 h1 e8 e 8 Bu now now he has problem problemss n def de fendng he  pon po n 25 ...

-

If ns nsea eadd 25  \xa2, hen 26g3 e3 27xe3 xb2 28\f4 wns; Black also lose l osess n  n exacly exacly he same way way afer afer 25   e3 26h1 xa2 27\xe3 27 \xe3 \xb2 28\ 2 8\ff4 Black no no longer has any defence defence 26.b2xd4 27.h2-h4

c5-d7

Blac resied.

fe ferr 27   xh4, 28\f4 wns anoher pece  very neresng game, whch I consder my best achevement n the ournamen

BI BINNIK NNIK  EUW EUWE

75

No 4. SemiSla Semi Slavv Defence Defence

M. Bonni

M. Euwe

Te Hague, 4h Mch 1948 .d2d4 2.c2c4

d7d5 e7e6

Previously Previously Euwe mainy utilied the Slav Slav Def D efence ence by 2 . . . c6, or chos chos  to play play 1  . .  f6 on the th e rst move move and contin continued ued wit withh either the Nimo Nimo  ndian or Grnfed Defences But in this tournament the exWorld Champion gave up his previous repertoire in favour of different, more experimental, opening systems As the current and several following games show, such a strategy is not especially suited to Euwe's playin style, and only brought trouble for himself. �g8 c7c6

The continuatio continuationn considered theoretica theoretically lly strongest stronges t is 4    c cxd xd and after 6e3 it leads to a position that Botvinik very much enjoys playing, and it has brought him exceent results Hence Euwe's desire to avoid these lines is fully understandable and, in my opinion, also correct. Moreover, it was unlikely that Botvinnik would use the system  .g dxc4 6. 6 . e4 b 7 .e h6, where theory, theory, it's true, has not reached a nal consensus, but which he likes to play with Black 5.e2e3

�b8d7

Here Here   . . a6 6c 6 c bd7  bd7 74 7 4 a b  b e leads to to ver veryy sharp sharp play play, as in the the game eshevskyKeres from the third cycle. In addition, a transition into the Stonewa S tonewallll Def De fence by  .    e4 6 d3 f is possible po ssible and is is a quite satisfactory continuation for Black after the closing in of White's c bishop by the move move e2e3. e2e3 . 6. d3 d3

b4

IRT CYCLE

76

Ts f  fnc nc,, which attact boa bo a attntion aft th Euw-Akhin match in 937 9 37,, is ly payab payab fo Back, athough athough not without ctain isks. isks . In my opinion, Euw Euw ma th wong wong cision h whn choosing choo sing such a ha positiona pos itiona in. in. Bcau B caus s mo opn an an posit posi tionay ionay ca positions suit s payng sty btt, of appoximaty th sam kin as th ons that Capabanca onc pf to pay. Thfo I biv th mos m ostt suitab suitab  continuation fo Euw's Euw's paying paying sty was a tansition tans ition to th an Df D fnc by 6 . . . xc4 7.xc4 b5 8.3 8. 3 a6, a 6, as occu in th gam btwn th sam pays in th thi cyc. Evn though Back has ha ba xpincs xp incs in th an Df D fnc in cnt tounamnts, tounamnts, I sti o not biv that ths opning is as ba as its cunt putation.

7.- Whit has to mak this mov mov at onc, sinc s inc fo xamp xamp  aft aft 7.0-0 7. 0-0 0-0 0- 0 8.a3 Back cou favouaby tanspos to th Cgoin Dfnc with 8 .. . 6 6 9 .4 xc4 0.xc4 5. 5 . Th xchan xchang g on c3, c 3, whch whch was pay pay in a simila position po sition by An in his match against agains t Euw, is niti  nitivy vy favouab fo Wht. inc, in aition to having th bishop pai, h aso has goo chancs of attacng Back's cnt with th oub c pawns. pawns. In thi gam, Euw Euw soon soo n gain an avantag avantag,, an an  Akhin Akhin only manag to  scap sca p aft a ifcut ifcu t ngam a pawn own .

7 ...

b4-a5

BNNIK BNNIK - EUWE EUWE

77

8.dl-c2 t is ifcut to justi this mov, sinc Whit is not oing anything to prvnt prvnt Back' Back'ss stratgica stratgica pan of . . .xc4 foow by ...6-5. ...6-5. It was bttr b ttr to simpy simpy pay pay 8.0 8 .0-0, -0, whn Back wou wou hav hav ha grat ifcutis in xcuting xcuting his opnin o pningg ia. If 8 . . . 7 Whit can proc with 9. 9 .55 foow by f4, f4, an aftr 8 . . .c7 9 .4 th continuat continuation ion 9 . . . xc4 xc4 .xc4 .xc4 S i s not goo bcaus of th simpl xchan xchang g on o n S . In th gam Kottnaur-Kotov, oscow 947, Whit immiaty pay 8.b4 c7 9.b2 0-0 0.c2, but this was ony bncia to Back's pans, an aftr aftr  . . . xc4 .xc4 S Back ha a goo gam.

8 ...

 d8-e7  d8- e7

Now nothing can b on to stop th ...6-5 ...6-5 avanc, sinc 9.5 wol wol not o,  o, bcaus bcau s of 9 ..... . x5 x5 0.x5 0. x5 g4 g4 .f . f4 xc4 2.xc4 xS! foow by ...h4. ...h4. Aftr th rmoval of th qun from , th S ap is no ongr vry strong, sinc aftr an xchang, th strong g4-squar has ha s bn ma availab availab for for Back's kight. kight.

9 . cl-d2 cl -d2

d5xc4

On rawback of th th opning systm sys tm chos cho snn by Back is th th fact that h is forc to carry out th manouvr . . . xc4 xc4 folow folow by ... . . 65 6 5 bf b for or Whit has pay 34. This vs Wht Wht th opportun oppor tunity ity to maintain maintain th tnsion in th cntr for a ong tim. If Back, for xamp, woul pay pay 9 . . . 0-0 0.0-0, h shou sttranspos to th gam continuaon with with 0. . . xc4, sinc s inc th prparatory pr paratory mov mov 0 . . . c7, as avocat by Romanovsky, woul yi Wit an g aftr .cx5 xS 2.b5!, thratning b4.

1 0.d3xc4

e6-e5

Back has bn ab to carry out s opning ia, but spit this, h has not bn compty comp ty fr fr from th ifcutis rlat to voping th bishop from c8. Thanks to th fact that hs pawn s stans on 3, Whit can maintain th tnsion in th cntr, an strngthn his

IRT CYCLE

7

position rthr. Back, on th othr han, is forc to b th on who rass th tnsion in th cntr, if h wants to vop his bishop fom c8.

11.0-0

0-0

12Jal-el Whit pacs s rooks in attacng positions, whr thy wi atr support th avanc of th  an fpaw fpawns. ns. or or this this rason, it is car that th qun's rook ha to b b  pay to  , an not th king king's's rook, which wil atr b n on th f-. though Whit achivs spni succss with th txtmanouvr, it is stil not th strongst continuation an, on th contrary, vs Back th chanc to quaiz th posio p osionn compt comp ty y.. It is apparnt that Back's main stratca pan is th ...S ... S-4 -4 avanc, avanc, as th ...x4 ... x4 xchang wou opn up th - an v Whit a car avantag. This avanc is howvr not possib at th momnt u to th simp rpy x4, as Back's bishop on aS is unprotct. Thrfor Thrfor on cou c ou xpct xpc t Back to want to mov mov th aSbi a Sbishop, shop, most aturay aturay to th c7 squar. s quar. Wht ha to thwart ths, an it was possib with th positionay usf us fu rtrat 2.a2!. 2.a2! . Now 2 . . . c7 is no ongr possib u to th rpy rpy 3. 3 . bS b S , an scony sc ony Back Back has has to consir th thrat of 3. 3. SS .

BO BONNIK  EUWE

79

f fo xamp 2 . . . b6, thn 3a! an Black has un out of asonab movs. It sms s ms that Wt cou hav hav maintain an opning o pning ava avantag ntag w 2.a2!, 2.a2 !, but th t h g g  gaua gauay y vanish vanishs s aft aft th hasty txt-mov txt-mov.

1 2 ...

a5-c7

Now Back aay thatns ...5 ... 5-4, -4, which which Whit Whit has to pvnt. pvnt.

133-e4 nsta of ths xchang, which ass Back's position, 3.3 cam into consiation. consiation. o xamp: xamp: 3 . .  8  .  8 4. 4 .x x55  xS x S  5 .  x5 x 5 foow by -f4 an 34. But also in this cas Back woul gt a tnab position po sition aft 5 . . .x5 6.f4 hS, sinc h wou no on xpinc any pobms in voping voping his pics p ics..

1 3 ... 14.c2xe4

fxe4 a7-a5

An unncssay unncs say oss o ss of tim, sinc th "that of 5.  5.b4 b4 was was nothing nothing Back n to thwat. thwat. H h cou hav hav pay pay th simp 4 . . . h8, with with th th  pan ... . .£-f .£ -fS.S. If now now 5.b4, thn 5 ... c5 6.xc5 aS (aso 6 . . . fS folow by ...xcS ...xcS coms in i n consiati consiation) on) an th compicat compications ions aising aising aft aft 7 .c6 .c 6 axb4 8.cx7 8. cx7 x7 a a  not angous fo Back. Back . With With th bishop bis hop stann stanngg on o n c4, aft aft 4. . . h8 Wit cannot pay 5.x5  xS 6.4 6. 4 bcaus of 6 . . . f5. f5. akog akogono onovv commns commns 4. . . 6 6 5.c3 5 .c3 x4 x4 6 6.x4 .x4  f6 with with a oughy oughy qua qua gam. Among Among oth o th things things,, 4. . . f6 5.h4 4 6.5  6 is aso pos p ossib sib,, an th th appas to t o b no n o wa way fo fo Whit Whit to obta ob tain in an avantag. Th txt-mov, athough an unncssay wast of tim, styis Back suf s ufcint cint f  fnsiv nsiv soucs s oucs..

1 5 .c4-a2 Aft 5.c3 th woul folow 5 ... ... f6 6.h4 4 7.5 7. 5 6, an an

IRT CYCLE

0

Whit must ith xchang th bishop o tat it to 2. Howv, aft th txtmov, in ts vaiation Whit wou b ab to pac th bishop on th stong b-squa -s qua..

1 5 ...

d7-f

With With th bishop bisho p staning staning on a2, a2, th py py 5 . . . h8 h8 wou wou b ss s s satisfactoy fo Back than on th pvious mov. Wht wou not answ it by 6.c3 f5 7.c2 4 8.2 f6 with a goo gam fo Back, but insta 6.x5 x5 7.4 with som pospcts of an avantag. avantag. I f Back, fo xamp, poc p ocs s with with 7 . . . c5, c5 , thn not 8. 8.  f5 xf5 xf5 9.xf5 9.xf5 6!, 6! , no 8.b5 8.b 5 f5 9.c2 9. c2  ! foo oow w by ...xh2 ...xh2 an Back has assu himsf of at ast a aw, but insta Whit shoul choos th shap 8.f4!. Ths mov is vy awwa fo Back, sinc aft 8 ...cx4 ... cx4 9.x4 f5 20.c2 b6 2.c3, as w as aft aft 8 ... g6 9.x7 9.x7 x7 20.b5 20. b5,, Whit Whit obtains obtains a sig sight ht g. g. Phaps vn stong continuations fo Back can b foun in th compcat vaiations vn abov, but th txtmov is in any cas simp simp an by no mans j opazs opazs Back' Back'ss position.

16.e4-h4 17.-e5!

e5-e4

 n pawn sacic; if it is accpt, it wou  Whit xcnt

BINNIK BINNIK - EUWE EUWE



agonas fo s bishops, togth with th opn f- fo th ooks, an assu as su him of o f a vy stong attack. attac k. Natu N atua ay y Wht ha to pan this sacic a coup of mo mov vss in avanc, avanc, sinc sinc  in th psnt psn t position h no ong ha any choic; aft 17.g5 h6 18.h3 6 Back wou insta hav ha th mo favouab position .

1 7...

c7xe5?

It is amazing amazing that tha t a pay pay of Euw's Euw's stngth stngth cou ass a sss sss th th  suting suting position po sition so inaccuat inacc uaty. y. Without having to go sp  spciay ciay  py py into th position, it shou b appant that th foowing concntat attack again against st Back's king is woth at ast th t h sacic s acic  pawn, pobaby pob aby vn vn mo. mo. Evn Evn if it wou wou b too bav bav to cam that Back's Back's position p osition is ost os t aft aft accping acc ping th sacic s acic,, on can howv c ctai taiyy caim that fom fom now on unti unti th n of o f th t h gam gam h has h as to ght with with ifcuti ifcutiss an an  is unab to sto compt quaity, vn with th bst fnc. uch a spat attmpt wou hav bn justi ony if Back ack btt fnsiv soucs. But as a matt of fact, Back possss a fuy satisfactoy position an simply ha to compt th vopmnt of hs qunsi with th movs 17... 17...6 6 1 8.b 1 S. any commntatos consi this position as favouab fo Whit, but it is ifcut to pov ths in any conct way way.. o xamp 1 9 .c3 .c 3 f8 20.f 20. f3 bS (o aso aso 20 . . .x5 x5 2 1 .x5 7)  7) an Back th thatns atns to initiat goo countpay on th qunsi, o 19.f4 a8 20.g4 7 folow olow by ... . . -f - f6 . Th immat 1 9 . f3 wou wou not b angous ang ous fo Back ith, sinc h aso h os not hav to accpt th pawn sacic, an can insta simpy simpy poc wit withh 1 9 ...f ... f8 8,, an if 20. 20 . fx4, thn thn 20. . . x4.

18.d4xe5 1 9.d2-c3

We7xe5 We5-e7

Natuay not 19... 19...hS hS 20. 2 0.xf xf66 winning winning a pic. pic .

20.-

f-d5

 futh opnin o pningg of ins ins by 20 . . . xf3 was of cous too angous

FIRT CYCLE



fo Back. Fo xamp: 21.b1! h6 22.x S 2.g! an Wht n. But 20... 20...6 6 cam nto sous consaton an f 21.b1 thn 21 .. .  55 22.x4 fS fo foow ow  by by ... . . xc an Back has scap fom th wost. wost. Hnc t has has to answ 20 . . .6 by 21 . fx4 xa2 22.xf 22. xf66 wth a vaty of attacng possibitis whch howv o not v any ca c a outcom. Fo xamp: xamp: 22 . .  f8  . f8 (ft 22 . . . 6 Wht Wht shou sho u not pay 2.g6 2.g6 u to 2. . . f6! but nsta 2.g thatnng 24.xg7) 2.g 2.g (If 2.f1 2. f1 thn smpy smpy 2 2. . .x4. But Bu t now ths ths captu cap tu wou wou b answ answ by 24.6! 24. 6! wnn wnnn ng. g.) 2. . .f8 n Back has bn ab to cat a stuy fnsv posion among oth thngs thatnng 24... 24 ... 6   6.. Ev Ev  og og t t  poso po so v v gat gat abov pos p os  Back Ba ck a fcut fcut fv tak t as pap s pfab to h am tat as aft  ttmov  Back acks ay  of acv coutpay.

21.h4xe7 22.xe4

d5xe7

22... .. .

b7-b6?

Th csv mstak whch avs a opn ns n Wht's hans an maks Back's futu fnsve task hopss.

BOINNIK BOINNIK  EUWE EUWE



so ba was was 22 . . .6 bcaus of o f 2.x6 2.x6 fx6 fx6 24.x 24.x  \x 25. 2 5.f1 f1  \g8 26.1 an Wht's ook pntats th 7th ank. Th connuat connuaton on 22 . . . g6 2. 2 .11 g4 24.6 wou as asoo hav vn vn Back Back a hopssy hops sy passv pas sv poston. pos ton. But th mmat mmat 22 . . .g4 wou hav off qut goo chancs of savng savng th gam. gam . It I t cou hav hav bn b n foow oow by 2.f 2. f44 hS 24.g4 g6 g6 25. 25 . h4 hS 26.\h2 26. \h2 \h7 \h7 27.g 27 .g11 f6 an Back has has jus j ustt bay manag manag to fn a th attack ponts; hnc n ths n nsta of 25.h4 Wht shou shou pay th mo mo most-oong most-oong 25. 25. 11 a8 26.x8 2 6.x8 x8 27.xa5 27 .xa5 wth an xta xt a pawn pawn but vn n ths cas cas  Back wou wou achv achv som countp countpay ay aft aft 27 . . .  11  fo foow ow  by by ... . . c. But th pawn sacc ma by Botvnk appanty thw Euw so offb offbaanc aanc that aft aft accptng acc ptng t t  h f  fn n hmsf hms f vy wak waky. y.

23.el-dl

e7-6

Pobaby Euw ntay pann to pay 2 . . .a7 at ths pont but ony now saw that ths s not possb u to 24.x!. Back's poston s howv howv aay aay ost ost  snc 2. . .6 24.x6 fx6 25.7 wou aso y Wht a won ngam.

24l-d6 25U- 26.e4-e5

c8-a6 a6-b5

Evn Evn ston s tong g than 26.7 26. 7 h  h 8 27. 2 7.5 5 whch whch Back wou answ answ wth 27.. . cS foow by ...a8 ...a8 wth som countp c ountpa ay. y.

26... 26 ...

6-e7

Back hops to pay ... ...SS an cos th a2-g8 agon agona a at th cost of of a pawn but Wht's foowng mov pvs hm of ths possbty. But But no btt was 26 . . . a8 27.6 fx6 28.7 x 29.xg7 \ 0.\x.

27.e3-e4!

c6-c5

4

FIRT CYCLE

Hopng fo 28.xb6 c6 but Wht os not vn v hs opponnt ths chanc.

28.e5-e6 29d6xb6

-f b5-c6

Ths nabs n abs a bautfu bautfu shng combnaton but bu t Back's Back's poston po ston was of cous ost n any any cas.

30b6xc6! 31.e6-e7t 32 .a2-d5 .a2-d5

e7xc6 - Bac resed.

ft ft 2 .. .8 . 8 .8 . 8 = x8 4.xc6 foow oow by 5.  5.5 5 Wht tans an xta pc.

5

Cyc  Ru 3 1/ Smysov-Bonn 

1 Reshevsk-Keres 0 Free: Euwe

The thi oun bought the the st  st oss fo the eae of the tounament. In the game ReshevskyKees White chose an oigna opening which howeve soon tanspose into the King's Inian Defence. By paness pay in the miegame Back gave his opponent the oppotunity to eveop a angeous initiative on the queensie that esute in the ceation of an unpeas unpeasant ant positiona weakne weakness ss on b6. By combining combining an an atack on he queensie an in the cente Reshevsky set up a numbe of angeous angeous theats thea ts to Back which he was was unabe to thwat thwat in time toube. toube. Be Beffoe the th e inevitab inevitabe e mate Kees esigne. esigne. mysov an Botvinnik paye the Gnfe Defence whee White emege with the somewhat fee fee position po sition.. In I n the miegame mysov achieve achieve ea hopes hop es of o f an avantage avantage thanks to Botvinnik' B otvinnik'ss unf un favouaby avouaby pace pieces on the queensie. But he theeafe continue inexacty an enabe Back to occupy the stong s tong suppot point poi nt 5 with a knight. knight. Late mysov i inee win win a pawn as a esut  esut of Back's caees caee s s pay pay but the the stong s tong posi po sition tion of Bac' B ac'ss knight togethe togethe  wit withh the the geat activi ac tivity ty of his his othe o the pieces piece s ensue en sue Botv Bo tvinni innikk ha ha suf s ufcie cient nt countepa countep ay. y. Afte Afte the ajounment of the game a aw quicy occue Afte the thi oun Kees is st in the ea with 2 points. He is foowe oowe by Bo Botvi tvinnik nnik an an  Re Re shevsky shevsk y 1 / / mysov 1 an an  Euwe Euwe 0.

FIRT CYCLE

6

No 5. Grned Deence V Smysov

M. Bonn

Te He, 8h and lOh Mch 1948 l.d2-d4 2.c2-c4

8-f 7-6

I ct tims Botviik has us th f Dfc quit ay a usuay usuay asws asws 1 .4 with with ith th Dutch 1 . . . 6 foow by ...fS ... fS o with a oma oma Qun' Qu n'ss ambit 1 . . . 5 2.c 2 .c44 6 fo foow ow by by ... . . c6. mysov o th oth ha utiis th f Dfc at vy pos po s sib occasio occ asio  a is fami amia a with this this opg opg ow ow to its sma sm as stt tail. s Botvik sti chos to pay tis opg with Back o ca biv h ha som ovtis i sv. But th foowig pat of th gam pocs aog oma kow paths wh Wht as usua us ua i i th i i  chos chos  by Back Ba ck gts th s omwhat mo fav favouab positio.

3.bl-c3 4.l- 5.dl-b3

d7-d5 -7

Th mov b has aso bn pay at mov mov 4 but thn Back gts a goo gam by 4 . . . xc4 5.xc4 6 6.bS 6 .bS c6 c 6 ! . Th systm of  v vopmt opmt chos chos  by Whit has ha s i ecent tims tim s bcom b com highy highy fas fashionab hionab a w ca se s e it i amo amost st vy gam that bs th th Gf G f Df D fc. c . Hc th thotica iv ivstigatio stigatioss in this i i  a vy xtsiv xtsiv an ab a ath objc ob jctitiv v asss ass ssmet smet of th vaia vaiation. tion.

5 ... .. .

c7-c6 c7-c6

Th o continuatio which gives White the mor comfortabe gam withou withoutt any any isk. isk . Usua Us uay y 5 . . . xc4 6.xc4 00 7.e4 is paye h whn mysov away awayss uss the system of vopment vopment with 7 . . . g4 8. f7 an tis to carry out th ...7-e5 ... 7-e5 avanc. or tai

ML MLOV OV  BOTVINNIK BOTVINNIK

7

xpanatons of ths n w b gvn n th gams Botvnnkmysov fom th sco s con n cyc an Ks K smysov mysov fom fom th th cyc.

6.c4xd5

fxd5

Aft Aft 6 . . . cx5 7.g5 Back ns up wth a panfuy passv stup an can at bst ony hop fo quaty an vn ths ony aft a vy accuat accuat fnc fnc (BotvnnkFoh (BotvnnkFoh AO AO 1 98). 98) . Th txtmov txtmov as to a v v gam wh Wht Wht thanks to hs stong pawn cnt tans th btt poston.

7.e2-e4

d5-b6

A tanston nto nto th "man " man n of th Gnf Gnf Df D fnc by 7 . . . xc 8.bxc 8. bxc cS cS  but wth th xta tmpo tmpo 1 b fo Wt s of cous too sky fo Back.

8 .cl-e3 8.2 8.2 s aso possb po ssb wth th ntnton ntnton of cast cas tn ngg as ay ay as pos po s sb sinc th captu captu 8 . . .x4 s vy sky u to 9.h6. In th gam Ks KsDubnn Dubnn Lnnga Lnnga 1 947 947  Back nsta pay pay 8 . . .6 9.c2 g4 but ths contnuaton s aso not angous fo Wht. Insta of th ubous ubous pawn sacc sacc 1 0. xf xf 1 1 .gx x4 as pay n th gam Whit cou hav chosn th stong 10.5 wth a goo postion.

8 ... 9.Wb3-c2

c8-e6 e6-c4

n th gam mysovLntha Lnnga 1947 Back st pay 9 . . . 00 00 1 01 0 1 an an ony ony now now 1 0 ...c4 ... c4 but was aso unab to achv compt quaty. Th systm of vopmnt chosn by Botvnnk n ths gam s hay any btt; appanty th who opnng n s nfavouab fo Back.

1 0 .-e2  -e2

FIRT CYCLE



mysov aso pay n th sam way aganst Lntha n th abovmnton abovmnton  gam. Howv Howv th smp xchang 1  .xc4 xc4 1 1 .f4 .f4 ooks btt bcas th captu on 4 4 s thn obvosy obvosy mpossb mpos sb an Back soon s oon o at w hav hav to os tm tm by tatng tatng th knght fom fom c4. c4 .

1 0 ...

b8-a6

Lntha vop hs kght to 7 whch ss o nata. As th ft cos of th ga shows th back knght stans vy nfavoaby o a6 a th s o goo way to bng t to th ga.

11.0-0

0-0

ppanty Botvnnk abstan fom castg a n fa of Wht castng qns sc Back's ngs wo not hav bn w nogh potct potct  aganst th cong attack. Bt B t aft aft Wht has cast ca st kngs t s compty saf fo Back to cast.

12-d1

d8-d6

13.b2-b3 Wht has mg fom th opng wth an avantag an hs fut task s to pvnt Back fom fng hmsf fom hs camp

ML MLOV OV - BOTV BOTVINNIK INNI K

9

osition. Ths fring wou ony b possib with th xcuton of a awn avanc most iky ...£-fS ... £-fS whn Back among othr things o assur msf of th c support point 5. Th xcution of th ...c6-c5 ...c6-c5 or ... ... 7- 5 thrusts is i s  on th othr han sign signcan canty ty mor ifct ifct an th rsuting r suting ff ffct wou aso b smar. nc Wht has to mainy concntrat on thwartng th ...£ ... £ -f - f5 trst. For this this uros uro s it wou wou  b us us  just jus t in in cas cas  to pac on of of te rooks on th    -squar. It was was thrfor thrfor bttr to ay ay a o n the  th mov foo foo by a atr f f  . As A s th rgrouping of the rooks in th currnt positon wou invov an unncssary wast of tm th attacng attmpt against th back kingsi by 1.c aso cam in consiraton consir aton thratnng thratnng h6 as w w as a s an vnua f4. f4. he txt-mov is not ba ithr but it conr con rms ms that Whit is sti not comty car rgarng his furthr pans. An in such positions an sciay sciay w-thought-out w-thought-out an for furthr furthr pay is ncss nc ssary ary in orr to incras Whit's sma positona avantag.

1 3 ... 14.c3xe2

 c4xe2 a8-c8

Th immat immat  4 ...f5 ... f5 wou hav bn vry risky in viw viw of  -ff4-5 4- 5 . ith th txt-mov Back B ack taks up u p a waiti waiting ng gam.

1 5 .e3e 3-4 With ts bishop manouvr Wht ony chass th back qun to a bttr positon an nabs Back to win tim to prpar th cnta thrusts. It was was thrfore thrfore bttr to simpy simpy pay pay  5 . ac1 with with a furthr furthr strngth strngthng ng of Whit's Whit's ositon. o siton.

1 5 ...  4-e5 1 6. 

d6-e6 -f

Of cours not 16... 16...x5 x5 17.x5 with a car avantag to Wht.

 .e5-3 1 7   18.e2-4

 -

90

FIRT FI RT CYCLE

Thwa Thwat tn ngg 1 8 ...f5 ... f5 1 9. 9. g5 as w as 1 8 ...5 ... 5 1 9.x5 9. x5 u u to a subsqunt subsqunt . Back's poston pos ton s st s t camp camp but as a sut of Wht's bshop manouv manouv h has bn b n ab to cat th postona postona thats thats of o f . . .  7 S o ...f6f5 ... f6f5 whch aft cosponng ppaaton can tun out to b vy v y awkwa awkwa fo Wt. Wt .

1 8 ... 19.  4-d3

7-h6 f-!

N ow ts thust thu st s amost amos t foc foc snc s nc Wht Wht thatn to pay pay 20.c 20 .c55 wth a bg avantag. though Back now gans th stong Spont fo th knght an obtans som countpay Wht st stans btt thanks to hs mo favouabypac pcs.

20.d3-c5? Wth ths xchang whch mnats Back's wostpac pc an movs Wht's ast pawn from th cnt Wht thows away a hs avantag avantag.. It I t was ssnta s snta to to my ay 20.xf5 20. xf5 (20. (20. 11 s aso a goo contnua contnuato ton) n) 20 .. .xf5 .xf5 2 1 .  dS 22.5 22. 5 fo oow ow  by a a   an Wht tans s  s avantag. n th gam Back now achvs suf s ufcnt cnt countpay.

20... 21.c2xe4

xe4

No btt was 21.5 S 22.xb7 cS! 2.xc5 xcS 24.xc5 xcS wth an qua gam. ghty mo pomsng on th oth han was 2 1 . x4 whch whch wou kp mo pcs on th boa an av Back's pobm wth th a6knght unsov.

21.. 21. . . 22.d4xc5

a6xc5 b6-d5

Ths stong suppot supp ot pont fo th knght now now compnsat comp nsatss fo Wht's Wht's pssu ps su agans aganstt th wak wak pawn. In I n aton aton Back aso has ossb os sbts ts fo countpay on th f. Th poston can aay b assss as appoxmaty qua.

ML MLO OV - BOINNIK BOINNIK

23dl-el 24. 24.-e5

9

c8-e8 h6-4

But now Back fs too bav an h stats to xpmnt which n th n costs hm a pawn. Th bshop stans unfavouaby at f4 an thf thfo o 24. . . g7 ha to b b  pay wth an qua gam.

25 . e5-2!

-

25 ...5 ... 5 cou aso hav bn answ by 26.c4 foow by 2.

26.e4-c4

e7-e5

Evn though t s ca that ths pawn w soon o at b ost ths avanc s ssnta fo Back n o to cat som kn of countpay. In th cas of a passv fnc Whit wou smpy oub hs ooks on th - an aso thatn to stat a kings attack. Back n up n fcutis ony bcaus h tansf hs bshop to th unfavouab f4-squa wh n th mantm ts wht countpat took conto of th stong agona am n th cton of Back's kng. kng.

27.el-e4?

FIRT CYCLE

9

Wht pacs hs rook on an unfortunat squar whr Back atr gts th opportun oppo rtunty ty to attack t wth gan of tmpo. ftr 27 _2! Wht wou on th othr han hav achv goo wnnng chancs snc th smp 28.a1 wnnng a pawn s thratn an th attackng att attmp mptt 27 . . . 4 s not sufcnt for Back aftr 28a1 xf 29x8. Back wou smpy os a pawn an t s vry oubt f h cou manag to achv sufcnt countr-chancs n th ngam.

27... .. . 28al-el

 -   - d5-f!

Naturay Back uss th rst possb opportunty to forc th xchang xchang of quns uns  at th cost cos t of a pawn pawn spca sp cay y as Wht's Wht's pcs w w thraf th raftr tr n up unco u ncomf mfortaby ortaby t up. Th Th  nsung n sung ngam no ongr ong r of o ffrs any wnnn wnnngg chancs chanc s spt spt  Wht's xtra pawn.

29.ct 30e4-e2 31.b3-b4

 f-d7

Of cours not 1  1 .x5 .x5?? f7 wn wnn nng ng..

31.. 31. . . 32.-3 33.a3xb4

a7-a5 a5xb4 -e7!

Back mmaty mmaty gvs gvs up th pawn. s comp co mpnsaon nsaon Wht's Wht's pcs pc s w w b t up an Back Ba ck w w gt countrpay on th ght squars squar s.

34.2-3 35.xe5

4-h6

Naturay Naturay not 5.x5 5 .x5?? g7 an Back ws ws .

3 5 ... 36.-4

h6-7 d7-f

ML MLOV OV - BOTV BOTVINNIK INNI K

9

Th kng knght ht now now tuns to S  S an a n Wht Wht oss os s hs h s ast as t hops hop s of o f wnn wnnng ng.. Th foowng pat of th gam s asy unstoo.

37.l- 38e2-e4 39e4-e3 40e3-b3

f-d5 d5-f f-d5 6-5

Catng anoth waknss n Wht's poston n th shap of f4.

41.- 42el-e4 43e4-e2 44e2-e4 45e4-e2 Draw.

e-£ d5-f f-d5 d5-f f-d5

FIRT CYCLE

94

No 6. Kngs ndan nd an Deence Deence S. Reshsk

P

Keres

Te He He 8h Marc Marchh 1 948 l.gl- 2.c2-c4 3.-d3!

g8-f b7-b6

A itsti its tigg opg ia. ia . Aft Aft 3 . 4 o o 3.g3 3 .g3 a Qu's Ia opig op ig wou occu w Back os ot fac fac ay majo ifcutis. Wit t txtmov Wit xpoits t fact tat t mov ...b7b6 ...b7b6 os ot t togt togt w wit t cotiua cotiuatio tio . . .75 a tfo Wit wi cay out t 24 avac. Tis maouv of cous os ot yt giv Wit a opig avatag maiy u to t tmpo ost o 2 34. But Back is fac wit a totay w k of o f opg pobm wc is ot at a asy to sov at t boa b oa wit a imit imit amout of tim. 3. . .

g7-6

Wit tis mov Back as fo t Kig's Ia Dfc w is xta tmpo ...b7b6 ... b7b6 os ot av ay sigicat impotac. Tfo Tfo simp simp was 3 ... c5 4.4 c6  c6 5.c 5. c33 6 a i t cas of a 34 avac Back wou aciv stog pssu agaist Wt's ct.

4.e2-e4

d7-d6

If 4 . . .g7 t S.S g4 6.4 foow by 23 cou bcom awkwa.

5.b 5.b 1-c3 1 -c3 6.d3-d4

-g7

This This avac avac  toug toug a oss os s of tmpo tmpo is soo so o o at at foc foc if Wit

REHEVK REHEVKY Y  KERE KERE

95

ants to tak up th batt fo th cnt. Th gam has now clay tansp tanspos os  nto th Kng' Kng'ss Inan Dfnc Dfnc wth wth th xta mov mov ..  . b7b6 fo Back wch as mnton abov os not off hm any majo bnts.

6... 7 .   -e2 8.d1-c2 9.d4xe5

0-0 c8-b7 e7-e5

ack's xta tmpo n vopng vopng th bshop to b 7 at a t ast a st has ha s th ffct that Wt n contast to th nomal Kng's Inan Dfnc immaty has to sov th tnson n th cnt. Back thatn 9 ...x4 ... x4 an 9.5 b7 foow by ... hS  h S wou wo u hav ha v vn v n s s  to a poston wh Back sms to hav th mo favouab pospcts. th th th txtxchan txt xchang g Wht Wht aso os  os not gt an g g  snc f  f Back B ack ants h can cat an almos almostt symmtca symmtca pawn stuctu s tuctu n th cnt that wou y compt quaty.

9 ... .. . 1 0 .cl cl -e3

d6xe d6 xe55

Of cous not 10.x5 x4 an th avantag wou tt n Back's favou.

1 0 ...

-e8

Fom now now on Back stats sta ts to pay pay nxacty an nay ns hmsf hms f n insupab fcuts. 1 0 ...c5 ... c5 1 1 c8 1 2. 5 c6 was suf su fcnt fo quat quatyy but f ack want to choos th pan ut n th gam h mmaty ha ha to poc poc t thh 1 0 ... b7  b 7 an ony aft 1  11 pay .. 8  8 ; but b ut f Wt Wt nsta pays pays 1 1 .00 .0 0 Back gans m m to cay out th manouv manouv  11...c6 12.f1 c7 wnnng a vauab tmpo compa to th gam contnuaton.

11.0-0

b8-d7

FIRT CYCLE

96

so h Back cou cou hav hav poc poc wth wth 1 1 .  .c5 .c 5 fo oow ow  by .. . b8 c64 f h wsh, wth a oughy qua gam. Wth th txtmov, Back s amng fo mo, an hops to ut th wass of th 4pont wth th manovr  7  7  f8   6  But Bu t whn wh n tang ta ng nto n to consaton cons aton that Wht s somwhat aha n vopmnt, vopmnt, an that Back hmsf aso has som waknsss on th quns, h cannot hav hav any any gat hop of o f succs succ sss with th xcuton xcuton of hs pa

12J-dl 13.2-4!

c7-c6

Wht has compt hs vopmnt an th th txtmov ntats an attack aganst Back's quns. Ths consttuts th ony poston po stonayasonab ayasonab contn co ntnuato uatonn h.

1 3 ...

d8-e7?

Onc agan an unncssay oss of tm, bcaus in o to cay out th manouv manouv ....   7 7 6 6,, th black qun has to potct th 5pa 5p awn fom th c7squa. Coct was thfo th mmat 1.. 1 ..c7, c7, wth th ntnton ... 7  7  f8  6 6 Thn Th n Back Ba ck o f c o u s s  ha ha  no as  ason on to woy about th 1 4.c5 4. c5 thust, as in at aton on to to 1 4.g4 . g4 t cou aso a so b answ wth th th smp 1 4 ..b5 .. b5 1 5.a4 5. a4 a6, an an Wh Wht t's's hops of an attack on th quns quns  hav vansh vansh 

REHEVK REHEVKY Y  KR KR

97

t ring the game I i not ike the move 1... 1...c7 c7 e to the ossibiity of 4.b5 since after 4... 4...cxb5 cxb5 5.xb5 White gets access to the the st s to ong ng 6oint. 6oint. ut instea instea of 14 14......cxb5 cxb5 Back can ca n simpy simpy pay  4 ...f8 ... f8 with a very goo game becase the exchange 5.bxc6 xc6 wo wo bring trobe ony to Wte.

14Jal-bl Now 4.b5? cxb5 5.cxb5 ac8 wo of corse be favorabe for ack.

1 4... 15.-a4

d7- e7-c7 e7-c7

Protecting the awn on e5 in orer to enabe ...e ... e6. 6. For ts ts prose  5 ... g4 g4 was not goo e to  6.2 6.2 as  6 ..... .  e6 wou wou now no w hav havee been b een answe answere re by by  7.h. 7. h. How Howev ever er  5 ... h5 h 5 aso came into consierat consieration ion or aso 15... 15...67 67 as ths kight is neee for the rotection of Back's qeensie.

16.b4-b5

e8-d8

De to the earier osses of tme ack is no onger abe to carry ot his his mai mainn  an an of  6 ... ...  e6 becase this wou wou  be answere answere by  7.bxc6 7. bxc6 xc6 xc6  8. 8. 55 x5 x5  9.ex 9. ex5 5 c5  c5 20.a5 an White White has the better better game thanks to his bisho air an attacking chances on the queensie. With the textmove ack tries to simpi the positon somewhat by exchanges exchanges on the e.  e.

17Jdlxd8 18.a4-a5 White co of cors c orsee not ay ay bxc6 foowe foowe by  5 5  neither neith er here nor on the revios move as Back in ths case cou simpy captue ce on 5. With the textmove Whte threatens to win immeatey with the contination axb6 foowe by bxc6.

FIRT CYCLE

9

1 8 ...

f-g4

Back cs to ty to sov th pobms n th poston by tactca mans mans howv ths ths s not n ot th most mo st succs succ s s fu cson whn w tak th appoachng tmtoub tmtoub  nto consaton c onsaton Thfo phaps smp was 8 8c5 c5 95 xS 20cx5 8 foow oow by by     6 an Back Back has achv a  ffns ns v poston pos ton wthout wthout wakss waks sss an Wt Wt has gat fcuts obtanng any a a avantag avantag ft ft th txtmov th poston pos ton bcoms bcom s vy compcat

19.a5xb6 20.e3-g5

a7xb6 -f?

 mstak that shuts Back's bshop compty out of th gam an wakns wakns th mpotant a2g8 agona agona 20 f6 21bxc6 xc6 ha to b pay an t s not ctan that Wht can manag to ut th waknss of th b6pawn n o to obtan an avantag Fo xamp: 22xf6 xf6 wth pssu aganst th 4pawn an thatnng f864 f864 o 222 7 an n any cas Back has th possbty to potct th b6pawn by cS cS ft ft th naccuat txtmov Back s wos wos 

21.b5xc6 22.g5-d2

b7xc6 f-

Back now has to contnu contnu  aggss aggss vy vy snc s nc fo fo nstanc ns tanc 22   6 wou y Wt a ca avanta avantag g aft 2b Fo xamp: 2    c5 24xb6 24xb6 xb6 xb6 25xb6 25 xb6 x4 26xc6  x2 x2 27x2 27 x2 x x22 28 28 xg xg44 ffSS n now 29h! fxg4 0hxg4 foow by 4 wou scu Wht a won ngam

23 . d2-g5 Natuay Natuay not not 2x 2 xff5 4 But f th mmat mmat 2h thn smpy smpy 2   fx4 24x4 f6 an Back has fo th momnt scap fom th wost

HEV HEVKY KY - RE RE

23 ...

99

8-e8

H 2. . .f6 was ba u to 24.h xgS 25.hxg4 foow by gxfS H wnnng a pawn. Th txt-mov s ncssay to b ab to answ 24.xf5 24.xf5 wth 24. . . 4.

24.h2-h3

24...

xe4

In tm-toub tm-toub  Back os not hav hav tm tm to cacuat lth compcat comp cat ns n th poston pos ton an an thfo thfo choos choo sss a smp contnuaton contnuaton but t s cay btt fo Wht. Unf Un favouab avouab was fo xamp 24 . . . 6 u to th smp py 25.xf5 o aso 25.5 xS 26.x5 xgS 27.xg5 foow by 6 an aft aft th tat 24 ..... .  f6 Wht can ca n boy boy pay 25. 25 .xf xf55 .  h  bst bs t pactca pactca chancs chancs w w of o ff by 24... 24 ...  h6 snc th paw pawnn gab 2S.xh6 xh6 26.xf5 wou v Back a angos attack aft 26 ..... . 4 27. 27 .4 4 . Hnc Wht Wht shou sh ou pay pay 2S. 2S . wth wth th ntnton to answ answ 25 . . . 7 o 25 .. . b8 wth 26.xh6 foow by xfS. But aso n ths cas Back wou b ab to cat som countpay at th cost cos t of a pawn. pawn. Fo xamp xamp 25 . . .7 26.xh6 (o 26.b cS!) 26 .. . xh6 27.xf5 4 28.4 ! an Back's attack cou bcom qut angous.

00

FIRT CYCLE

c6xe4 so possb po ssb was was 25 . . .  h6 n o aft aft 26.xh6 to pay pay 26 . . .x4. But wth th txtmov txtmov Back wns a coup coup  of o f tmpos fo th f  fnc.

26.'c2xe4 27.'e4-e3 28.e3-3 29.g5-e3

g4-f -d7 e8-8

Nat Na tuay uay not 29. 2 9.cS cS \h8 an n th n Wht wou wou ony ach achv v th xchang of th c4 an b6pawns b6 pawns whc whchh wou wou f f Back fom fom a hs pobms.

29... 30.3-c2

d7-c5 b8-a8

Back manag to count Wht's st wav of attack an achv a poston whch shou b possb to ho. But Back's wak bpawn an Whit's bishop pai assu Wht a astng ntatv an pv Back of th possbty of actv countpay. Whn aso takng into consaton that th pays now fac sous tmtoub th foowng amss manouvng spcay fom Back's s s somwhat unstanab.

31.-g5 With ths say th kght kght ony gos go s astay a stay.. Th smp smp 1  1 .  2 foow foow by an vntua b sms to b stong.

31.. 31. . . 32.h3-h4

a8-e8 e5-e4

This mov whch its th sco of Wht's ightsqa bisop an ncass ncas s th scop scop  of Back's Back's bshop bshop is soon soon  o at foc. foc. Th pawn on 4 s so w potct that Back n not fa osng t s no

REHEVK REHEVKY  R R

0

he rook s very unfotunatey pace on 8 an ater causes Black great fcutes. 33 ...f8 ... f8 was a fary goo repy to Wte's subsequent kgt anoeuvre anoeuvre to be b e abe abe to answer 4. 4.  f4 wt wt 4 . . .6. In aton ack cou aso n ts case eventuay carry out te use egroupng ...c7 ... c7 foowe by ...cS cS an tus be reease fom te toube of defenng the b6pawn.

d8-d6 e to the threat of S.xc5 foowe by e6 Back no onger as e to prevent the wte kg kgtt from from nvang nvang on S  S . But Bu t bette bett e tan the textmove textmove was 4 . . . e8 an f now now 5.S, 5. S, ten ten 5 . . . x5 6.cx5 eS an Back eatens te awkwa ...e5f4e5.  e5f4e5.

35.h4-h5 typca buff n tme toube whch Back owever fas fo. The imeate 35.5 xS 6.cx5 was better wc Back answers by 36... 36 ...e5. e5. If Wte now goes for te pawn grab 7.xc5 xcS 8.xe4 then 38... 38 ...4 4 wou wou fo foo ow w an te oppos op poste teco cooure oure bsop bs op engame en game is rawsh. Whte shou terefore for exampe, pay 7.g4 wt a etter poston but but t's not wthout wthout some som e cances for Back. 

35 ...

-g5?

FIRT CYCLE

0

Ths avanc not ony oss a pawn but t aso wakns th back ngs csvy so that Wht n aton to vrytng s aso gts gt s a stong attack agans aganstt th kng kng.. 5 .. .gxh5 was th corct contnuaton. Ths wou hav ft Wht wth wth an unpasant unpasant choc. choc. If now now 6.5 xS xS 7.cx5 7 .cx5 thn 7 7 . . .h6 8.xc5 xcS xcS 9.x 9. x4 4 f6 or aso 7 . . . 5 an t s vry oubtfu whthr Wht rtans any sgcant g; f howvr 6.xh5 xhS 7.xh5 7.xh5 thn thn 7 . . .  or agan agan 7 . . . h6 an Back has a compty s atsf ats factory actor y poston pos ton.. Now N ow Wht wns as a sy. y.

36.4-d5 37.c4xd5 38.e3xc5!

fxd5 h7-h6

Wnng Wnng a pawn an assurng as surng Wht of a strong s trong attack agans aganstt th kng. kng. Th prsnc of oppost-coour bshops s ony n Wht's favour as t factats th conuct of hs attack.

38 ...

b6xc5

omwhat omwhat bttr was 8 . .  xcS  . xc S 9 9.. x4 f6 whch at as  astt ntay nta y wou kp Wt's rook out of th attack.

39.c2xe4

g7-d4?

Th ast mstak n svr tm-troub; t oss on th spot. But vn aftr aftr th bttr  ffncs nc s 9 . . . f6 f6 or 9 . . . 8 Wht Wh t wou wou gan gan a csv attack aftr 40.. Back's poston was hopss aftr hs unfortunat 5th mov.

40.e4-e8t 41.bl-b8

g8-g7 Bac resgned.

n ntrstng an fcut ghtng gam whos gnra mprsson s unfortunaty tant by naccuracs ma n tmtroub. Rshvsky u w Back's Back' s xcss xc ssv vyy sow mgam stratgy strat gy an conuc con uct t th attack on th quns xcnty.

0

Cyc  Ru4 1 Bonn-Reshevsk 0 0 Euwe-Smysov 1 Free: Keres Th gams in th fouth oun tun out to b vy intsting. Botvi Bo tvinnik nnik an Rs Rshvs hvsky ky han th Nimo-I Nim o-Inian nian Df D fnc nc  in a vy unconvntiona wa way. Thy spnt a ot of tim on th opnng an aay foun thmsvs in tim toub in th ay gam. Rshvsky cam out of th opning with a ca avantag an incas it vn mo in th gam u to his opponnt's inaccuat pay. It ook as if Botvinnk wou invitaby os th gam but thn h off Rshvsky who was in sv tim toub a vy angous pawn sacic that ma ma th position po sition xtmy xtmy mssy ms sy.. Th mov mov 28.g4 28 .g4 appanty cam as a supis fo Rshvsky sinc spit spning a ativy ong tim thinkng thinkng h i not n th contin co ntinuati uation on that wou hav hav assu as su him of of an g. g. Insta Ins ta h ma ma two goss gos s buns on aft th oth an xc th tim imit as ay as mov 2 in a hopss position. With ths impotant win Botvinnik took th a in th tounamnt an kpt ths position my unti th n. Euw an mysov pay a wknown thoy in in th panish Dfnc fo amost twnty movs an as usua Wht tain a sight initiativ. initiativ. It I t is howv not ctain c tain that this initiativ initiativ wou wou hav scu s cu Wht an g if mysov ha not contiu ath cassy in th gam an nab Wht to tak conto of th impotant S squa. Whn mysov mysov aso ost  ost th t h S-pawn  S-pawn Euw ha a cay cay winn winning ing position. In his si to nish th gam off ffctivy th x-wo champion st cocty sacic a kight but thaft insta of stngthning his attack cisiv c isivy y with 4.g4 h incoc inco cttyy sacic sac ic th oth kight kight.. mysov mysov accpt both sacics sacic s coy pai pa i a hs hs opponnt oppo nnt's's thats an nay won u to his matia avantag. Tounamnt position aft th 4th oun: Botvinnik 2/ Ks 2 mysov 2 Rshvsky / an Euw 0

FIRT CYCLE

04

No 7. Nmzo-ndan Deence M. Bonn

S. Reshsk

Te Hgue 9h Mch 1948 l.d2-d4 2.c2-c4 3.bl-c3 4.e2-e3

g8-f e7-e6 -b4

gainst th NimoInan Dfnc Botvinnk xcusivy uss this most continuation commn by ganmast Rubinstin. H has wok out this systm vy w both pacticay an thoticay. With With this vaiation Wht gts a soi s oi position po sition without any any isk an an h h can in cas of inaccuat pay fom Back quicky gt an avantag. But th systm of vopmnt chosn by Rshvsky in this gam is on of th most favouab fo Back an nabs him to quai.

4... 5.-3

d7-d5 4-e7

ft ft th xchang xchang 5 . . .xc 6.bxc cS 7.cx5 xS 8. foow by 2 a positon occus that Botvinnk knows w an which has bought hm xcnt suts. s Rshvsky himsf is fon of using tis systm as Wht it is unstanab that h chooss anoth continuation. It sms to m that th bishop tat is positionay mo justi than th xchang on c. In th position that has now occu oc cu  which is sima to to th Qun's Gambit Whit has shut shu t in in his aksqua bishop so th xta tmpo tmpo a2a is of itt impotanc.

0-0 noth noth systm of vo vopmnt pmnt is 6 . . . b6 7 . b7 pvnting pvnting th  4 avanc. But casting c asting is aso an accptab a ccptab continuation continuation fo Back.

BOINNI BOINNIK K - HEVK HEVKY Y

05

7.2-b4 hs avanc whos ntnton sms to b to thwat ...c7 ... c7 -c5 s pmatu pmatu an vs Back a chanc chan c to obtan obta n goo countpay countpay. nsta n sta a natua contnuaton was 7 . bcaus bc aus Wht ha absouty no ason to fa th py 7 . . . c5 8.0-0. Back can howv py py 7 . . . b6 foow by ...b7 ...b7 an choos th systm of vopmnt commn n th pvous pvous not. not .

7 ...

b8-d7

t s supsng that Rshvsky Rshv sky ab ab stans sta ns fom fom th fav favouab oppo op potunty tunty fo 7 . . . a5 8.b 8. b 5 c5 c 5  whch whch wou wou hav vn vn hm xcnt countpay count pay on th quns. Th systm of fnc chosn by Back n th gam wth th movs ...b7 ...b7 an ...c6 ... c6 s too passv an ys Wht th mo favoub gam.

8 .cl-b2 cl -b2

c7-c6

Now Now 8 . . . a5 wou b sk u to 9.c5. But aft th txt-mov th 9 .c5 avanc wou not hav vn Wht anytng snc Back wou pay pay 9 . . .c7 an soon o at cay out ...6 ... 6- -55 wth an qua qua gam.

9 .-d3  -d3

d5xc4 d5xc4

hs xchang s pmatu an vs Wht th f poston. Back mm mmat aty y ha to pay 9 . . .6 (phaps vn 5 . . .6 was n opton?) snc th contnuaton 10.c5 c7 foow by ...7 ...7 an . . . 6-5 wou wou y y hm an xcnt gam. gam. If Wt Wt pays 1 0.0-0 0. 0-0 thn 1 0 ...7 ...7 wou foow a th sam an n som ns Back thatns to cay out th . . . 6-5 thust wthout wthout havng havng to to v v up th cnt c nt by th xch xchang ang ... . .xc4. If I f Wht how howv v pays -4 on th 1 th o 1 1 th mov thn of cous ...xc4 ...xc4 foow by ...6-5 ...6-5 .

l O .d3xc4

e7-d6

FIRT CYCLE

06

ll.c3-e2? With this this ove White White initi initia ayy rev revents ents 1 1 e5,  e5, but it reoves an iortant efensive iece fro the queensie, an offers Back the oortunity to initiate a angerous initiative on this ank The correct conti continuat nuation ion was the the sie sie 1 1 00 eS 1 2c2 an if now 1 2 ex  ex44 1 ex4 b6, b6 , then 1 4a2 an an White has sti retaine soe avantage in eveoent White cou not hoe for anythng ore fro the oening after the tieosing anoeuvre 7b4 foowe by b2

1 1 ...

a7-a5!

Back gabs the initative initative an gets the better b etter gae ue to the weak ight ight squares in Whte's Whte's osition o sition It is instructi in structive ve to observe obs erve how how Res Reshevsky hevsky uses the hien ossibiities in the osition

12.b4-b5 1 3 .c4-d3 1 4.d3xb5 15.dl-b3

d7-b6 c6xb5 c8-d7

BONNIK BONNIK  HEV HEVKY KY

07

s ov ov which which vs vs Back Ba ck th oppotunity to to win a tpo by . . .a4 is aso aso not paticua paticuay y succs succ s s fu. Btt B tt was th iiat iiat 1 5 . as 5 .  a4 1 6.c1 6.c 1 is not ango angous us fo fo t. 

1 5 ... 16.b3-d3

a5-a4 a-a

n tion to xcnt vopnt Back has achiv a position hr h has goo pospcts of utiiing th wak ight squas on hit's qunsi. Espciay th potction of th c4squa causs hit hit gat gat ifcu ifcuti tiss in th th  subsqunt phas of th ga.

17 ) e2-c3 t tis to fn th bSpoint sinc aft th xchang 17.x7 17.x7 x7 Back wou b thatning th vy unpasant 18... 18... b5  b 5  an aso aft aft 1 8.c bS 1 9.00 9. 00 c8 Back wou tak tak conto of th c4 squa an gt th btt gam. In aition aft 18.c Back cou insta go fo th nga nga with with 1 8 ... b5  b 5  which is i s quit qu it favouab favouab  fo hi aft t 1 9. 9. b1 xb xb 1  20.xb 20.xb 1 a6. a6.

1 7...

d8-e8

ith ths ov Back naly conqus th bSsqua athough at th cost of a tpo. Ganast Foh's suggstion of 17... 17...f5 f5 aso ca into consiation consiation athou athough gh t t can answ it by by simpy pay paying ing 1 8.00 8. 00..

1 8 .b5xd7 b 5xd7 19.0-0

 e8xd7

19.4 wou aso b answ by 19... 19... c8  c 8 sinc si nc 2 0 .  5  not o bcaus bcaus of 20. . . x x 5 . h txtov is btt.

1 9 ...

£-c

0

FIRT CYCLE

20.e3-e4? Wht's attmpt statng on th 7th mov to potct th wasss on th quns  not achv ts am as Back took conto of th mpotant c4-pont an now stans cay btt. But th acton n th cnt c nt ntat by th txt-mov wos wosn nss th stuaton st uaton vn mo snc aft th opnng of th cnt Back's pics gan an vn boa  of acton. It was tm to tak up a ong-tm stubbon fnc by 20.2. It sms that ths wou hav nab Wht to fn hs vunab poston sufcnty. so btt than th txt-mov was 20. c4 2.c whch aso nta ntay y potcts a th thatn points.

20 ... 21.b2-cl

b6-c4 e6-e5!

Back Ba ck opns opn s up th who who c cnt nt an consab con saby y ncas ncass s th t h actvit actvityy of hs pcs. Wht's bst pactca chanc now was to pay 22.5 n an attmpt to kp th cnt cos but t wou of cous no ong hav gvn hm a satsfactoy poston.

22J-dl 23.d3xd4 24Jal-a2

e5xd4  d7-e6 h7-h6

BOTV BOTVINNIK - HEV HEVKY KY

09

Both payrs wr aray n tm troub (!) an as a rsut many inaccuracs occur in th foowing phas of th gam. Th txt mov whch just n cas prvs th wht pics of th gS-squar is a bnca mov for tm troub an is aso postonay not ba. Aso Whit must contnu payng a watng gam snc h acks any possibts to crat actv countrpay.

25.h2-h3 26.c3-d5!

a5-a6

With hs prvious mov Back protct th bshop on 6 an was thratnng to pay 26 . . . 5 wth a csv c sv avantag. Wht canno c annott o much much agans aganstt ths ths thrat t hrat as al hs hs pc p css ar t to ach othr' othr 's f  fnc nc an ack prmannt points o f protcon. Wth Wth t txt-mov txt-mov Wht Wht sacrics sacric s a pawn hopng to conf co nfus us hs tm-troubl opponnt oppon nt n th upcong compcatons. compcatons. In ths poston p oston who coul hav bv bv that aftr th nxt sv s vn n movs t  b Back who s forc to rsgn!

26... 27Ja2-e2 28.g2-g4

fxe4 -

Wt Wt has to proc p roc n va baqu sty sty bcaus bca us pac p ac  rthr pay pay is of cours hopss hop ss.. Now N ow 29.gxf 29 .gxf55 is tratn wnnn wnnngg a pc.

FIRT CYCLE

0

28 ... .. .

d6-c5?? d6-c5??

Back Ba ck cou not n a sutab sutab contnuaton n tm toub an thows away a hs avantag an vn jopas hs own poston. Th smpst way fo Back to assu hmsf of an avantag was by 2 8 . . . g5! wth wth th fo oow own ngg possb pos sbt t s:s: 1 : 29. 29 .xg xg55 x2 0. f6 gxf6 1 .5 h8 2. 2.  h7 .xf .xf5 g7 4.xh6 4. xh6 x an th t h back kng sca s cap pss fom th chcks o aso .g5 fxg5 4. h8 5.f6 g8 6.g6  wth th sam sut. 2: 29.x6 29 .x6  x 0.g2 0.g2  x4 x4 1 .x4 fx fxg4 an an Back Back has a soun xta pawn fo fo th ngam. : 29. 29 . x  x f 0.xf 0. xf fxg fxg4 an Back agan has an xta xt a pawn. Of th pos p ossbts sbts vn abov n 2 off off t th atv atvyy bst bs t pospcts but vn n ths poston Back's avantag s obvous an th ngam s hopss fo Wht f hs opponnt pays accuaty.

29.g4x

e6x??

Back's postion was goo ut not so stong that t cou wthstan two hug buns n a o Th txtmov smpy oss a pc whn t s tm fo Back to sign. Evn Evn though though th pvous mstak spo spo  Back's avantag avantag hs hs post p oston on was st goo goo  nough to mantan quaty quaty.. Thf Th fo o 29 2 9 . . .x4 0. 0. fx6 x 1.x (1.g2 x6) 1...xf2 ha to b pay an aft 2.x x6 as w w as aft aft 2. 2. 11   Bac Backk obtans a postion postion that that h cou no ong os.

30.d4xe4

xh3

O 0. . . g6 g6 1  1 .h2 6 6 2.f4. 2.f4.

31.-h2 32.d5-4

8-c6

n Back xc th tm t ght (!) movs bfo th tm conto. conto. But th poston p oston s n any cas sgnab. sgnab.

EU EU - MLOV



No 8. 8 . Te Ruy Lp M. Euwe

V Smysov

Te Hue Hue 9h and 1Oh 1 Oh March March 1 948 l.e2-e4 2gl- 3 .-b5  -b5 4.b5-a4

e7-e5 b8-c6 a7-a6 g8-f

hie some other participants in the tournament gave up ths move hch is consiere the main continuation in favour of the more doubeege doubeege ine 4    6 mysov consistenty chooses his favourite system system of 4    f6 foowe by e7 e7 uch a strategy which we can see amost exceptionay in mysov is oube-ege: from one perspective a payer gets to kow the ines he pays thoroughy an can thus save save a ot of time in the openng openng phase But on the othr han the owege of a payer's favourite systems consieaby faciitates s opponent's choice of opeing an preparation for the game It is of course fcut fcut to say sa y whch whch of these thes e factors factors is i s the th e mo more re important but practica practica experience has shown that a payer benets benet s more from a versication of openngs

5.0-0

-e7

mysov mysov never never uties uties the Open ef  efence ence 5    xe4 an in this game his choice is aso justie by the fact that Euwe is one of the greatest expets on that opnng system

6J-el 7.a4-b3 8.c2-c3 9.h2-h3

b7-b5 0-0 d7-d6 c6-a5

Detae expanations expanation s about about this ine were areay areay ven in the note no tess to the game mysov-Reshevsky in the rst cyce an that is why w ar



FIRT CYCLE

not gong gong to epeat epea t them hee. In aton to what ha aeay been been a attenton can ao be awn to an nteetng ytem of eveopment wch wch myov ha often ue namey 9 . . . 7 10.4 f6. Wth th et-up Back comfotaby potect the e5-pont an at the ame tme nceae the pessue agant the 4pawn whch omewhat upt the futue eveopment eveopment of o f White' pece. A pactca expeence ha hown hown that th at Back get get  a fuy uy atf at factoy game wth th ytem an myov himef s one of the nvento an eveope eveope of th ine one cou expect ex pect that he wou utie utie t n h tounament game.

 b3-c2 1 0.  ll.d2-d4 12.bl-d2

c7-c5  d8-c7  d8-c 7 a5-c6

The pobte occung afte 12... 12...cx4 cx4 1.cx4 c6 wee expane n the note note  to the game game myovR myovRe ehevky hevky (t cyce) cyce) . The textmove epeent the oet efence n thi ne an wa fo a ong tme the ony one n ue unt new an angeou attackng pobte wee nvente fo Whte n the mpe exchange vaaton 1 . .xe5 xe5.. In I n fact fact many mate even gav gavee up the text-move text-move ue to thi mpe exchange nce n the poton that occu afte the exchange Back ha geat fcute oganng any actve countepay whe White can cay pepae fo the a a aut aut aga agan nt t the back kng' kng' poton po ton an the 5 5 an an f5- f5-qu qua ae. e. Euwe Euwe hmef hmef avocate avocate 12 . . .b7 hee an cam cam that 1 .5  not angeou fo Back. Whte of coue oes not nee to cay out the 45 avance avance an can ntea ntea pocee wth 1  . f1 f1  wth the ntention of utn utngg the weae weae  of the f5-p f5-pont. ont. The haning of thi kn of poton w be expane n the game myov-Euwe n the econ cyce.

13.dc5 The pawn acce 1. 1. f1 cx4 cx4  ubou hence 1 .5 . 5 8 8 1 4.a4 4. a4  b8 was mos mo s t excu exc usvey svey paye fo sevea sev ea  ca ca ss when Whte t to gt an ege by a ngse attack. But wth an amot o totay

EUWE EUWE  MLOV MLOV



ock quns Wht Wht os no n o t hav hav any gat hop of o f succs succ sss fuy uy conuctng t attack. Thfo th txtxchang why Wt assus hmsf of a ongtm ntatv an som attackng chancs has n  n pf n n cnt cn t tms. tms.

1 3 ... 14.d2-

d6xc5

1 4

c8-e6

Th actv contnuaton 14... 14...8 8 15.2 h5 aso svs attnton. Wth ths Back achvs countpay y tang conto of th f4pont. Aft th txtmov Wt gts tm to vop s kght to  whn Back's f6kng f6knght ht mans mans t to th f  fnc of th 5pont 5 pont an s no ong a to cay out th manouv ...f6h5f4. ...f6h5f4.

15.-e3 16.dl-e2

a8-d8 g7-g6

A goo mov that pvs th wt ght of th fS-squa an thwats any poss comnatons nvovng th mov 5 fo xampl: 16... 16...h5 h5 ? 1 7.5 7. 5 x x5 1 8.x5 x5 x5 1 9.xh7 9.xh7

17.-g5

e6-c8

FIRT FI RT CYCLE CYCLE

4

Ths tat was not ncssay bcaus an xchang on 6 wou hav p p v v Wht's Wht's kgh kghtt of th fS- an S-squas S- squas an v vnn th back kght a sto s tong ng outpo outpost st on f4. Thf Th fo o th mmat mmat 1 7 ...h ... h55 cam cam nto nto consa consatton. If thaf thaft t 1 8.5 8. 5 thn thn 1 8 ...x5 ...x5 19.x5 xgS foow oow by 5 5 . If howv howv 1 8. 8.  f5  thn Back Back bss 1 8 ..f6 ..f6 can aso pay pay th mm mma at t 1 8 ...f4. ... f4. O aft 18.x6 fx6 19.g a shap poston pos ton wou wou occ occu u wh wh Back's Back's pospc po spcts ts shou not b wos wos..

1 8 .cl -d2 Wht cannot hop ho p fo an g by pacf pa cfu u vopmn vopmntt an subsqunt subs qunt xchangs on th - H an attack aganst Back's somwhat wakn quns ha to b ntat by 18.a4. Wth ths mov Wht wou moov hav assu th opn a- fo hs ook. ft 1 8 ..c4 .. c4 th cou foo foow w 1 9 .axb5 .axb 5 axbS 20.b 20.b  an Wht's Wht's attack on th quns has bcom vy vy awa. awa.

1 8 ...

g8-g7

Th combnaton 18... 18...4 4 19.cx4 cx4 wo y Wht a ca avant avantag ag aft 20.ac1 20. ac1 x 21 .x foo foow w by by b. Btt B tt was was th mmat 18... 18...c4 c4 thatnng thatnng an vntua vntua ... . . 4.

19Jal-dl

EUWE EUWE  MLOV

5

so h 19.a4 was stong athough ths mov wou no ong hav bn connct wth a ct that. ft th txtmov Back os not ay a y hav anythng anythng to fa.

1 9 ...

h7-h6

H 1 9 ... ...  4 20.cx4 20. cx4 cx4 wou wou b a mstak u to th smp py 21. xc2 22.6! wnnng an xchang but aso th txtmov at tuns out to b an unpasant waknng of Back's kngs. It as btt to smpy pay 19... 19...c4. c4.

20.g5- 21.a2-a4

c8-e6

h sam postion aso occur i th gam Bonstnatotsv oscow 1948. In that gam Wht abstan fom actvty on th quns an pay pay 21 .b1 .b 1 an at attack attack wth hs pawns pawns on th kgs. Back aswr this by oubng hs ooks on th  an thby obtan a qua gam It ss s s that Wht cannot achv anyt anythn hngg h jus j ustt by attackng on th kingsi an n o to achv any consab succss Back aso ns to fac pobms on th quns. Hnc th contnuato chosn chos n by Euw Euw is goo  a a aspcts asp cts vn though tt wou wou hav hav bn vn btt on th 18th mov.

FIRT FI RT CYCLE

6

21 ...

c7-b8

It s cuous that mysov st os ot mak th atua mov 21...c4 whch st of l wou potct th bSpaw a scoy ca th mpotat cSsqua fo th back pcs. ppaty Back thaft fa th sacc 22.axb5 axbS 2.5 but ths s  fact ot agous fo hm at a. Fo xamp: 2... 2...x5! x5! (ft (ft  2 . . . x5 24.x5 th cotuatos 24... 24 ...x5 x5 25.x5 xS 26.xS xS 27x5 f6 2x5 foow by xh6 as w w as 24 ... x5 2 5 .xh6 xh6 26.x 26 .x5 5 fo oow ow by 2 v ht a avatag.) 24.x5 xS a Back has wo a paw; thaft th combato 25.xh6 xh6 26.x5 xS 27.2  f4 2. 2 .xx5 s ot co coc ctt o accout accout of 2 . . .g5. Th txtmov s st ot a ct mstak but at causs Back fcuts as ht ow ws aoth tmpo to ppa pp a th S say. say. It ss aou ths pot that th mai mai focus focus o f th gam taks pac. pa c.

22 . d2-c d2-cll

dxdl?

This ss of o f xchag xchags s  tsf s  s not b fo Back Back bt ts excuto excuto now s pmatu. Fst Back ha to potct th bSpawn sufcty so that h wou at b ab to captu with hs qun on 8 an thus tan coto coto of th Spont. Spo nt. Fo ths pupos 22 . . .c4 cam to cons co nsato ato but bu t ths mov s aso pmatu an wou y Wht an g g aft aft 2.axb5 axbS 24.5 2 4.5!! fo fo xamp xamp: : 24. . . x5 25.x5 xS 26.4! a Back canot avo the oss of a pc. Th sam gos fo 25 .. . x5 26. 2 6.x5 x5 xS xS 27 .4 8 28. 2 8. 1 ; btt fo fo Back Back s thfo thfo 24..... . x5 25.x5 xS but aso aft 26.x5 xeS 27.xS xS 28.x5 Wht wns at ast a paw a obtas wnnng chancs. Thus n o o  to ppa ppa  th fo oow owng ng xcha xchangs ngs Back Bac k st s t ha to thwat th S say by th move 22 ...f ...f8 8 thn ay ay ... . . c5c4 an oy aftas xchag on 1. ft th pmatu txtxchang Wt taks coto of th mpotant suppot pot S an gas th upp ha.

23Jelxdl 24dlxd8

-d8 e7xd8

EUW EUWE  MLOV

7

Foc as 24... 24...x8 x8 s not possb bcaus of th unpotct bS pawn an aft 24... 24...x8 x8 th wou aso foow 25.5! wth vn gat ffc ffct.t.

25.ab5

a6xb5

26e3-d5! Fnay Wht taks conto of ths squa wth hs kght an obtans th btt gam. gam. Th vau vau of o f Back's poston po ston now pns on whth h can captu on S wthout puns punshmnt. hmnt.

FIRT FI RT CYCLE



26... 26 ...

f-g8

ft this tat th ominating osition of th S-kight scus Whit a stab s tab ositiona osi tiona avantag avantag.. But Bu t th catu on S  S wou wou aso not hav giv givn n Back btt oscts os cts.. Fo xam: xam: 1 : 26 ...x5 ... x5 27.x5 xS 28.xh6 g8 (ft 28 ...xh6 ... xh6 29.2 fo oow ow  byxS by xS Wht Wht stans cay cay btt btt an aso 28 2 8 . . . h7 29! 29 ! thatnng thatnng 0.2 is untnab fo fo Back.) 29. 2 9.g5 g5 n Wht Wht stans s tans much btt. mong oth things things h is i s thatnng thatnng th unasant hh4-h5. 2: 26 ...x5 ... x5 27. 2 7.x5 x5  xS 28.4 2 8.4 an Whit Whit wins wins th th  awn awn back wit withh an avant avantag ag fo xam: 28 . . . 7 29. 29. o 28 . . . c7 29.x5  xS 0.x 0. x55 with a vai vait tyy of thats. thats.

27.cl-e3 cl -e3 28.b2-3!

c5-c4 c6-a5?

With ts mistak Back oss an imotant cnta awn an facs a stong kngsi attack. Ra R atitiv vy y bst b st was 28 . . . cxb 29.xb which aso avs Wt with th mo mo favouab osition o sition fo xam: xam: 29 . . . f6 0xf6 xb  1 .g4 . g4 with with th oub oub that that on h6 an S o 29 . . . a5 0a2 again tha that tnn nngg 1 . x5. 5 .

29.xe5! 30 .c2-l c2- l

c4x3 W8-7

Nat Na tuay uay not 0. . .x5 1.4 but aso aft th txt-mov Wht's attack vos vy owf owfu uy y s  sit it Back's s tong ass a ss  awn. Of cous aso ba was 0. . . f6 u to 1.xg6! but has th xcha xchang ng 0. . .x5 1.x5 f6 off somwhat btt fnsiv chancs than th gam continuation continuation whic whichh soon s oon as to a vy sha osition.

31 .e3-d4 e3-d4 32.d5-4

g7-h7 e6-c4

EUWE  MLOV

9

33. e5! e5! A bauti sacric that moshs th pawn wa protcting th back king; its accptanc acc ptanc is amos amostt forc forc (33 . . .x2? 34. mat!). But spit this, it os  assur Whit of such an asy win as was gnray bv aftr th n of th gam. Back's ruin position atr contains surprisingy tough fnsiv rsourcs, which ar mainy bas on th strong pass pawn on b3. It is by no mans asy for Wht to prov t corrctnss of his sacric. It is thrfor an opn qustion whthr it was not asir to pay 33.g4 f6 34.g3 insta of th txt-mov, an ony thn thrtn to scric on g6. Naturay th cptur 34... 34 ...x4 x4 35.3 is too risky forr Back, but Av fo Avrbakh's rco rcommnation mmnation of 34 . . . c6! 35.xg6 x4 36.f8 h8 37.cx4 a7 sms to yi Back angrous countrp countrp yy. In orr to prvnt this this,, Whit must answr ans wr 34... 34 ...  c6 wit th cam 35.xc6 xc6 36.4, incrasing th prssur on th kingsi. onucting Back's fnc wou thraftr b vry fcut, sinc thr is nothing to b on against agai nst th thratning thratning avanc h4-h5 . For xam xamp: p: 36 . . . x4 37.f3 f 38.h5 g 39.g6, an vn an vntua g2-g4, with a cisiv attack. 33 . . .

34.4??



IRT CYCLE

0

But this nxt sacric is a gross bunr, as Whit os not achiv an attack that compnsats for two pics. Insta it was of cours ncssary to proc with 34.g4,     4

>

:

 " . "

� s



\

2



1 s

which sms to yi Wht a winning attack. Euw himsf atr gav th foowing ins as possib fnsiv tris: 1 : 34 ... £ 35.5 35. 5  7 36.6 36. 6 8 37.h5 37. h5 foo oow w by f  f6 or g7 an wins. 2: 34... 34 ...  7 35 .5 . 5 £ 36.h4 36 .h4 c6 37.6 8 38.h5 an wins. 3: 34... 34...  35. 3 5.5 5 g 36.6 8 (Or (Or 36 .. .xf4 xf4 37 3 7 .xf .x f4 which, among othr othr things things,, aso thratns thratns 38 ..) . .) 37. 3 7.  xg6 xg6 xg6 xg6 38.f 38 .f ! g7 g7 39.£ 39 .£!! x 40.x xb xb 1 41 . =  mat! Th ns ar bauti, but unfortunaty not th strongst for Back. or xamp, in in 2 aftr 34.g4 7 35.5 £ 36.h4 Back can, insta of Euw Euw's's mov 36 3 6 . . .c6, pay mor strong strongyy with 36 . . . c6!. astr Avrbakh atr gav th foowing possib continuation: 37.h5  x4 x4 38.hxg6 38 .hxg6 xg6 xg6 39. 3 9.xg xg6 6  xg6 xg6 40.xg6 40.xg6 h8 41 4 1 . cx4 whn th occurring ngam shou b winning for t, vn if Back is not without som rawing chancs. Lt's briy invstigat som of th possib variations that cou foo It can quicy b sn that 41...g7 or 41...h7 w not o for Back u to 42.8 foow by xb, an aso not 41...b6 u to 42.6 42. 6.. Aftr Aftr 41 . . .g5 .g5 thr wou wou how howv vrr fo foow ow 42.3 42. 3  43. 4 3.6 6 x4 x4 44.7! 44.7 ! or tth h intrs intrstiting ng in in 42 ..... . a8 43.6 b2 44.5! a1 45. 45 .h2 h2 f4 f4 46.g3 46. g3 x 47. 4 7.7 7 winni winning. ng. Th most angrous rpy for Whit thrfor sms to b 41...b2, but aso as o aftr this this 42.xh6 g8 43.g6 43 .g6 h8 h 8 (Aft (Aftr r 43 43 . . .g7 thr

E U W E -  M L O V



can fo foow ow 44.8 44. 8  f8 4.xb 4 .xb55 xf4 xf4 46.xb2 46. xb2,, but aso as o aftr 44.b 1 foow oow  by  33 Wht Wht shou win.) win.) 44. 44.  6 (Hr (H r 44.b1 44.b 1  4. 4 .  33 ou ou b b  wakr u to t o th th  aww awwar ar pin 4 . . . f5!.) 44... 44 ...h7 h7 4.8 g8 46.xb5 x6 47.xb2 wou a to an ning that shou b inning for Wht without too much troub. Ths ins ustrat th ifcutis Whit wou hav ha to ght against against if Back foun foun th bs b stt fnc fnc,, bf b for or Wht wou hav bn b n ab ab to obtain a winn winning ing posion. po sion. Hnc th t h contin co ntinuation uation 33.g 33 .g44 must b consir cons ir as objc ob jctitiv vy y bst b st.. But Bu t whn taking taking in consiration con siration th ug psychooca ffct of a sacric on th fnr, an th grat varit varityy of iffrnt iffrnt pos p ossibits, sibits, on on  must mus t say Euw was rgh rghtt whn h rckon rckon Back's Back's posito po sitonn to b b  practicay practicay ost os t aftr aftr 33 3 3 .  xg6.

34...

�h7x 

Apparntly Euw i not notic that now aftr 3.g4  36.g7 8  8 th back qun qun on b 7 as a s w w as th kight kight on g8 ar protct pr otct. .

35.e4-e5t? Anothr mistak, whic whichh oss os s without without any kin of ght. 3.! 6 36. sti offr som saving chancs, for xamp 36.. . h7! 37.x 37 .x8 8  c6 an Whit Whit now now has two two options options:: 1: 38.5 7 39.xb5 x4 40.x7 x7 41.cx4 an Wht

FIRT YLE



has has in in  thr pawn pawnss fo forr a pic, but aftr aftr 4 . . . 7 h has ifcutis ifcutis in saving th ngam u to Back's strong pass pawn. 2: 3 8.f6! 8.f6! f f (A bttr bttr fnc fnc aga against th thrat of 39. 39 .  cannot cannot b foun.) 3 9.6 9. 6 g6 40.f 40. f4 xf x f6 4 4  .xf6 .xf6 An Wt has som attack for th pic.

35 ... 36.e2-h5t

6- -

Whit's attack has com to an n, sinc aftr 37.c 7 38.f 8 Back's Back' s ng ng scaps sca ps from th chcks. Of cours, cours , Back's Back's two two xtra pics now win asiy.

37.-4 38.Vh5-t 39.V-h7t 40 d4xb6t 41.gl-h2 42.Vh7- 

d8-b6 -e7 e7-d8 Vb7xb6t Vb6-e3 a5-c6

e resgned. resgned. Euw pay this gam vry w ut a crtain point, but traftr h ma quit unxpib mistks, an ost without a ght. Ufortunaty th prsnt gm was ot Euw's oy faiur of this typ i this tournamnt. Probby t mai raso for th xwor champion's unsuccssfu prformac c b foun i a ip of form caus by tirss. tirss.



Cyc  Ru 5 1 Reshvsk-Euwe 0 0 Keres-Bonn 1 Free: mysov e ecouter betw th two ars of th touramet, Kres a oiik, was i som rspcts a isappointmnt. I th opg ite areay areay cos cos  th paw structure stru cture i th cntr, cnt r, a thrby ma ma  e further batte ito a maouvrig gam. Botvik cotiu cosistet cosistety, a aftr a uces sary wakng wakng of the c 1 -h6 agoa agoa by te,    obtai a sght avatag. avatag. Ths aturay ha no ci cisiv siv iportace ue to th cos charactr of th position. But as Wht cotiue to pay without a we thought-out pa, Back achv an oy oyi igg pi o ths agoa, agoa , a as a rsut rs ut a  ay y won a pawn. Back's subsequet victory was areay simp, especiay whn Wht  ot tiiz tiizee th oy  ffesiv e siv rsource rs ource  g2 o th 44th mov. With With ths i, otvik cosoat hs ag postion consiraby. he gam Rshvsky-Euw turn out to b intrstig, but with ay mstaks. Th opig was th sam as th gam Botvinik uwe from Rou 2, but o th 12th mov Rshvsky pay th ovety 4-5. This avac is i fact ot vry angrous for Back, but it threw Euwe compety off-baace, a i atio to gttig a orse positio po sitio,, h aso aso os  ostt a pawn. pawn. Aftr ths, ths, Rshvs Rsh vsky ky cou cou win by a irect irect attack agaist agaist th king, but h cho c hos s a qutr approach approa ch that was aso sufcint. But by a carss avac of hs pass paw, h gave uwe the chace to wi tis paw, a amost obta quaty. But a gross buer bfore the ajourmt gav Rshvsky th opportuty to exchag qus a traspos ito a won ngam. Durig th jourmet, Euwe Euw e rsge without without resumig res umig th game. ouramt positio aftr th 5th roun, ( of th rst cyc): otvik 3, Rshvsky 2/, Krs an mysov 2, an Euw 0. It ust b sai that Euw ty  ot pay as bay as hs rsuts icate. But the ba uck that foowe oowe hm i som gams apparty epriv the ex-wor champio of his sf-coc, so Euw atr cotiue perf per formig cosieraby cosi eraby bow bow hs orma or ma payin payingg strgth. strgt h.

4

FIRT YLE

No 9. Sav Deence S. Reshevsk

M. Euwe

Te Hgue, 11h March 1948 l.d2-d4 2.c2-c4 3.g1- 4.b1-c3 5.e2-e3

d7-d5 e7-e6 g8-f c7-c6

Th in 5 .g5 xc4 6 . 4 b5 cannot canno t b so s trong for for Back that Whit Whit shou sho u abstain ab stain from th th  natura voping mov mov 5 g5. g5 . Th Th  txt-mov t xt-mov is of cours not no t ba ithr, but it maks it asir for Back to quaiz quaiz than aftr aftr th bishop vopmnt vopmnt to g5. g5 .

5 ... 6 .-d3

b8-d7 -b4

Euw Euw again again choos choo sss th sam s am in as against agains t Bo Botvi tvinnik nnik in th rst cyc, vn though h ony achv achv ba xprinc  xprincs s from 6 . .  b4 in that gam.

7.a2-a3 8.d1-c2 9 .c1- c1 - 1 0 .xc4 11.0-0 12.d4-d5

b4-a5 d8-e7 d5xc4 e6-e5 0-0

Up to ths point th gam ha proc xacy in th sam way as Botv Bo tvinnk-Euw innk-Euw from from th rs  rstt cyc, whr w aso gav mor tai xpanations about th prvious movs. Hr Botvinnk pay 1 2.a 2. a 1 , but i not achv achv an avantag avantag.. Th continuation continuation chosn cho sn by Rshvsky is aso hary sufcint to assur Whit of an g. Bttr prospcts or Wt, as th nots to th prviousy-mntion

HEVK HEVKY Y  EUWE EUWE

5

gam pint ut, wu b n by 12.a2!, thratnng 13.5.

1 2 ...

c6-c5?

Aftr th ry rst nw mo by Whit, Back rps with a cisiv mistak. Th txt-mov is ray ba, sinc atr Whit's strng -pawn prnts Back voping his pics; th pawn pntrats into Back's positin pos itin ik a wg. wg. Insta Back ha sra continuations at his isposa that cou ha of o ffr him an approximaty qua gam, for xamp  xamp:: a) 12... 12...xc3 xc3 13.xc3 cx 14.b4 c 1.x5 x 16.xc5 c7 an Back has nothing nothing spcia sp cia to far, far, n though though Whit's Whit's position po sition is somwhat frr. b) 12... 12...b6 b6 13.a2 xc3 14.xc3 bx 1.x5 g4 with a goo positin for Back, spit Whit's bishop pair. c) 12... 12...c c77 1 3.xc6 3.xc6 (1 3 .. . 4 was thratn, an aftr 13.4, thn 1 3 . . . b6 is i s an awar awar rpy rpy.).) 1 3 ...bxc6 ... bxc6 1 4. 4. 44 With a sharp position, po sition, whr Back os not ack chancs for countrpay.

13.d5-d6!

6

FIRT YLE

This pawn, whch Back cannot captur u to 14.b5 b6 15.b4 wining a pic, now consiraby hnrs Back's opmnt, an assurs Whit has a positiona aantag sufcint for a win.

1 3 ... 14Ja1-d1

e7-d8 a8-b8

Prpari Prparing ng th ... . . b7-b b7 -b55 aanc, in orr to atr b ab to op th bishop bis hop to b 7. Th 6pawn 6 pawn aray aray has a isrupti is rupti f  ffct on o n Back's opmnt.

fxd5 Now Back oss o ss a pawn pawn amos amostt by by forc, forc, but aso 1 5 ...b ... b5 1 6.7 6. 7 h8 1 7 .xa .xa  foow oow by b y a2 a 2 wou wou yi Whit an aantag aantag ad attacking chancs. Back's position was ary ost aftr th mistak h ma on th 2th mo.

1 6.d2xa5 17.dlxd5

d8xa5 e5-e4

Back cou not of cours go for a pawn grab on th prious mo by 1 6 ...x3 ... x3 7.fx3 xa, sinc 18.g5 wou thn win on th spot. Nor wou wou 1 7 ... ... 88 1 8.g 8. g55 or 17 ...b5 ... b5 1 8. 8.3 b b7 1 9.x5! 9.x5! ha ha b bnn bttr than th txtmo txtmo..

But not 18.x4 u to f6.

1 8 ... 1 9 .c4-a2

b7-b5 a5-b6

Back Back cou cou not pay pay 1 9 ...c4 ... c4 immiaty u to th rpy 20.xc4, an  9 ...b7 ...b7 wou aftr 20. 20 .ff5  f6 21 2 1 .xc5 .x c5 yi yi Wht a cary cary winnin winningg position. Th txt-mo prpars th ...c5-c4 ...c5-c4 adanc.

REH REHEV EVK KY Y - EUWE EUWE

7

20.g5xe4 t is tru that with this mov Whit wins a pawn, but it gvs Back tim to consoiat his position posi tion an organiz organiz an f  fcint rsistanc. rsi stanc. T position of th back king is so way protct that it opny invit Whit to proc in attacng sty. n fact th attacng continuation 20f5! 20 f5! wou aso a so hav vn Whit a car c ar avantag, for for exm exmp: p: 20 . . . c4 (Or (Or 20 . . .  f6 21 .xc5 x x6 22.x 22. x an wins.) 21 .x4 .x4 x6 22.xb5  f6 23.xc 23 .xc44 a6 a6 (Prhaps somwhat somwhat bttr is 23 . . . xb5 24.xb5 xb5 a6 25. 2 5.x x  x£, x £, but aso in that cas aftr aftr ithr 26.x x 27.b3 foow by 1, or aso 26.b3 xf 27.x h8 28.xa7 Whit achivs a position whr th win shou not b too probmatic probmatic.).) 24.x! (akr (akr is 24.x 24. x  xb.) xb .) 24 . . . x 25.x c7 26.xb8 26. xb8 xb8 xb8 27. 2 7. 1 ! Back now now os o sss back th th qun an wi b thr t hr pawns p awns o own wn in th th ngam .

20... .. . 21Jd5-d2

c8-b7

A itt bttr sms th xchangng combination 21.xc5 x 22.x 22. x77 (But (But not not 22.b1 22.b 1 4! 23.x4 23 .x4  f6.) 22 . . . x6 23.b1 g6 24.4 24. 4 an Whit Whit rtains his h is xtra  xtra pawn. pawn. Th attacng attmpt 21.g5 wou not, on th othr han, hav



FRT CYCLE

gvn anything, sinc Back oud not ansr it ith 21 ... ...  f6 22. 22 .ff5 h6 23. 23 .  x!, x !, but but instad simp simpy y pa payy 21 . . .g6, and Whit's pics ar forcd to rtrat. Aftr th missd miss d opport oppor tunity unity on th 20th mov, Wht has to rfrain from an attack against th king, and start th aborious procss of raizing raizing his xtra pan. pan.

21.. 21. . . 22 . a2-b a2-bll 23.c2-c3

c5-c4 g7-g6 -e8

Aftr th xchang of th bockaing kight on d7, Whit's passd pawn pawn bcom bc omss vry dangrous. dangrous. For Fo r this this ras r ason on 23 ..... . x4 24.x4 f8 f8,, and an d an vn vntua tua attack attack on th qusid by b y ..... . a7 a, a , sm s mss to t o b bttr. Howvr, Howvr, if i f Back antd to ao th fooing ooing xchang, xchang, it as mor appropriat to rst pay pay 23 . . .c6, c 6, and ony aft aftrr 24. or 24.f 24. f4 procd ith ith 24. . . f8. Whit Wh it oud oud subsqunty sub squnty gt an anoying anoying ak akss ss on 3, 3 , and a nd oud oud soor soo r or atr atr b forcd to carry carry out th 3-4 advanc advanc,, which h is not obigatd to do in th gam.

24.e4-ft 25.c3 26.e3-e4?

d7 b6-c6

An antipositiona advanc, compty shutting th b 1-bishop out of th gam and aso akning akning th dark squars in i n th cntr. This vs Back th chanc to organiz ffctiv countrpay. It as ncssary to tmporary tak up a dfnsiv position ith th mov 26.g5, and at th sam s am tim opn up th road for for th d6-d7 d6-d 7 advanc. With th txt-mov, Whit prhaps hopd to procd ith -f4f5 or a atr 4-5, but Back's foowing countrpay at ast iitiay tharts tharts ths hops. hop s.

26 ... 27.f-4 28J-dl

e8-e6 b8-d8 a7-a5

n orr or r to avoi avoi th foow foowng ng compcations, compcations , 28 . . . 7 aso cam into

REH REHEV EVK KY Y - EUW

9

consiration, with th intntion o playing ...c. ...c. In ts way, Black oul hav block l Wt's cntr. Th attacking attmpt on th qunsi qunsi  initiat with th txt-mov, which Black coul always always hav start at a latr latr point, is i s not vry vry angrou angrouss or Whit.

29.h2-h4

h7-h5

so hr Back coul coul play 29 . . . 7, sinc 30.h5 is not angrous u to 30... 30...h5. h5. Th txt-mov is an unncssary wakning o Black's kingsi.

30.d6-d7? A mistak, whrby Wt oss s strong pass pawn in xchang or only vry unclar attacking chancs. Evn though Whit i not hav an asy task to raliz his matrial avantag, thr was no n to crat such risky complications. complications. orrct was 30.4, thratnng to carry out th manouvr 2 oow by -4 an 4-5. By a slow strngthnng o th position, Wt coul nally hav convrt his matria avantag into a win, but atr atr th hasty txt-mov txt-mov th position pos ition bcoms bcom s almost almo st qual.

30... 31.g2-g4

e6-e7

IRT YLE

0

Apparnty, whn making hs prvious mov, Whit  not notic that aftr aftr 3 6, as w as aftr aftr 3 1 .6, Back Back can can simpy simpy pay pay 31 . . Jx7. Jx7. Th txt-mov is th ony way way to stir up som so m compications comp ications in xchang for th -pawn that w b ost.

31... 32.g4xh5 33Jlxd2 34.4xd2

e7xd7 d7xd2 d8xd2 g6xh5?

With ths captur, Back oss important tim, sinc h is unab to protct th pawn on h in any cas. Insta, it wou hav bn vry strong to pay 34... 34...f6, f6, whch wou attack th pawns on b2 an h4, an ti th wht qun to th fnc of th b2point. It is unky that Whit wou hav hav bn ab ab  to win th ngam, bca b caus us th activ position of th back pics fuy compnsats for th pawn minus.

35.d2-g5t

35 ...

c6-g6??

Exchanng quns is quivant to rsigning, sinc th back ng rmains ti to th fnc of th kingsi pawns, whi its wht countrpart can wanr wanr unhinr unhinr into into th qunsi a 34  34c5 c5 an an  thn win win a Back's pawns. pawns.

REHEVK REHEVKY Y - EUWE EUWE



 a as of cours cours ssnt ss ntia ia to try tr y 35 . . . .  36.xh 3 6.xh55 6!, bcaus th gam aftr 37.xb5  38.h2 4! offrs Back goo saving cancs.

36.g5x6t 37.-4

x6

 ts ay Back is priv of th countrchanc ...g6-g5, ...g6-g5, an thr s no ongr any fnc against th manouvr g1--3-4; th eg egam am is hops hop ss.s.

37 ... 38.a3xb4 39.gl-

b5-b4 a5xb4 c4-c3

omhat omhat mo mor r s tubborn was 39 . . . c8 40.3 g4, whch Wht can most simpy answr by 41.4 c3 42.bxc3 bxc3 43.xc3 with an asy on ngam. Afr th txt-mov, Whit rtains a pawn on th qunsi an wins vn mor asiy.

40.b2-b3 41.-e3 41. -e3

g8- b7-c8

T ast mov was Back's ajournmnt mov, an h atr resgned tout rsumng th gam. Thr cou hav foow: 42.4 g4 43.c2 6 44.c4 g h ony countr-chanc!) 45.fxg5  46.xb4 4 47.g6 47 .g6 6 48.g7 48 .g7 g8 g8 49. 49 .a5 a5 foow oow b y b3-b4 b3- b4 winn winnng ng easy.

FIRT FI RT YLE



o 10 rreg penng P

M Bonn

Keres

Te He, He, 1 1 h and and 13h 1 3h Mach Mach 1948 1 948 lc2-c4 2g2-g3 3  -g2

e7-e6 d7-d5 d5-d4

If Back wants to carry out this this thrus t hrust,t, thn h must o it immiaty, immiaty, an an atr hav hav th th ooppo pportunity rtunity to vop his igh ightt to 7 7.. Aftr 3 . . . f6 Whit Whit can, c an, for xamp, transpos transpo s to th ataan systm by 4.4. 4.4 . An 3 .. . c 5 4. 4 . cx5 foow by f  f3 an 2-4 2 -4 wou v a position posi tion from from th Tarrasch Dfnc. Th txt-mov gvs ris to a sharp ghting gam whr Wht has ifcuty proving an avantag.

4b2-b4 Whit cou aso hav chosn a vry vry intrs intrstiting ng systm of vopmnt vopmnt by th mov 4.f 4. f4 an at th sam tim ti m tmporar tmporaryy thwart thwart th . . . 6-5 avanc.

4 

c7-c5

Normay Normay 4 . . . a5 .b  is pay in such positions, an atr th c point is u uiz by b y th pics. But Bu t th txt-mo txt-mov is as a soo payab payab. .

5b4-b5 Aftr an xchang on c, it's tru that Back's support s upport point 4 wou wou b wakn, wakn, but bu t th th  c-squar c- squar is car for for Back's Back's pic pi cs.s. Nvrthss, Nvrths s, aftr .bxc  6.3 c6 7.2 xc 8.0-0 it sms that Whit's position offrs bttr prospcts than aftr th txt-mov, thanks to th xcnt iagona of th g2-bishop. Thus th atr part of th gam is ss s s intrst intrs tng ng than than it cou hav hav bn.

 - BN BNNIK NIK

5    6d2-d3



e6-e5 e6-e5

I as btr o immaty pay 6.3 foo by 2 an 00, sinc e ...4-3 ...4-3 avanc is not angrous o Whit. Th txt-mov urns ou o b an unncssary unncs sary as as of tim if Whit atr intns intns to carry ou  manouvr mntion abov. abov .

6   7e2-e4?

-d6 -d6

ih ths avanc, Whit coss th xcnt agona for th ight square bishop, an privs himsf of opportunitis for activ countrpay, as th xcution of th f2-f4 avanc is boun up with grat ifcutis. ifcutis. Nauray 7.3 foo by 2 ha to be pay, an ou hav givn Wht a fuy satisfacory gam.

7  

d8-c7 d8-c7

Back Back unncssari unncs sariyy pacs pacs th qun in in a passi pas siv v position, bcau b caus s th f4 thrus as not possib in any cas u to th atr chck on 4. Dn D niiv iivyy strongr as th immiat immiat 7 . . . h5, an if 8.h4, thn ... b8- b 8-7 7ff8 foo oo by a rthr avanc avanc o f th kingsi kingsi pans. By cosing th centr, Wht priv himsf of th opporunity for activ counrpay, an that is hy Back can aow himsf such sais as ... h7h5.

gl-e2

h7-h5!

A goo mov a scourags sc ourags Wh from from paying paying 9. 9 . f4 u o  rpy 9 ..... . 4. Wht's Wht's rpy is amost forc, sinc othis Back can vop vop a angrous intiativ on th ngsi using th ...h5-h4 ...h5-h4 thrust.

9h2-h4 100-0

g8-h6 c8-g4

FIRT YLE

4

ll- By ths mov, Whit coss th agona for hs g2-bishop vn mor. At th sam tim it wakns wakns th 3-point, 3 -point, whch whch has grat importanc aftr th xcution xcuti on of o f Back's Bac k's pan to pay .. . £-f £- f . Thrfor Thrfor waitin waitingg tactics tactics wit withh 1 1 . 2 an an vnt vntua ua  2f3-h2 2f3-h2 sm s m to b bttr. bttr. With With th wt pawn staning on , th xcution of th ...-f5 ... -f5 thrust wou hav bn hghy risky for Back.

1 1  12-4

g4-e6

This avanc is soonr soo nr or atr forc forc u to prmannty pr mannty ovrha ovrhanng nng thrat thrat of .. . £ - f , vn though though Whit cou sti hav hav wait with its xcution. Romanovsky consirs th mov 12.a4 to b vry strong for Whit, xpcting Back to cast qunsi. But rst of a Back is by no mans forc to cast qunsi an, scony, aftr 12.a4 h has th goo rpy 12... 12...a5!. a5!. It thratns to cos th qunsi an ony thn pay ...0-0-0. ...0-0-0. Wht shou thn rpy 13.bxa6 bxa6, but wou thrby ony v Back a goo opportuty to vop th knight to c6 an thn thn on to a strong outpost on b4 .

1 2 

e6-g4

 - BONNIK BONNIK

5

Aft Aftrr 2 ..... . xf4 xf4  3 .xf4 .xf4 Whit wou stan w, w, an an  th t h immiat  2 ...7 ... 7  not work u to 3.f5. Th pin crat by th txt-mov is a bit awkwar awkwar for Whit. Whit .

134- t is aso not asy as y to agr with with this avanc, athough athough Back's Back's qun on c7 an bishop on 6 ar now tmporari tmporariyy bay bay pac. By cosing th posit posi tion, Whit priv privss himsf hims f of th chanc to achiv an attack attack or vr vr tak tak contro of th onc important -point. -po int. Bttr prospcts wr thrfor offr by 3.fx5 x 4.f4 7  5 .2 . 2 an Whit Whit thratns thratns to t o atr atr tak tak contro contro ovr th th  -squar  -squar by x x foow oow by  2-f 2 -f4- 4-55 . Natur Na turay ay th th    -squar -s quar is giv givn n to Back, but it was xacty x acty such pay p ay with mutua chancs chanc s that wou wou hav vn vn ris is  to an intrsting intr sting ghting ghting gam.

1 3  14bl-d2

b8-d7 g7-g6

Ths mov is ncssary as Whit was thratning to pay 2-f3-h2 foow by xh6 an xg4, or xg4 without th xchang on h6. Back cannot ay, sinc if Whit aso gts th chanc to pay , thn aftr ...g7g6 ...g7g6 th awar xh6 foow by g can foo Aftr th txt-mov th f- opns up. But nithr payr can intiay xpoit it, as a a th points of pn p ntration tration ar protct prot ct. . Howvr, mor important is th opnng of th c-h6 agona. It now forcs Wt to tak goo car that th 3-squar in his camp wi not bcom too vunrab.

15xg6 16d2-

xg6 d6-e7

Protcting th g-squar is ncssary, sinc for instanc aftr th immiat 6... 6...0-0-0 0-0-0 thr wou foow 7.xh6 h6 8.g5 with a vry goo gam for Whit.

17JU-

IRT YLE

6

A goo mov that protcts th kight on 2 an cars th f1-squar for th qun, whch is important in som ins. Vry risky, on th othr han, was 17.g5 xf3 18.f3 xg 19.hxg5  20.2 8 21, sinc subsquny Wht ony achivs vry probmatic attacking chancs in rturn for th sacric pawn.

1 7

Wc7-d6

Th ia bhn Whit's Whit's prvious mov wou wou b carr aftr 1 7 ...0-00 ... 0-00 18.xh6 xh6 19.2 hh8 20.g5, bcaus now th kight on 2 wou wou hav hav bn b n protct prot ct an aftr aftr 20 . . .xg5 xg 5 it wou wou hav hav nab nab  a rcaptur rca ptur with th th qun. qu n. With th txt-mov, Back taks up a waiti waiting ng position, an is hoping for a mistak from his opponnt. But strongr sms to b 17... 17..., , in orr to carry out th ...g6-g5 ...g6-g5 avanc aftr som prparations.

1 8 clxh6? cl xh6? This xchag  ot v com i cosiratio hr, bcaus subsu Wht caot us th o f i orr to pntrat ith hs ics ito Back's ositi. No th c1-h6 iagoa is ak cisivy a spciay th 3-poit is a positioa akss. But it as ot as for Wht to  a suitab a for hs futr pa, sic th ositio is vry cos a hs pics ack cssary pits   suport. or ths ths raso it as bttr to o oo o  th xamp o f Back's ast a st ov, a tak tak  up a i ititig g gam by payi payig g 1 8.2, 8. 2, ith th ittio to ithr oub rooks on th - or pay a vtua vtua c1 c 1 foow oow by g. g . Th T h posiio p osiio ou ou in this this cas ca s hav rmai roughy qua. so bttr b ttr tha th txtxcha txtxchag g as as or or xamp 1 8.g 8. g5, 5, wh wh 1 8. 8.g5 x x  1 9 .x 7  x7 x 7 on th oth o thrr ha wou hav hav vn Back th mor mo r faourab osio.

1 8  19Wd1-d2 20-g5

hxh6 h6-h8 d7-f

 BOINNIK 

2al-el 22g5-

7

d6-b6 f-d7

Not ony 23.x5 was thratn, but aso 23.g5.

h-£ Back cannot hop for an g by this xchang, bcaus now h oss th opportunity to bring hs ng to th kingsi. An this is th prconition fo forr initiati initiating ng actii actiity ty on th qunsi qu nsi. . B Bttr ttr was thrf thr for 23 ..f6 ..f6 foow by an ntua ...0-0. ...0-0. In this way, Back wou ha ra th aw in Wit's pan initiat on th 21st mo. Aftr th txtmo, Wht shou not ray ha anything mor to far

24JUt?  th mrg m rgin ingg timtroub, timtroub , Whit starts s tarts to pay ry r y waky waky an aftr oy a fw mos ns hmsf in a ost position. Th txtxchang is of cours ba, bcaus Back's main thrat was prcisy to pay th bishop to h6, an in th xcution of ths manour Wht now yis m an important tmpo. orrct was naturay 24.f1, an if 24 ... 000, thn 25. 2 5.! ! an Whit Whit is fr from th th  awar awar prssur prss ur from th back pics on th kingsi

IRT CYCLE



24  25-a4?

e7

Whn mang th prvious xchang, Whit Whit initiay initiay pann to proc pro c with 25.f3, but in tim-troub h i not notic th simp rpy 25 ... ...  f6 which wou immiaty hav vn Back an g. g . Th txt mov is vry ba an aows Back th annoyin annoyingg pin ... . .h6 without any prparation  this nay cis th outcom of th gam in Back's favour. Hr H r Whit Whit ha to pay pay 25 2 5 . ,  , an if thraf thraftr 25 . . . 0-0-0, 0-0 -0, with th intntion intntion to pay pay ... . .g7 foow by .. h8 an ...h6,  h6, thn 26.h2 26. h2 6 6 27 27 ff1 g7 g7 28.g5 2 8.g5 foow oow by g3g4 an Wht Wht obtains countrpay countrpay on th kingsi. kingsi.

25   

-h6 -h6

26a4-a5 Whit's position is aray cary wors an th oss of th gpaw is invitab soonr or atr. Romanovsky's rcommnation of 26.h1 os not chang anything signicanty, bcaus Back pays 26 ...f6 ... f6 27.f1 7 28.g1 f8 foow by ...6 ...6 a th sam, with approximaty th sam position as in th game.

KE - BOINNIK BOINNIK

26  27)e2-cl

139

b6-f

n svr timtroub, Wht Wht fai faiss to n  n a suitab pan an an  atr atr oss os s th g-pawn in vry unfavourab circumstancs. But it is fcut to rcommn a satisfactory continuation for Wit hr, sinc th pin on g togthr with th thrat of ...7--6 ...7--6 parayzs a Wht's ttmpts to crat any n of activ countrpay.

27 

0-0-0

impr impr was th immiat 27 . . .  7 - f8-6, 8- 6, bcaus bca us now now Wit Wit manags to initiay thwart this manouvr. But Back is in no hurry, so nothing unpasant wi happn to hm as a rsut of this sma inaccuracy.

28)l-b3

d-£

Wht continus with panss pay, u to tim-troub. uch strongr strongr was 29. 29 .  7 7 30.c 30 .c11 an if 30... 30 ...x1 x1 , thn 3 1 .x x n th opn op n f- yis yis Whit goo go o countrpay. countrpay. Gnray Gnray spang, sp ang, n xchang of rooks at this point wou ony hav hav bn bn b ncia cia for Whit, Whit, bcaus bcau s th th back rook contros th th strong opn , whras its whit whit countrpart acks any  of action.

40

FIRT YLE

29   30d2-cl 31Jal-2 32cl-3

f-e7 Cc8-b8 -

Th unfavourab position of Whit's rook on a2 maks ths mov goo for nothng, an nabs Back to win th important g-paw. But no goo f  fnc was avai avaiab ab agains againstt th thrat thr at of . . . 7--6 7- -6 .

32 33h4xg5

h6xg5 g4-dl!

Thratnng ...xb3 xb3 foow by ...xg, ...xg, winning th g-pawn. Whit s tris to st som positiona traps, which hwvr o not v any rsut rs ut u to Back's cam atr pay. pay.

34a3-cl 35J-b2

dlxb3 b3-dl

Aftr Aftr 35 .. .xc4 xc4 36.x 36 .xc4 c4 or 35 . . .a4 362 36 2 xb xb 37. 37 . cxb5 Whit wou wou obtain goo countrpay on th c4-g8 iagona. Insta of th txt mov, Back cou aso simpy hav continu with 35 ...f8 ...f8 36b3 6 with th sam rsut.

36clxdl 37d-el 38Cgl-h2 39  g2-h3 40el-dl

e7xg5 d7- g5-f -h7

omwhat bttr was to pay 40.b6 a6 an ony thn 41.1, wh Whit wou wou hav hav prvnt th pos p ossibiitis sibiitis that occurr occu rr in th gam. But of cours Black shou win in any cas with his xtra paw

40   41b5-b6

h7-g5 h5-h4!

 BONNIK 

4

tur tury y 41 . . . 6 wou wou aso hav hav w won, on, sinc aftr 42.4 thr wou wou simpy simpy foow 42 . . .7, an Wht is forc to soonr or tr rtrt it his qun. But th txt-mov is vn strongr, n it was m possib possib ony bcaus Whit i i not carry out th b5-b6 b5 -b6 thrust at th rig rigtt momnt momn t in tim-troub. tim-t roub.

42dl-g4 43h2xg3

h4xg3t -?

An inaccurcy tht gin yis Wt gnuin fnsiv chncs. T simp xchng xchng 43 . . . xh3 wou hv won on th spot. If now 44.xh3, 4.xh 3, thn 44 . . .f with  mating ttack, an if 44.xh3, thn 44... 44...f4 f4 45.g2 g! n Whit's most stmat pics ar no ongr ongr ab to rp rp  Bck's attack.

b67t? uch bttr fnsiv chncs wr offr by 44.g2 6 4.@h2. For For xamp, 45 ..... . f4 f4 46.xf 46. xf44 xf  xf44 47.f1 47 .f1 h8 48. 4 8.g g11 ! an a n vn though Whit's position t rst gnc sm to b vry ba, Back has by no mns n sy tsk to n  n  continution that wi strngthn his ttck cisivy. With th txt-xchang, Whit pys for a sma trap, which ony offfrs minim of minim hops of succss succ ss..

FIRT YLE

4

 45.a5-a6 ••


Whit's Whit's trap ay in th variati variation on 45 4 5    xa6? 46a2 b6 47b2 a7 rhaps rhaps vn 47    a5 is possib?) 48xb7 xb7 497 an surprisingy Back is unab to scap rom th prptua chcks But atr th txtmov, txt mov, Whit may as w rsign rsign

46.g4xh3 so hopss hopss is 46xb7 xa6, xa6, or 46xh3 

46... 47.
f-4t 4-t -t t -et el-e2t

Or 52 5 2h h h, h , aso with with an an xcha xchang ng o quns quns

52 53.h3xe3 54.a6xb7 55.
e gned.

e2-e3t d4xe3
4

Cyc 2 Ru 6 1 Keres-Euwe 1

1 Reshvsk-Smysov 1

Free: Bonn

Wit t sixt roun, t scon cyc of th tournamnt bgan, an t sam pairs as in t rst roun mt again. Ony wit coours rvrs. T av Dfnc in t Rsvsky-mysov gam took a sarp turn rigt from t start. Aftr mysov cos a compicat variat variation ion wit a pic sacric, t scas s cas nay nay bgan bgan to tit ti t in in Back's favour. vour. But wit an unmotivat xcang of quns, qu ns, Back Bac k gav away away a a is avantag, an an vn cam in ifcutis, bca b caus us in t t ngam Rsvsky's xtra pic turn out to b wort mor tan Back's tr pawns Ony aftr som inaccuracis from Wit i mysov again manag to quaiz t position, an forc a rawis ngam T KrsEuw Krs Euw ncountr ncoun tr vop vop in t sam way as t gam Krs-Liinta from t Prnu tournamnt in 1947. But aftr t opning, Euw ma an important importa nt improvmnt for for Back's pay in tis systm In t gam Wit tri to pay for an avantag at l cost co stss But trby  vn n up in ifcutis ifcutis,, an nay nay sacric sac ric a pawn pawn in rturn rturn for for a strong pass pas s pawn pawn on t -  - T gam st promis to b intrsting, but in tim-troub Euw offr a raw, wic Wt agr to aftr brif tougt T tournamnt posi p osition tion aftr t 6t roun: Bo Botvinn tvinnik ik 3  , Rsvsky 3, Krs an mysov 2/ an Euw .

EOND YLE

44

o 1 1  Te Ruy Lp P

M Euwe

Keres

Te Hague, 15h March 1948 le2-e4

e7-e5

On arr occasions, for xamp in his rst match with Akin in 1935, Euw oftn utiiz th Frnch Dfnc, but  not achiv satisf sa tisfactory actory rsuts with it. Hnc h atr rturn rturn to th opn gams, gams, an has amost xcusiv xcusivy y bn usin us ingg thm in rcnt rcn t tournamnts. tournamnts.

2gl- 3i-b5 4ib5-a4 50-0

b8-c6 a7-a6 g8-f i-e7

It is intrsting to not that in this tournamnt Euw uss th os systm syst m in th pansh, as in arir gams h h  amost xcusiv xcusiv yy pay pay th Opn in with  . .  x4. harp princip iscu is cuss sions sion s about th vau of this variation hav bn going on for svra cas, an a na consnsus has not yt bn ma. Euw is on of th mor pronnt gurs among th supportrs of th Opn variation, an whn h now abanons his favourit opnng, th rason can prhaps b sought sou ght in a r-vauation of th opnn op nng. g. 5 .. . x4 sms to offr Back much mor ifcut probms than th othr continuations uz at this point, an so this mov can b consir as rativy unfavourab for Back. As th gams Krs-Euw an mysov-Euw from atr rouns aso monstrat, rturnng to his o favourit avourit in  not nrich Euw with any pasant pasan t xpncs.

6dl-e2 Th normal no rmal continuato continuatonn 6 6   1 sms s ms to crat gratr gratr ifcut ifcutis is for for Black. But th txt-mov has th bnt that th occurring ins hav

KERES  EUW EUWE

45

bn ss pay, an ar thus gnray ss w kown. Whit now thratns to pay 7.xc6 foow by x an thrby forcs Back to protct his -pawn.

6  7 a4-b3 

b7-b5 0-0

so possib pos sib is of cours cours 7 . . . 6 8.c3 8. c3 0-0, but with with th txt-mov txt-mov Back Back sti sti kps opn th th possib pos sibity ity of th rct . . . 7 - thrust. thrust . Whit cannot bnt from th ay of ...7 ...7 -6, sinc th attacking attacking attmpt 8. 8 . a4 on th qunsi quns i giv givs Back Bac k a fuy uy satisf s atisfactory actory position po sition aftr 8 . . .b7.

8c2-c3

d7-d5

This sharp thrust is oub-g. It nay vs ris to a position whr Back can in asiy vop hs pics, but whr h has to ovrcom som fcutis in fnng his cntr. It is of cours not possib to giv a na assssmnt of this mov without rthr practica xprimntation. But bas on xprinc so far, th norma 8 ... . 6 9 .4 g4 sms to yi yi Back Back a position posi tion with with asir a sir probms to sov than th vry uncar txt-mov.

9.-

ECOND CYCLE

46

Before ths Before ths ne ne was inven invente ted, d, 9exd 9 exd55 xdS  xdS 1 0xe5 0 xe5  f4 1 1 e4  xeS was exclusively played here, and after 12xe5 or 12xf4 as well as 1 2xa8, 2 xa8, Black gained gained a strong attack attack Later the stronger continuation continuation 1 2d4! 2 d4! was invented invented for White White in ths position po sition In fact it yeds yeds him the somewhat better chances, even even though though Black obtains decent prospects prospe cts of later equa equaizi izing ng aft after er 1 2 b7  b7 Black however has a more troubesome repy after 9exd5, whch I invented a few years ago, namely the temporary pece sacrice 9  g4! Ths continuation gives White very unpleasant problems, since now now besdes    e5e4 aso aso the simple simple     xdS is threatened, threatened, and the complications arsng after 1 dxc6  dxc6 e4 can c an only be in Black's favour vour Besdes the quiet text-move, Whte could also very well play 9d4, whch would would immedately immedately have released the tension tens ion in the centre Black answers answers ths most simply by by 9     xe4 1 0dxe5 0dxe 5 e6, with a transiti transition on to a normal positon in the Open def d efence ence

9   

d5-d4 d5-d4

In addton to ths advance, Black can also choose choo se other contnuat contnuatons, ons, whch however lkewse fa fa to free free him from a difculties difcultie s For Fo r exampl exa mple,e, the exchange exchange 9    dxe4 1 0dxe4 0 dxe4 ves Whte Whte a better be tter position position with with good attackng attackng chances, and after 9   e6 White can favouraby win a pawn with the contnuation 1 exdS followed by xeS Also not quite fuly satisfactory satisfactory is 9   g4 10h3, even though Whte's bishop pair after 1 0 x  x 11x d4 does not have any special importance After the textt ext-mov movee Whte also retains ret ains a slight slight advantage advantage

10c3xd4 Ths exchange, whch was advocated by Aene, seems to be the strongest continuation continuation for Whte, since after after the preparatory p reparatory 1 h3  h3 Black obtans a good goo d game after 1    e6 e 6

10   

 c6x c6xd4

1    exd4 also deserves attenton, because it takes tme for Whte to prepare the f2-f4 advance, and 11e5 dS 12e4 e6 does no

KE - EUWE

 4

see dangerous for Black In the event of quiet play after this, Black an proceed either with e6 e6 or aS aS followed by c7 c7 -cS, -c S, with with onterplay on the queenside The attac attacki king ng attempt 1    g4 g4 is not correct, since afte afterr 1 1 dxe5 no prom promisisin ingg conti continua nuation tion for for Black Black can be seen For example: example: 1 1     xe5 2d4 xf3 13gx xd4 14d1, or 11d4 12e3 x 13exf6 xf6 xf6 4  4c3 c3!,!, or nall nallyy 1 1   d7  d7 1 2e3  dxeS 1 3d5 and and Wh Whtte has the the better prospects prosp ects in all lines lines

ll.xd4

d8xd4

ow 11exd4 12f4 would of course yield White a dangerous initiative

12.Acl-e3

d4-d6

In the Prnu tournament in 1947, ienthal played 12 12d8 d8 13c3 c6? against me, and quicy landed in a lost position However, the queen retreat to d8 is not as bad as one ght tend to believe base on this this game, game, because instead of of 1 3 c6  c6?? Black co coul uldd have have playe playedd 1 3 e6!  e6! and had about the same type of counterplay as Euwe obtained in the gae But 12 12d6 d6 is perhaps even more accurate, because now in some lines Black has the opportunity to immedately attack White's weak weak paw pawnn on d3 with   d8

c8-e6! Black must neutralize the inuence of the strong b3-bishop, as otherise Whte would obtain strong pressure due to his control of the open cle and the dS-square

14.b3xe6? With this exchange, White throws away his small opeing advantage, which could have been maintained by 14c2 With ths move, White would protect the d3-pawn sufciently, and after the preparatory h2h3 be b e threatening threatening to to exert strong pressure pres sure in the centre c entre by -f - f4 Black

ECOND EC OND CYCL CYCLE E

4

would thereafter nd it very difcult, if it's possible at all, to obtain enough enough strat s tratec ec counterplay counterplay to balance the position

1 4

xe6

Black deprives Wite's pieces of the support points dS and fS, and at the the s ame time opens ope ns up the the f- le for for counterplay agains againstt the the kingside Naturally also possible was 14 14xe6, xe6, but then 15f4 exf4 16�xf4 would have have ven ven White White some so me attacng chances chance s on o n the halfo halfopen pen fle  le After the text-move the position is roughly equal

15-4? This thrust is premature and gi gives Black a comf co mfortable ortable game 15a4, as advocated by Boleslavsky, is also not very dangerous Black can, for for example, example, answer answer it by by 1 5 b4, b4, and White White has achieved nothing on the queenside The correct continuation was 15�ad1 cS 16f4, which would have deprived Black's bishop of the opportunity to later enter the game inuentiay via cS In this line White could hope to obtain some initiative, initiative, where wh ereas as after the text te xt-move -move he has to accep ac ceptt a quick quick equalizing equalizing of the position

1 5  1 6 e3x4 1 74-g3

e5x4 e6-e5

The attack on the eS-point, eS -point, as intended intended by this this move, move, does not lead to anyting Hence 17 17 gS or 1 7  e3 was better be tter

a8-d8 d6-e6! Opening up the path for the bishop to come to cS, and simultaneously attacking attacking the a2-pawn, in some lines using the the threat of    b5-b4 b5 -b4 White's White's best try now was to play 19b3, but instead he still tries to create an attack, and nally ends up in difculties himself

    E U WE

19J- 20®gl-hl

149

e7-c5t c5-d4

lack's lack's bishop now now stands s tands excellentl excellentlyy and the pres p ressure sure against Whte's Whte's qeenside assures hm of at least equal chances Now Whte had to look for for a way way to simpli the pos p osition ition in order to maintain equaity equaity But instead he chose ch ose a more complicate complicatedd path that nally nally enables Black to gain the upper hand

2Ig3-h4 22Jdl-cl?

�d8-d7

White fails to nd a suitable attacng plan, and therefore takes up a waiting position, hoping for a mistake from his adversary Instead of the text-mov text -move,e, it i t was necess nece ssary ary to pay pay 22� 22 �df1 df1 �d �d  23 xf6 xf6 �xf �x f6 24�xf6 �xf6 25�xf6 xf6 26d5 gS 27c2 with a draw as the likely likely outcome

22 23-

�d7-

In some lines Black was threatenng to play the awkward b5 b5-b4, -b4, but after after the text-move text-move a new weak weake ess ss on b3 appears in Whte's position pos ition But it was already difcult to recommend a better continuation for

ECOND EC OND CYCL CYCLE E

50

White since s ince the exchange 23 xf x f6 �f � f6 24 24 ff6 �xf �x f6 would would now eld Black a clear advantage

23  

d4xc3?

Black should s hould denite de nitely ly not exchange exchange of o ff such a strong bishop without at least getting a marked advantage in return But in fact White now does not have any fculties in obtaining equality Hence Black had to retain retain his strong bishop and play play 23   g6 It would have forced the continuation 24�xf6 �xf6 2Sxf6 �xf6 After ths White does not have anything better than 26�f1 but the resulting endgame is denitively favourable for Black, as the bishop on d4 is considerably s tronger than White's White's knight knight On the other hand the immedia immediate te 23 2 3    b3 was premature Whte could answer it by 24xf6 �xf6 25�xf6 �xf6 27d5! �f2 27g4 with good counterplay count erplay

24b2xc3 But not 24�xc3 24�xc3 d d5!5! 25�x 25 �x and and now now 25 25  x  x 26�c1 f4 as well as 25    �x �x  26 2 6exd5 exd5 g4! would would gve gve Black Black the better position po sition

24

 f-d7 f-d7

No better be tter isis the immediate immediate 24   b3 b3 25�xe5 25 �xe5 g4 26�f 26 �f55 xa xa33 27�c 27� c or also 25  xa3 xa3 26e 26e  g4 27�f 27 �f55 ! and Whit Whitee has ha s good counter counterpl plaay But after after the loss lo ss of time that is bound bou nd up with the text-move text -move Black Bla ck no longer has any hopes hope s for an advantage

25J�x 25J�x 26 h4-g3? h4-g3? This pawn sacrice is i s not not jus j ustied, tied, and agai againn undul undulyy jeoparze j eoparzess White's White's position The simple 26c2 had to be played with complete equality

26  26 27d3-d4

e6-b3

K E  EUWE

5

White is no longer able to protect the a3-pawn, and this thrust in the centre represents represent s his only counterchance Black has to defend defend hmself hmsel f very ve ry accurately again against st the t he foowing oowing attack

27 28e2-dl

b3xa3 d7-f!

Afte Afterr 28  d6 29b3 or 28  e7 29 2 9dxe5 dxe5 xeS  xeS 30d 30 d55 White White woul wouldd obtain sufcient counterplay for a draw With the text-move, Black brings s  s ght ef e ffe fecti ctivel velyy into play, play, and gets g ets a dangerous dangero us attack

29J�l-al Perhaps Perhaps the immediat immediatee 29dxe5 29 dxe5 was stronge stronger,r, for example: exampl e: 29    d7 30 30  xe4 xe4 31 e6!, or 29   xe4 30e6 ! (Aft (After er 30     f6 there ther e ffollows ollows 31d8 f8 32d1!) 31a1 and the epawn gives White dangerous counterplay With the text-move, White wants to get more out of the position, and sets his opponent a clever trap But in the end, he is the one who ends up with a worse position than in the abovementioned lne

29

3-!

But not 29  xc3? 30 3 0dxe5 dxe5 and Whit Whitee has an attack attack that at least assures ass ures

ECOND EC OND CYCL CYCLE E

5

hm a draw draw, for example: example: 30   J�d7 3 1 1  xe4 32e6 32e 6 �e7 33�xa 33 �xa6, 6, or also 30    xe4 3 1 e6 e 6 �f6 �f6 (31 (3 1  �f  �f88 32e7 �e8 �e 8 33dS 33 dS follo ollowe wedd by by �f ) 32d8 �f8 33�d1 And the threat of e6-e7 forces Black to take a draw by perpetual check With the text-move text- move,, Black creates an indirect mating mating threat on f , and thus deprive de privess White of the pos po s sibilty sibilty of de deffending the e4-pawn

30d4xe5 31dl-d3

fxe4

White is in an odd zugzwan zugzwangg position po sition He cannot canno t use the the epawn e pawn for for the attack without weakening his position decisively The text-move does indeed protect protect the cpawn cpawn (31 (3 1   x  xc3 32e6), 32 e6), but is stil stilll not threa threate teni ning ng anythng, as the continuation continu ation h2-h3 would enable Black to carry out the winning winning simplii simpliing ng combinati combination on    � f  ! Howeve However,r, Black also nds it quite difcult difcult to stre s trengthen ngthen his his position p osition Creating Creating sign signcant cant threats threat s is not at l easy eas y due to t o White White's's strong strong epawn, epawn, and in case cas e of complete completely ly passive pa ssive rther play play, White eventu eventuall allyy threatens to free himself himsel f by �e 1 , h2-h3 followed by @h2

31

e4-c5

It's true that by removn removngg the stro s trong ng knight, knight, Black Black loses los es his attack But on the other hand Wte's e-pawn e-pawn becomes becom es blocked and Black assures as sures

 R E  - E U WE

5

msef aganst eventua surprses based on possbe thrusts by ths pawn pawn After After the the game game Euwe thou thought ght that that 3 1   J�f J� f5 , wth wth the threat threat of of wnn wnnn ngg the e-pawn by an exchange exchange on o n g3, g3 , woud woud have have won Th T h e rook endgame occurrng after 32e6 xg3 33hxg3 �hS 34@g1 S 35d4 �dS 36xcS �xcS 37�xa6 @ ndeed offers Back good wnnin wnningg chances, but Whte has a stronge s trongerr contnuaton at hs dspo ds posa, sa, ame amey y 32dS 32 dS (32h3? �1!) 32    @h8 33@g1! Now 34xe4 s treatened, treatened, and the endgame endgame after 33    xg3 34hxg3 as we as after 33 cS  cS 34xcS xcS 3 5e6 5 e6!! xe6  xe6 36�xa6 36 �xa6 does not not of o ffer Bac Backk any wnnn wnnngg chances chances;; if howe howeve verr 33 3 3     xc3, then 34d 3 4d33 and now the back back knght is suddeny unfavourably paced and Whte's e-pawn threatens to advance advance wth wth decsive eff effect From ths t becomes become s clear cl ear that 31    �f5 was not much better than the text-move, and woud by no means have assured Back of a wn

32d3-e2 33h2-h3

c5-e6

Afte Afterr the executon of this move, Whte no onger  onger has anythn anythngg to reay reay fear, snce t s very dfcult for Back to make use of s weakened queensde majorty

33 

-c8 -c8

omewhat omewhat better was 33    a, with the ntenton of brngng the queen to c6

Draw Whte of course cou rse acce a ccepted pted Blak's draw o ffe ferr In I n fact fact Back would would stand s tand somewhat better better n e endgame endgame after the exchange exchange of queens on a6 But Whte s not obigated to capture on a6 mmedately, but can rst play hs kng to h2, pace the queen centra c entraly ly on dS, dS , and thereafter thereafter take up a wat watng ng poston po ston In I n case cas e of such such a tactc, Back woud woud hardy hardy be abe to reaze reaze his extra pawn pawn wthout wthout serousy jeopardzng j eopardzng hs own poston poston 

ECOND EC OND CYCL CYCLE E

54

o 1 2  Sav Deence Deence S Rhevsk

V Smysov

Te Hae, 15 Mch 1948 lc2-c4 2bl-c3

 g8-f d7-d5

Ths move is payabe for Back and after 3cxd5 xd5 normay gives rise to a position simiar to the Grnfed Defence Here Reshevsky refrains from this method of pay, and chooses a quiet continuation where Back's choice between various nds of system of deveopment is wider than after after the exchange exchange on d5 d5

3d2-d4

c7-c6

mysov avoids avoids paying paying the Grn G rnffed De D e fence by 3    g6 and instead utizes the av Defence With ths opening he bet Reshevsky in the rado match between the oviet and American teams mysov kows both openings equay we, and in recent tournaments they have constituted his favourite repertoire

4 gl- In recent times the continuation 4e3 has been used more frequenty In this way White avoids the the foowing sharp sha rp and, an d, for Back, Bac k, appar ap parenty enty by no means unfavourabe continuations However the simpiing variatio variationn 4cxd5 4 cxd5 aso es  eserves erves attention, when Back wi not nd it as easy to acheve equaty as one might beieve at rst gance

4

d5xc4

Certainy simper than than 4   e6, which makes Back's defence more compicated than in the game after 5e3 5 e3 as we as 5 g5 mysov mysov has now obtained his favourite position, which he has investigated thoroughy in hs home anaysis, and where he normay dispays exceptiona invent inventvenes venesss

REH REHEV EVK KY Y - Y YLO LOV V

55

5a2-a4  he rado match-game Reshevsky choose the continuatio Se3 bS 4 b4, but dd not get anythig from the openng, and later he was orse The text-move is more common ad ves Black more dfcult probems

5 

ic8-

This move was often used earlier, ad ot without success But i rece rece times times the t he quiet developi developigg move move 6e3 6 e3 has bee be e pref pre ferred almos almos  ihout ihout exceptio Whe hen wins back the sacriced sacrice d paw and gets he better prospects But for ts game Reshevsky has brought out  od variaio from he pst, with whch he hopes to surprise his oppoet But i fact he situation turs out to be the opposite oo eshevsky is he oe who ds hmself hmself i dfcult dfculties ies ad has o ook or ways to save he game

6   

e7-e6 e7-e6

The fas fasoabe oabe lie l ie for a og time was 6    bd7 7 7  xc4 c c77 8g3 8 g3 eS 9dxe5 xeS 10f4 d7 11g2 f6 120-0 d 13c1 e6, which sappeared from ourame practce after a game in the Euwe Alekhie Alekhie match match i 1 937, 93 7, where Euwe played played the ovety-of ovety-of-the-the-match match 4e4! ad quickly gaied a edge The text-move was also used in severa severall games games o f he same match, and the general conclusio conclus io was that Black Bla ck hereaf herea fer gets a fuly fuly saisf sais factory actor y game game 

7- 7g5 woud woud aso be aswered by 7   b4, and and if ow 8 xc4 then, s i the 1 937 93 7 match game Alekh Alekhie ie-Euw -Euwe, e, 8    d5 9 xf6 xf6 xc4 with a good game for Black

7 8e2-e4

i-b4

ECOND CYCLE

56

Theory considers ths move as unfavourable for White, as with the following piece sacrice Black gets sufcient material compensation, and also a dangerous attack Nor No r would would 8g5 8 g5 h6! h6 ! give give White prospects prospe cts of an opening advantage Instead 8xc4 was the standard move, and would have ven ven rise to an interesti interes ting ng position, posit ion, rich in possibili pos sibilities ties

8  9xe4

xe4! fxe4

1 0 cl-d2 Reshevs Reshe vsky' ky'ss "novelty, which however however has long been known to theory t heory,, and fails to save the variation for Whte The normal continua continuation tion 1 0f3 0f3 xd4 xd4 1 1 x d8 is not much much better, as in the game Vidmar-ikenas, Prague 1931, where 12gS! gave ris risee to an approximat approximately ely equal game But after text-move text-move it is also not no t at all all certain that White White must end en d up worse worse

1 0 

d8xd4

The main idea behind White's previous move lies in the vaaton 1 0 h4  h4 11g3 xg3 12hxg3 xh1, because 13g4! secures him a strong attack Black of course does not have to choose sch a risky way of playing, when the simple text-move yields him an excelent position

REHEVKY REHEVKY - Y YLO LOV V

l l  c3x c3xe4

15

Yd4xe4t

etter than 11xd2 12xd2 xe5 13e2 and Black soon gets into difcultes After the text-move, however, the wte ng becomes very exposed

12Yd-e2 13exd2

ib4xd2t Ye4-d5t

Naturally not 13 13xe2 xe2 1 4xe2 4xe2 and Black loses back a pawn, when Wte's active pieces would assure him an edge Now lack mantains a dangerous attack

14d2-c2

b8-a6

IJ�al-dl Whte Whte sacrices sacrice s yet another pawn, pawn, but without beng able to exchange exchange queens Hence the simple 15xc4 looks better If 15 150-0-0, 0-0-0, then White plays 16e3, completing his development and threatening to generate a dangerous attack on the ng If however 15 150-0, 0-0, Whte's attacng chanc  s on the ngside are by no means particularly worse than lack's lack's on the queenside 15e3 was weaker due to the reply 15 15b4, b4, since after 16c1 �d88 it isis not �d no t possib possibee to pla play 1 7xc4 7xc4 on accoun accountt of 17   xg2

ECOND CYCLE

5

1 5  16e5xc4 17b2-b3

d5-a5 a5xa4t

1 7

a4-t?

A istake tat forces Black to excange queens After tat, ite gets te etter gae despite te aterial decit, due to is active peces Te correct contnuation was 17 17  4 4 1 8c3  dS 1 92 (But But not 1 9d5 9d5 due to 1 9  a1) a1) 1 9 4 4 However, also in tis case it would e too rave to clai a decisive advantage for Black ite ite cou co uld, for exaple, exaple, proceed wit 20e5 20e5 0-0 2 1 4 and otain otain a posiion were Black sould not underestiate te's attacking cances on te kngside kngside

18c2-c3 19ixe2

a2xe2 e8-e7

Despit De spitee te fact fact tat Black as as a s many as four four pawns for for te piece, piece , e still stands worse worse  Becaus B ecausee advancin advancingg te pawns pawns is very �fcult fcult in tis position po sition Wite, on the other hand, has strong treats on the queenside queenside and soon soo n wins ack te material Afteard Afteards,s, s main problem wil willl be to retain te t e iportant -pawn

REHEVKY REHEVKY - Y YLO LOV V

159

20c4-a5 Also very strong was 20 20  d6 d 6 !, forcing orcing Black Black to play 20    b5 (20 (20    c5 21 b4) and thus weaken his queenside White would would then proceed with with 21f3, for example: 21Jd8 22b7 xd1 23xd1 and Black loses at least a pawn But the text-move is also good, and secures White a dangerous initiative

20 

a6-c5

Threatening Threatening  c5e4 c5 e4f f22 and thus winning a tempo for the def d efence ence of the b 7 -pawn

21e2-

�h8-c8

Nothng better can be seen, because after 21ab8 22b4 the threat of xc6 becomes awward for Black With the text-move, Black once more protects the c6point and ves up a pawn, hoping to later exchange Whte's last pawn on the queenside queensi de

22b3-b4

23c3-b3?

c5-a6

60

ECOND EC OND CYCL CYCLE E

Naturally not 23xb7 xb4! 24d6 dS 2Sxd5 @xd6, but stronger than the text-move was 231!, threatening xc6 For exam example: ple: 23    ab8 24xc6 bxc6 25xa6 cS 26xa7 @ 27b5! xbS 28f1 with a winning position for White After the text-move Black gets time to adequately adequately defend defend his position po sition

23  24dl-al

�a8-b8 - - ?

Black can no longer longer repair repair s position on the queenside (24 (24    c7 2Sxc6) 2S xc6) and and therefore therefore commences comm ences counterplay counterplay on the kingside, kingside, where he has ha s to eliminate White's last pawns However, the text-move weakens the e6-pawn and thus ves White the opportunity to win a pawn on the queenside without ving Black the opportunity to exchange the b4-pawn The correct continuation continuation here was 24   c7 It would have threatened an eventual bc8 bc8 followed by b8, b8, and at the same time, time, just in case, cas e, also have have kept an eye on the a7-pawn a7-pawn

Reshevsky plays the ddlegame very unmanatively and enables Black to equalize eq ualize the position p osition without any any greater eff effort Neither would would 2 5  xc6 bxc6 bxc6 26 2 6xa6 xa6 cS have have ve venn anyth anything ing,, but the mov movee 25 25 he he11 ! was suggesting itself ubsequently Black has no suitable continuation,

HEV HEVKY KY  Y YLO LOV

6

since afte afterr 25     c7 c7,, then then 26  xc6 xc6 wins, and also 25    @f6 26xc6 bxc6 27 a6 a 6 giv gives Whte a wnni wnning ng positon pos iton as the t he   c6 c6-c -c55 advance advance is no longer possible After the textmov te xtmove, e, myslov nally obtains complet compl ete equalty equalty

25 ... 26.a5xc6

e7-f

White no longer had anything better, as Black was already threatening the manoeuvre a6-c7-d5 a6-c7-d5 The exchange combnation played in the game ves rise to a drawish endgame

26 ... 27.�alxa6

b7xc6 c6-c5

Elmnatng Whte's last queenside pawn, after whch the draw is inevitable The following endgame no longer offers any special interest

28.�cl-c4 29.�c4xb4 30.�a6xa7

�b8xb4t c5xb4 h7-h6

Black does doe s not not bother b other himself with with def de fendng endng the b4-pa b4-p awn snce, s nce, wth hs king cut off, White cannot in any case thwart the exchange of the last pawns on the kingside In fact, Black ony needs to exchange the g-pawn, because White's bishop does not have the same colour as the promotion square of the h-pawn, and is therefore unable to win, together with the h-pawn, against the ng alone

31.�a7-a6 32. b3xb4 33J�a6-c6

f-e5 g7-g5

After ths the draw is obvious, but othese the white king is unable to cross the cle



ECOND EC OND CYCL CYCLE E

33  34ixc6

�c8xc6 e5-d4!

The simple s impless t path to the draw draw Back temporari temp orariy y sacrices sacric es a pawn, but attacks Whte's pawns with his king and forces the necessary exchange to reach a draw

35ic6-d7 36id7xe6 37ie6-d5 38b4-c5 39c5-d4

d4-e3 e3- g5-g4 -gl

Or 39h3 39h 3 h3 40g 40gxh3 h2 41 h4 g3 g3

39 39  40d4-e5 41e5x 42-g5 43id5-c6 44g2xh3 Draw.

glxh2 h2-g h6-h5 h5-h4 h4-h3 g4xh3

6

Cyd 2 Ru 7 0 Smysov-Keres 1 1/ Euwe-Bonn 1/ Free: Reshevsk

The most interesting encounter of the seventh round was denitey the game mysov-Keres mysov-Keres Back payed payed a very very dfcut dfcut positiona po sitiona ine in the Cataan Defence The whoe mddegame circed around the issue of whether Whte woud be abe to carry out the e2-e4 advance, and thereby get an advantage Back however managed to defend himsef successy, and after a careess pawn sacrice by White, he even got an advantage Athough Athough Whte eventua eventuayy managed to car c arry ry out the th e e2 e4 thrust thrus t that had been be en hanng hanng in the air for for a ong time, this no onger possessed its former strength And at the time of the adjournment, Back had a soid extra pawn The reaization of the advantage was howeve howeverr not at a simpe, due to Wte's strong bishop pair in an open position Hence Back decided to sove the probem by an interesting piece sacrice Aso here, as we as in the rst cyce, myslov seemed to have have satisf satis factory defensiv defensivee resources resour ces at hs dispos disp osa a But B ut he tried to maintain the extra piece at l costs cos ts Instead Ins tead he ost many pawns and in the ensuing endgame had to resign The game Euwe-Botvinnik opened with the French Defence Despite an eary exchange of queens, Wite gained an initiative that he maintained maintained rmy unti unti the ate at e mddegame mddegame But Bu t then th en by not accepng acce png a sighty better endgame, Euwe nay gave away the ast hopes of an advantage An equa endgame occurred where the payers quicky agreed a draw After the 7th round, the standngs stand ngs were as as foows: oows : Bo Botvinnik tvinnik 4,4, Keres Ker es 3/, Resevsky 3, mysov 2/, and Euwe 1.

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E

64

o 13 a penng V Smysov

P

Keres

Te He, 16h d 17h March 1948 1d2-d4 2c2-c4 3g2-g3

g8-f e7-e6

myslov is such a great fan of the Grnfeld Defence that he even prefers to play simar positions as White. If Wte wants to avoid the imzo-Indian Defence (3.3 b4) then the Catalan Defence with 3.g3 is one of the most suitable ways to do so. White's bishop subsequently stands very we on g2, and exerts unpleasant pressure agains againstt Black's queenside, forcing orcing Black to play very accurately in order not to end up worse. worse.

3   

d7-d5 d7-d5

The mos m ostt common commo n reply, reply, but also also 3 . . .b4 4.d2 xd2 S.xd2 d6, followed by ...e6-e5, ...e6-e5, is an acceptable system of development for Black.

4-g2  -g2

d5xc4

orm o rmal aly y such an exchange, givi giving ng up the centre, ce ntre, is not recommended recommen ded for Black in the Queen's Gambit. But at this point it constitutes one of the best continuations for Black. In this case White cannot win back the c4pawn by normal developing moves, and instead has to lose time for ths by inefcient queen manoeuvres, thus ving Black time to complete hs development. development. But White White nevertheles neverthelesss gets control co ntrol over over the centre, ce ntre, and Black must take good care that this will will not asse as sert rt itself. Another fully satisfactory line for Black is to complete development by 4. . .e7 S. S.  f3 0-0 0 -0 6.0 6 .0-0 -0 bd  bd7, 7, however however this this would lea leave ve White with with the freer freer position. pos ition.

ML MLOV OV  

65

ot ot recommended, on the other oth er hand, is playing playing the 6 . . . c5 advance instead instead of 6 . . . bd7, which would after 7.cxd5 xdS 8.e4 f6 9.c3 ve White the better game. Generaly speaking, the execution of the . . . c7-c5 thrust is risky fo for Black in this openng, because beca use it increases increas es the scope for Whte's g2-bishop, g2-bis hop, and Black Bl ack can get into big trouble with the development of his queenside.

%d-a4t 5. 5.  f3 can be answered answered by 5 . . . c6, and Wte has great difculties in recapturing the sacriced pawn. In the game BondarevskyKeres, oscow oscow 1 947, there foll ollow owed ed 6. 6 .e5 e5 b4  b4 7. 7 . c3  dS 8 .d2, and Black Black could coul d have have played the quiet 8 . . .b5 with an extra pawn.

5   

ic8-d7 ic8-d7

The normal continuation continuation here is i s 5 . . . bd7. If thereafter 6.d2, then 6 ...c6 ... c6 77.x .xc4 c4 e5 foll ollow owed ed by by ... . .d6 and ...0-0 ... 0-0 If however 6., then 6 ...a6 ... a6 7.xc4 b5 followed by ...b7 ...b7 and ...c7 ...c7-c -c55 with a good game for for Black. Black. The text-move is sharper sharp er and ves ris risee to a position po sition that that is very difcult to handle.

6%a4xc4 7g-

id7-c6

White is of course unwilling to exchange off hs strong bishop, and the continuation continuation 7 . f3 , as suggest suggested ed by some so me theoreicians, theoreicians, gives Black a good game game after after 7 . . .d5 as we as after after the simple 7 . . . bd7.

7

 b8-d7 b8-d7

Afte Afterr 7 . . . d5 White does not play 8.c2 c6 when Black exerts pressure against the d4-pawn (as in Flohr-Fine, AVO 1938). Instead hite plays 8.a4 8 .a4 follo followe wedd by c3  c3,, and in ths way the move 7 . . . d5 loses its main main purpose purpose..

b-c3

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E

66

8...

d7-b6

Black's objective is to keep the e4square under his control in order to thwart e2-e4. And it is precisely around this advance that the next twenty twenty moves of o f the game wi circle. circ le. In the game Kotov-Romanovsky, Kotov-Romanovsky, oscow osc ow 1 944, Black trie triedd the idea 8 . . .e7 9.0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0.d3 dS, but White could answer this by 11.e4! xc3 12.bxc3 cS 13.e3 xe4 1 4.e 4. e55 and get get an edge edge.. But the cont co ntinu inuati ation on 8 . . . d5 also deserves attention; Black is trying to exchange the c3-knight without giing up the bishop pair.

9'c4-

-b4

The battle for the e4-point continues. If White was able to carry out the e2e4 thrust, he would get a clear positional advantage.

100-0 l-dl

0-0

1 1 .g5 .g5 woul wouldd simp simply ly be answe answered red by 1 1 . . .h6 12 .xf6 xf6 xf6 xf6 1 3.e4 3.e 4 fd8, fd8, and an d Black's Black's bishop b ishop pair compensates compens ates for White's White's spatial advantage advantage..

1 1 

h7-h6

This loss of time is unnecessary, and instead Black could immediately

ML MLOV OV  

6

e played 11.. .e7. During the game I did not like the reply 12. 12. g5, bt een with an extra tempo for White, the variaion 12... 12...h6 h6 13. 13.xf x f6 xf6 14.e4 fd8 is fuy acceptable for Black. The text-moe is also pyb pybe e nd n d increases increase s Black's control c ontrol over over the e4-square. e4- square.

12icl-d2 As hite cannot subsequently capture on c3 with the bishop in any cse, the immedate 12.a3 xc3 13.xc3 was simpler.

1 2  13- 14\d3xc3

\d8-e7 ib4xc3

Ater 14. 14. xc3 xc3 Blck would would obtain an excelent posto po stonn with the continuation 14... 14...e4 e4 followed by ...bd5 ...bd5 or ...fd8. ... fd8. Black could lso answer the text-move wel by 14.e4 15.c2 xd2 16.xd2 f5. Tis was perhaps een slghtly stronger than the compicated game continuation.

1 4 15 d2d2-ee 1

Black has intally won the battle oer the e4point, but now he fais to nd a suitable plan for s ture play, and starts a boring manoeuvring

6

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E

phase. The later "threat of ...c7 ...c7 -cS, -c S, as planned with with the text-move, text-move, is easy to thwart and the black rook subsequenly stands unfavourably on c8. c8 . 1 5 ...a5 ... a5 looks better, with the intention of xing the weak light squares on the the queenside queenside by . . . a5-a4.

16ig2- An interesing idea. Whte is trying to carry out the manoeuvre f2 f3 and e2-e4, without thereby being forced to exchange bishops. It is clear that the execution of this manoeuvre requires much time, but as Black in the meantime is unable to create any active play, White's plan involves almost no risk.

1 6  17b2-b4

ic6-d5

atu a turall rallyy Whte Whte does doe s not n ot allow his opponent oppon ent to carry carr y out the liberating liberating thrust c7-c5. ow the unpleasant 18.e5, foowed by f3 and e4, is threatened.

1 7 18-h4

b6-d7

Whte cannot carry out his plan in any other way, since after 18.d2 the liberaing ...e6-e5 ...e6-e5 thrust would follo ow after 18... 18...e5, e5, 19.f5 would be very awward for Black. Hence Black must look for other ways to parry the threat of f3 followed by e4.

1 8  19' 19' c3-c2 20-

f-e4 e4-d6 g7-g5

If 20 . . . f5 immedately imm edately,, then 21 2 1 .  g6 f6 22. 22 .  f4 and and White's knght knght gets get s to the strong d3-pos d3-p ostt with the gain of a tempo. But B ut with the text-move text-move Black considerably weakens his king position, which is something he has to suffer for during the rest of the game.

21h4-g2

-

ML MLO OV  

69

22iel- Black has, with the greatest of efforts, just been able to prevent e2e4 But this was only temporary, since subsequently White can also cocentrate the re of the kight, bishop and rook against the e4 square, and still force through ths strategicaly important advance The practical execution of the abovemetioned plan is however not at all all simple, because becaus e it requires requires much time and in the meantime enables Black Black to generate counterplay counterplay on the th e queenside queenside  For example, Lven Lvensh's sh's sugges suggesttion of 22c3 22 c3 co coul uldd be aswered a swered by 22   b6, threatening an eventual c7-c5 c7-c5 And 22e3, as advocated by Romanovsky, likewise ves ves Black Bl ack counterplay count erplay after 22   g7: an eventual   f5- f4 is threatened threate ned to permaently thwart the e2e4 advance With the text-move White does def d efend end hmself hmsel f against agains t the poss po ssibili ibility ty of c  c 7 -cS, -c S, but now Blac Blackk later gets gets counter-chances counter-chanc es on the queenside with the a7-a5 a7-a5 thrust

22  23g2-el

d7-f a7-a5

After After the the placement plac ement of Whte' Whte'ss bishop bis hop on , Black has no prospe pros pects cts of of an attack on the kingside, as Whte Whte has ha s now concentrated the majorit maj orityy of his pieces on this ank Instead the action began on the queeside

70

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E

by the textmove text move constitut con stitutes es annoyi annoying ng counterpla counte rplayy, and directs direct s White's focus away from the preparation of his main plan e2-e4. The game now becomes especially interesting, and the excitement is raised even more by the fact that both b oth players at this point had relatively relatively ttle time left for the following moves.

24el- 25  -g2  -g2

�c8-a8

2S.bxaS aS 26.e1, followed by b4, looks better for Whte. In this way Wte would activate hs inactive bishop and simultaneously defend the a3-pawn sufciently against Black's assaults. Black could immediately immediately have have answered the text-move text-move by 2S . . . axb4 and thus avoided the pos p ossibility sibility given above. above.

�a8-a7 e7-h7! A good move. Black increases his control of the e4-square and at the same time pins the whte whte pawn pawn on e4, in the event that White plays c S followed b y e2e4 and a nd an a n exchange of the f-pawns would take place. A critical position has now occurred where White has to prove that his previous previous strategic strategic plan to carry out the e2-e4 thrust thrus t was justied ju stied..

27b4-b5? This pawn sacr sac rice ic e is not jus j ustied tied by anyt anythn hng, g, and giv gives es Black Bla ck at least lea st an extra pawn as compensation for the difcult position. It seems that tha t the th e obje ob jecti ctive vely ly best bes t plan pla n for for Wht Whtee in ths position po sition was to, to , at least initially, abstain from the execution of the e2-e4 advance and proceed according to the earlier mentioned plan by 27.bxaS 27. bxaS aS 28.ec1 foll ollow owed ed by -e - e 1 -b4. This plan woul wouldd of o f course aso as o contain contain some drawbacks drawbacks  for example, the weakening weakening of the kingside kingside and especial esp ecially ly the e3square. But the textsacrice gives ite nothing, and otheise Black threatens to get strong counterplay on the a-le by exchangng on b4. The position is very interesting and denitively deserves to be studed more closely.

ML MLOV OV  

27  28\c2-c5 29a3-a4

7

d6xb5 c7-c6 f-d7

Perhaps Whte Whte hoped hope d to win win a piece here, her e, and did not notice ths move, which was Black's only defensive resource. Black now retains the extra awn.

30\c5-c2

b5-d6

31d3-e5? The position that has occurred is almost identical with the one after Black's 26th move, only Black's knight now stands on d7 instead of f6. White had to utize ths circumstance to carry out the e2e4 advance by the move move 31 3 1 .  c 5 ! . Ts would have ven hm hm prospect pros pectss of equalit equalityy, for example: example: 31 3 1 . . .  f6 32.e4 32 .e4 fxe4 fxe4 33 .e4 b6 b6 34.ac1 34. ac1 bxcS 35. 35 . exd5 xc2 36.xc2 exdS 37.xc5. Black would certainly stand slightly better here, and can for example get a favourable endgame via the continuation 37 .. J8 J 8 38.e6 38 .e6  fe4 39.x 39 .xe4 e4  xe4 40.cxc6 xc6 41 4 1 .xc6 b7, although White has good drawing chances. This Thi s variati variation on is natur natural alyy not forced, but no continuation continuation can be b e seen see n that would considerably strengthen the ven line for either White or Black. o, for example example,, afte afterr 3 1  c5 c5 Black cannot cannot very well play 31 3 1 . . . f4

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E

7

due due to the the repl replyy 32.xh7 3 2.xh7 xh7  xh7 33. 3 3.gxf gxf4, 4, since after after 33 . . . .gxf4 gxf4 34.h4 34 .h4 would at least win an exchange. Likewise after 31.c5 f6 32.e4 fxe4 3 3 . fxe4 b6 the attempt 34.e2 34 .e2 does not ve Whte Whte anyth anything ing,, because 3 4 ...bxc5 ... bxc5 35.exd5 exdS 36.e6  37.dxc5 de4 secures Black a clear advantage. The textmove, text move, on the other hand, does not cause Black any difculties difculties,, but rather rathe r give givess him some valuable valuable time to consolidate co nsolidate his position.

31 31 

d7-f

Also here 31...f4 32.xh7, followed by gxf4, was unfavourable for Black. With the text-move Black once more protects the e4-point and now stands stand s clearly better.

32J�al-cl 33e5-d3

a7-a8

White admits the incorrectness of his 31st move. The ight once more aims for cS, c S, but now Black is able to prevent prevent it.

33  Black could o f course cours e also play play 33 3 3 . . . b6, b6 , but the foll ollow own ngg combination carried out by by Whte Whte is not dangerous. Rather the the opposite  it releas releases es the unpleasant tension in the th e centre.

34 d3-c5 35e2-e4

b7-b6

White hopes to utilize hs opponent's time-trouble in the following complcations, but does not acheve the desired aim. Therefore it was perhaps better to simply play 35.b3, threatenng d2 followed by e2e4. Ths would sooner or later have forced Black to carry t the ...f ... f5  f4 advance. or would 35.d3 have been bad, because even after passive play from White, Black would have had great difculty in nding a suitable plan to realize his advantage.

ML MLOV OV - 

3 5 



xe4

36 36  c5xe4 It is difcult to say whether the endgame after 36.fxe4 bxcS 37.exd5 xc2 xc2 38. 3 8.c2 c2 exdS (Aft (After er 38 . . . cxd5 39.dxc5! de4 40.d4 White's bishops, in combination with the passed pawn on the c-le, are very strong.) strong.) 39 3 9 .�xc5 .�x c5 offered offered White White better prospect prospe ctss of a draw; draw; Black would proceed with 39.de4 40.�xc6 �dc8 and have the better endgame due to the unfavourable position of White's -bishop.

36 37c2-e2 38 38  e4-c3 39e2-b2

h7-g6 �b8-b7 id5-c4 b6-b5

Finally Finally Black tries to realize his advantage advantage on the queensi quee nside. de. But Bu t during during timetrouble he has placed his pieces unfavourably, so that White once more mor e obtains dangerous dangerou s counterplay co unterplay.. It I t was wa s however however difcult difcult for for Black to convert his edge by other means, as White was threatening the very troub troublesome lesome 40. e4.

40a4xb5 4Ic3-e4!

c6xb5

74

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E

White's White's adjournment adj ournment mo move ve,, which which cause cau sess Black the the greatest greates t difcult difculties. ies. 42.xd6 followed by �xc4 is now threatened, winning a piece, and will will also, for for instance, foll ollow ow afte afterr 41 . . . �  . oreover an even eventual tual a3 or c5 is also threatened, and that is why the following exchange is virtually virtually forc forced. ed. Among Am ong other things, the attempt att empt 41 . f4 would not have have ven White anything due to the reply 41 ...�, ...�, and Black would have secured the important g4-square for his knight.

41  42xe4

d6xe4 f-g4!

After thorough home analysis, Black came to the conclusion that the sacricial combination initiated by the text-move offers him the best practical winning winning chances. For instance, 42. . .� would not lead to anyt anyth hng ng due due to the reply 43.d5 43. d5!! exd5 44.exd5 44. exd5,, because becau se after after 44 44 . . . xd5 45.� 45 .�ed ed11 the th e whte whte piec pi eces es woul wouldd exert a tremendous repower, repower, which which is not compe c ompensated nsated even eve n by by Black's Black's extra pawns. any commentators commentators claim claim 42 . . . �bd7 was the simples simple s t road to victory victory, but in my opiion this statement is not correct. corr ect. Here White White would would also proceed with 43 43 .d5 .d 5 ! exd5 44.b6 and create very sharp complicat complications, ions, where it is not at all clear that Black's extra pawns will prevail over White' White'ss well-coordinated pieces. piec es. With the text-move, Black embarks upon a surprising combination, which it is very ver y dfcu dfcultlt for for White to nd a correct de deffence against against..

MLO MLOV V - 

43J�lxc4

75

'-h5!

yslov probably did not notice this sacrice in his home analysis and expected 43 . xf2 xf2 immediatel im mediately. y. Bec Becaus ausee after the text-move he spent spe nt ore than half of hs time on the clock cloc k without ndng ndng a satisf satis factory defenc defence.e. atu a turall rallyy 43 . x  at this point is much weaker, weak er, and would fter fter 44.3  g4 45.h 45 .h33 gve gve Whte Whte an excellent excellent position p osition

J�c4-c2? After long thought, myslov decides to hang onto the extra piece, but tis is the decisive mistake and quickly assures Black a winning attack so bad was of course 44.h3 xf2, and as White cannot take on  due to the loss of an exchange, he has no satsfactory defence against the the double double threat threat of . . . d3 and and .  xh3 However, However, Black's combination co mbination does doe s not no t seem se em to be suf su fcient cien t for for a win win after after the only correct reply 44 44h2-h h2-h4! 4!  It would would lead lead to very compicated variations, where accurate analysis is almost impossible to gve. Black woul wouldd of course play 44  . x, when the following variations are an approximation approximation of of the possibil pos sibilttie ies:s: a) 45b3 45 b3 (Afte Afterr 453 45 3 there there follo ollows ws 45 ..  d 1 , and 45�c6 45 �c6 is nswered by d3 d3 4S@xf2 � followed by .bxc4 b xc4 of course also loses) os es) 45 ... . bxc4! (eaker eaker is 45 ..   d3 46.�1 46. �1 , as in line 2) 46xb7 46 xb7 gxh4 gxh4 and Black has the better chances, since accepting the sacrice here or later by by @xf @x f2 woud woud yield yield Black a decisive deci sive attack after after    �f8 b) 45. 4 5.�1 �1 ! d  d  (Aft (After er Lvensh's Lvensh's recommenda recommendation tion 45    d3 46.b3 � Wht Whtee natura naturay y does not play 47xb5? 47xb5 ? due to  .  �xf �x f  followed by by  f3, f3, but he would would instead ins tead play 47�c 47 �c6!6! and even gain an advantage advantage)) 46b3 bxc4 (After (After 46  . . e3 White has the saving resource 47�c8!) 47xb7 47 xb7  e3 And although although Black Black has retained the extra pawn, White's White's counterplay still seems to be sufcient to balance the position due to lack's lack's expo e xposed sed king king Even though all the above possibiiies were practically impossible to foresee, myslov certainly had to choose the continuation 44h4 all the same Becaus B ecausee after the text-move text-move he quickly quickly ends up in a hopeles s position.

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E

76

 45gl- 46J�el-e2

h5xh2t b7-

Force, Force , sice a ouble o uble exchage o f2 follow followe e by .. . () was threatee.

46

h2xg3

47b2-c3 With this this move White eabes his h is oppon op ponent ent to win a couple of tempos a, after some exchages, transpose to an easily won egame. Bt also in the case of the best defence, White coud ony prolong the game, but no loger save it. o, for exampe, after Romaovsky's recommenatio 47.e5 there should foow not the ne Lvensh recommene 47 . .    48.�xf 48. �xf22 3 49.g1 �x 50.�xf 50. �xf22 �xd4, �xd4, which woul yie White some couterplay after 51.a2, but the simpe simperr 47 . . . a4 an White faces the same probems as before the text move. mo ve. I f, for example, example, 48. 4 8.d5 d5,, then 48 . . . a3 and an eventa ...� ...� wins. If howe howeve verr 48.3 48 .3,, then then 48 . . .f4 and Black's attack must sea the fate of the game relativey quickly. A similar positio as i the last line can also occur if White, istead of the game contiuatio 47.c3, tries 47.�c3. Black aswers this b

ML MLOV OV - 

77

  d6, and threatens xd4 xd4 as wel as df8, df8, and gets a winning ack But after the textmove 4c3, Black's task is very simple

47

••

g3xc3

atural aturaly y 4    xf2 48xg3 xe4 49f3 x folowed by g3  g3 ould also have been possible, but the text-move is easier

48J�c2xc3 49J�c3-c2

�d8- g4x

But But not 49    a4 rs, due o Sh3

50Je2x 51.�c2x 52. 52. 

�xt �t a5-a4

The exchanging combination enabled Black to use his strong passed pawn pawn on the ale a le White White is able able to capture capture it, but only at the cost cos t ooff his h is o central pawns The resulting endgame with a bishop against four pawns is completely completely hopeless hopele ss for White White

53 . g-h3 54.d4-d5

g8- e6xd5

so 54    a3 SSxe6 @f6 would have won White is no longer able to stop the a-pawn

55 .h3-d7 .h3-d7 56 .d7-c6 .d7-c6 57.c6xb5 he esgned.

-f d5xe4 a4-a3

A very complicated and interesting ghting game, where both sides constant cons tantly ly had to solve solve difcult difcult problems The mistakes mis takes that th at were wer e made are understandable and do not n ot disturb the general impres impression sion very much, but rather help help in making certain phase ph asess of o f the game more interesti interes ting ng

ECOD EC OD CYCLE CYCLE

7

o 14 1 4 French Deence Deence M Euwe

M Bonn

Te He, 16h Mch 1948 le2-e4

e7-e6

In recent tourname to urnaments nts Botvinn B otvinnk k has amost excusivey excusivey been empoyin empoyingg the French Defence against 1.e4. Ony sometimes for a change has he chosen to pay pay 1 . . . e 5 , however however during during the earlier years years of his career ca reer the iciian Defence constituted his favourite weapon.

2d2-d4 3bl-d2

d7-d5

Botvinnik has achieved so many spendid victories in the 3.c3 b4 variation that Euwe refrains from using it, and instead chooses the more modest, mode st, but instead ins tead es esss risky, risky, textmove. textmove.

3 

c7-c5

The The other possib pos sibe e system of defence, defence, 3 . . . f6, normay gives Back a cramped position po sition after after 4.e5 4. e5  fd7 S . d3 cS 6.c3 6. c3 and White White is abe to deveop a strong iniaive. The drawback of the text-move is that Back mus mustt now accept acce pt an isoated pawn pawn on dS, dS , but as compens co mpensation ation he gets good deveopment and some attacng chances. A very interesting position now occurs that normay ve rise to tactica games.

4e4xd5 After 4. 4.  gf3, as advocated by Aekhine, Back can ay 4. . . f6. ow after S.exdS he can capure with the knght on dS and obtain a fuy satisfactory position. The text-move is therefore more oca.

4 

e6xd5

The The capture 4 . . .xdS woud gve Back a fcut defence. White

EUWE - BOIIK BOIIK

1 9

ould ould answer it with with the temporary pawn sacric s acricee S .  gf3 gf3 ! cxd4 cxd4 6 .c4 fooed ooed by  b3 and obtain obt ain a much muc h freer freer pos p osition ition and a nd good go od attacking chances.

 i-t This check has in my opinion no purpose, and only leads to ture simplications of the position, mang a draw a more likely outcome. Accordi According ng to Euwe's Euwe's own words, words, he did not no t want to take any risks in this game, therefore he decided not to fear simplcations and also not fear a dra The normal continuation S.g gives rise to a more interesting game.

 

b8-c6

ith ths move move Black tries to create complication c omplications,s, which however however can only bring trouble to hmsel The best reply to Whte's simpling continua continuation tion was was S . . . d7, and thus Black forces further exchanges and ould quicky give the game a drawish character.

6dl-e2t ith ts move Euwe shows that he is not aiming for anything more than a dra, and hence the opening stage loses much of its interest. Here 6.gf3 had to be played, whch gives an interesting position rich in possibities, with the somewhat better prospects for Whte. After 6 ...e7 ... e7 hite does not have to agree to the exchange of queens by 7.e2 7. e2,, but b ut can c an very well well play 7 .e2 folowed olowed by 00, 0 0, with a good game. If Black Black however however plays 6 . . .d6, then after 7.0-0 ge7 8.dxc5 xcS 9.b3 White also gets the somewhat better game due to the control over the d4-square.

6  7d4xc5 8glxe2 9-b3 10icl-

d8-e7 e7xe2t ixc5 ic5-b6

ECOD CYCLE

0

Despite De spite the the previous exchanges, exchanges, White's White's position pos ition can can stl be considered consider ed as somewhat better due to his complete control over the d4-square. But it is hardly sufcient in order to achieve any tangible edge. With the text-move Whte tries to take control of the cS-square. If possible White also wants to exchange off the bishop on b6, thus weakening the dark squares squar es in Black's camp even more. The immediate immediate 1  .e3 would not, on the other hand, have been dangerous for Black, and woul wouldd afte afterr 1 0 ...x ... xe3 e3 1 1 .xc6 .xc6 bxc6 1 2. fxe3  f6 hav havee give givenn him good good counterplay.

1 0

g8-e7

After After 1  . . .d7 then 1 1 .c3 was a litt little le troubl troublesome, esome, but nevert nevertheless heless it would have offered Black better prospects than the text-move, which enables Whte to increase his slight advantage. ubsequently Black has to overcome certain ce rtain dfculties before before he is able abl e to completely comple tely equalize the position.

lli-b4 ot a bad continuation, but one cannot understand why Euwe rejected rejec ted 11.a5! xaS 12.xa5. It would have eminated Black's important bishop and ven White a small but cear positional advantage. After the text-move Black's defence is much easier.

EUWE EUWE  BOINIK BOINIK

1 1  1 2 b4-c5!



a7-a6 b6-c7

12 ... axb5 1 3 .xb6, as well well as 12 ... xc5 1 3.xc6 foll ollow owed ed by  xcS, gave White an edge. With the text-move Black at least retains the bishop pair.

1 3 b5xc6t If 13.d3 then Black gets rid of his bad bishop, which constitutes is main positio posi tional nal drawb drawback, ack, by 1 3 ...f ...f55 . The text-exchange text-exchange theref there fore ves better prospects.

1 3  140-0-0 15e2-d4

e7xc6 c8-e6 0-0-0

It is curious curious that Botvi Botvinnik nnik allows allows s c6- and dS-paw dS- pawns ns to be blocked, which which gves gves him h im trouble later. A natural continuation was 15... 15...  xd4, which afte afterr 1 6 .xd4 0-0 as wel wel as after after 1 6. xd4 or 1 6 .d4 0-0-0 would would yie yield ld Black an approximate approximately ly equal game.

16d4xc6 17�d1-d4!

b7xc6

tronger tronger than than 1 7 .d4, when when Black Black wou would ld simply simply reply reply 1 7 ...de8 ... de8 because te capture on g7 g7 is not dange dangerou rouss on account of . . .hg8 followed b ...x ... xg2. g2. With With the text-move text-move White White places the rook rmly  rmly in the centre c entre and by a4 threatens to generate an attack agains againstt the weak a6-pawn. a6 -pawn.

1 7 1 8  2-g3

®c8-d7

Protecting the g2-point and threatening 19.a4 a8 20.d4 with the double threat on g7 g7 and and cS.

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E



1 8  19�d4-a4 20hl-el 21ic5-e3

-f d8-a8 h8-e8

Here 21 2 1 f8 f8 x 22 cS @d6 23 23 xe6 xe6 does not ve Whte anyt anythi hing ng,, because beca use Black Black can then play either either 23 2 3    fe8 fe8 24xc7 24xc7 xe xe  2S@d2 2S @d2 @xc7 26@ 26 @xe1 xe1 cS with with an equal equal ro rook ok endgame, or also 23    ae8 24xf8 xe 2S@d2 e8 26xh7 and White's knight has ended up in such a bad positio po sitionn that he can no longer hav havee any prospects of wng

21 21  

ic7-d6

22ie3-4 As White is unable to force his opponent to exchange the bishop in any case, case , the manoeuvre began by by the text-move text-move turns out out to be just ju st a loss of time The strongest continuaton appears to be the simple 22cS xcS 23xc5 With ths Whte, despite the opposite-cooured bishops, would would have have retaned a smal smal edge Ins I nstead tead of ts Whte Whte bens aimes aimesss manoeuvrin manoeuvringg that naly naly leads to t o the th e loss los s of o f all all his advanta advantage, ge, and ves rise to a hopeles sly drawi drawish sh endgame

EU EU - BOIK BOIK

22 



d6-

Afte Afterr 22 . . .xf4 xf4 23. 2 3. ff4 d6 24.4 24. 4 Black cannot ca nnot very wel welll play 24 . . . c S due to t o the possibi pos sibiiity ty of 25J� 25 J�a5 a5,, which which  s why why h e wou would ld then have have to accept acc ept an unfavour unfavourable able endgame. ith the text-move Black threatens 23 . . . c5 and thus forces hte to take back his previous move.

234-e3 24el-dl 25dl-d4

e6- d7-c7

The threat threa t of 26. 26 .5 5 followed ollowed by da4 that is bound up with ths move is easy parried by Black, and after ts the white rooks end up in a relatively uncertain position. Also bad was 2S.c5, whch enables the black rook to penetrate on e2. But 25.c4, in an attempt to utize the somewhat uncertain position of the black king, offered hte the relatively best chances. However, Black has already overcome the greatest dfculties and in any case hte could not n ot hope fo forr any signicant signicant edge.

25   

i-e4 i-e4

Also possibl pos siblee of course was was 25 . . . e4, but with the textmove Black threatens threatens to play 26 . . . c5 and thus forces forces Whte to proceed with the plan he began on the prevous prevous move.

26a4-a5 hite could have set s opponent some traps by the move 26.f4. If thereafter thereafter 26... 26 ...b6?, b6?, then then 27. 27 .db4! db4! leads to t o mate; kewise kewise unacceptable for Black is 26 . . . b7 27.aS b6 28.db4! xb4 29.xb4 xaS 30.b7 30.b 7 and a nd hite's hite's threats threats become bec ome too strong strong. Aso afte afterr 26 . . .d6 27.xd6 27 .xd6 followe followedd by 28. 28 .a5 a5 White would would have have a favourable endgame, e ndgame, but the simp simple le 26 . . . c8 or also 26 . . . d7 do not offer hte any signicant signicant dge compared wth the game continuation. continuation.

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E

4

26

e4-g2!

Black Black transf trans fers his hi s bishop bisho p to the 1 -a6 diagon diagonal al and nally nally protects the weak a6pawn. Wte now has nothng better than to quickly enforce equalty. Because in the case of further aimess manoeuvring, Black's bishop bisho p pair could naly start to exert a meaningl meaningl inuence. inuen ce.

27b3-c5 ow White even offers ths exchange hmself, which he could have forced on the 22nd move. However, now Black is no longer forced to accept it.

27  

g2- g2-

Protect Protec ting the a6pa a6 pawn wn and in some lnes threat threaten enng ng the strong ... . .bS. For example: 28.�da4? bS 29.xa6 @b7 30.cS xcS 31.�xa8 xe3 and Black has won a piece. Instead of the text-move text-move the attack attackn ngg attempt attempt 27 . . . @b6 @b 6 was was of course faul faulty ty and afte afterr 28.�b4! 28. �b4! @xaS 29.� 29 .�b7 b7 xcS 30.xc 30 .xc55 would have have give givenn White a mating mating attack.

With ths move Whte admits that his attack has come to an end, and that he now has to focus on maintainng equality. Instead of the text move Whte could also a lso have tried 28.f 28 .f4 4,, since 28 . . . @b6? would after 29. 29 . d7 @b7! @b 7! 30. 30 .x x �xf �x f8 31 3 1 .�b4 lead Black Black to to the brink brink of of defeat. defeat. Black Blac k woul wouldd howeve howeverr proceed pro ceed with 28 2 8 . . . @c8 and one cannot see what White has achieved by his check.

28   

�e8-e4 �e8-e4

Otherse 29.�da4 could become troublesome. With the text-move Black force forcess his adversary adversary to exchange a rook and thus breaks the back of Whte's Whte's attack. attack.

29�d4-a4

�ea4

EU BOIIK 

30J�a5xa4 31c2xd3

5

x c6-c5

After this liberating thrust the endgame is completely equal and the draw could already have been agreed here. White's subseq sub sequent uent attempts attemp ts to obtain an edge of course do not no t lead to anythi anything. ng.

32b2-3

d5-d4

Otheise White White could still have gained some chances chance s by d3-d4. d3- d4.

33ie3-d2 34®cl-dl 35a2- 36J�a4-a5t

®c7-6 �a8-e8 ®b6-5

It was better, especially already on the previous move, to play a4c4 and an eventual b3-b4, with some chances in the rook endgame. After the execution of the plan began with the text-move text- move,, White's rook becomes shut out from from the game

36  373-4 38b4xc5t

®b5-6 �e8-e5 ixc5

ECOD CYCLE

6

39-4

�e5-e8

Black avoids the na na trap 39  .  �e3? 40.�xc5 xcS 41 xe3 xe3 dxe3 42.e 42. e22 d4  d4 43.g4! and the pawn endgame is won for for White. White. ow  ow o the other ot her hand the th e draw draw is obvious.

40�a5-a4 Draw

@b6-b5



Cyd 2 Ru 8 1 Bonn-Smysov z z Keres-Reshvsk 1

Free: Euwe

otvinnik and myslov again played the Grnfeld Defence, where hite introduced an interesting novelty in the openng. This however did not ve him an advantage. Rather the opposite: lack achieved dangerous pressure against the d4-square. ut when myslov refrained from capturing this pawn on the 14th move, he ended up with a cramped position. pos ition. He then freed freed hmself hmsel f by sacricing an exchange exchange for for to pawns. An interesting endgame arose where Black initially spoed his whole def d efensiv ensivee position p osition by the thought thoughtles lesss 40 . . . f5? advance. ut he subsequently put up very stubborn resistance. Botvinnik indeed kept winning chances the whole time, but did not utize them well enough, enough, and enabled enabl ed his adversary to get a draw after a long and care ca refful defence. The game Keres-Reshevsky opened with the panish, and took a very interesting intere sting turn righ rightt ffrom rom the rst rs t moves moves,, and forc orced ed both bo th players to face fresh problems. In order to solve these problems both players used so much time on the cock that annoying time-trouble arose after just the rst twenty moves. After earler not having utilzed several chances to increase his slight advantage, advantage, hite accepted acc epted hs opponent's oppon ent's draw offer on the 24th move, even though the position allowed further play. Tournament position after the 8th round: otvinnik 4/, Keres 4, Reshevsky 3/, myslov 3 and Euwe 1.

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E



o 1 5  Grned Grned Deence Deence M

Bonn

V Smysov

Te He, 18h and 20h March 1948 ld2-d4 2c2-c4

g8-f g7-

Bo tvinnik now aows the same Botvinnik s ame Grnf Grn fed Def De fence enc e that he hms hmse eff payed with Back against mysov in the rst cyce. It is interesting to note that in repy mysov chooses the same ne up unti move ve, athough Botvinnik had a reativey unfavourabe position in the previous game. But mysov has investigated the Grnfed Defence extensivey. Thus he has a certain edge over hs opponent in the opening phase.

d7-d5 evera grandmasters, among them especiay Boesavsky, ike to pay the King King's's Indan Def D efence ence by 3 . . . d6 and ater ...e7-e5, ...e7-e5, whe mysov amost aways chooses the Grnfed Defence. It is hard to te whch of these defences is preferabe, as with correct pay Whte obtains the better position in both both cases c ases..

Among other thngs the we-kown ine 4.f4 g7 5.e3 deserves attention, attention, and afte afterr 5 . . . 0-0 White can win a pawn by the continuation 6.cxd5 xdS 7.xd5 xd5 8.xc7. Back can in this case either pay forr an attack by 8 . . .  c6 fo c6,, which which Whi White te answers answers best be st by 9 . e2!, e2 !, or aso by by the the more modest 8 . . . a6. In the atter case, after 9.xa6 xg2 10.f3 White gets an endgame where he has some hopes of an advantage. Aso 4.b3 dxc4 5.xc4 e6 6.bS c6 gives rise to a sharp game. And White cannot ca nnot very we go for for a pawn grab in any ne, since Back's edge in deveopment woud woud in this case threaten to secure him a decisive advantage. The text-move has in recent times turned out to be the most frequently-used equently-used continuation.

BOT BOTVIIK  MLOV

4  Yd-b3

9

-g7

o this move is tota totayy ne, since the ne 5 . . . dxc4 foowed by ...e6 e6 ivo voves ves a doubtfu doubtfu pan sacrice that can we be accept ac cepted. ed. In earier tes 5.a 5 .a4 4 was was aso often payed payed here, when 5 . . . c6 coud be met  6.cxd5  xdS 7.e4, 7. e4, but Back answers this more simpy simpy by 5 . . .d7 6.b3 and now either 6 . . .c6 or 6 .. . dxc4, with a tenabe game.

5 

d5xc4

 the mysovBo mysovBotvin tvinnik nik game from from the rs  rstt cyce, Back payed 5 . . . c6, t afte afterr 6.cx 6 .cxd5 d5  xdS 7 .e4 he got go t into difcuies. difcuies. The T he textmove textmove ves rise to approximatey the same position, but here Back tries to do ithout the defensive move ...c7 ...c7 c6, c6 , and in some ines ine s he might deveop deveop his knight a c6. c 6.

6Yb3 6 Yb3 xc4

0-0

mysov was greaty invoved in the deveopment and practica testing of the defensive system characterized by this, and especiay the next, move mo ve.. And he can be considered one of o f today's today's greatest experts expert s on this position. position. Earie Earierr 6 . . .e6 7 .b5  c6 was often payed payed here. White can anser ths by either 8.e4 or 8.xb7, because Back ony obtains very dubious attacng chances chanc es in return for the sacrice sac ricedd pawn .

7e2-e4

c8-g4

A variation deveoped by mysov, whose main idea is to attack the d4pan. For this purpose Back threatens an eventua exchange of the f3knigh f3knight,t, hich hich is protecting protecting this point, a nd to t o deveop his queen's queen's knight to c6. This is the reason why he initiay abstained from the move mo ve .. . c7c6. Among other possibe systems of deveopment at this point, the manoeuvr manoeuvree recommended reco mmended by the Dutchmen, 7 . . .  a6 fooed ooed . . . c7c5, deserves particuar attention. This continuation ves rise to a sharp game. game. But as there is st no broader practica practica experience, it is too ear ear to gve a na evauation regarding the vaue of this ine.

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E

90

ot o t recommended recommend ed for for Black is the contin c ontinuatio uationn 7 . . . c6 8.e2 bS (better is 8 .. .  bd7) 9.b3 aS, since after after 1 0.d2 b4 1 1 . a4 xe4 12.xb 1 2.xb White gained an advantage in the game Flohr-Lienthal, Prnu 1947. Aso weak is the reply 7 ...b6 ... b6 due to 8 .e5 .e 5 !, whch whch afte afterr 8 . . .a6 enabes the the favourable queen sacrice s acrice 9. 9 . exf6. exf6. And if Bl Blac ackk plays plays 8 . . . fd7 or 8 .. .  e8, e8 , then 9.d 9 .d55 ! would would ve White White a clearly clearly better position.  cl-e3

After 8.e5 e6 9.d5 c8 Black gets counterplay by ...e7e6 ... e7e6 or ...c ... c 7 c6 in return return for for the lost tempos. For Fo r example: example: 1 .e2 e6 1 1 .f4 .f4 exdS 12.exd5 e8 followed by ... ... d6 with a good game ga me for for Black Blac k (Kotov (Kotov Lilienthal, Prnu 1947). With the text-move White increases his control of d4 and prepares for a ture d  d 1 , thus obstructing ob structing the the execution of Black's Black's liberati liberating ng thrusts ...e ... e 7 -eS or . . . c7 -cS.

8 ..

f-d7

tronger than than 8 . . .  c6 c6,, which which was played played in the game game between the same players at the Groningen tournament of 1946. White continued with 9.d5 xf3 10.gxf3 eS 11.e2 c6 12.f4 followed by g2 and gained a clear advantage. With the textmove Black prepares to develop the knight to c6, as well as preparing the central central thrust . . . e7e5.

BOTVIIK BOTVIIK - Y YLO LOV V

9

9- This is Botvinnk's novelty, wch however does not cause Black any greater greater difculties. ore promising promis ing continuat co ntinuation ionss are certainly 9 .e2  6 1 0.d3 xf3 xf3 1 1 .gxf .gxf33 e6 1 2.h4 2.h 4 and and a later 0-0-0, as in the game game otov-m otov-myslo yslovv, Prnu 1 94 7, or also 9 .3  b6 1 .d . d 1 , as in the gae Keres-myslov from the thrd cycle. After the text-move White experi experiences ences some difculties in protecting p rotecting the d4-pawn. 9...

-d3 �c4-d3 1 0 �c

d7-b6 c7-c6

A good enough move; Black, just in case, thwarts the d4-d5 advance (af (after the retreat of the bishop to e6) e 6).. But Bu t akagonov's recommendation recomme ndation to play 1  . . . fS seems to be even stronger, as it also threatens to win a piece by 11. 11 . . . f4. If thereafter thereafter 1 1 . , to avoid avoid vin vingg up the dS-s dS -squa quare re to Black, Black, then accord accordn ngg to to akog akogono onovv 1 1 . . . fxe4 1 2. fxe4  c6 of o ffers good counterplay in the centre.

ll- 12�al-dl 132-a3

jg4-e6 b8-a6 d8-d7

White is already in some difculties due to the unfavourable position of his d2-k d2 -kigh ight.t. Black threatens to once more attack the d4-pa d4-p awn b

9

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E

1 4 ...d8, ... d8, and after that White would lack suitable defensive means to defend ths pawn. ow Whte decides to offer a temporary pawn sacrice, sacric e, howev however er it does doe s not signicantl signicantlyy impro improve ve his position. po sition.

14d3-c2

a6-c7

Black Black apparently let himself himsel f be b e scared for no reason, rea son, and abstained abs tained from from the capture on d4. This would however have given him a good game in all nes. For exampe: 14... 14...xd4 xd4 15.db1 eaker is 15.b3 xb3 followed ollowed by .. . eS, eS , and Black Black does not have to fear fear the the exchange exchange 1 S . xa6 bxa6, either either here or or later.) later.) 1 5 ...c5 ... c5 1 6.b 6. b55 f  fc8 And And after after 1 7. xd4 cxd4 cxd4 1 8.  c3 c4 Black gets good counterpla counterplayy on the the queenside. queenside. And if White, instead of 15.db1, proceeds in real sacricial style by 1 S .xd4 xd4 xd4 xd4 1 6 . c4, then Black's Black's simplest reply reply is 1 6 ...f6 ...f6 17.a5 c8 when he keeps hs extra pawn and has a solid position. The text-move is ikewise playable, only Black is thereafter forced to ght agains againstt more mo re spatial difcuties difcuties than after after the th e capture on d4 .

e6-c4 Instead of the bishop exchange, akogonov advocates 15... 15...ad8 ad8 16.c5 c8 as the exchange on e6 would only strengthen Black's pressure against the d4-square. But White would play 17. 17 .e2 e 2 followed by 0-0, as akogonov also shows, and retain a clear spatial advantage. For this reaso rea sonn the exchanng strategy strategy chosen chos en by Black Black is fuy fuy j ustied us tied and in my opion opio n is the best tool to relieve relieve Black's Black's somewhat cramped position.

1 6-e2 The win of a tempo by 16.c5 c8 is only temporary, since Blac subsequently plays ...d7 ...d7 or ..... . e6 and forces the knight to retreat, if White is i s not willin willingg to allow allow further urthe r exchanges exchan ges .

1 6  17c2xe2 180-0

c4xe2 a8-d8 d7-e6

BNNIK - ML MLOV OV

 

ow Back even forces Wte to win a tempo by cS, apparently assessing ts knight location to be in hs favour. Ths loss of tempo has in fact no greater practica importance. Because of his cramped position po sition,, Black has h as difcuty difcuty in nding ndi ng a suitable suita ble aggressive aggres sive plan ana anay, y, and the extra tempo does not yield Whte any special edge either.

19b3-c5 It is not possible to keep the knight permanently on cS, and soon White has to either retreat the th e knight knight or exchange it of o ff. Hence Hen ce the t he leap 1 9 .a5 . a5!! better met the requir requirements ements of o f the position, practical practically ly forci forcing ng Black to pay 19... 19...c. c. The whte knght would then stand excellently on aS and White could generate strong pressure on the queensde by the the manoeuvre 20J� 20 J�d2 d2 followe followedd by by fc fc  ,  and an eventual eventual d4-d5 d4- d5 or or b2-b4-b5. Back would in this case have had great dfculty in creating active counterplay, whie after the text-move he is able to place hs pieces much more favourably.

1 9  20gl-hl

e6-c8 b6-d7

The The 20.. . e5 thrust would would be very rsky rsky due to the simple simple reply 21 . dxe5 xeS 22. 22 . f4,when White White gets a mobile pawn pawn mass ma ss on the th e ngside, and thus good goo d attacng attacng chances. With With the textmove textmove Black Bla ck continues with the simpliing strategy intiated on the 15th move, which Whte of course tries to avoid. avoid.

94

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E

21c5-b3 22 22e2-c4

b7-b6

In order to create some manoeuvring space for his pieces, Black had to somewhat weaken hs queenside on the previous move. And that s where White now drects his attack. But the textmove is hardly the strongest, because the queen stands unfavourably on c4 and sooner or later has to retreat all the same. sam e. tronger was the immediate immediate 22. 22 .1 1 followed by an eventual �c2 and �fc. This would have given Whte strong pressure on the c-e, and not alowed Black to free hmself so easily.

22  23-4

c8-b7

Ths advance is also an unnecessary deviation from White's main plan, whch whch requires requires increasing the pressure on o n the c-le. c- le. In I n addition, addition, it also considerabl consi derablyy weakens weakens the e4-square. e4- square. The correct cor rect conti co ntinuati nuation on was was the immediate 23.�c1.

23  24�dl-cl

e7-e6 d7-f

Black decides to later depend on a passive defence, but such a tactic cannot be successful in a cramped position. ore promisng was therefore therefore the sharp thrust 24 . . . f5, when Black Black utiiz utiizes es White's inaccuracy on the 23rd move and assures himself of control of the important central dS-square. A sharp positional battle would then take place, where Black in my opinion has good prospects of vald counterplay.

25 e3-gl e3-gl

�d8-c8

The black c-p c -paawn required protection protec tion soone so onerr or later, and White was in some som e lne lness threatening the unpleasant unpleas ant e4e5 e4e 5 folowed olowed by  e4, attacking the c6- and d6-points. d6-p oints. Ths threat threat is thwarted thwarted by the text-move, text-move, because now 26.e 26 .e55 would would simply simply be answered answered by 26 . . .  fd5 27. e4 e8. On the other hand, the black rook now now stands insecurely on c8 due to the eventual saly of Whte's knight to d6. Later in the game, this knight move to d6 wl cost Black an exchange.

BONNIK - ML MLOV OV

95

26J�cl-c2

te has spent too much time on the rst part of the game, and now as quick but inexac. Instead of the textmove it was better to imediatel admit the fault on the 22nd move and pla 26.e2, with proximatel the same opportunities as occur in the game.

26  

�-d8

I is curious that Black does not use the favourable opportunit to urther simpli the position b 26 . . .a6, which would have forced hite hite to exchange exchange queens queens.. After After 27.xa6 xa6  xa6 28. 2 8.1 1 White would would ndeed have retained slight pressure, but Black should not have an special difculties in defending his position. With the queens stil on e board, Black has much more difcult organizing a defence.

27Vc4-e2 atural atural White White now avoids avoids all pos po s sible simplicatio simpli cations ns after . . .a 6 , and treatens treatens to strengthen strengthen the pressure press ure against against the weak weak pawn pawn on c6 b f  fc 1 . In order to avoid this, Back decides to offer a pawn sacrice. nf n fortunatel, ortunatel, White Whit e is not forced to accep ac ceptt it, and b declining, further further strengthens White's central position.

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E

96

27...

c7-b5

Black cannot can not create c reate any counterplay in any other way way.

28.e4-e5! The idea behind Black's pawn sacrice was lying in the vaaton 28.xb5 cxbS 29.c8 c8 30.e5 dS 31.xb5 �c2 with more than enough counterplay for the sacriced material. If White in this line would decline to win the pawn and after the exchange 28.xb5 cxbS try to utize the extra pawn in the centre, then he would likewise end up in difculties due to the acti ac tive ve placement plac ement of the back pieces pie ces and the c-le c- le that is under Black's control. With the textmove, White does indeed decne winning materia, but he practically forces his opponent to exchange on c3 and thus s trengthen Wte's already powerfu powerfu centre even more.

28 ... .. .

 b5xc b5xc3

After After 28 . . . d5 29.e4 White not only threatens 30.a4 followed b d6, but he also threatens to generate strong positional pressure on the c-le. With the text-exchange Black does close this le, but he has to accept other o ther nds of positiona pos itionall dr draw awbacks. backs.

29.b2xc3 30.c3-c4 31.b3-

f-d5 d5-e7

White White tries to t o get his his knight to e4 as soon s oon as a s pos po s sible, but the immediate execution of ths manoeuvre enables Back to obtain an endgame wit good drawing chances chan ces by an almost almos t force forcedd exchange sacrice sac rice.. There Th ereffore a slow strengthening of the posi po sition tion by, for example, 31 3 1 .f . f2 seems se ems to be better, be tter, in order ord er to eventually eventually exchange Black's Black's strong knight. knight.

31.. 31. . . 32.d2-e4

e7-

BOIK - Y YLOV LOV

32  

1 97

xd4

ith this combination Black loses an exchange for two pawns, but simplies simplies the position and obtains o btains excellent drang drang chances. chances . Another tenable continuation for Black was akogonov's recommenda recommendaion 32 . . . a6 33.� 33 .�d1 d1 hS. hS . Black woud woud in ts case maintain maintain the strong ght ght on fS, but White's White's spatial advantage would sl assure as sure him of the freer game. Bad was, among other thngs, 32.. 32..�xd4 �xd4 33.xd4 xd4 34.d6 followed ollowed by b y  with an a n edge for Whte.

33 glxd4 glxd4 34  e4-d6 35e5xd6 36J;c2-d2

�d8xd4 �dd6 c6-c5 �c8-d8

Here akogo akogonov nov advocates advocates 36 . . .d4, to answer answer 37. 3 7.f f33 by 37 . . .d7 38.g4 �c6 39.f5 exfS 40.gxf5 �xd6. But the text-move is no worse, as the further analysis shows. It is clear that White is no longer able to defend the d6-pawn, after which Black, with two pawns and a strong bishop on d4, has sufcient compensation for for the exchange.

b7?

9

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E

The exchange of queen que enss is bad, ba d, and puts lack  lack in a very difc difcult ult position posit ion in the resulting re sulting endgame he lacks an adequate def de fence enc e agains againstt the threat of a3-a4-a5. a3-a4-a5. Instead, Instead, 37 . . .d7 was a lly satisf satis factory continuation and would have given lack a perfecy reasonable position. akogonov thereafter recommends 38.g4 d4 39.f5, but this continuatio considerably weakens the position of White's own kng and after 39 ...exf5 ... exf5 40.gxf5 40 .gxf5 xd6 41 4 1 . fxg6 fxg6 fxg6 yields lack a full fullyy adequate game. Also not dangerous is 38.fd1 d4 39.xd4 cxd4 40.xd4 c8 when lack lac k should s hould not have have any great dfculties in drawing the endgame .

38x 39-g3

g7-d4

uch stronger was 39.g4!. Whte would then have maintained attackng chances on both anks. lack could strongl stronglyy answer the text-m text-move ove by 39 3 9 . . . h5 !, and soon afte afterr ...xd6, ... xd6, and obtain much better defensive chances than in the game continuation.

39 39  40hl-g2

�d8xd6

Aso here 40.g4 had to be played. The loss of tempo bound up with this move is not of particular importance in this position.

B BIK IK - MLOV

40  

99

-?

positional blunder that puts Black in a hopeless position. With the tet-move tet-move Black is not helping helping to defend anng on the queens quee nsid ide,e, but rather giving White the opportunty to break through on the ngside y eakenin eakeningg the e6- and g6-pawns and clearing the 7th 7 th rank. After the tetm tetmove ove,, Black's positon po siton can already be considered con sidered lost l ost.. t it as possible po ssible to put up a stubborn s tubborn def d efence ence by play playng ng 40 40 . . . h. This oud deprive Whte of a hopes of a breakthrough on the ingside. For example: 41.h3? < 42.a4 aS! 43.g4 hxg4 44.hxg4
41-a4 42-b3

®g8-

Also possible and time-saving was the immedate 42.a5 bxaS 43.a3, and Whte Whte wins wins the t he pawn back ba ck with with a clear advantage. The Th e preparatory prep aratory text-move is unnecessary.

42  

®-f

ECOD CYCLE

00

43J�d2-? te shoul sh oul ot aow aow the queesie queesi e to be completely close, close , because bec ause hs chaces ch aces o f ope ope g g up es o the gsie are ot that favourable ourable I the evet of a total closig of the positio, Whte's material ege become bec omess usory us ory a the raw raw is ievitable 43a 43 a55 bxaS 44�a3 44 �a3 �b6 45�c2! ha to be paye, whe te wis the paw back a Black is o  o oger able to create such su ch a s tubbor efesive efesive positio as i the otes ot es to t o Black's 40th move move above After the text-move, Back is agai able to orgaize an effective efece, whch makes the outcome of the game completely ope 43 . . .

a7-a5!

The correct reply It is true that with this move, Black ties himself to a permaetly passive efece, but it eprives ite of all chaces on the queesie, a forces him to ecie the game by a breakthrough o the gsie But the game cotiuatio shows that Black i this case cas e has suf su fciet efesiv efesivee resources resourc es at his isposal isp osal Amog other thigs, the active avace avace 43   g5 44a5 bxaS was possible possible If ow ow 45�xa5, 45� xa5, the the 45  gxf4  gxf4 46gxf4 �7 47�ba3 �g7 48f3 �g1 a Black has obtaie sufciet couterplay A if Whte Whte woul woul play play 4 5  fxgS xgS  xgS 46 4 6�x �xa5 a5,, the the 46    e5 co coul ul fo follo llow w, also wth various kis of couter-chaces for Black But cosig the positio with the text-move seems to offer Black safer rawig prospects tha the active lie ve above, where White sthas some hopes of realizig his extra exchage

44J�a2-d2

®f-e7

45� 45 � 1 , folowe olowe by 46� 46 �b b 1 wi wi gg a paw paw,, was was threatee

4®g2- Here the game was ajoure a Black seale his move

BONNI BONNIK K  MLOV

45   

0

e7-d7?

lack's lack's position was was dfcult. dfcult. His rook is tied to the def d efence ence of the b6 an, and Black's king must also stay close enough to the b-pawn to e able to defend it in case Whte doubles rooks on the b-le. At the same time, Black's kng also has to be ready to thwart the penetration of White's rooks on the ngside, as it is clear that Whte wi sooner or later be able to open up a le on ths ank. Because both these treatened points are located too far away from each other, it is clear tat Black's Black' s kng kng w not be fuy capable o f s atisf atis factorily ling ling ot tasks. Thus, the opening of a le on the kngside forces Black to aandon aandon his previous pas p assiv sivee waitin waitingg tactics. tactics . The concluson is that the main task for Black's defence in this osition is to prevent the opening of les on the kngside, and if this s not possible, try to prevent White's rooks from using these les. In order to full ths complcated task, Black at ths point had to set up a deeply-calculated and farreachng arreachng def de fensiv ens ivee plan. plan . Even at a supercial glance, it is clear that completely closing the pawn structure on the ngside is not possible, and that Whte wi sooner soon er or later be able able to carry carr y out out the g3-g4 thrust thru st.. Due to the the position po sition of the fSpawn, this advance leads to the complete openng of the e or g-les. Thus Black's further task wil be to prevent Whte's rooks penetrating on one of these open les. In addition, Black must also

0

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E

take good care that White will not be able to open up more than jus one le on the kingside. When taking the above into account, Black's most promising continuation continuation was to play play 45 . . . h5!, and after 46.h3 @e8 47.g4 proceed with with 47 . . . h4! and in this way keep the kingside as closed as possible. White would in this case have had great difculties in realizing his advantage, and it is almost analytically impossible to prove if White's edge would be sufcient for a win or not. Let's briey take a look a some of the main possibiities. Accorng to Botvinnik's own analysis, White wins in the following way: way: 48J� 48 J�dd 1 @d @d77 49.gxf 49 .gxf55 gxfS gxfS (Aft (After er 49 . . . exf5 exf5 Bot Bo tinnik innik ve ves S.e S. e  , but also here S... S ...f f66 51 5 1 .be . be33 gS! gS ! yields yields Black dr draw awin ingg chances.) S.d S .d @e7 51 5 1 .g2 .g2 @ 52.d3 eS eS 53.dd2! 53 .dd2! d4 d4 54.g1 54.g1 eS SS.dd SS. dd ! d 56.d 56 .d33 eS 57 5 7 .gd1 ! d4 d4 58.b 58 .b33 Follo Followe wedd by by db db  and the the b6-paw b6-paw falls. Without trying to go into the details of this analysis, or deciding whether the win of the b6-pawn also assures White of the win of te game, attention should be directed towards some of Black's defensie possibilities that Botvinnik has not considered in his analysis gie above. The main improvement for Black seems to be possible on te 52nd move (or also later) by replacing the purpoeless manoeuvre ...d4e ... d4e5 5d4 d4 with with 52 . . . d8!. White can in this case, it's true, win te b6pawn b6 pawn by the the continuation continuation 53.b 53 .b22 b8 54.b 54. b 1 @ f6 55 5 5 . d db3 b3,, b b this is answered by 55... 55...g8 g8 56.xb6 g3 followed by ...xh3, ...xh3, ad it is unlikely that White stil has any genuine winning chances in ts position. If Black poss po sses essed sed sufcient sufcient defensiv defensivee resour res ources ces to hold the positio positio in the above variations, then after the text-move his position becomes very difcult. White is now able to open up a line on the kingside, ad retains attacking chances with the h-pawn. The advance of this paw would inevitably lead to the opening of new lines, and thus markedl increase White's advantage.

46g-g4

h7-h6

Afte Afterr 46 . . . fxg4 47.@xg4 Black's position would hardly be tenable due to the threat of

BOT BOTVIIK  MLOV

0

h2-h4-h5. And Wte was also threatenng to play 47.g5 folowed by h2-h4h5 with a clearly winning position. But the text-move is also a ew weakening.

47J�- The simple exchange 47. 4 7.gxf gxf55 exfS (or 47 . . . gxf5 48.�g2) 48.�e2! also deserved attenton. Black then has problems stopping Whte's rooks penetratng along the e-e. However, the text-move is also fully playable.

47 48J�b3-d3 ••

d7-e7 e7-

49h2-h4? Whte places his pawn on a dark square, whch later alows hs opponen opp onentt counter-chances by attacking ths pawn. Instead it was possible to exploit exploit Black's Black's helpless position pos ition with with the foll ollow owin ingg manoeuvre: 49.�b 49 .�b22 e7 S.�b1 d7 51.h3 (hite could of course also have carried out this this manoe manoeuvr uvree earlie earlier,r, for for instance instance on the 47th 47th move.) move.) 5 1 . . . .d8 d8 52. 52 .e2 e2 d7 53.�db3 c7 54.�g3 d7 (Bishop moves would be answered y 55.�d1.) 55.h4! And no satisfactory defence can be seen for Black against the threat of 56.h5. Ths manoeuvre recommended by master

ECOD CYCLE

04

akogonov seems to be forcing, and is certainly one of the simples ways for White to increase hs advantage.

49   

4 4t

Forced, since Whit Whitee was threatening threatening S.h S .hS, S, opening new lines.

50Jg2xg4 51�g4-g2

h6-h5 �d6-d8

ow White has to permanently take into consideration the annoying threat threat of 52 . . .f6. The endgame occurring after the exchange of rook would be hopeles ho pelessly sly draw drawish ish,, becaus b ecausee the whte rook would not be ae to penetrate into Black's position.

52�g2-d2 53�-g2 54�g2-d2

-e8 e8- -e8

Whte repeats moves to gain time on he clock.

55-e2 Black can answer the naturalnatural-looki looking ng continuat continuation ion 55 5 5 .  e4 by by 55 . . .f6 f6 56.d8 xd8 with a drawish endgame, since the winnng atte 57.@ 57 .@e5 e5 @e @e77 58.xd8? 58 .xd8? @xd8 @xd8 59.@ 59 .@xe6 xe6 fa fails to 59 . . . 5. However, afte 5 S . @ e4 f6 f6 if Whit Whitee plays plays 56. 5 6.d d6, 6, then then 56 . . . e7 follows, and White cannot capture the pawn pawn because becau se of the undefended undefended ro rook ok on d2.

55   

e8-e7 e8-e7

atural aturally ly not 55 . . .f6 due to the reply 56.d6.

The pass p assiive def de fence 5 6 ..... . d6 would after after 57. 57 .b1 b1 give ive rie to t o a positi po sitio o that we already investigated in the earlier note, and which is hardl

BOIK BOIK - ML MLO OV

05

teabe for Back. With the text-move, Black goes for a counterattack ad carries out a regrouping regrouping of hs pieces piec es to more acti ac tive ve position po sitions,s, thus arke arkedy dy increasing his drawin drawingg chace cha cess.

57J1-

d4-f

a result of White's inaccurate 49th move, Black ow gets couter aces thaks to the weak h-paw. The exchange of the b6-paw for te oe o h4 woud signicantly facilitate Back's defence.



58J�-b3 59J�b3xb6

fxh4 J h 4 -g

ack's position is stvery difcut. The text-move is necessary to revet revet the threat of 60.b 60. b55 , however however ow Back's bishop ends up in a ery e ry ufavour ufavourabe abe positio p osition. n.

60J�b6-7t

e7-f

atura aturallllyy not 60 . . . d6? 61.d1 c6 62.db1 folowed by mate.

61�b7-b5 ery tempting, but also not totally clear i its utcome, was the ariatin 61. h4 62.g4 d8 63.b5 d4 64.xc5 e4. For exampe: 65.xa5 xc4 66.a8 gS! 67.a5 a4 8.a 4 ad Black is able to def d efend end himself, himself, since 69.a7 69 .a7 is answeed by 69 . . . e5 . The outcome of the game is kewise unclea i the variation 5.! d4 (Aft (After er 65 . . . e5 66.xe5 xeS 7.  7.ffxeS xeS xeS the mve mve 68.d 3! assures te's te's an advanta advantage. ge.) 6 6.xa .xa55 (Or (Or 666. 6.c c66 e4!)  e4!) 66 . . . xc4 67.a6 ice Back wou woudd not play play 67 . . .g5? 68.e3 68. e3!,!, but istea isteadd 67 .. . e4! threat threateni ening ng 68 . . . g5. With the text-move t ext-move Whte Whte immedately iit iitiaes iaes an atack agais the queenside pawns, but now Black's bishp cmes i play, ad aer that Whte Whte's's wining wining chances chance s bec b ecme me vey pblemaic. pbl emaic.

61 61  

f-?

06

ECOD CYCLE

Wth s move, Black again jeopardzes hs postion. Instead 61...g 62.c5 xf4 63.a5 h4! would have ven Black good chance to equalize, snce Black's passed pawns on the ngside constitute  dangerous weapon.

62b5xc5t 63c5-e5t

-e4

After 63. 63 . xa5 xa 5 xf4 xf4 Black would would stand s tand excellentl excellen tlyy.

63  64J�-dlt

e4-d4

Or 64.e6 xf4! 65J�xg6 xf 66.xf1 h4 and Black gets a dra

64   65J�e5-e4t

d4xc4

It isis curious c urious that th at no forced forced win win can be see s eenn for for White in the ne 65 6 5 . c c t b3! (65 .. . d4? 66.ec5, 66.e c5, or 65 .. . b4 66.bS) 66.b a2!. Black' kng raculously escapes the mating threats.

65  66e2-

c4-c5

If 66.c 1  dS 67.e3, 67. e3, then Blac Blackk has the trou troubl blesome esome 67 . . .f2! i reserve.

66 67dl-l

h5-h4 c5-d6

Aso possble po ssble was was the the immedate immedate 67 . . . f5, since the endgame after 68.b 68 .b d6 69.xf 69. xf55 (Or 69.be5 69. be5 d7!) d 7!) 69 . . . exf5! looks tenable for Black. White coul smply play 68.g4 wth approximately the sae position as occurs in the game. 67. 67 .cc 1  woul would, d, of course, have have been answered answered by 67 . . . d5!.

BOTV BOTVI IIK IK - MLOV

68J&bl-b6t 69®-g4

07

®d6-d7

r 69bxe6 �xf4. After 69.�d4 Black of course would not play 9 e7?  e7? 70.�b7 followed by g4, but 69 ...c7! ...c7! 70.�xe6 gS with a ra

69  

-

70Je 70J e4-d4t? ith ith this move White White naly throws throws away away his hi s winning winning chances. chanc es. It was essential to exploit the tied-up position of Black's pieces, and and make the th e waiti waiting ng move move 70.� 70 .�a6 a6!! . BBlac lackk would would then have have had great difculty in nding an adequate reply. ng moves or rook moves on the 5th 5 th rank would would be answered by by 71 7 1 .�bxe6 .�b xe6;; rook moves moves on the f- e ould drop the aS-pawn; and after 70... 70 ...f2 f2 there foows 71�bxe6. Back is thus lef le ft with only two two moves moves,, 70 . . .h2 and 70 . e5, whic whichh however also f to offer him satisfactory defensive chances. For example: 70... 70 ...h2 h2 71 7 1 .�exe6 .�e xe6!! �xf �x f4 .h3 . h3 followed ollowed by �xg6 and, due to the mating threat, Black also loses the aS-pawn. Or 70... 70 ...e5 e5 71.fxe5 �xeS 72.�xe5 xeS 73.xh4 and, after the loss of the g-pawn, the endgame is probably lost for Black.

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E

0

70

 d7-e7 -e7

ow, after the development of the rook to fS, Black can calmly move his kng to f6, because the white rook is tied to the defence of the f4 pawn.

71J�b6-7t 72�7-5

®e7-f e6-e5!

Aso possib pos sible le of course was 72 .. e7 or 72 . . .f2, but the textmove eliminates the pawns on the kingside, and is the easiest way for Blac to secure a draw.

73�d4-d6t 74�5xa5

f-g7

According Acc ording to Botvinn Bo tvinnk, k, 74. 74 . fxe5 would have won, but this claim hardl seems to be correct. Black continues continues with with 74 .. . 7S. 7S .h3 h3 �xa4 �xa4 and gets strong counterplay. For example: 76.�d7 (or 76.�dd5 �e4 77.a5 77. a5 gS) gS) 76 . .. h6 77.e 77 .e66 gS with a dra White had already already spoilt hi hi last winning chances on the 70th move.

74   75®g4-h3 75®g4-h3 76�a5-a6 77�d6xg6 78�g6-h6t 79�h6-g6t

� x4t ®g7-h6 ®6-h5 �4xa4 h5-g5 g5-h5

Draw A very interes intere s ting ting and compicated co mpicated game. Even Eve n though both bo th sides sid es made several mstakes during the game, myslov's stubborn defence should still still be hgh hghllghted. ghted. In a worse positi pos ition, on, he withs withstood tood the pressure pres sure fro his strong oppon op ponent ent for about abou t 40 moves, and nally obtained a dra d raw w.

KER KER - HEVKY HEVKY

09

No 16 Te Ruy Lp P

Keres

S Reshevsk

Te Hague, March 18h 1948 le2-e4 2gl- 3i-b5 4ib5-a4

e7-e5 b8-c6 a7-a6 d7-d6

sually Reshevsky employs the closed setup o the pansh Deence by 4 .  6 5 .0-0 .0 -0 e7,  e7, as or or example in the game agains againstt myslov in the rst cycle. But in that game Black had such a bad position ater the opening that Reshevsky decided to choose another system o development or the present game.

5c2-c4 In the other games in the tournament staring with this deence, White played S.c3 without exception, whch o course is also a good continuation. The text-move is the recommendation o Grandmaster Duras, and its idea is to take complete control o the dS-s dS -square, quare, and at the same time Whte also prevents ...b7 ... b7-b -b5.5. The drawback drawback o the move move is o course the weakenng o the d4-square, but practical experience shows that it is very dicul dicultt or Black to utze ths weakness. weaknes s. It is interesting to note that in no game in ths tournament did White White use the exchange exchange variation variation S.xc6 S. xc6 bxc6 6.d4 6. d4 6 7.e3 7. e3,, whch whch is considered considere d one o the strongest continua co ntinuations tions by theory theory, and ves ves rise to a double-edged game with mutual chances.

5   

ic8-g4 ic8-g4

Ater ths move Black is practically already obigated to make the subsequent exchange on , leaving White with the bishop pair. The idea behnd elimnating the kght on  is to increase the control over over the d4-square d4-s quare.. But as Black in any any case cas e is unable to maintain maintain

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E

0

control of this square, the plan initiated by the text-move must be considered as unsuccessful. ore natural was the normal continuatio 5 .. . d7 d7 6. 6.  c3 g6 7.d4 7. d4 exd4 exd4 8.xd4 8. xd4 g7 1 0 . e3  ge7, when it is true that Whte has a small spatial advantage, but Black's position does no contain any weakes weakesse ses,s, and is wel wel developed developed..

The immediate 6.h3 6. h3 xf3 xf3 7.xf 7.x f3 is also pos p ossible, sible, but it would would only only be a revers reversed ed move order orde r to the game.

6

g8-e7

The development of the kight kight through through e7 to g6 is part of the syste syst e of development development chosen cho sen by Black. Afte Afterr 6 . . .  f6 ite it e would also proceed procee d with 7.h 7 .h33 xf  xf33 8.xf 8. xf3, 3, with a good go od game .

7h2-h3

g4

atura aturallyy not 7 . . .h5 as the bishop would be badly placed on this square. It would deprive the knight of the opportunity to develop to g6, and yield Wte chances to generate an attack by g2-g4. With the text-move Black continues the strategy of controlling the d4 square, but he does not obtain the anticipated results. The obectively best bes t reply reply was was 7 . . .d7, even though White, compared with the normal variation, has gained the usel tempo h2-h3.

8\dl

l e7-g

Black continue c ontinuess th hs plan of development, development , but by active active play play White reveals the aw in this method of play. Bronstein Bronstein recommends recommends 8 . . .  c 8, but such suc h manoeuvring ma noeuvring by by the knigh knigh in the opening phase can hardy be tenable for Black. White can, for example, proceed with 9.g3, and Black then has problems with the development development of his kng kngside; side; 9  . .g6, among other continuations, also enables White to commence an attack by h3-h4. After 9 . . .  b6 White would simply exchange on c6 and thereafter play d2-d3, leaving Black with the same difculties as before.

KE KE - HEVK HEVKY



9c3-d5! In a game game against okolsky in in the oscow tournament in 1 947, 947 , I played the quiet 9.d3 9. d3 followed ollowed by by e3. Black then gained gained an adequate position pos ition by the the mano manoeuv euvre re . . .f8-e7 f8-e7-g5. -g5. The main purpos purposee of o f the text-mo text-move ve is to prevent the th e normal no rmal developing developing move move 9 ..... . e7, e7 , because becau se it would would be answered by 10.b4! d7 11.xc6 bxc6, and now not 12.b3 0-0 1 3.b7  f4 with with coun counte terr- chances chances for for Black, but but simply simply 1 2.d3 and Black Bla ck stands very ver y uncomforta uncomfortably bly due to the pin on c6.

9

�a8-b8

A good defensive move; Black threatens in several lines to free the ight from the troublesome pin by playing ...b7-b5. ... b7-b5.

lOd5-b4 Preventing 10... 10...b5 b5 and again forcing Black's ight to retreat; and after 10... 10...d7 d7 1 1 . xc6 bxc6 bxc6 1 2.d3 Black Black would would again again stand stand very very uncomfortably owing to the pin on the c6pawn. Appealing, but unsatisfactory, for White was the attacking attempt on the queenside by 10.b4, with the threat of 11.b5 folowed by xc7. Black would answer it by 10... 10...b5 b5 1 1 .cxb5 axbS and now now afte afterr

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E



12.c3 not 12... 12...d7 d7 13.b3 with an edge for White, but 12... 12 ...d d after 13.xc7 @d7 14.xb5 xbS 15.c4 b6 16.x e7 te occurring compications are favourable only for Black

1 0 

-e7

This retreat shows that Black's handng of the opening has not bee the best. Whte has obtained a clearly better position, and now had to think in the rst place about completing his development. Instead o ths, Whte commences a dubious manoeuvre that nally results in the loss of all his advantage.

l l  b4-c b4-c22 8 7 6 5

It cannot of course be said that ths move is a mistake or particularl bad, bad , but it is appareny app areny an irrational irrational method of exploitin exploitingg the advantage advantage obtained in the opening. In my opinion the simple developing moe 1 1 .d3 .d 3 was very very strong. strong. Black Black has difculties difculties with with his development development and and has hardly hardly anythi anything ng better than than 1 1 ...b5. ... b5. White would answer this  12.xc6 xc6 13.cxb5 axbS 1.b3 d7 1S.e3 and stand clear better with his bishop pair. This would also be the case if Black  1 5 ... ...  d4 decided to create a game with opposite-coloured bishops. bisho ps.

1 1 

d8-d7

KERE KERE - HEVKY HEVKY



lack's position is stil difcult enough, since he has great trouble in reeing himself from the unpleasant pin on c6, and without this, the copletion of his development is made difcult. For example, bad was was   ...5 12.cxb5 12.cxb5 axbS 1 3 . b3 and Black Black lacks suitable means me ans to def d efend end te -point. -point. Howeve However,r, also possibl pos siblee was was 1 1 . . .  c8; c8 ; White woul wouldd answer it by 1 2.b4! 2.b 4! and thus retain his his strong strong bishop on a4.

12d2-d3? uriously, now it is Wte who becomes the passive side! Here active active further play play was required, because beca use if Black Bla ck woul wouldd be b e able to regroup hs pieces he would obtain an equal game. The immediate immediate 1 2.d4 2. d4 was possible, pos sible, but not particularly particularly strong strong in view of the the reply reply 12 1 2 ...b5 ... b5 1 3.cxb5 axbS 1 4.b3 g6,  g6, since since after after 1 4 .e3 Black as the tro troublesome ublesome reply reply 14 1 4 ...a5. ... a5. However, very strong was 12.b4! as recommended by Bronstein. hite would would then have retained his s trong lightlight-squared squared bish b ishop op and, fo forr example, after 12... 12...c8 c8 he would be able to carry out the positionally important important d2-d4 advance advance by playing playing 1 3 . b2. It cannot be seen how Black could have developed his position satisfactorily after 12.b4!, but now this is somehow possible.

1 2 

e7-c8

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E

4

With this move Black primariy threatens to exchange the bishop with 1 3 ...b ... b66 foll follow owed ed by by ... . . aS.

1 3  cl cl - White still fails to nd the correct plan. It is true that the text-move thwarts Black's threat, but it loses an important tempo as later White must play b2-b4 anway. Correct was therefore the immeate 13.b4!, and if Black continues according to Bronstein's recommendation 1 3 ...e7 ...e7 14. 14.b2 f6, then simply 1 5 .00 .0 0 and White wou would ld retain the clearly better position. p osition. On the contrary, contrary, the exchang exchangee 1 3 .xc6 bxc6 1 4.d4, as recommended recommended by Bronstein, does not give White anything in particular. Black would reply 14... 14...e7 e7 and have sufcient counterplay after the exchange 15.dxe5 dxeS.

1 3 

-e7

Better was 13... 13...b6, b6, and if 14. 14.b3 then then 1 4 ...e7, ...e7, enabling either ...g6 ...g6 and ...g7,  g7, or ...b6-d7-c5. ...b6-d7-c5. But White could answer it better by 1 4.xc6 and retain the freer game with some so me attacking chances. chance s.

atura aturallllyy the immediate immediate 1 4.b4 was also possible pos sible,, but bu t the textmo textmove ve is not bad either. Bronstein recommends 14.d4 at this point, but Black would answer this by 14... 14...b6 b6 15. 15.xc6 xc6 1 6.b3 6. b3 0-0 and get an adequate game. It seems that White does not have anything to gain by advancing the pawn in ts position, and that it ony weakens his centre.

1 4 15J�a1-cl?

e7-f

A move move whose whos e purpose purpos e is difcult difcult to explain. explain. By playing playing 1 5 .b4! .b4 ! and 00 0 0 folowed olowed by a sub s ubse sequent quent f  f4 advance, White could still have have gained a clear advantage. But now Black thwart thwartss the strong continuation b2-b4, b2-b 4,

KERE KERE - REHEV REHEVKY KY

5

d forces forces White White to either allow allow furthe furtherr exchanges or o r retreat his piec p ieces es to less favourable ourable positios. po sitios.

1 5  1 6 a4-b3?

c8-b6!

 is obvious tht the black knight that controls the d4square is more vluble than White's passive bishop. Thus 16.xc6 had to be played. hite hite would would the have have retained his hi s somewhat s omewhat freer freer pos p ositio, itio, and hve ttckig prospects by a later -f4. After the textmove, Black obtais equlity.

1 6

d7-d8!

lerig the route for the black kight to come to cS via d7. From cS the ight ight would would attack attack the the b3 and d3points, d3point s, and through through e6 it thretes thretes to increase Black's Black's cotrol c otrol over Wte's weakes weakestt point, d4.

170-0 18a2-a3

b6-d7

Here Bronstei advocates 18.f4, but after 18... 18...exf4 exf4 19.xf4 cS the defece of the d3paw is very unpleasant for Wte. Prly correcting the previous mistakes came into consideratio by he continutio 18.a4 cS 19.xc6 bxc6 20.b3 followed by a evetual f2-f4. But because of the time lost, White does not have any prospects of an advantage.

1 8  1 9 3-

d7-c5 0-0

ow Black has also nished his development, and the position is completely equal. The closed character of the positio restricts the scope of Wte's bishop pair. pair.

20b2-b4 21 d2-e3

c5-e6

ECOD CYCLE

6

21

e6-4!

Black's king's knight knight shows extreme extreme activit activityy in this this game game  of the 21 moves played, it has made nine. The text-move is made possible onl because of Whte's mistake on the 15th move, which placed the roo on the unfavourable c-square. Bad for for BBlac lackk was was 21 2 1 . . .d4 . d4 22.xd 22. xd44  xd4 xd4 23.xd4 23.xd4 exd4 exd4,, because because White woud then proceed with 24.c5 foowed by f4, and obtain a edge despite the opposite-colou opposite-c oloured red bishops.

22g3- After 22.xf4 exf4 White of course cannot play 23.xf4 because o 23 .. .g5, and 23.f3 eS 24.d cS ves rise to an approximatel equal game. With the textmve White makes a temporary paw sacrice, but it likewise fais to ve him an advantage.

22   23cl-bl

4x -4

Forced, since 24.g3 was threatened, cutting off the retreat of Back' kght.

24b4-b5

KERE KERE - REHEVK REHEVKY Y

7

Draw Both players were already in severe time-trouble, therefore Whte accepted acce pted Reshevsky's Reshev sky's draw offer. offer. The nal position of course cannot be said to be drawish. lthough it is equal, there are still many many pieces piece s on o n the board, and the battle could only have have begun. There could, for example, examp le, have followed: 24 . . . e7 25.xf 25 .xf44 exf4 exf4 26.xf 26. xf44 g6, and even if the t he white white pieces pie ces have a bit more manoeuvring space, Black's position does not contain any weakesses or other other objects objec ts of attack attack..



ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E

Cyd 2 Ru 9 1 Reshvsk-Bonn 1

1 Smysov-Euwe 0 Free: Keres

Reshevsky and Botvnnk played a lttle-used lne n the Dutch Defee Whte lost tme by unnecessary knght maoeuvres, and enable hs opponent to grab the ntatve When he also later on refrae from securng hs poston properly, Reshevsky faced a dangero attack, whch Black however dd not contnue n the strongest a An mportant loss of a tempo took the man strength out of Black' attack, wch the followng exchange sacrce could not make up for After havng declned a draw offer from Black, t was Reshevsky's tur to get the advantage. But he lkewse spolt t n the tme trouble, a the game ended wth a draw by perpetual check. The game between myslov mys lov and Euwe proceeded proc eeded peacef pea cefull ullyy for for a log log tme  the heavy heavy pece pe cess were were exchanged exch anged of o ff, and the game game steer st eered ed nto nto an endng wth a clo close sedd pawn struc str ucture ture and a mnma mnmall spa s patal tal advant advantage age for Whte The poston was detvely tenable for Black, but Eue dd not detect n tme the dangers that threatened hm He contnue carelessly, and as a result ran nto dfcultes. When he contnued to play nexactl nexa ctlyy, Black soo s oonn found found hmself hmse lf n nsurmountable nsu rmountable dfcultes as hs peces were almost completely out of moves. After havng lost a pawn, Euwe nally made a desperate pece sacrce, but ths of course no longer changed changed the outcome, and on the 70th move myslov score hs second wn aganst the exworld champon champon n ths ths tournament Beffore the last round of Be o f the second sec ond cycle, Botvnk Botvnk s st st  n the lead wth wth 5 ponts po nts.. After hm there follows ollows Keres, Reshevsky esh evsky and myslov wth 4 ponts po nts,, and Euwe Euwe wth wth 1 pont pont 

HEV HEVKY KY - BOTVIIK BOTVIIK

9

No 17. Duch Deence S Resh Reshsk sk

M. Bonn

Te Hue, Hue, Mch 23rd 1 948 l.d2-d4

e7-e6

he Indian Indian def de fence enc e systems syst ems starting starting with 1 . . . f6 do not see s eem m to be to Botvinnik's taste, and he instead prefers to play against them as ite. As Black, he either takes the game into the French Defence or, depending on his opponent's plans, chooses either the Dutch or ueen's Pawn Opening. The textmove leaves all these options open or lack, and has thus turned out to be Botvinnik's favourite move gainst 1.d4.

2.c2-c4 3.g2-g3 4.-g2  -g2

- g8-f -e7

Another system of development that has been used by Black at this on o ntt is i s the exchange exchange of bishops bisho ps by 4. . .b4 .d2 xd2 6.xd2 0-0 7. 7.  c3 c3.. But in my opinion there there is not much to recommend this or Black. It I t is neces nec essary sary for for Black to retain this this bishop bi shop if i f he wants to choose the pawn structure f5, e6, d5 and c6 by playing a subsequent ...d7-d5 ... d7-d5.. Ho Howe weve ver,r, if Black Black intends to play ... . . d7-d6 it is true that the excha exchange nge of bishops is playable. But in that case White is usually usually able o successfully utilize the time won by this exchange. The text-move, keeping keeping the opton of o f both systems sys tems open for Black, is denitiv de nitivel elyy more eastic.

A rule of thumb in the Dutch Defence is that this knight manoeuvre s good for Whte only when Bck hs already chosen the tonewal set-up by ...d7-d5. ...d7-d5. If White however develops the knight to h3 before ack has moved he pawn, the system of development with ...d7 ... d7 -d6 -d 6

ECOND CYCLE

0

is considered to be more favourable than ...d7 ... d7 -dS. -d S. As Black Black here h ere s s  has the possibty to proceed with ...d7-d6, ... d7-d6, .f3 is usuay played  this position. s ...

60-0

0-0 d7-d6

Now, Now, as already already mentioned, 6 . . . d5 would be less favourable for Bl because of the reply 7.f4. White's knight would stand very well o f4, and by attacng the e6-pawn it is obstructing the development o Black's queensi quee nside. de. But after the textmove textmove White always always has to take te ...e6-e5 ... e6-e5 thrust into account, which would place White's kight on te edge of the board in an an almost stalemate situation. situation.

d8-e8 The imme immeda date te 7 . . . e5 would be premature due to 8.dxe5 dxeS 9.xd followed by 10.e4. After the exchange 10... 10...ffxe4 ther theree follo follows ws 1 1 . .g5 g5 winning winning the pawn back, bac k, with a simplie simpli edd but slightly fa favourable posi po sitio tio for White. With the text-move, Black now threatens 8 ...e5. ...e5.

8e2-e4 This thrust is premature and gives Black good counterplay. 8.f4 offered offered White White better bett er prospects prosp ects,, so as to answer 8 . . . e5 by 9.dxe5 dxe 1 0. 0.  fd5 foowed oowed by e2-e4. And afte afterr 8 . . . c6 there would foll follow ow 9. 9.  d3. This Th is move move would would initial initially ly prevent the th e ..... . e6 e6-e -e55 advance, advance, and an d also als o switc switc the kigh kightt to a good good central post. pos t. oreover oreover after after 8 . . . c 6 , then 9 .e4 would would also have been much stronger than in the game. Howeve However,r, if after after 8. 8.  f4 Black Bla ck plays plays 8 . . .d8, then then 9.e4 e5 1 0.dxe5 0.dxe5 dxeS dxeS 1 1 . fd5 would likew likewisisee assure as sure White White of a somewhat more more fav favourable ourable position (Lwensch-Rjumin, Leningrad 1934). Hence Black should initially abstain from ...e6...e6-e5 e5,, and instead pla playy the shar sharpp 8 . . .g5 9.d3 g6 with an unclear position. po sition.

8    9h3-4

xe4 xe4

REHEV REHEVK KY  BOTV BOTVIIK II K



.xe4 . xe4 woul wouldd be aswered aswered by 9 . . . e5 10.hg5 c6 wth a excellet gae for for Black.

9 

c7-c6

Aga Aga 9 . . . e5 1 0.dxe5 0. dxe5 dxeS 1 1 . fd5 was fa favourable ourable for for Whte Whte.. Wth Wth the the text-ove Black protects the dS-square ad s ally ready to play ...e ...e 6 e5. Ths advace wyeld h good pece play as copesato for the weak e-paw.

IOc3xe4 IIxe4 1 2   4- 4-

 fxe4 e6-e5

ht htee apparetly apparetly thks that Black caot capture cap ture o d4 because becau se of the paw weakess o d6. But he uderestates hs oppoet's ossbtes of geeratg couterplay by tlzg the loose posto of the whte whte pece peces.s. Wth the the text-ove, text-ove, Whte Whte loses lose s hs last prospects prosp ects or a advatage, advatage, whc whchh would would stll have have reaed after 1 2 . dxe5 dxeS 13.d3.

12  1 3  g2-e3 g2-e3

 b8-d7

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E



ack woud now answer 13.dxe5 by 13. 13. xe5 and be threatening  troubesome ...g4. ...g4. If 14.f4, then 14.g4, and the threat of 15. again causes White much troube. On the other hand, ack  threatening threatening 13 1 3 .    f6 as the bishop bishop on e4 e4 acks a good retre retreatin atingg sqr sqr It is true tr ue that with with the textmo text move ve White cears the g2-sqare for i  bishop, but the kight on e3 restricts the deveopment of the bishop o c. On the whoe, the kight is not particuary we paced on e3  this enabes ack to subsequenty grab the initiative. It seems that  has aready overcome the opening difcuties, and obtained a positio where it is rather White who has to tnk about equaizing.

1 3 ...

e5xd4!

Botvinnik correcty decides to open up the centre and accept  weakess on d6. In the ensuing middegame the whte pieces r unfavouraby paced, and in addition White has probems with t deveopment of his queen's bishop. Romanovsky's 13.f6 14.g2  is weaker. Whte woud then pay 1 5 .d5 .d 5 ! foow oowed ed by c1 c 1 -d2-c3 and and g g exceent deveopment and attacking attacking chances against against the the e4-pawn.

14Jdlxd4

d7-e5

After 14... 14...f f66 1 5 .d3 ack has ha s no time to pay . cS cS as he m rst protect the pawn on h7. The text-move threatens 15... 15..., ,  if 15.d1, then 15... 15...h3 h3 foowed by .. .. Thus White is practic forced to make the foowing weakening. ecause if 15.c5 h3 th 16.cxd6? f6 as we as 16J�d1 f6! or 16.e1 d8 woud yied him h worse game.

15.-4 1 6.  e3xg4 e3xg4 17J;-el

e5-g4 ic8xg4

Reshevsky refrains from the equazing continuation 17.d3 h 1 8 ., . , when ack ac k woud hardy hardy be abe to utiize utiize White's White's weak kingsid. With the textmove, White initiay prevents the 17... 17 ...h5 h5 say due o the 18.dS resource, but this is ony a temporariy soution.

RH R HEV EVK KY Y - BOII BOIIK K

1 7 ... 1."d4-d3



ie7-f!

Accepting the pawn sacrice by 18.xd6 woud after 18.. 18.. . d d88 1 9.a3 9.a3 (19.xh (1 9.xh7? 7? @xh7 20.xe8 fxe8 fxe8 and Black Black wins) 1 9 ...h5 ...h5 yield Black  powerl attack, and White would hardy be able to nd satisfactory oves.

1  ... 19.icl-d2 20a1-b1?

"e-h -e

A serious mistake, which simply loses a valuable tempo and enables ack to develop a strong attack on the e-le. The pawn on b2 did ot require protection either here or on the previous move, due to the ossibility ossibility of ab  ab folowe olowedd by xb7. xb7 . Hence H ence Whte Whte instead instea d shoud have sed sed the time to neutralize neutralize Black's increasing pressure pres sure on o n the e-le. e -le. The spest way to equaity was with the exchange 20.c3 xc3 21.xc3, sice sice after after Roma Romanov novsky sky's's recommendatio recommendationn 21 2 1 . . .e6 . e6 White gets get s a good gae gae by 22.e3 ae8 23.ae 1 . Aso completely acceptable was Flohr's recommendation to a 20.e3 folowed by ae. Ths wins an important tempo for the defence of the b2-pawn compared to the game continuation.

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E

4

20...

e8e7?

Black is not using the chances he is offered, and immediately make up for White's mistake mis take by an own own inaccuracy of his own. As Bo Botv tvinn inn  recommen rec ommended ded after after the game, it i t was much stronger to play 20 .. �e � e when Black prevents the folowing bishop manoeuvre. After th White would have had difculty nding an adequate defence, as o 2 1 .�e3 �ae8 22.�be 1 there there fol follo lows ws 22 22 . . . xb2, xb2, and if now 23.�b 1 , the the 23 . . . �xe4! �xe4! 24.�xe4 24. �xe4 �xe4 25.xe4 25 .xe4 fS fS 2 .e . e11 d4 d4 and Black wn. wn. White White shoul s houldd therefore therefore play play the the preparatory preparatory 21 .b4 �ae8 22.�bc 22.�b c 1 , wt wt the intention to proceed with �e3 followed by �e But after tha Black would again nd time to strengthen his position further by, for exampl example, e, 22 . . . @h8 @h 8 and threaten threaten an an event eventual ual .. . d-d5 or or ...c-c5. ... c-c5. I t is clear that after after 20 ..... . �e �e White White would would have have bee b eenn lef l eftt in a uncomfortable defensive position; now however he gets the chance to free himsel him selff from all all dfculties.

2.id2b4 Instead of this, White could also have played 21.�e3 �ae8 22.�be1 since now now 22 . . . xb2 is harmless on account of 23.xh7, and White would thus have time to defend the b2-pawn on the following move. The idea to win a pawn, benning with the text-move, makes the position very tense, but despite the apparent danger, White retains sufcient defensive resources at his disposal.

2... 2. ..

a8e8

The pawn sacrice is practically forced, as after 21...�d8 there could stl follo follow w 22.xd 22.xd  and White White is able to secure s ecure the position posi tion of the d d  bishop by c4-c5. c4-c5.

22.Ab4xd6

e7e6

Appareny Black B lack had initialy intended intended to play play 22 . . . �xe4 23.�xe4 �xe4 24.xe4 fS 25.e1? d4 followed by mate, but now he saw that Wte Wte has the stro s tronge ngerr 25.e 25 .e3!3! at his disposal, and if 25 . . .xb1?

REHEV REHEVK KY Y - BV BVII IIK K

5

5 5 .. .d4 would still have gve gvenn a tenable positio po sition) n) then 26 2 6e6 e6  c8  c8 foowed foowed by mate.

23.el-e3 anovsky's recommendation 23.c5 fS 24e5 would have led to eqa eqat ty.y. For example: 24 . . xe5 25xf5 d4 26f1 and no valid nnu nnuati ation on of Black' Black'ss attack attack can be seen; see n; or o r 24. . xe4 25xe4 xeS e1. ith ith the text-move White White is aing for for more, more , but it succ su cceed eedss only as  reslt reslt of o f Black's risky later play. play.

23

•••

e6xd6

I i tre that the exchange sacrice is temping, but it brings difculties

nl to to Black. Black. 23 . . .f5 had to be played, since 24.be1 loses a piece ter a general exchange on e4 followed by h5-dxd6. Flohr and anovsky anovsky believe believ e that Black even obtains an edge with this move, but b ut ts is not the case. After 24e5 Black cannot continue with 24 . . xe5 xf5 d6 as suggested by Flohr and omanovsky, because te n plays 26.xh7! h8 27.xe5! and Black then has to try to save iself in the rook endgame endgame after after 27 .  . xe5 28.xd6 e2 29d8 xh xh 30h4 30 h4 xh4 xh4 31 3 1 .gxh4 .gxh4 g6 Afte Afterr 23 . . f5 f5 24e5 Bl Blac ackk must thus thus play play 24 . . xe4 xe4 25. 25 .xe4 xe4 xeS,

ECOD CYCLE

6

whic whichh is folo folowed wed by 26. 26 .be be11 fS 27.f 27. fxe5 xeS xe S 28.x 28 .xe5 e5 xd3 xd3 29. 2 9.xe xe8 8  with an equal endgame.

24.d3xd6

e8-d8

Afte Afterr 24. . .e7 then 2S.dS! 2S .dS! wins. wins.

25.d6-c7 The bes b estt conti con tinuat nuation. ion. Instead In stead after after 2S.b4 2S .b4 Back wis wis by 25 . . .d 26. 26 .be be11 e e8, 8, and after after 25 .a3 d2 Black obtains a strong strong attack attack.. The text-move text-move thwarts 25 . . . d2 because of 26.dS!.

25 ... .. .

h5-c5? h5-c5?

With this brutal bru tal winning winning attempt, attemp t, wch is the t he local local continuation co ntinuation of the exchange exchange sacrice sa crice made on the 23rd move, move, Black seriously jeoparze hs position. po sition. It was ess e ssentia entiall to force a draw by the the continuation continuation 25 . . . d 26.c8 d8, because the captu capture re 27.xb7 loses after after 27 27 . . . d4 28.e xe3 xe3 foll follow owed ed by ..... . d d as wel wel as afte afterr 28.b3 d d  ! 29.d3 c2!.

atura aturallyy not no t 26 ..... . d d11 or 26 ..... . d2 on account of the reply 27.dS! Black is forced to make the second pawn sacrice, but he does not obtain an attack that compensates for the lost material.

27.c7xb7 28. 28 .g l -?

f-d4

Both payers were already in time-troube, and therefore they play the ast part of the game inexactly. The correct continuation was to pla 28.b 28 .b3, 3, after after which noth nothng ng better than than 28 . . . d8 29. 2 9.g2 g2 xe3 30.x 30 .xe3 e3 xe3 31.xe3 d 32.f1 can be seen. And then the endgame after 32 . . . xb2 xb 2 33 3 3 .xc6 is anything anything but but shmmering shmmering for for Black. After the text-move the the position po sition agai againn becomes equal.

HEVKY BOINNIK -

28 ... .. .

7

Ad4xe3 Ad4xe3tt

ter the game, the rst opinion was that Black could have won by  .. .a5 as White lacks an adequate adequate de deffence enc e again against st 29  d2 But it s ater found that ths continuation even gves Whte an edge if he rocee ro ceeds ds with with 29 2 9f f33 !  Now 29   d2 30�e2 30� e2 xe3 3g2 3 g2 is clearly clearly etter etter or or Whte, Whte, and also 29    �e8 30x 30 xg4 g4 �xe3 (Or 30    d2 d2 3 1 �e2 e3 32g2) 31�xe3 d2 32f1! xe3 33c8  34d7  35d6  36g2 gves White a winning position according to Fohr. so weak weak was 28    �d8; Whte would answer it by 29b3 and after  ...xe ...xe3 3 30xe3 30 xe3 �d2 3 1 g1 g 1 reac reachh the the endgame mentioned in the the reious note

29J�elxe3

c5d4?

his winn winnng ng attempt again gves gves Black Bla ck the worse game ga me Nece Ne cess sary was  ..�d8 .. �d8 30b3 �d2 and �d �d 1  with a perpetual per petual check

30.b7b3? ere 30f3! 30 f3! would have give givenn Whte excellent winning chances chance s After 3   �e 3 1 b3 �xe3 32xe3 xb2 xb2 33e2 33 e2 d4 34g2 34 g2 x 35. 35 . 33 Wte would would have have an extra pawn in the queen endgame and

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E



excellent winning chances In addition to the open position of Black' king, he also has several weak pawns.

30... 30 ... 31.gl 32.gl 33.gl

d4d2t d2clt cld2t d2clt

Draw. As can easiy be een, White cannot escape the perpetual checks and nor would Black's winning attempts lead to anything substantial If, for example example,, 33 . . J�d8, J�d8 , then then 34.f3, 34.f3, and and if 33 . . .e2, then besides 34.e xe2 3S.xc6 White can also play 34.h4 e1 3S.@h2  36.@h3 hS 37.cS foowed by �xe2 and e6, and Black's open king position assures as sures Wite Wite of at least a perpetual perpetual check. A very interesting and compcated ghting game. The genera impresion is only marred by some serious mistakes made in time trouble.

9

MLOV  EUWE EUWE

No 1 8  Te Ruy Ruy Lp V Smysov

M Euwe

Te Hague, 23rd and 24 Mch 1948 le2-e4 2g1- 3-5 4  5-a4 50-0

e-e5 b8-c6 a-a6 g8-f i-e

e achieved good play with ths defence in his game against Keres  e second cycle, and decides to repeat it again. In addtion Euwe , as later becomes clear, a new system of development prepared. rally rally Euwe Euwe plays plays the Open O pen Def De fence enc e 5 . . .  xe4, which he returns to  e rounds later.

6J�-e1 e quetion whether 6.e2 or the textmove is best for White has  ee nally answered yet, despite long practical experience. The eve is more frequently used and the occurring lines are more rady known, thus 6.e2 is a good option for those who like to ree uclear positions right from the opening.

6 ia4-3

-5 d-d6

  ossible is 7 . . . 0-0, 0-0 , but normay no rmay both continuations continuations give ris risee to the e position and therefore only constitute reversal of moves.

8c2-c3

c6-a5

eer eeray ay 8 . . . 0-0 is considered stronger, because White normally ers ers it by play playin ingg 9 . h3 when 9 . . . a5 and ...c5 ... c5 follows, as in the ge ad i that case castng is a more useful developing move than h2-h3  r hite.

ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E

0

But in ts game Euwe utizes a new plan of development, and i order to carry this out the g4-square must be free to use for Black' pieces. pieces . For this reason reas on he plays plays 8 . . . a5 and immediately commece play on the queeside.

9.ib3-c2 10.d2-d4

c7-c5

ow White White no longer has to lose time time on the preparatory mov movee 1 0.h3, 0. h3, ince 1 o . .g4 wi will not do because of o f 1 1 .dxe5. 

1 0 ... llbl-

d8-c7

Very strong strong is the the zwischenzug zwischenzug 1 1 .a4, in in order order afte afterr 1 1 . . .b4 1 2.cx 2. cxb4 b4 cxb4 to only then play 13.bd2.

1 1 ...

ic8-b7

Here Euwe's new system of development starts. But on the basis of ths game it should s hould not be b e parti par ticula cularly rly stronger than than the normal line. 1 1 . . .  c6 is i s often played played here, wh whch ch Whte can answer answer in in the best wa wa by 12.a4 b8 13.axb5 axbS 14.dxc5 dxcS 15.f1 and obtain good attacking attacking chances.

ML MLOV OV - EUWE EUWE



12.d2 .dxe5 dxeS 13  f1 aso came nto consderaton, because by ee eelo lopn pngg the bishop b ishop to b 7, the fS-square S- square n Back's camp ose o sess ts roec ro ectio tion, n, and White threatens to place one o ne of o f his kg kghts hts there.

1 2 ... 13.c3xd4 14J�e1e2

c5xd4 �a8c8

e dea behnd Black's system of deveopment is to answer the oral moe 14. id3 with 14... 14...  c6 5.ie 3  g4. Whte then cannot a 4.  e3 due to 14... 14...  xe4, whch after the nsertion of the moes 8 . . 0-0 9.h3 would not hae been possible due to the  e3f5 saly. hout going any deeper nto the above nes and assung that  . d3 enables Black to get sufcent counterplay after 14... 14...  c6, lack's syste of defence should stl be consdered dubious, because o e 12th moe Whe coud obtan a good game by simpy payng dxe folowed folowed by  f1 . 

1 4... 15.g3 6.b2b3

0-0 �e8

e deelopment of he bishop o b2 is farly good in this poston, as ro here it exerts pressure against Black's centre, and Back cannot ae mediate use of the weakened f4-square as the kght on g3 dee de ess the black kig kight ht of the mportant hS-s hS -square. quare.

1 6 ... 17.clb2

e7 g7g6

 oe is not bad, but it is not necessary at the moment, as White a ot yet threatening threatening  fS . It was much more mo re mporan mp orantt for for Black Blac k to ri rigg his his ight on aS back ba ck into the game by paying 1 7 ...  c6 c6,, with with the ention ention of eventual eventualy y drectng drect ng this kght kght towards the f4-square. 4-s quare.



ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E

aturally ite does not allow Black's bishop to get to h6, and on g it is by no means standing better than on ; in addition, the g6-pa deprives Black's kight of a route to f4, and thus decreases Black' chances of counterplay. We wil see that the move 17... 17...g6 g6 will turn o to be one of the reasons reas ons behind b ehind Black's subse sub sequent quent difculties.

1 8 ... 19J�al-cl

-g7 f-d7

It is interesting to observe that Black still stubbornly refrains fro playing 19.c6, placing ts move last on his list of priorities. Th is, of course, cour se, not of the greatest importance, since in a closed close d positio positio various kinds of time-consuming manoeuvres are usually possible.

20J�e2-el

a5-c6

any any commentators condemn c ondemn this this move, move, and instead advocate advocate 20 . . .b. aturaly aturaly ths move mov e is also playable, playable, but in an equal position, po sition, where e main theme is to manoeuvre with with the pieces pie ces in one's o ne's own camp, a single single move is usualy not of any particular importance; it is possible to pa either in ths or that way, without signicantly disturbing the balance of the position.

21.c2-bl

c7-6

ML MLOV OV  EUWE EUWE



22.d4-d5  thrut  ooner or later forced. Black wa already exerting ncomfortable preure on the d4-pawn, and the exchange 22.dxe5 dxeS would yield Black an excellent game. However, after the text ove the draw should sooner or o r later be an unavoidable unavoidable resu res ult, unle unle  s eter ide want to take some s ome risky ris ky winning winning attempt.

22... .. . 23 .b2-c3! .b2-c3!

 c6-e7 c6-e7

Preventing ...b5-b4 ...b5-b4 a well a ...a6a5, ... a6a5, whereby Back could have generated generated counterplay count erplay on o n the queenide queen ide .

23 ... .. . 24.h2-h4

7-a8 h7-h5

 move  unnecessary and deprives Black's kight of its lat quare from whch whch to reach f4. It wa better be tter to play 24 . . . f6, threatening ...g4 ... g4 folow folowed ed by by ... . .h6. h6 . Wth ths manoeuvre Black would have made hte' hte' previou move look like an unnece unne ce s ary weakening. weakening.

2 .c3-a5 .c3-a5 26.g3-

'b6-b8 �c8xcl

hte' only attacking idea n thi potion is a subsequent transfer of te knig knight ht to the b4-square. b4- square. And An d Black was was natura naturally lly n ot obligated to e elpful with the execution of th plan, as he i with the textmove. 6..... . f6 wa tvery good, in order to create some nd of active conterplay. Black nally loe th game only because he reles on te tability of h position, and refrain from looking for any kind of conter-chance.

27.�elxcl 28.-el 29.'d2-g5 30.'g5-e3

�e8-c8 d7-c5 g-£ e7-g8

4

ECOD CYCLE

31.\e3-h3 32.cl-c3

ig7-h6 g8-e7

The knight is not standing well on e7 and it was therefore a pity  move mo ve it back back to this square. 32 . . .b7 followed by ... ... f6 looks sim simp per er,, exerting exerting pressure pres sure against the e4-point. But the position pos ition is so meagre meagre  possibilities that both sides have a wide variety of waiting manoeuvre at their disposal that do not signicanty change the equilibrium of te position.

33 .l -c2 -c2

 c5-7

Euwe is the rst to lose his patience, and forces further exchange, thus hoping hopi ng to quickly draw draw. The T he waiting move 33 . . .  e 8 was also ful ul playable for for Black. Blac k.

34.c3xc8t 35.\h3xc8t

\b8xc8 e7xc8

An endgame has now occurred where a quick draw can be expected It is surprising to observe hw fast Black is able to place mself i  lost position. position.

36.ia5-c3 37.c3-4 38.-

b7-c5 -e7 e7-d7?

On the 37th move ... ... c8-b6 c8 -b6-d7 -d7 would would have have been stroger, stroger, and here i was essenial for Black to bring his inactive ight on c8 and bishop  a8 into play, by 38... 38...b b 6 . The The plan plan to play play .. .  e7 followed ollowed by ... . . -f - f5, as initiated with the text-move, text- move, is me mett by a harsh rebuttal from White.

39.el-d3 With this move Wte eliminates his opponent's strong kight; in cae of an earli earlier er ..... .  b 6 Black would would here have have had the option to strengthe his control over the cS-point by ...bd7. ...bd7. Black's position is alread starting to become awward.

MLOV - EUW EUWE

39... 40.c2x

5

c5x c8-e7

o lack cannot play his kig kight ht to cS so easily easily, because beca use 40 . .  b6 or 0 ... @e7 woul wouldd be answered answered by 41 .a5. .a5 . With With the t he text-mo text-move ve Black reares for the ... ... - f5 advance, adva nce, wch White naturally prevents. prevents .

41.g2-g4! i ove is mainly directed against Black's threat to play .. .f5. At e ame ame time it also threatens threat ens to shut the black bishop bisho p out of the game game by g-g5, as well well as hxgS followed followed by by g3,  g3, winning a pawn. Black now  to defend himself very accurately to avoid slowly gliding into a fcult position.

41... 41. ..

h54?

 istake; Black eliminates White's worthless pawn on  and later es him him the pos p ossib sibilit ilityy to break through on the kingside. t as necessary to proceed with 41... 41.. .f4! f4!,, and if now 42.gxh5 4 2.gxh5 S, ten t en the nice g6squar g6s quaree has been cleared for for Back's kight kight,, thus reating the possibility to later get to f4. If White instead would play .g5 the ingside wil wil be closed clo sed once onc e and for for l, and Black Black should s hould not ae ae any difculties difculties obtaining a dra dra On the t he other ot her hand, han d, White Whi te cannot can not

6

ECOD CYCLE

delay clariing the situation on the kingside for too long, since Bac threatens an eventual ...hxg4 ...hxg4 followed by ...£ ...£ - fS , with quite favourable vourable complications for Black. After the textmove White is able to eliminate all Black's counter chances on the ngside, and open up excellent diagonals for hs bishop bis hops.s. Thereaf T hereafter ter Black, Black, with his inactive inactive pieces on the queenside, s struggn struggngg to def de fend his position. po sition.

42.xg4

h6-cl

Black could could have played played 42 . . . f5 but after 43.g5 g7 44.e3 he woud stand very unfavourably, despite the possibility of creating a passed pawn pawn by 44. . . f4. Whit Whitee was threatening threatening 43.g5, 43. g5, and 42 . . . f6 was also an insufcien attempt to ward off this threat due to 43.g5 fxg5 44.d2. But instead of o f the text-move text-move 42 42 . . .f4 f4 sti s till came into cons c onsideration, ideration, to answer answer 43.g5 43.g 5 by 43 . . . g8 foowed by ...f6 ...f6 and thereby either force White White to exchange on f6 or exchange bishop bis hopss on d2. d2. Black also reta this pos p ossibility sibility after after the text-m t ext-move, ove, but White is lef l eftt with with a wider rang rangee of attacking poss po ssibilities ibilities than than after after 42. . .f4.

43.g4-g5 Black was now threatening threatening to play play 43 . . . f5, hence this move is almost force orced. d. It is i s tru t ruee that tha t with this move move White initiall initiallyy refrains refrains from creating a pass pa ssed ed pawn on the ngside, ngside, but at the same s ame time, he also deprives Black of l counter-chances on this wing. wing.

43... .. . 44.gl-

a8-b7 e7-c8?

The knight has no hopes of quickly quickly coming coming into play on the queenside, queensid e, therefore the plan commenced by the text-move just repret  continuation of Black's passive defence. This was was the last chance  perhaps it was better alre already ady on the the prev previous mo move ve  to play play 44. . . g8! followed by ...-f6. ...-f6. This would either eit her have brought Black's knight back into play via f6 or tied White to

ML MLOV OV - EU

2 3

e deece o the weak gS-pawn, ad sooer or later have forced a ege o bishops on d2. It is kely that with this pla Black could e e obtaied obtaied a tenable position. posi tion. th the text-move Black eglects the last chance to create active terpay, ad ow ends up i a hopelessly cramped position. o og ghh t is ot  ot pos po s sible to claim with absolute abs olute certainty c ertainty that Black's iio iio is lost, it is at least very difcult difcult to demonstrate demon strate a continuatio continuatio  e rther course of the game where Black could have acheved deq deq te te draw drawig ig chaces. chac es. In every lie White retais a good game on  aks, ad nal nally ly puts Black i a position where he lacks ormal es.

45.-e3

d7-e7

  e maoeuvre maoeuvre 45 . . . e7 ollowed by ...g8 ...g8 is already too late, ease i the meantime Whte can transfer hs kight to g4 and thus re r ee ett . . . -f6.

46.i4-a5 trally White does not allow the manoeuvre ...c8-b6-d7, ... c8-b6-d7, which d brig Black's kight into play.

46...

cl-

ck's position was already bad, but the transfer of the bishop from e trog c1-h6 diagonal makes it even worse.  . . . 6 had ha d to be tried, although although this mo move ve lack lac k the same sam e effect effect here  t wo wold ld have had ha d after aft er 44. . . g8. g8 . Whte would play 47.g 47. gxf6 xf6 xf  xf66 .1 ad stad clearly better, because Black is stil ot capable of bi biiz izg g his pieces o the queeside. queesi de.

47.-g3 48.ia5-d2

ia3-c5

 t trall rallyy, also playab playable le was 48. 48 . c2, preventi preventing ng 48 . . .  b6 on o n account of .b4.

ECOD CYCLE



48 ... .. .

e7-

Bad Bad was 48 . . . b6, but not because of 49.c2, as recommended b Lienthal, which which can can be answered answer ed b 49 . . . d7; White would instead proceed with with 49.h5 49. h5!! and after after 49. . .gxh5 S.fS d7 51.e2 obtain  winning position. However, slightl better prospects than the passive defence in the game game were were o ffered b 48 . . . d4, and after 49.c2 simpl proceed wit 49 .. . b6.

49.e3-c2

-e7

It was clearl better to instead ins tead pla 49 . . . e7 folowed b ...c8. ...c8. Euwe deffends de end s his difcult pos p osition ition ver unimanativ unimanativel el..

50.id3-e2 5 1 . id2id2-a5 a5

c8-a7 a7-c8

Of course not 51...c8 52.b4 winning a piece. As White has been able to transfer hs bishop to the h3-c8 diagonal, without Black in te meantime being able to get his hi s queenside queensi de pieces pie ces into pla, pla, the outcome of the game is practicall decided. decide d.

52.ie2-g4

- 

MLOV - EUW EUWE

23 9

is creates creates one more weakne weakness ss for Back, in the shape of the g6-pawn. t it as hary hary possibe pos sibe to ef e fen Back's position pos ition any ongr, as h s reay reay ot of reas r easonabe onabe moves. Knight Knight moves wo wo be answere answ ere by 53b4 53 b4 winni winning ng a pawn, an after 52 5 2...a7 ...a7 there wo foow c2b4-c6t. At the moment Back co ony move his king, bt aso, for epe, after 52 ...@e ...@e88 53 . c7 @e @e77 ther ther wo foow 54. 5 4.@g2, @g2, an then Back wo not have any waiting move at his isposa.

53.ig4-e6 so goo was 53.gf6 53 .gf6 @xf @ xf66 54 .e6, e 6, bt at this point svera roas ro as ead ead to to the esire e sire goa. goa .

53 ... 54.h4xg5

fxg5 c8-b6

, or exampe, 54... 54...@e @e8, 8, thn 55 .c7 @e7 5 6. @ an Back is again again in zgzwang. The text-move aso oses quicy.

55.b3-b4 56.b4xc5 57.c5xd6t 58 . e6-

b6-c4 c4xa5 e7xd6

40

ECOD CYCLE

ow the g6-pawn fas an White's strong passe pawn qicky ecde the otcome of the game. The en is no onger nteresting.

5 8 ... 59.ixg6 60.®g3-g4 61.g6- 62.-e6 63.c2-e3!

a5-c4 a6-a5 b5-b4 ®d6-e7 c4-d6 d6xe4

Afte Afterr 63 . . . a4 64. 64.  f xf x f 65 6 5 . exf ex f5 b3 Wte Wte wins easi eas iyy by 6 6 . f6 d 67. e7 68.6. Back's position is hopeess.

64.®g4- 65.®xe5 66.®e5-4 67.e3-t 68.g5-g6 69.d5xe6 70.®4-e5

e4-d6t d6-t -d8 ®e7- d8xe6 a5-a4

Bac resgned. It is espe es pecia ciayy the engame engame part of this game that s interes ting, ting, wee wee Back ost an eqa position withot making any obvos mistae The game is an istration of the angers that are bon p wt  competey passive efence, even in simpe positions. mysov tiized we the chances he ha, an won the engame powerfy wto giving his opponent any conterchances.

4

Cy 2 Ru 1 0 1/ Euwe-Rehvk 1/

1 Bonn-Kere 0 Free: Smyov

e ost iterestig game i the a ro of the seco cyce was e oe betwee Botviik a Keres. Becase in the evet of a wi by eres, Botviik's ea wo have bee caght p by the e of e age-part of the toramet. Back paye a origia ie i the zoia zo ia Def D efece, ece, ths prevetig Botviik fro fro choosig hs orite variatio. Bt i the miegae Back icorrecty starte to eerate activity o the qeesie, a thereby opee p a strog aoa for White's ark-sqare bishop. After ths, White threatee o itiate a strog kigsie attack. I the case of resorcef efece, ck ck wo wo st s t have have obtaie aeqate efesive efesive chaces, chaces , bt b t o e 16th ove he ae a ber that aowe White's rook to come to to the pay pay with with the wi of o f a tempo, tempo , a Back Bac k sbse sb seqet qetyy face face a deastatig attack. With a beatif rook sacrice, Botvinik create a tig et aro the eemy kig, wherepon Back resige o the 3r ove. he game Ewe-Reshevsky was very compcate. After some iaccracies i the opeig a approximatey eqa miegame rose. Bt after this Reshevsky rst ost a paw, a was the force to sacrice a piece i retr for oy very bios attackig chaces. e positio was wiig wiig for for Ewe, Ewe, bt sti sti remaie very tese te se a copicate. t ooke as if Ewe wo obtai his rst wi i the toraet. Bt the copicate caracter of the game mae hi iss is s the wi wiig ig cotiatio cotiatio o some so me occasios o ccasios.. At A t the ajornmet ajo rnmet we sti maitaie the extra piece, bt then mae another mstake fter resmig the game. This enabe hs resorcef oppoent to force a rawish egame. he e of the teth ro ro aso aso meat meat the en of the Dtch part o f



ECOD EC OD CYCL CYCLE E

the compettion, an the participants transferre to oscow where te batte was going to be taken p again after a break of two weeks Afte two cyces, Botvinnik B otvinnik ha secre s ecre a cear c ear ea ea by havn havngg 6 points o o the rst  rst eight eight games, ths being a of 1 / points ahea of o f his coses coses  riva riva Reshevs Resh evsky ky (4/). ) . Keres an mysov ony ha 50% 50 % (4 ( 4 points) whe whe ex-wor ex-w or champ ch ampio ionn Ewe Ewe with 1 / point poin t was far far behin be hin the other ot hers,s, ad ad no onger reay reay came in in consi con sieratio eratio for for the the rst rs t prize prize Bt espite the exceent sccess for Botvinnik, the fate of the rs prize prize was sti not ecie, since since 1 2 games games s ti remaine remaine The start s tart o the secon part of the tornament was awaite with great interest b chess ches s fans aron the wor.

No 1 9 . Te Ruy Ruy Lp M. Euwe

S Reshevsk

Te Hague, 25h d 27h March 1948 l.e2-e4 2.g1- 3 .   -b5 4 . b5-a4 b5- a4

e7-e5 b8-c6 a7-a6 d7-d6

Reshevsky ha empoye the same system of efence a few rons earier against Keres, an ran into a ifct position For the preset game he ha apparenty prepare some n of improvement Hence Ewe chooses a ine that gave hm goo pay in the rst cyce gae against Keres.

5.c2-c3 6.d2-d4 7.h2-h4

g8-e7 ic8-d7

Unti Un ti this move the pay ha proceee proce ee aong the paths of the mentione Ewe-Keres game, where more etae expanations abot the moves mae so far can be b e fon. on . In that game Ewe paye 7  b3 at tis point, an gaine the somewhat freer game. Bt apparenty he i not

EUWE EUWE - REHEVKY REHEVKY

243

sider this to be an aeqate rest. It is tre that the text-move is  iteresting novety that sets some traps for Back, bt it is hary a e-fone e-fone contination becase becas e of the positiona po sitiona weakeng weakeng of the sqare. 8 7 6 5

3

a

7

c

e

g

h7-h6

 corse Back co not carry ot the pan to eveop the kght to , as it wod have been answered by 8.h5 8. h5.. The same repy wo wo aso as o e e been strong after 7 . .. g6. so s o Panov's Panov's reco recommend mmendation ation to pay  . c8 c 8 wo wodd be bad  Whit Whitee co co dd answer it by by 8.xc6 xc6 xc6 9.xe5 9 .xe5 e4 10.g5! foowe by e5-e6 with a angeros attack. he tet-move, tet-move, whch prepares the bishop deveopment deveopment to g 7, is i s qite d. so  so reasonabe reaso nabe bt too time-co time-consmn nsmngg is the manoevre .  e 7f  f . Bt the simpest simpe st an apparenty apparenty aso the strongest continat c ontination ion as as 7 .. . exd4 8.cxd4 d 9.e5 g4 foowed by an eventa ... ...  f, with with d conterpay in the centre. 





8 cl-e3 

e ishop deveopment seems to be prematre at this point; the d4a di not reqire protection yet an the pacement of the bishop  e3 enabes Back to win time by attacking it in some ines. ore atra was 8.b2, with the ntention of eveoping ths knght via f t e3.



ECOND CYCLE

8...

e5xd4

The text-move is sti possibe, bt no onger as strong as on te previos move, becase in the meantime Back has ost a tempo by  .. h6. 8 .. .g6 came into consieration an seems to be more in accorance with the system of eveopment chosen by Back.



9c3xd4 10e4-e5

d6-d5 b7-b5

This weakening qeensie avance was nnecessary, an is hard positionay jstie. Better was either 10.f5 to take avantage o White's eary bishop eveopment to e3, or aso 10... 10...c8, c8, with te pan of proceeing with ...b6 ...b6 an tiizing the ight sqares on te qeensie to create conterpay.

llia4-c2 1 1 .b3 .b3 wo be answ answer ere e by 1 1 .. . a5 1 2.b2 c4 or 1 2 ...f5 ... f5 and the back knight takes contro of the strong spport point c4.

1 1 

c6-a5

If 1 1 .. . b4, the thenn not not 1 2.b3 f5 f5 1 3.2  ec6! wit withh att attac acki king ng chan chance cess for Back on the qeensie, bt instea 12.b2! xc2 13.xc foowe by  b 3 , an Whte obtains a cear cea r positiona pos itiona avantage owi owi to hs contro of the c-sqare. With the text-move Back is aso not oing anything to repair is position, pos ition, athog athoghh Whte cannot immeiatey execte his pan of of b1  2-b3c5 in view view o f the rep repy y 1 2...c4. ...c4.

id7-g4 The pin on o n f3 is not particuary particuar y annoying annoying for for White White at a t this poin p oint.t. Wit ths move Back is not attacking any centra point, an in aitio Whte oes not have to fear an exchange on f3. 12... 12...f5 f5 was therefore more in accorance with the nees of the position. It wo exchange

EUW EUWE  HEV HEVKY

 

 te's strog bishop a hece weake the light sqares o the eesie sie 

13.a2-a4 14.dl-d3

c7-c6

t i crios that White irectly irectly ivites the exchage that Black eglecte eglec te ig o the 12th move Uobtely better was 14e2, with the itetio of playig the kight to 3 via f4 or c1 a exertig pressre ist Black's weakess o cS At the same time Whte wol also repare for a evetal b2-b3, which wol eprive Black's ght o     may prospects

1 4... 15.d3-e2 16.3-dl 17J�al-cl 18.e2xc2

g4- b5-b4 d8-d7 xc2 e7-

c refrais rom the opportty to exchage qees by 18 18fS fS s wol have weakee the light sqares o the qeesie eve re re a, espite the weak weakess esses es o the c-le, c- le, have have assre Black of ciet coterplay or or a eqal game After the text-move, text -move, however, te white qee trs ot to be more active tha Black's, a Whte i obtais a sight avatage

ECOND CYCLE

46

19.-g4? This avace wol wol oly oly have have bee be e js j stie tie if Black wol wol have have bee bee force to play 19 19xe3 xe3 20xe3 However, after the simple ki retreat the move 19g4 jst trs ot to be a weakeig of White kigsie a eables Black to agai, a this time eitively, e cotrol of the importat fS-sqare It is remarkable that a player f Ewe's stregth, whose mai stregth lies exactly i positioal p commits sch a grave violatio agaist elemetary positioal rles A goo coti co tiatio atio for for White White was, for for example, 1 9 f4 f4 or 1 9  thwartig the completio of Black's evelopmet by 19 19e7 e7 e t 20g 20 g4 After Aft er the text-move White loses l prospects of a avatae

19 20.-d2 •

-e7!

White tries tries to complicate the positio po sitio at ay ay cost cost  Istea I stea, , or example example after after 20g1 20 g1 hS Black wol wol get a excellet ame owi owi to his cotro over the fS-sqare

0 . . .

%d7x %d7xg4 g4

B esie es iess the the textmove, text move, 20    h5 was also als o worthy worthy of cosieratio co sieratio,, bt the captre o g4 is also y satisfactory for Black

21.%c2-c5 2.%c5xb4

a5-b7 b7-d8

It was stroger stroger to play play 22   g2 g2 23 2 3f1 f1 a oly oly ow ow 23     8 After After the text-move White is able to orgaize his efeces o the gsie

23.-

%g4-2

Bt ow this sally trs ot to be jst j st a loss lo ss of time, time, a eables eable s White White to wi valable valable time for for his e effece ec e Ths T hs the immeiate 23 2 3    7 followe by fS fS was better, with a excellet game for Back

EU EU - REH EHEVKY

24hl-gl 25.e3-

2 47

g2-h3 h3-c8

e qee qee is i s ot saf sa fely ely place o o  c8; c 8; therefore, therefore, better better was 25 .. .7. .7 .

26.b4-c3 27.dl-e3

e7- �a8-b8?

A a

mistake i time-troble that simply loses a paw. Istea Black ad ad to exchag exchagee o e3 a oly after after that play .. Jb8 J b8.. The T he he wol wol ee ave ha prospects of sbseqetly gettig a ege, owig to te safer positio of his kig. White's paw weakess o the ble, d Black's oe o the c-le, wol i this case approxmately level eac other ot, bt the black pieces wol have ha more favorable sqares sqares at their isp isposal osal..

28.e3xd5

c8-d7

8 8 b b77 also also fals to save save the paw paw becase of the simple simple reply 29. 29 . e3. e3 . ith the text-move Black aims for coterplay agaist White's weak aw o 4.

29.d5-4 30.c3-d3

-b4 0-0

4

ECOND CYCLE

Black gaie a cople of tempos for his evelopmet i retr r the paw, a ow also has varios attackig chaces at his isps However, However, more exact tha the text-move text-move was was 30 3 0    x x2 3 1 x x22 e The, after the exchage of kghts, Black wol possess the stro spport poit fS for his kght agaist Whte's ieffective bishop, a ths have have aeqate aeqat e compe com pesat satio io for for the paw rprisig r prisigly ly,, it becoe clear ow that Black's oversight o the 27th move i fact tre ot t be a paw sacrice, whose acceptace assre Black of qite a g game

31.®el-? After this iaccracy Black gets the t he chace chac e to make p for for his stae a agai obtais a excellet positio White ha to prevet e  e at ay cost for as log as possible Therefore the efesive moe 3 1 2  2 ha ha to be playe playe Black wol wol i ths case ca se have have ha ha mch re re ifcltes i obtaig obtaig active coterpla cote rplay, y, sice sic e the exectio of   e wol still reqire mch preparatio, a withot ths move, Blac' attack lacks the ecessary stregth

31... 32Jd3xd2

ib4xd2 d8-e6

With his excellet kghts pressig o Whte's cetre with agers threats, Black agai agai stas s tas well Whte Whte mst be lcky if he is to esca es cape pe with eqality from this positio

33.4-h5 34Jgl-g4

®g8-h8 b8-b3?

The immeate 34 34 S S 3S3 g6 36f6 a2 was correct, a Black at least wis the paw back With the text move, Black forces his oppoe op poett to brig brig his last piece ito the the battle battle  ths piece piece was was previosly previos ly more or less les s iactive iactive  a a i that way way he he oly oly makes Whte Whte's's effece simpler e

EUWE EUWE - REHEVK REHEVKY Y

49

A der i time-troub time-troub that sudden sudd enyy places

Black i a lost pos p ositio. itio. e e houg houghh Back's postio po stio after after 35 3 5 . . . 8 was w as no ongr as powerfu powerfu   fe fe moves moves earer, n view of 3 6 . c2, he h e coud at ast a st have obtained e e countrpay in this ne after 36 . . . xc3 37.bxc3 g6 foowed by . . After th text-mov the game shoud practicay be over.

36.d4-d5!

a6-a5

s s position position is ost, so he hopes h opes to sir up some so me complications with with  iee sacrice. Objctivey speang, th most stubborn fnsiv es es ere of o ffere by 36 . . . xg4 xg4 37. 37 . fxg4 xg4 e7  e7,, to answ 3 8. 8.  f6 with with  .d8, . d8, even thoug Wt, for example, after 38.6 wou hav eed  better positio and a extra pawn.

3.d2-d3 4  4 axb4 axb4 38.xc6 38 .xc6 woud woud be answer answer by 38 . . . 8 an Wht Wht los lo sss e d, ice 39.d6 xd6 40.x6 xe6 41.ex6 x6 offers  isf isfacor acoryy counter-chace counter-chacess de to the th e loos loos  position po sition of White's ee i te text-move Wht attacks both ghts and, in aition to s, s, ter the the retrat of the e6-k e6 -kght ght,, thratens to play play 38.c 38 .c5.5. Hence s sseqet piece sacrice is practicay forced

3 ... .. .

dxd5 dxd5

COND CYCL

50

38.d3 39�c3-d3?

bb2

It goes wthout wthou t say s ayng ng that Back was theatenng 39 3 9 . J �xf � xf2 2 foo foowed wed y y ...d2, ...d2, but wth the text-move Whte pesents hs opponent wth a impotant tempo fo the attack, which once agan makes the outcoe of the game vey open. akogonov recommends 39.gc4, but t contnuaton aso gves Back some compensaton for the sacrice pece pece afte afte 39 . . . g6!. For exampe: 40.f6 g8 41.f4 d1 42.g b1 b 1 , or aso aso 41 . .g3 g3 d1  fo foow owed ed y ..... . d8. But Bu t it was wa s pos po s sibe to mmeatey mmeatey thwat thwat Back's Back's attack y the sie sie move 39.e1!, theatenng 40.xg7! xg7 41.f6 with mate. In thi case Back acks a dangeous attacng cotnuaton, ad Whte's extr pece woud decde the outcome of the game eativey qucy. Aso suf su fcient fo a wn wn was was appaenty appaenty 39. 39 .  g3, and f 39 . . .d2, then 40.e4. 40. e4.

39 ... 40 -el .

At ths pont the game was adouned ad Whte seaed hs move Owng to Whte's naccuacy on the 39th move, Back has no obtaned dangeous attackng chances whch make t very dfct to press home Whte's advantage. The poston s n any case vey sharp and an accuate anayss woud eque many pages, st wthout beng abe to be sure of a na tuth.

EUWE EUWE - HEVKY HEVKY

5

4Id3-e3 s varios threats make it difct for White to make se of s ateria advantage. o, for exampe, the ret attaking attempt d2 xd2 42.g7 xg7 43.f6 wod not ve anything de to    !. Panov reommends 41.d6 e2 42.g1 h3 43.e4 (If g3, g3, then then 43 .  . b8, b8 , threat threateni ening ng 44. . . h1!, and after 44.d3 a2)  ... .h2 h2 44.f 44. f1 h1  4S. 4S .e2 e2 h2 h2 46. 46 .d1 d1 and here here considers that s ttack has praticay ome to an end. Bt ths is not reay the se, sine Bak pays pays 46 . .  b8, threat threateni ening ng 47 . . .x!, and if 47.d2 47. d2 s advoated advoated by Panov, Panov, then the n 47  .  b1! 48.xb1 xf3 foowed by  xd2 xd2 and . . .xg4 wherepon White aks any nd of winning es. t hites hites materi materia a edge seemed se emed to be pos p ossibe sibe to press pres s home by the se se,, bt riosy nnotied nnotied by amost a commentators, commenta tors, 41  g1 g 1 !, d now 42.xg7 is threatened. After ths the attacng attempts h3 42.g2, or 41...e2 42.e4 are natray harmess for White, d i iew ewise ise afte afterr 41 . . .b8 . b8 42. f4! no sati s atisf sfactory actory conti continat nation ion an be be seen seen for Bak. For exampe: exampe: 42 ... b1 b 1 (42 (42 . . .  xf4 xf4 43.xf4 43.xf4 e2 43. 43 . f1 ) g2 g2 xe1 xe1  (43 (43 . . . xg2 44.xg2 oses the attak.) 44.xh2 b1 xe6 and Bak has no perpeta chek. orowitz reommends that Back answers 41.g1 by 41..e2 2d1 2d1 b3 werepon he beieves beieves that t hat White White is in difcties. difcties. Bt in  hite hite has ha s to to good goo d continations continations at his dsposa, dspo sa, namey: namey: 43. 43 .bb 1 e3 44f1 h2 4Sg3 and Baks attack has come to an end, or 3xg7 3xg7  xg7 xg7 44f6 44f6 e3 4S. 4S . f1 g8 46. 46 .g3 g3 h2 h2 47.d 47 .d66 and aft after er the rook moves then 48.xg7 foowed by g3-fSxe3. he text-move is apparenty aso sfcient for a win, bt it enabes B to deveop deveop a mh more dangeros dangeros attack than after 4 1 . .g1 g1 .

41... 41. ..

�h2-hlt

Afte fter 41 . . . d4 there there fol folow owss 42.e4, and i f now 42 42 . . . h 1 43.g1 43.g1 h2, h2, then then 44.g4. 44.g4. The text-move text-move of o ffers Back B ack better bett er prospe pros pets. ts.

42.�g4-gl 43.Y-g4

2-h2

SECOND CYCLE

252

Forced, Forced , sinc s incee the exchnge exchnge on o n h  would enbe enbe Bc to ve ve  perpet perp eta a chec, chec , nd 43 43   woul wouldd be very very ww wwrd rd becus bec usee of 43    g6 44f6 h7

43... 43...

g7-

N ow  criticl position po sition hs gin occurred occu rred he question ques tion now now is whethe White cn ply 44f6 nd llow Blc the chnce to strengthen his ttc ttc by 44   f4? Answering this question is by no mens simple, nd the occurring vritions re so complicted tht Euwe did not risk choosing them even fter  long home nlysis

44Je3-e2? As  result of the inccurcy on the 4st move, White's win hs gi been bee n mde difcul difcultt nd the position occurring fter fter 44 44  f6  f4 loos very dngerous for White But despite this, Wite had to go for ts shrp continution, since the endgme tht occurs fter the text-move does not offer him ny winng chnces whtsoever After 44f6 f4 White plays 45e4!, and it cannot be seen how Blc would now be ble to strengthen hs ttc decisively Let us investigte some possibilities ) 45 45  h3 (Aft (After er 45 4 5    :b8, 46 :xg 47�xg1 �xh4 48:e wins wi ns)) 46:xh 46 :xh �xh �xh   47e2 47 e2 �h2 �h2 (Aft (After er 47    :d8, :d8 , as recommended recommended by Mo Mogono gonovv, 48 48    x  49x 49 x  wins wins most simply simply, and 47 47    :b8

EUWE EUWE - SEVSK SEVSKY Y

253

s ase aseed ed by 8 d2) 8 8  f2 nd Blc Blc's's attc attc hs been be en epel ep elled led 7  nd agi aginn no pomsing pomsing  ) 5  g1 6�xg1 �h3 7 t ttio tionn of Blc's Blc's attac can be seen, see n, since since 7    �xh �xh is ns n s e ed y 8�g3 ) 5    d5 ecommended by Pnov, hich hoeve lso yields hte a clea dvantage) 6e2 xg1 7�xg1 �xe 8�c5! and  the attac hs aleady tipped ove to Wte, nd hence to pans s o longe ay adeqate compenstion fo the piece t becomes clea fom the lines given bove tht White denitively had to etn the exta piece, s Blac's seemingly dangeos attac s eftble Afte the etn of the piece, n ppoximtely eqal edgame occus 

45.Yg4xgl 46.xgl 46.xgl 47Je2-e4

hlxglt Yh2xlt g6xh5 h8-h7

mple mple thn 7  7    8 8f 8 f, , h  hich old pehps pe hps sh shv vee ven ven White White sme chnces

48. 48.elxa5 49.e4-b4 5. 5.a5-b6 5.a4-a5 52.b4-e4 53.gl- 53.gl- 54.e4-c4 55.-g3 55.-g3 56. 56.b6-d8 57. 57.d8-b6

-b8 b8-a8 h7-g6 g6- a8-a6 e6-f4 c6-c5 f4-d5 a6-a8 Draw.

i  ing ng the cose co se of this gme, gme, White White hd chnces chnce s of n lmost lmo st foc foced ed i at sevel occasions, occasi ons, bt b t s not ble to tiize tiize them well enogh he gme illstates ell Ee's bd fom ding the tonment, hch pactically made the ve-playe tonment into n intenal affai beteen fo of them

SECOND CYCLE

25

No 2. Nimzo-ndian Defence M. Boinnik Boinnik

P Ker

Te He, 25h Mch 948 l.d2-d4 2.c2-c4 3.bl-c3 4.e2-e3

g8- e7-e6 -b4

Botvnnk exclusvely employs ths modest way, which grandmaster Rubnsten recommended, of playng aganst the Nmzo-Inda Defence, and he has acheved very good results wth this ne h advantage advantage wth ths syst s ystem em of development developme nt s that Whte Whte abstans abs tans fro unnecessary complcations n favour of a sold poston where Black s forced to play qute ccurately and carefully to keep the balance 4...

00

ere Black has a wde varety of systems of development that give rs to very dff dfferent erent ty ty e s of o f pos p ostons tons he text-move s one of the mor mor elastc, and Black keeps the choice open regardng hs further plan o campagn

5.- 6.b2xc3

b4xc3t -e

6   d5 7cxd5 exd 8d3 followed by e2 s a standard contnuaton and thus generally known herefore Black tres to develop along ne paths Also nteres  nterestng tng s the dea to play 6    c5 followed ollowed by by    b6, b6, c6  c6 a6  a6 and and e8, whch was utlzed by Reshevsky aganst Botvn some rounds later Wth ts method of play, Black commences a attack aganst Whte's pawn weakness on c4 and at the same tm  e8 protects hs kngsde aganst eventual attacks

BO BOINNIK NNIK - S S

255

hite can no longer utilize the normal system of development by d3, d3, as it wou would ld be met me t by 7   e5 8 e2 e 2 e4 9 c2 b6 and an d Blac Blac gains gains strng pressure pres sure agains againstt the c4-pawn With the text-move White choos es another move order, but it liewise fails to bring hm any success 7...

.e2-g3

e6-e5 d7-d6

nother interestin interes tingg continu con tinuation ation for for Blac was 8    d5, in an attempt to pen the the position po sition and utilize utilize his small edge in developmen developmentt Also Als o 8    e4 9e2 b6 followed by b7 b7 and tang control over the e4-point erited erited considerat con sideration ion

9.-e2 his restrained bishop development is liewise forced; 9 d3 would enable enable Blac to win win a tempo by 9    e4 Owing to the mode m odest st development developm ent f hite's pieces, piece s, Blac hardly hardly has any opening problems 

9...

b8-d7

256

SECOND CYCLE

Without ny ind of need, Blc chooses  reltively pssive w  development developm ent nd thus thus lets let s s dversry get wy wy from from mny probles he norml cont co ntinu inuti tion on 9    c5 00-0 c6 exerts pressure ginst th d4-pwn d4-pwn nd thus obstruct obs truct the e3-e4 e3-e 4 dvnce dvnce Also 9    c6 0  deserved ttention, when Blc plns to te ction ginst th c4-pwn

0.00

c7c5

Suddenly Blc shows ctivity gin, nd tries to generte  risy tta ginst the c4-pwn his opens up the position nd thus notice increses the power of White's bishop pir If Blc did not wnt t ply 0 0   e4 (   f3 b6 b 6  2 fxe4 b7) t this point nd thus elimi elimina nat t the tension in the centre, then he could proceed with either 0 0  o r 0 0 f8 f8 his would yield him  solid position without wenesss where wher e White White would would not nd it so s o esy e sy to utiize utiize his pwn centre

ll.-

c5xd4?

With this exchnge Blc Bl c hopes hop es to gin sufcie sufcient nt counterply ginst th th c4-pwn, but this pln is inccurte nd puts Blc in gret difculties when when the position opens open s up After After the the ntur nturl l move move       f8 Blck Blckss position pos ition would would be thorough thoroughly ly good, becus be cusee the t he e3e 3-e4 e4 dvnce dvnce wou woud lwys be risy for White owing to the reply    e6, e6 , ting ting contro controll  the squres f4 nd d4

2.c3xd4

d7b6?

Blc proceeds with his inccurte pln nd quicly becomes wors he correct continu continuti tion on ws st st  2 f8,  f8, nd despite the previos exchnge it would hve given Blc  stisfctory position  2 b6  b6 would lso hve been much stronger thn the text-move t is surprising tht Blc plces his ight on b6, where it is very bdl plced nd subsequently does not let Blc coordinte s pieces

3.cb2

e5xd4

BO BOINNIK - S S

257

ak hs nothng better, since White simply threatened to ply e3e4  ed by -f - f4 with with  strong ttc ttc For F or exmple exm ple  3 e6 e6  4d5 c8 1 and Blc's position is on the brin of collpse

4.e3e4! aray not 4exd4 d nd Blc suddenly hs n excelent position; ak ak ould ould lso be giv given en some counterpl counterplyy ft fter er  4�xd4  4  5 c afterr  4xd4 4xd4 d  5 c5 c 5  c4 After After the th e strong strong text-move, text-move, W6 as ell as afte ak's position is i s lredy very difcult nd it is uiely tht he s ths th possibili possibility ty to equlze, equlze, even in the cse of the bes b estt def de fence 

4... 4... 5J;cl

c8e6

aral araly y not not  5 �xd4  4  6 c c  �b6 �b6 nd Blc Blc cn cn def de fend himsef ite ell in the endgme he textmove opens up the squre for th bishop, so tht White no longer hs to clculte bout the thret  a4

5... 5...

e8e7?

t is amazing how mny we moves Blc is ble to me in such  short short time time spn spn  With With the textmove he lter intends to py py     e8, but this this hole h ole ide is completely usele ss

258

SECOND SEC OND CYCL CYCLE E

It ws necessry to proceed long the pths of the intil pln d ply 5 58 8 6xd4 nd now not 6 66 6 7f4 c7? 8h5!, t  6 4  4 7 c nd Blc hs t lest plced one of his pieces i  fvourble position In this cse Blc would sl hve prospects  defenng his bttered position; however, now Wte's ttc chiees  dngerous strength

�d8c7?? With this move Blc crowns hs series of mistes nd loses the ge within  few moves he initilly plnned 6 6e8 e8 ws lso bd in vie of the mnoeuvre 7h5 f6 8f4 nd White tes control er the importnt d-squre, but 6 64 4 (Aso 6 67 7 7  comes into considertion) 7 c still offered Blc chnces   st s tubborn resistnce With the text-move Blc intends to ply n eventul c c, , bt he he completely forgets bout the possibity of 7c4-c5 7 c4-c5 nd now ends p in  lost position

7.c4c5! Ntury White utilizes the chnce to open up new lines with gin  tempo Blc now fls under  mting ttc

7... 7... 8J&clxc5

d6xc5 �c7f4?

Blc could stil put up some resistnce by 8 8d d8, 8, since the endgme endgme fter 9xd8 xd8 20xf6 gxf6 2h5 d2 gives him deqte counterply nd on 9e3 there could follow 9 9fd7 fd7 nd Blc's defensive resources re by no mens over yet After the text-move Blc loses by force

9.b2cl

�f4b8

Or 9 9d7 d7 20b4 b8 b 8 2 2  b5 d8 d 8 22g5 nd nd Blc Blc cn cn resig

BOVINNIK S 

20c5g5 20c5g5

259

b6d7

Losi Losing ng on the spot, but but 20    e8 2h5 f6 22xf6 xf6 23xf6 could only prolong the nl result, nd no longer chnge it

2.g5xg7t! s beutil scrice, which is esily seen, is the simplest rod to victory Blc cn no longer escpe from the mting net

2... 22.g3h5t

®g8xg7 ®g7g6

Or 22  h8 23 g, g, or lso 22    f8 23xf6, nd Blc hs no defence

23.d4e3 23f would lso hve won, but the text-move is quicer

Bck resigned. enitively my weest gme in the tournment owever, Botvinni vigorously utilized the chnces he ws offered, nd convincingly demonstrted the power power of the bishop pir in n open position po sition

261

3

Cycle3 Round 11 0 EuweKeres   SmysovReshevs 0 Free: Boinnik

h gam EuwKers opnd with th so-called Sista Variation and tk a vry sharp turn right from the start whn Blac sacricd a pa to gt an attack hory, as wll as Euw himslf, considred th i to b in Whit's favour vour But B ut aftr som inaccuracis by Euw, ack ack btaind a vry stron s trongg attack aga against ins t th ng and dmosh dmo shdd th my position wit withh a pic sacric on th  9th mov Aftr invita invitabl bl atrial atrial osse os ses,s, Euw rsignd on th 26th mov myslov and Reshvsky also played th Spanish Opning and shvsky trid to improv on Black's play in th Euw-Krs gam m th rst round owvr, this did not work out w; rathr th pposit, as it was Whit who quicky obtained a mard positional advatag Aftr som inaccuracis by Blac, Smyslov had th chance t ff ffr a surprising xchange of quns qun s on th t h 26th 26 th mov that assurd assur d hi of th subsqunt win of a pawn, and a vry good endgam thogh Rshvsy put up a stubborn dfnce, h was forcd to sg on th 52nd move ournament tabl aftr aftr th   th round round Botvi B otvinni nni 6, Krs and ysov 5, Rshvsy z and Euw  Vz

I CYCLE

262

No 2. Te Ruy p M.Euwe

P Keres

Moscow, Apri  948 l.e2e4 2.g 3.b5 4.b54 5.c2c3

e7e5 b8c6 76 d7d6

his position lso occurred in the gme beteen the sme plyers  the the rst cycle; then Blc continued wit withh 5    d7 d7 6d4 6 d4 ge7 ge7  Euwe obtined  good gme with this vrition in tht gme, s wel s in  lter encounter ginst Reshevsy, nd he hd probbly ls prepred the sme line thoroughly for the present gme ence Blck decides to choose nother wy of developing It is interesting to note tht in no gme in the tournment ws th continution considered strongest by theory used xc6 bxc6 6d4 hs normlly ves rise to  complicted position, rich in possibies for both sides

5...

-

A vigorous continution tht ws introduced into theory two decdes go by Cpblnc nd goes by the nme "Siest Vrition Norm such n erly ttcng ttempt from Blc is rther suspect, but here, when White hs mde the unnecessry non-developing move 5c3, this continution comes into serious considertion nd yields Blc qut good prospects

6.e4 heory considers ths simple cpture to be the strongest continuti for White White If the immed immedte te 6 6  d4, then 6    fxe4 7g5 7 g5 exd4 e xd4 with with  g gme for Blc At ths point Wht Whtee cn lso ply the scrice s crice 7xe 7 xe

EU W E - KE RE S

26

ad ts acceptance would, after some compcations, steer the play into a approxmate approxmately ly equal endgame

6... 7.d2d4

c8

h econs this this advanc advancee is i s the s trongest tronges t continuation for for Wite Wite at hs poit, but also very interesting s Panov's recommendaton 70-0   7   d3 White plays 8e1 followed by e3 and d2-d4, since appaentl Blac s unable to maintain the domnating poston of the shp o d3 In the game Panov-Lwensch, Moscow 1948, Blac pa paed ed 7   e7 8d4 e4 and hoped to get a normal theoretical position a a 9g5, however ho wever White proce p roceede ededd more energetically en ergetically by playng d5! ad ganed strong pressure after 9 ex  ex  1 0dxc 0 dxc66 b 1 1 b3 fxg fxg22 1 1 1  aov's dea is worthy of consderaton and coud become a threat  he whle varation chosen by Blac But before maing a nal assssment regarding the move 70-0, further practical use in some tament games has to be awaited ... 7...

.g5

e5e4

w 8d5 ex 9dxc6 b s consderably weaer for Wte as Blac thatens to capture on g2, destroying White's possblty of castling

8...

d6d5

  the main main line line of the Siest Si estaa Variation Variation as as occurre occ urred d 8    h6 or 8    f6 a weaer weaer than than the text-move te xt-move and can be met me t very strongly strongly by by 9� 9 �b3 b3 d d accor accord dng ng to theory 8  e7 90-0 9 0-0 xg 1 0�h also ves Wte a dge

9.

e4e3

he postion occurring after 9 was for a long time considered to  avourable for White, since 9 exf3  exf3 1000! ves him a very strong

HI CYCLE

2

ttc; the interesting pwn scrice bound up with the text-move has lso been own to theory for long time, nd is lso considered t be in White's fvour But s  consequence of the present gme, ths ssessment stil hs to be proved in prctice Another possible continution tht cme into considerton as 9   h6 0fxe4 hxg exf5 d6, which lso ves rise to  very tens nd uncler position heory considers it to be fvourble for Wt but but in prctice Blc hs dngerous dngerous ttcng ttcng chnce chncess

0.-f4 his is certinly more promisig thn the immedite cpture  xe which gves Blc n excellent position fter 0 0h6 h6 h3 xh  2gxh 2gxh33 d6

0...

-d6

Blc's min obective in ths position is  protecting the e-pwn whch is not possible to hold in ny cse, but to eep White's night wy from the importnt e5-squre he text-move initilly wins a tempo s Wite is forced to protect his f-pwn

ll.�dl-?

EU  -   S

265

hs ove cnnot be considered dequte First of ll, Whte loses  aale   aale time  th it, nd n d seco se condly ndly the queen que en deprive de privess the ight of  portn portntt -s  -squ qure re from from where whe re it could coul d trns trnsffer to e5 he prese pr esent nt ae revels tht with ts queen move White hs no prospect of  ttg g the th e pwn pwn scric s cricee of o ffered by Blc Bl c on the 9th move n  nttiv ivel elyy better thn the the text-move ws   h nd only fter g to ply 2f3 f6 3xe3 ge7 400, since now the portnt g6-squre is not vilble for Blc's pieces If Blc insted as g 2 f6, then there follows 3xe3 ge7 4e6, thh a good t good gme gme for White I t is very difcult difcult to ve ve  nl n l sse s sess sment sme nt ang ths line before rther prcticl experimenttion hs been o t t seems to be one of the few methods of ply tht mght o hte prospects of n opening dvntge ther possible continutions t this point lso do not ve  cler sl sltt he he most mportnt mportnt ones re re   0-0 0- 0 nd   xe3 xe3  Let's Let's nvesti nvestigt gtee so of the possibilities occurring fter these moves a f4 f4  2:xf 2: xf44 xg xg55  3xe3 3xe 3 ge7 nd Blc' Blc'ss better be tter devel development opment s  s h n equl equl gme despite de spite White's White's bishop b ishop pir  e3 e7  2e2  f6 (Aft (After er 2  2 d d3? 3?  3 xd3xf xd3x f4 there there follo follows ws ! nd wins, nd lso 2 2g4 g4 3xg4 xe3 4e2 ves t  edg edge  3 g4  4h3 4h3 h  5@ 5 @ ( 5hxg 5hxg4 g3 g3 loses n hage 5 5xf4! xf4! (Better thn the continution recommended by ron, hich ws 5 5xf4 xf4 6xf4 xe2 7@xe2x 8@x - 1 9g3 g5 with with n pproximtel pproximtelyy equl gme)  6 xf4 xf4 (After 6hxg4  hte hs to scrice the queen by 7xf4 to void the worst oseqences  xe xe2 2  7 @xe2 @ xe2 xf x f4 4 And if either side is bout to t a a edge, edge, t cn only onl y be Blc who hs such prospe pro spects cts hese hese possbli pos sblities ties re ntur nturlly lly not the lst word in this line, li ne, but bu t they state state e e  the difculties difcul ties tht t ht White hs h s to fce when w hen executing exe cuting his as  ny cse, Blc gets good counterply for the pwn, nd in a nes cn even hope for n dvntge

... 2.�xe3t

�d8

 ors ors bd ws  2xd5 xf x f4 foow foowed ed by   ge7, nd Blc's e3 a turns into  decisive force Cpturing with the queen is sooner

HI CYCLE

266

or lter forced, becuse fter 2xe3 White's previous move would b poiness nd would gve Blc n edge fter 2 2h6 h6,, while while  202 0-00 g g would nevertheles neverthele s s force White to cler the f3 f3 -squre -s qure for the night night b plying 3xe3 due to the thret of h7-h6  h7-h6

2... 2...

g8e7

As comp co mpen enstion stion for the pwn, pwn, Blc now hs hs n exceeny-developd exce eny-developd position po sition nd it is cler tht White, even with best bes t pl ply, y, does doe s not hve  genuine prospects of exploiting his extr pwn Rther the opposit it is White who hs to ply very ccurtely to void speediy becoming worse

3.4xc6t? his exchnge is undoubtedly we Firsy it improves Blc's centra position, nd secondly it weens the light squres in White's positio which enbles Blc to generte  strong ttc 30-0 hd to be plyed (If 3d2 0-0 4gf3 then 4 4 g6 g6 is a strong repy) 3 30-0 0-0 And now not 4d2 g6 5g3 h6 followd h3 h3 with  strong ttc for Blc, but 4f3 e4 In this positio e5? is ntury  bd miste due to 5 5xe5 xe5 followed by g g winning  piece, nd lso Aronin's recommendtion bd2 x 6e2 yields Blc the clerly better gme fter 6 6 f5 f5 But th simple g! cuses Blc more difculties, nd it is possibe tha Blc hs obectivey no better continution thn 5 5f5 f5 6f3  with  dr

3... 4.00

b7xc6

Or 4f3 00, nd now 500 gives rise to the gme continution; i insted e5, then 5 5xb xb followed by xe5 xe5 nd f6-g6xg f6-g6xg with  cler dvntge

4... 5.bd2?

00

EUWE  KES

267

 istake that nally nally leaves White White in a lost position po sition It was ess e ssential ential to pa 1f3 at this point, since 5 5e4 e4 6g5 does not seem to lead ak foard But the move 15 is not as strong here s it would hae een without the exchange on c6 Now Black can proceed with   1 1 16xb1 g6 17d2 xf4 when he stands slightly better ing to the weak light squares in Whte's position po sition fte fterr the text-move a speedy catastrophe follows ollows;; White is no longer ae to close the e-le in time, and ths enables the blac rooks to isively penetrate into Whte's position

5... 5... 6.g3

e7g6 8e8

tronger than 6 6h6 h6 foowed by h3, h3, since now 7f3 is not pss pssib ible le on account of  7 h6  h6 winning winning  piece piece 

7.e3

1-

so sufcient sufcient for a win ws  7 h6  h6  8g xf4!, xf4!, but but the combina combinatio tionn enced by the text-move is simpler

8el 9.xel

HI CYCLE

268

9... 9...

d64!

hi temporary acrice i immediatey deciive becaue Whis undeveoped poition cannot withtand the ubequent attack However Back had to avoid the other acricia poibiity 19 19     20gf4 �xf4 which would have ven White a winning poiton a 21�e6 foowed by d, and Back i forced to echange quees After the text-move, however, 20�e6 �xe6 21xe6 would b foo oowe wedd by by 2 1   e3 22h 22h11 f! f !

20.g34 2.d2

g6xf4

withh deciiv deci ivee ef e ffect, ec t, and 21 2 1 h h After 21gf3 there foow 21�g6 wit i anwered by 21e2 foowed by e4 e4 If 21h4, then imp 21h6

2... 22.®gl2

f4e2t h7h6

Winning Winning back the acri  acriced ced piece p iece with a lating lating attack; White' White' pot po t i hopee

23.\eld2 24.\d2e3 25. 25.cld2

\ h65 h65 d3e4

hie resigned. A theoreticay-intereting game where Black improved on a shap gambit variation that had been toed aide by theory Only furth practica prac tica eperimen ep erimentation tation can ca n giv givee a nal awer a wer regarding regarding whether h improveme improve ment nt made mad e by Back in thi game are o ef e ffective that t t a again make the whoe ine playable

SMYS SMYSLO LOV V  RESHEV RESHEVSKY SKY

269

No 22. Te uy Lopez  Smysov

S. eshs

Moscow, h nd 2h ri 948 l.e2-e4 2.g- 3.-b5 4.5-4

e7-e5 b8-c6 7-6 d7-d6

eshevsky agai choose the same defece a he did i the game aast Keres ad Euwe i the secod cyce, athough thi dd ot e ech ch him him wi with th ay peaat peaa t experieces experiec es i thoe tho e game Ad he i o kie kie  the prese pres ett game

5.c2-c3 6.d2-d4 7.4-3 8.bl-d2 9.d2-c4 0.0-0 .c4-e3

g8-e7 c8-d7 h7-h6 e7-g6 -e7 0-0 e7-

et etter ter is 1 1   Je8 ited itedig ig to awer awer 12 1 2d d55 wi with th 1 2 f8 f8

2.e3-d5

-e8

 a the game had the ame patter a the Euwe-Kere game i the st cyce, where moe detaied expaatios about the whoe opeig vaatio ca be foud I that game Back payed 12 12 exd4 exd4 13xd4 e8 ad obtaied a atifactory poitio I thi game Rehevky trie t mprove o Backs method of pay But i actua fact 12Je8 is much weaker ad give White a exceet attack ad the bihop pair, h e Back Back is ot gettig gettig ay ay compeatio compe atio i retur

HI CYCLE

270

       

c

e

g

3.d4e5! It wa preciely preci ely becau bec auee of thi threat that that Black wa force forcedd to echa echag g on d4, ince  ince now the capture by the pawn pawn i impoible impo ible on accout   f6 f6 and the bihop bi hop in d7 i en prie. Black mut mut thu thu capture capture o  withh a piece, but thi ao wit a o ha h a drawback drawback .

3... 3...

xe5

mot forced, becaue 13... 13...ge5 ge5 14.e5 e 15.f4 c6 16.e folowed olowed by h h  give te t e a very  trong attack. Now however Wh Wh ecure the powerful bihop pair and retain  dominating ight  d.

4.xe5 5dl-

d6xe5 d7-e6?

he begnnng of a fauty pan; after the echange of the ecod bihop for a knight, White gain a clear poitional advantage. though Black' poition wa no longer lly atifactory after th inaccuracy on the 12th move, it wa tll poible to obtain a tolerabl poition by the continuation 15... 15...a5 a5 16.c2 c6 17.e3 e6 181 c7. Even though ite in thi cae denitely ha the better poiti

SMYS SMYSLO LOV V  RESHEVS RESHEVSKY KY

271

 opiio i that Back ti ha quite good defeive reource at hi ispoa

6JU-dl

e6xd5

h echage i ooer or ater forced For itace, after 16 16  c8  g3 Back woud woud ack ay a y d  d of couterpay couterpay No N ow White maitai maitai a ce cear ar poitioa poitioa u, becaue be caue i a ope op e poitio po itio the bihop pair pai r i a  powerfu force

7Jdlxd5 fter 1ed5 e4 Back woud get ome couterpay, but the tetmove oce him ito a competey paive defece for a og time

7... 8.�-!

�d8-e7 g6-

he ony ony adequate adequate repy repy agai agaitt the threat of of 1 9 :d7, :d7, bec becau aue e 1 8 :ad8  :ad8 ail to 19:d8 19:d8 foow oowed ed by h6, ad 1 8  e6 ao a o oe o e immediate immediateyy o  9:d7

9.cl-e3 20Jl-dl 2.g2-g3

-e6 e8-d8 d8-d6

ack poitio i very difcut ad he ack ay couterpay he kgh kght t are are tied to to the defece defece of o f the e ad c-poit, the rook mut potect d7, ad the echage o d wi ever be poibe If Back, o tace, woud pay 21e8, the 22:d8 :d8 23:d8 ed8 2c8 e 2d5  poibe With the tet-move Back at eat trie o eiate the threat of peetratio o d7, but ow he get a freh eake o d6

22.d5xd6 23.�-g4

c7xd6 ®g8-h8?

HI CYCLE

272

Removing the king from the batteed w ater cot Back dear Correct wa 23 f8 f8 Wth thi move, Back woud ao thwart h threat of 24xh6, and t woud at the ame time protect hi quee a -pawn

24. 24.e3-b6

c6-b8?

A bad tactica take that oe a pawn by force and yied Back a hopee hope e  endgame e ndgame White White wa impy impy threatening to win the pawn pawn o  by pay payin ingg 25 2 5 d2 foow oowed ed by d d  , and 24    c8 25d2 25d2 b8 26 2611 c6 c 6 wa ao not n ot an adequate way way to meet th threat thr eat becaue beca ue of o f 27 27 a a fo owed owed by d  hu hu 24   c7 had to be payed, when Back coul t put up a tubborn defence But even in thi cae White' advata woud woud have have been be en beyond b eyond doubt

25. 25.b3xe6

xe6

26.�g4-h4! With ti exceent move, White ue the temporary weae of his oppone opp onent' nt' back rank rank and win win the d6-pawn d6- pawn by forc forcee And thi ignies i gnies the end of the game

26... 26...

�e7-d7

SMYS SMYSLOV LOV - SHEV SH EVSKY SKY

273

 s true that 26  h h  27gh 27 gh would would weaken White' White'ss pawn structure, stru cture, but n this case Black would not have he possbility for such active unterplay as n he game

27.h4-d8t 28.b6xd8

d7xd8 b8-d7

28   c6 c 6 29b6 would would be completely completely hopeles hopelesss

29.d8-c7 30Jdlxd6

d7-c5

he loss of the d6-pawn means the end of the game Although eshevsky subsequently puts up stubborn resistance, his position is so uned uned that that it has ha s no hope ho pe of success succes s

30...

8-c8

fte fterr 30    e or 30   a there foows 31e6 and e5

3.c7-b6

c5-4

Or 3 1    e4 32e6 32 e6 and Wite' Wite'ss task is even even simper simper

32.d6xe6 33.e6xe5

4xb2 b2-c4

fter fter 33    c3 then 34d 3 4d wins, wins, as the pawn pawn on o n g7 fals With the etmove Black tries to save himself in the rook endgame, but ths is just jus t as hopeles hop elesss for him as any other alternativ alternativee

34.e5-e6 35.e6xb6 36.b6xb7

c4xb6 c8xc3 c3-c2

Black Black wins wins a pawn pawn back, but White's passe pas sedd pawn pawn in the the cen c entre tre spee sp eeddily decides

HI CYCLE

27

    

37.h2-h4 38.gl-g2 39.h4-h5 40b7-7

c2x2 6-5 5-4

Even imper wa 40b 40 b8 8
40... 4.g3-g4 42.g2-g3 43.g3- 44.-e3 45.- 46.e3-f4

h8-g8 4-3 2-e2 e2-a2 g8- 2-l 3-a2

Otheie there woud impy foow 47f and f3f4

47.e4-e5 48.f4- 49.7x2 .-g6 5.2-8t 52.8-7t

-g8 l- t g8- -e7 Bck resigned.

275

Cye3 Round 12 / Keres-Smysov /

 Boinnik-Euwe 0 Free: eshevs

 the BotvnnkBotvnnk-Euwe Euwe game the Meran Me ran varaton varaton n the Slav Sl av Def De fence as employed Apparently Euwe had studied ths ne thoroughly at home, home, but  ths game he had no chance to show hs home hom e preparat prep araton on lead leadyy at move move 14 Botvnnik Botvnnik chose chos e a new ne w contnuaton contnuaton and an d thus threw hs oppoet off balance Subsequently Euwe defended weakly, and eabled hs adversary to decde the game wth wth a strking kght sacrce sacr ce o the 22nd ove Euwe prolonged hs hopeless resstance unt the 3th 3 th move move bef be fore he resgned Agas Agastt Keres, Smyslov played the th e Grnfeld Grnfeld Def De fence, enc e, which normaly norm aly yeds Whte the freer freer game game On the 1 1 th move move Whte refraned refraned from from usg the strongest contnuaton and contnued the game so poorly that Back easly obtaned an equal endgame When Smyslov recessly aptued Whte's a-paw, he landed n a dangerous poston, from hee hee he however however escaped unpunshed unpunshe d he h e game was was adjourned adj ourned n an equal bshop endgame and ended n a draw wthout resumng After the 12th round the partcpants have the followng number of pots Botvnnk 7, Keres and Smyslov S Reshevsky  and Euwe 

HIRD CYCLE

276

No 23. Grnfed Defence P Keres

 Smysov

Moscow, ri 3 948 l.d2-d4 2.c2-c4 3.bl-c3

g8- g7-g6 d7-d5

Smylov again chooe hi favourite opening, the Grnfeld Defene where he ha long experience, and he ha worked out hi own ytm of development developm ent More M ore detailed de tailed explanation about the follo followin wingg moves moves have been given in the comment to the game Botvinnik-Smylov from the econd cycle

4.gl- 5.�dl-b3 6.�b3xc4 7.e2-e4 8.cl-e3 9.�c4-b3

-g7 d5xc4 0-0 c8-g4 -d7

In the abovementioned game, Botvinnik continued with 9d2, bu did not obtain anything anything after 9    b6 10d3 c6 11f3 e6 Koto recommend 9e2 b6 10d3 and an eventual 000 hi certail offer Wite attacking chance, but alo make the position very tes 9d 9 d11 ha alo been played at thi thi point, and afte afterr 9    b6 10b3 it lead to the game continuation, and in additio Black can also  9 c6  c6 Beide 9 d 1, the the text-move text-move deerve more attention, ince Back s now forced forced to play 9    b6 and o he mie ou on the poibility o play play the continuatio continuationn aft after er 9d 9 d11 ) 9    c6 10e2 b6 which fors White' queen to c

9... lJl-dl

d7-b6

S S - SSLO SSLOV V

277

I hi game againt Smyov in the third and fth cyce, Euwe payed 1 a a 1 1 d5 d 5 But the weak weakei eing ng of the b4-quare b4-quare i hard hardyy in White' White' avour; in the game from from the f  fth cyce, Back payed 1 1 xf3 xf3 foowed y �d6 �d6 ad obtained a good game he text-move i certainy more pomiig for White

0... 0...

e7-e5

 ovey ued for the rt time i thi game Perhap thi move offer mewhat better propect tha the orma cotinuation 10 10c6 c6 11d5 e 12e2, but it ti fai to competey equaize the poitio It eem that the opeig wi tur out i White' favour ayway, a Back' piece-pay i uabe to ufciety compeate for White' rog pawn cetre

ll.d4xe5 Bfore the game I had aayzed thi poto briey on evera ccaio, and I had come to the concuion that White coud get a edge after 11e2!, for exampe 11x 12dxe5, or 11exd 12xd or 12xd But, curiouy eough, I paid no attention to thi thi cot co tiuatio iuatio during during the the game, ad ony conidered con idered the po po ibiiti ibiitie e 11dxe5 ad 11d5 Of thee, 11d5 i perhap the more interetig It keep the poitio more coed ad, for the time being, keep Back'

THI CYCLE

278

g7bihop out of the game But it i carcey tronger than the tet move Incidenta Incidentay, y, the mov movee 1 1 e2 wa ucce uc ce  fuy empoyed in the game Bondarevky-Fohr in the recenty-ende recenty-endedd Stockom Stockom 1 948 tournament After 11ed4 12 12d4 d4 1 3   d4 e2 1 4 4  de2, fo owed owed by a ater f2-f4, White obtained an eceent poition

... ... 2.-e2 3.e3-g5?

b8-d7 �d8-e7

With th move White i paying for the trap 13 13c5 c5 14d5, but in o doing he forget about hi own main tratec pan 13h3 had to be payed, and woud have ecured White an edge after 13 13   14 14 f  f3 e 15 15 e2 e2 a we a after after 1 3 e6  e6 14d5 Ao better than the tet-move wa 13d4 e2 14de2 foowed by a ater -f4

3... 3...

�e7-e8

After thi quiet retreat, White' "attack ha come to an end, and it ha ony reuted in a bady-paced bihop on g

4.0-0 Ao here, 14h3 wa better, ince after 14 14e e66 1 5 a3 the the unp unpeaant eaant

S S  SSL SSLOV OV

27 9

1 e i threatened, threatened, and and the the echa echange nge 1 4  ff3 1 5f 5f33 e5 e5 1 6e2 6e2 ao eave White with a ghtly better game However, Back can pay 1 f3  f3 15f3 e 16e3 c folowed by an eventua  e6 ith ith a atifactory a tifactory game ece 14d4 wa a move worthy of conideration Whte would etain the tenion in the poition and have ome attacng propect o he kingide But after the tet-move the poition impe ompetey

4... 4... 5.c3-d5

d7xe5

o 15d4 woud have been weak in view of 15 15 c5!, c5!, for eampe 1db5? e2 1e2 c4 18b4 d3 or 18 18a5 a5 with an edge for ack he tetmove force maive echange and make the poition aboutey equa

5... 5... 6.e4xd5 7.1 e2x e2x

b6xd5 e5xt g4x 1 g4x

he impet drawing continuation wa 1 1e5, e5, bu the tetmove i ao good

8.�b3x

�e8-d7

o 18 18e5 e5 wa bad in view of 19f4 b2 20c, becaue hit hitee d-pa d-p awn woud woud then become very trong trong Ao A o bad wa 1 8 b2 b2 bea beau uee of 1 9  b 1  1 8   a4 ao came into in to conideration; conideration; White White coud awer th mot eaily by 19f4 and thu make Back attacking aempt harme

9Jd-d2 2.-c 2.g2-g3 22.@g-2 23.d2-e2

-e8 g7-e5 7-5 5-4

HI CYCLE

280

Now an exchange of rook on the ee  oon take pace, an the game take on a hopeey drawih character But it i difcut to demontrate a better pan for White at thi point, ince 23h4 is anwer anwered ed by 23    h5, h5 , and now 244, then 24  b5 i a troubeom troubeom repy It i true that Back ha a pawn weakne on c7, but it i ver difcut to attack and, beide thi, White ha no other reaon to hop for an advantage

23... 23...

e5-d6

23  �b5 woud not not have have ben be n any better, bcaue bca ue after 24 24 11 Back cannot pay pay 24   xb2 in any cae on account of 25Je7 h offer to exchange piece on the e-e i fuy ogica and reeve Back' omewhat cramped poition

24Jcl-el 25Jelxe2 26Je2xe8t 27.g5- .g5-

e8xe2 8-e8 Yd7xe8 d6-

Koto Kotovv tate ta te that that 27    c6 28 2 8 c3 c 3 f f i the impe imp ett draw drawing ing continuation, ince Wite ha difcuty avoiding the xchange of queen he text move again tir up om compication

S S - SSL SSLOV OV

28. d5-d6 29Oxb7 30. -c3

281

c7xd6 �e8-e6 �e6xa2

yslov unnecessarily complcates te position in time-trouble, and s eventua eventually lly te one to get into into difculties difculties  Simpler Simple r was 30    d5 wit oplete equality

3l.�b7-e4

 -f

 31 3 1    g7 g7 32a8 32 a8  ten ten 33d2 33 d2 coul couldd become troublesom troublesomee Te ttove is simpler

32.�e4-d4 33.�d4-h8

®g8- ®-e8?

fter tis, only Wite as winning cances 33 6  6!! 34\7 @e8 @ e8 ad ad to be played, and if now 35\xg6, ten 35 \ \ forces an excange o queens tat ves rise to an equal endgame

Koto's recommendation to play 34g7 \ 356 was also goo

THI CYCLE

282

ere and and would would after after 3    @e7 36x followed by x7, a we a after after 3    g5 36x xf8 37x, ae en Wite te ligtly better be tter endgame owing owing to to i more actie actie queen and and af  afer er kng kng poition po ition But te text-moe i not bad eiter

34...

�a2-

Kotov' Kotov' recommendation recomme ndation to play play 34 3 4    e6 would also not ae led to complete equaty, ince after 34 Wite till maintains a mall edge due to Black' expoed king poition

35.�h7-h4 Wit ti moe, Wite urrender te lat of s advantage Intead 358 would ave kept Black' piece in a relatiely ed-up position After te text-move te poition i equal again

35... 35... 36.g2-gl 37.gl-g2 38.-

�-d5t �d5-dlt �dl-d5t

Wite ad initially planned to play 38@3, but tis moe would alo ae been anwered by 38    b, b , wen we n Wite again a to retreat wit wit i kng It wa eaier for Wte to reconcile imelf wit a draw after te text-moe, ince te endgame after te excange of queen doe not o ffer m any a ny winning winning cance watoeer wato eer

38... 38... 39.�h4-d4 40.�d4- 4.g2 42.-e3 Drw.

�d5-5 �5-e2t �e2t e8- -e6

Te endgame offer neiter ide any genuine winning cances

BOTV BOTVINNIK - EUWE EUWE

28

No 24. Te Semi-Sv Defence M. Boinn

M.Euwe

Moscow, Apri 3 948 I.d2-d4 2.gl- 3.c2-c4 4.bl-c3 5.e2-e3 6.-d3

d7-d5 g8- e7-e6 c7-c6 b8-d7 d5xc4

 also cos t sam opning in t rst-cycl game against tinn tinnik, ik, but tn continud continud wit wit 6   b4 T complicatd Meran ariaton tat begns wit te text-move is certainly more suited to 's play playing ing style tan te fcult positional po sitional bate tat occurs after 6   b4 

7.d3xc4 .c4-d3

b7-b5

b3 b4 92 a6 100-0 is also very interesting But Botvinnik as prpared a nw way of playng in te main line, and decides to toduc toduc it into into practic practic in tis gam In recent times te retreat retreat 8e2 8 e2 as also oftn oftn ben employed ere, and it also gves gves rise to an interes intere s ting ting psition psition it it mutual mutual cance can cess

8...

7-6

te te 8    b4 9 9  e4 Wite Wite gets an advantag advantag Te text-move tex t-move gves gves ris risee to t ain ain lin of te Mran M ran Variat Variation ion

9.e3-e4 0.e4-e5

c6-c5

THI CYCLE

28

0... 0...

c5xd4

After 10 10 g4 g4 te te continuat continuations ions 1 1 g5  g5 cxd4 cxd4 1 2�xg4 2�xg4 xe xe  1 3�g3 or 1 1 f4 f4 cxd4 cxd4 1 2  e4 bot give give rise to ver veryy compcated games tat ave not yet been nally mapped out by teory

ll.c3xb5

6xb5

Now 1 1     g4 is weak weaker er in view view of 1 2�a4 Instead In stead of of te text-mo text-move, ve, te contin continua uatio tionn 1 1     xe5 1 2xe5 2 xe5 axb axb was empl employ oyed ed for for a lon longg time, but tis ine was ten made out-of-fasion by Stalberg's move 13�f3 But in actual fact Wite cannot ope for any particular edge  ts continuation, since Black plays 13 13b b4 4 1 4@e2 4@e 2 b8 b8 1 5�g3 5�g3 �d6 16 �xg3 17xg3 d6 and obtains an approximately equal endgame endgame Szabo-Stalber Szabo-Stalberg, g, Stockolm Stockolm 1 948) Several improvements to strengten Wte's attack ave in recent times been found in te line tat occurs after te text-move And practical experience also sows tat Black as to reconcile mself to a difcult defence, and prospects for a draw at best Hence greater attention attention sould sould be drected drected towards towards te te old old line line 1 1     xe5, xe5 , wic so so far as ven Black adequate results

2.e5x 3.   7 

�d8-b6

BOT BOTNNK - EUWE

285

 is essential for Wite to demolis Black's ng position, altoug i yields Black an extra tempo Terefore te text-move is markedly songer tan te oter continuations 130-0 and 13e2 tat are soetimes used at ts point

3 3

7

400 14e2 0-0 50-0 is also often played, and if now 5 5    5, ten te sacrice sacrice 1 6 x7 yields Wite a winnin winningg attack But in ts game otvinn otvinnik ikabstains abstains from te tietie-cons consumin umingg move e2, and immediately tries to take control of te esquare by te moves e and f4 n so doing Wite enables Black to excange off te strong bisop on d3, u as compensation e obtains a marked lead in development Te idea cosen by Botvinnik is in any case very interesting and denitely deserves rter practical practical experimentation experimentation

4 4

d7-c5

e excange of te strong gt for te bisop on d3 does not seem to be te best plan in tis position t loses a lot of time for Black, and eventually e is still unable to secure a safe aven for s king by castling Te kngt was exceently placed on d7; from tis post it

THI CYCLE

286

kept an eye on te e-square, and would after an eventual 0-0  0-0 a defended against te sacrice x 7, and tus it sould ave stayed  place Te normal continuation continuation was to play 1 4 0-0  0-0 1 5e 5 e 1 b7 1 6f4 6f4 d d and if now 17e5, ten 17 17xe5 xe5 18xe5 xe 19e5 f wit a adequate game After te text-move Black falls bend in developm and soon gets into difculties

5cl-f4 Wte cannot retain s d3-bisop in any case, terefore e tries to tak control of te e-point as quickly as possible, to exploit s advata in development

5 5

c8-b7

Naturay Black could no longer castle because of te rapidly decisi sacrice 16x7 But te position of Black's kng in te centre s also very insecure, and turns out to be te main reason beind Black's subsequent sub sequent difcul difculties ties Te drawback drawbackss of te move move 1 4    c 5 are alrady alrady mang temselves felt

6JU-e After 16e5 tere would follow 16 16 xe5 1 7xe5 7 xe5 xd3 xd3 1 8xd3 8xd3 f6 followed by 0-0 0-0 and Black as escaped e scaped te worst worst consequences co nsequences Wit Wit te text-move Wte tries to strengten s positon even more befor e nay takes control over te e-square

6 6

a8-d8?

Euwe s probably rigt wen e considers ts move to be already t decsive mstake, since later no lly adequate continuation can be s for Black First of o f a, a , Black loses lose s a valuable valuable tempo temp o wt wt te text-mo Seco Se condl ndly, y, te rook roo k is unfavour unfavourably ably placed o d8, and deprives d eprives Black o several good def d efensive ensive resources resou rces Te correct continuation was te simplifyng excange 16 16 xd3 xd3

BOTNNIK BOTNNIK - EU EU

287

1d3  18 0-0, a advocated by Euw imelf After ti,  pat to a ignicant advantage for Wite can be een Te move 1g3, a wa recommended by Euwe, can be anwered by 19 19 f6, f6,  altoug tere are many pawn weaknee in Black' camp, e tl s powerf powerful ul counter-cance counter-cance bae b aedd on i  -pawn

7alcl!

d8d5

 now 17 17f3 f3 18f3, ten 18 18   0-0 0-0 wil wil not not do due due to 1 9 7 llowed by , and after 18 18  d3 1 9d3 Black again cannot cstle on account of c7 Wit te tet-move Black a nally made eug eug preparation preparation o tat e intend intend to play 1 8    0-0, but now Wte Wte tke deciive action

8.f4e5!

g7xe5

e brav bravee continuat continuation ion 1 8 0 0-00 1 9 g5 6 would av avee been be en te bet be t prac practitica call cance cance,, and if if now now 207 207 @8 2 1 5, ten 21 2 1   d8 Te sacrice sacrice 1 9 7 @7 20 g5 @g6 wa alo al o tenable for Black fter te tet-move Black will never be able to catle

d5xe5 1     00 could, among among oter ot er ting ting,, be anwered by 20 20 g5! g5 ! , and and

288

THI CYCLE

 9   g8 would after after 20d5 20d5 xd xd 2  x7 g7 22xd4 22 xd4 yield Black Black a opeless endgame But te simple 20xd5 followed by xd4 was treatened

20.xe5

c5x

Ts loses on te spot, but Black ad no satisfactory defence at s dsposal sp osal Howe Howeve ver,r, 20    g8 offered te relatively best prospects Black intends to answer 2g3 by 2g and is treatening to make a eventual excange sacrice on e But instead Wte would proceed wit 2f wen Black remains in dfculties

2.�dlxd3

-

If Wite were now forced to retreat wit s kigt, Black would obtain a quite reasonable position But instead tere follows a decisive combination, wic is based on te exposed position of te black ng But Black no longer ad any satisfactory defence, for example 2g8 22x7!, or 20-0 22d7 In bot cases Wte gets a easily ea sily winnn winnngg attack att ack

22.�d3-!

BO BOINNIK - EUWE EUWE

289

ck is no longer longe r able to prot p rotec ectt te g7  s quare Te following moves  most forced

22... 22... 23.�g3-g7 24Jcl-c7

xe5 h8- �b6xc7

 tet tetmov mov is just j ust as opeless opeles s as 24  d6 25 25 b7 b7 d3 26 26 77 d8 7 Te end is no longer interesting

25.�g7xc7 26.�c7xe5 27.�e5-e3

b7-d5 d4-d3 d5-c4

sed of te d3-pawn, d3- pawn, Black decides decide s to gve gve up a piece, piec e, but it naturally naturally es not ater te outcome of te game

28.b2-b3 29.- s possible was te immedate 29bxc4, but Wte is in no urry

29... 29... 30.�e3-d2 3.b3xc4 32.gl-

-d7 e6-e5 b5xc4 e-

 32 c3  c3 33c3 d2 34c8 foowed by xd7 and @e2

33.-e3 33.-e3 34.�d2-b4 35.e3-d2 36.a2-a4 Back resigned.

-e6 d7-c7 c7-c6

290

Cycle3 Round 13 0 Smysov-Boinnik Smysov -Boinnik  0 Reshevs-Keres Reshevs-Keres  Free:Euwe

Te game Smyslov-Botvinnik opened wit te Sician Defence and Wite, for some reason, refrained from is usual favourite syste of 2c3 Instead e cose a more complicated continuation, wic e owever did not andle well at all Wen Smyslov failed to get a advantage after te openng, e tried to force a breaktroug in te centre But ts only weakened weakene d is own position and enabled enabl ed Black's to to bisop bis opss to develop very strong repower Wite's pieces pie ces were gradua gradually lly forced to take up defensive positions and Black soon controlled almost te wole board After te loss of an ecange, Syslov's furte resistance res istance was point poin tless, les s, and e resign re signed ed te adjourned position p osition wito witout ut resuming te game Te game Resevsky-Keres started a couple of days later due to an illness for Resevsky Wite was doing well after a complicated opening and after an oversigt by Black a pretty combination enabled m to win a pawn But later Wite got into time-trouble, and allowe is opponent to create a tenable defensive position on te ligt squares, so te cances were equal despite Wte's pawn plus Afte te adjournment of te game, Resevsky completely unjustiably continued playing for a win In so doing, e did not pay attention to Black's orinal combination tat trapped Wite's rook in te middle of te board Wte lost an ecange but could still put up stubborn resist resi stance ance But is second se cond period of time-trouble meant Rese Resevsky vsky was unable to see all te details of te position; e came under an attack, lost a bisop, and ten resigned After te end of te 13t round te tournament table is as follows Botvinni Bo tvinnikk 8, Keres Kere s 6 6 / , Smyslov   / , Res Resevsk evskyy 4/ 4/ and Euwe Euwe 1  

SSL SSLOV OV - BOTVINNIK BOTVINNIK

291

No 25. Sicii Defence  Smysov

M. Boinnik

Moscow, Moscow, 5h Apri 948 l.e2-e4

c7-c5

ears ago Botvinnik's favourite opening was te Sican Defence But g ago ago e switced switced over to to te Frenc F renc Def D efence, ence, and e occasionall occa sionallyy aso aso uti utilizes lizes open open def d efenc ences es wit wit 1    e 5 Smyslo Smyslovv naturally naturally only only considered con sidered ese possi pos sib bes, es, especial esp ecially ly as Bot Bo tvinnik vinnik as not no t employed te Sicilian Sicilian eece in tournament play more tan a couple of times over te ast ew years Botvinnik's coice of opening in tis game is terefore psycologically well justied, and as te furter course of te game sos, e trew is opponent completely off-balance rigt from te star

e rst surprise Normally Smyslov only plays 23 and 3g3, but ere e refrains from ts, probaby fearing a novelty Black's opening strategy already sows its rst results

2... 3.d2-d4 4.xd4 .l-c3 6.cl-g5

b8-c6 c5xd4 g8- d7-d6

e itention of tis system is to prevent Black from coosing te s-caled Dragon Dragon Variation Variation 6    g6 foowed by g7, g7, since te black isop usually usually turns out to be b e very stron s trongg on g 7 But, on te oter ad, te wt wtee bisop bis op is i s not n ot particularly particularly well placed on g and in quite a e e var varia iations tions it presents Black wit an obje ob ject ct of o f attack As A s usual u sual in te Sican Defence, te game now becomes very tense and requires arate andling by bot sides

THIRD CYCLE

292

6... 7.e2

e7e6

An interesting attacng attempt at ts point is to play 7xc6 bxc6 8e5, 8e 5, and and answe answerr 8    dxe5 by 9\ 9 \ wit some som e attacng cances cances for te sacrce sac rcedd pawn pawn But But Black Blac k can gve gve te pawn pawn back and get get a good gae by 9  e  e7, 7, or also also play play 8    \a, and in bot cases take te sting out o ite's attack Also te system sys tem 7d2 7 d2 e7 8 8  0-0-0 0-0- 0 developed developed by Rauzer Rauzer gves rise to a very sarp game, but usually te position of Wite's ng turns out to be too insecure Te quiet text-move is good in every way and assures Wte Wte of o f a comf com fortable game wit some attacng attacng cance cancess 

7... 8.0-0

e7 0-0

In te Prnu tournament in 1947 Boleslavsky played 8 a6  a6 against against me, fearing te sally 9db5 But in tis game Botvinnik sows tat ts sally is not dangerous, and tat Black terefore can save a valuable tempo

It is very fcult fcult to to ass a sses esss te useln use lnes esss of o f tis tis move Wte loses los es to tempos and ves Black te bisop pair in excange for weakenng te

SSL SSLOV OV - BOTV BOTVINNIK INNI K

29

positio positionn of o f Black's Black's king king But Wte lack lack  genuine propect prop ect of quickl quicklyy izing tis weakening It terefore seems a toug te plan initiated it it te text-move is positionally p ositionally unati una tiffactory acto ry,, and tat ta t Wite Wite intea in teadd sould sould av avee tried to strengten is is centra c entrall position For example, example , wit wit e continuation 9 � 1 followed by f4

9...

a7-a6

9  a5 also deserved attention, since after 10 xf6 xf6 te capture o d6 d6 is not dangerous dangerous for Black But te text-mo te xt-mo e is more forcef orce ful

0. 0.g5

g7

e best proof of te ineffectiveness of te manoeuvre commenced y Wite's 9t move is te fact tat Black could also play 1   xf6 11xd6 c7, wen Wite can at bet obtain equality But capturing it te pawn is also good, because it wins anoter tempo for Black

ll. b5-d4 2.®gl-hl 3.-f4

®g8-h8 -g8 c8-d7

e opening pase of te game as ended and bot sides ave to nd a sitable plan of campaign for te middlegame For Black tis is eay ad goes along te usual sceme in te Sician Defence  Ek and 7-b5  7-b5 Wite, on te oter and, as greater problems in solving is task However, e a to come up wit some active plan, since in te event of o f pasiv pas ivee play by Wite, Black Bl ack would would eventually gain a clear cl ear advantage on te queenside

4. 4.e2-? ow Wite only prevents te b7-b5 b7-b5 advance for one move, wic lack uses to complete i development It was necessary, as already entioned, to nd some nd of active plan for te furter coure of te game, and utize Black' weakened pawn structure in te centre itale for tis purpose wa te 14f4-f5! trut, as it xes Black's

THI CYCLE

29

pawn on te f-le and generate an attack againt te e6-point For example, if 4 4  e 5, ten   5, 5 , treatening to play play x x and and  c3e2-f4 Ti continuation would at leat ave ven Wite' poitio ome knd of caracter, wilt intead Black can ow prepare, calmly and unditurbed, an attack on te queenide

4 4

8-c8

A bad poitiona po itionall mitake Wite deprive deprive imelf imel f of all propect propec t in te centre and ve Black te coice to eiter execute te d6-d  d6-d55 or   e6e6 e 5 advance Even toug toug Wite lot lo t a valuable valuable temp te mpoo wit i previou move, te attacking attempt 5f5 ti came into conideration, and would undoubtedly ave ven Wte better propect tan te faulty excange played in te game Alo better tan te text-move wa te quiet quiet   ce2

5 5

b7xc6

Wite now a to accept a opelely paive game, and a to wait and ee if Black i able to nd way to icreae i advantage After te openng pae, Smylov played very planlely ad now continues in te ame tyle

SSL SSLOV OV - BOTV BOTVINNIK INN IK

6.c3-e2

295

d6-d5

lack lack of course co urse uses us es te rst rs t opportunity opportunity to wide widenn te scop s copee of action or is bisops by treatening dxe4  dxe4 followed by f6-f5  f6-f5 and c6-c5 c6-c5 ot ot bisops bisop s would would ten be playin playingg wit wit ll ef e ffect ect  It was wa s not no t possible pos sible to elay te text-move any furter, since in tat case Wte would play cc4 and obtain a quite satisf sa tisfactory actory position pos ition

7.f4-? t is true tat wit ts move Wite prevents te manoeuvre 7 7 dxe4 dxe4 followe ollowedd by    f6-f 6- f5, as would ave followed followed after, after, for example, example ,  7  c4 ut te text-move creates fres positional weaknesses in is camp ow te 2b8 diagonal is cleared for Black's bisop and, even more iportantly, te e-square is cleared for Black's pieces Black soon otains a decisive advantage 17d3 would still ave ven some prospects of successful resistance, en toug after 17 17dxe4 dxe4 8xe4 f 19ad c7 20 c8, ollow ollowed ed by   c, c , Black also als o retains an edge

 7... 8.c2-c4 9.�dl-d4 20.�d4xc4

�d8-c7 d5xc4 c6-c5 e7-d6

lack's bisops now suddenly stand excellently, and attack te enemy position just as well as tey defend teir own Wte's position sould alread alreadyy be considere con sideredd as a s strategically strategically lost 

2.g2-g3 22.�c4-c2

d7-b5 e6x!

In adtion to s strong bisops, Black also opens up te e-le and quickly quickly obtains an oveeing oveeing attack

23.e4

296

THI CYCLE

Boleslavsky considers tis to be te decisive mistake, and claims tat wit 23a4 Wite could ave acieved equality But ts opinion seems to be b e too optimst optimstic, ic, because bec ause Black Bla ck can, for example, play play 23    c6 24ex 24 exff5 e  e wit wit approxmate approxmately ly te same opportunities op portunities as in te game It is clear tat ere Wte can only ope for some tactical cances, as positio po sitionally nally e is i s clearly worse

c8-e8 After ts inaccuracy Wite loses immediately But also in te case of te te best be st defence, defence, 24a4, intend intending ing afte afterr 24    xe2 2xe2 xg3 to put up s tubborn resi r esistance stance by 26 26 ,, Black could could instead aci aciev evee a clearly clearly better bette r position after te simple retrea retreatt 24  c6 Naturally Wite could ave resisted more stoutly wit tese continuations, but tey were clearly no longer adequate to save te game

24... 24... 25. 25.-g2 Peraps Perap s Wite Wite ad initially initially planned planne d to play play 2 5   c3 at tis point, point , but ten 2   c6 26g2 xg3! wins, as was pointed out by Flor But te text move is also opeless, since now Wite's pieces end up stalemated

25... 25... 26)e2-gl 27.�c2-d2 28.-

�c7-e7 b5- c5-c4 g8-e8

Black can even allow allow imself to excange queens, quee ns, since after after 29 xe3 x e3 xe3 30xe3 xe3 Wte loses at least a pawn, and it is te valuable one at b2 tat ta t will will be los l ostt But witout witout te queen ecange ecange te end e nd w w come even faster

29.l-dl 30.b2-b3

d6-c5 e3-el!

SSL SSLOV OV - BONNIK

297

o a catastrope follows on te rst rank. Note te tremendous poe developed by Black's bisops!

3lb3xc4 32 32g2-

xc4

ere as no longer an adequate defenc defencee agains againstt te treat of 32 . . . xg 1  o Wite loses an excange.

32 32 33xdl ee ee 33 .. .e  would would also ave won easy. easy. After te te textt ext-move move 34.xd 34. xd  3.xc4  not do becaus becausee of 35 . . . d4 winning winning a piece pie ce .

34dl-c2 35c2-c3 36 36c3-d3

c4-d5 c5-d4 e7-e3

e siplest road to victory; Wite could we ave resigned no

37d3xe3 38-g2 -g2 39g2x g2x

d4xe3 d5x d8-d2

298

THI CYCLE

40gle2 ie resigned Botvin Bo tvinnk nk utilized is cance can cess excellently exce llently,, and once again demons dem onstrate trate te power of te biso bi sopp pair in an open position po sition Smyslov Smysl ov,, on te othe and, played te wole game below is normal capability and at times demons demo nstrated trated very planles planlesss play play

RESHEVSKY ESHEVSKY - K KS S

299

No 26. 26 . Sav Sa v Defence Defence S. Reshs

P Keres

Moscow, 9h nd 2s Apr 948 l.d2-d4

d7-d5

  usually play 1 1 f6 , and in many many lines line s tis move enable ena bless a asposition to a normal Queen's Gambit But tis time I decided  ploy a metod of play wit unclear value tat as not been sgated in deail by teory

2.c2-c4 3.gl- 4.bl-c3

c7-c6 g8-

 e player wo is looking for complications, te excange 4cxd5 s y unpleasant Wi tis move Wite would give te game a quiet aacer and in te almost-symmetrical position e retains an edge ig o is extra tempo But suc simplied positions are not to svsky's taste, and terefore e exclusively plays te sarper text 

4...

e7-e6

oding oding o many many mast m asters ers 4    dxc4 dxc4 is te te simplest simple st way way for Black Bl ack to s  opening problems, but tis is of course a matter of taste  xmove is, in any event, also adequate and usually gves rise to stin stingg and complicated c omplicated positions po sitions

5.e2-e3    pac pacical ical experience considers  g dxc4 dxc4 6e 6 e44 b5 to be in Wite's au u ut tis line line contains so s o many nesse nes sess and good opportunities op portunities   ariou ariouss kinds of innovations ta t att Res Resevs evsky ky rigtfu rigtfuy y refrains refrains from  i suc an impotant game

THIRD CYCLE

00

5...

7-6

Ts moe became generally known after te 1935 Alekine-Eue matc Alene employed it in to games, but witout any particula success Despite being uncertain regardng some aspects of tis ariation, I decided to employ it in te present game In doing so  oped tat my opponent would not be completely faliar wit all its subtleties Te metods of play tat occur after after 5     bd7 6 d3 were eplain eplained ed in te games Botin Bo tinnk-Eu nk-Euwe we and Res Reses esky-Euw ky-Euwee from from te rst cycle, and te game Botinnik-Euwe from te tird cycle

6.c4-c5 Teory Teo ry conside con siders rs tis to be te stronge st contnu con tnuation ation and and it undoubtedl undoubte dlyy creates crea tes a game ricer in oppor op portunit tunitie iess tan after, for for instance ins tance,, 6 d3   7cd 7 cd55 cd5 cd5

6...

b8-d7

In one of te matc games wit Euwe, Alekine immedately played 6   b6 7cb6 7 cb6  bd7, bd7 , but but afte afterr 8   a4 b6  b6 9 d2 e became worse worse and nally lost te game Te tet-moe is certainly more elastic and, besides b7-b6  b7-b6,, it also prepares prepares te te    e6-e5 trust

7.b2-b4

6-5

Alekne also played in tis way in anoter game against Euwe in te 1 93 9355 matc, but but te idea ide a commenced commenc ed wit wit te tet-moe tet-moe is ery risk riskyy A safer way to play is 7 g6 g6 followed by g7 g7 and 0-0, 0-0, preparing te e6e5  e6e5 adance

8.b4-b5

e6-e5

Ts moe was te idea beind Black's opening eperiment Black as now been bee n able able to carry c arry out out te lberat lberating ing    e6-e e6 -e55 adance, and acie aciees es equilibrium in te centre, since Wite cannot ery well capture on e5

SHEVS SHEVSKY KY - KES KES

01

 to t weakne of te c-pawn But Wite a obtained a clear t tage age on te queenide queen ide and e alo generate gen erate an attack tere te re during t ollowing move idntally, in te abovementioned game Alekne played    e4 it Euwe, but after 9xe4 dxe4 10  d2 f 11 e wa oon o, and e lot te game

9.�dl-a4! 0. 0.cl-

�d8-c7

t i ey difcult to etimate te value of t move Te biop, it' t, protect te cpawn againt variou kind of poible urprie, t it ii alo ut  ut out of te game But te good apect of te move move i tt tt it immed immedatel atelyy force force Back to reol re olve ve te ten t enion ion in te centre, a 1 1 c6 c6 bxc6 1 2dxe5 i treat treatened ened

0... 0...

e5-e4

 cange 1  exd  exd44 1 1  exd4 alo a it dra drawback wback Altou Altoug g Black gt ome counterplay againt te d4 and f4-quare, it alo open te ot fo for Wite' Wite' dark-quar dark- quared ed biop to get out via via c c  , and Black can lo later eperience dfcultie on te e-le Te text-move eem to  poition poitionally ally better motivated; motivated; it i only o nly Black' Black' later planle planle  play tat nally nally place place m  m in dfcultie dfcultie

THI CYCLE

02

ll.d2

... ...

e7

T i te rt tep away from te rigt track It is clear tat Wite's only poitionay dangerous treat i te later breaktroug f2-f3, an for ti reaon Black ad to develop i biop to g7 g 7 or 6 Hence te correct continua continuation tion was was 1 1 g6  g6 followed by 6 6 and 0-0, 0-0, wit te plan to later carry out te f5  f5 advance

2. 2.e2

h7h5

Te only purpose of ti move i to prevent 130-0, wic would no be anwered by 13 13g4 g4 wit an attack againt te wite king But as Wite a no intention watoever of catling ngide, ti advance only contitute a los of time, and weaken Black' poition Bette wa te quiet 12 12   0-0 0-0 follow ollowed ed by    e8 and f8 f8 In ti way Black would would at leat lea t be able to complete c omplete  development development properly properly

3.b5b6 4.h2h3

c7d8

Wte' previou move wa neceary preparation for 0-00, a if played immediately it would ave allowed 14 14g4 g4 15d f 163 gf6 and te control over te e4-point as been trengtened

RESHEVSK ESHEVSKY Y - S

0

oever, muc better tan te text-move was 14f3! ex 15gxf3 ooed by 0-0-0, and Wite as a positionally oveelmng position ing to is mobile centre and open g-le

4... 4... 5.0-0-0

d7- -e6?

ack is not paying attention to Wite's following combination, and o ends up in a lost position 14 14g6 g6 15f3 exf3 16gxf3 0-0 ad to e payed, and even toug Wte stands somewat better, Black is not itout good defensive resources

6.d2xe4!  surprising sacrice tat is competely correct After lengty tougt, ack ack decided to reject reje ct te sacrice sacric e If e  e ad accepted, accepte d, ten an advance advance it te -pawn would ave secured Wte a decisive attack

6... 6...

xe4

o better is 16 16dxe4 dxe4 17d5 xd 18xd5 d7 19d2 and Black's position as been opelessly weakened

7.c3xe4

h5-h4

 0

THI CYCLE

After 17 17dxe4 dxe4 18d no adequate defence can be seen for lack For example 18 18x xc c 1 9 dxc6! xa3 xa3 20 20 c2 c2 and if now 20    �xb6, �xb6 , ten ten 2 1 cxb7 c xb7 and te bisop on o n a3 wil willl be captured wi wit t ceck In te position occurrig occurrig after after 20    d6 21c7! �d7 22b Wite also gets a decisie adantage, since tree pieces do not constitute sufciet compensation for te queen in tis position Wit Wit te text-moe lack abstains ab stains from any kind kind of counter-cances in return for te lost pawn, and continues te game normally, as if noting noting as appened appe ned

8e4d2 moc recommends 18g4 at tis point, and only after 18 18   0-0 0-0 to retreat wit te kngt to d2 ut tis continuation is scarcely stronger, sinc sincee lack plays plays 1 8 xg3  xg3 19xg3 g6 followed by 4, 4, and peraps Wite as een more difculties in expoiting is extra pawn tan i te game

8 8 9Jhlgl

00 e8

Wte naturally naturally intends inte nds to play g2-g3, g2-g3, but ts would would now be answered by 20   xg3 21xg3 4 followed by   f4 or o r 21 2 1  fxg3 g wit good counterplay for lack Wite must tus still make seeral preparatory moes before e is able to execute an adance of te kingside pawns

20e2d3 2la3b2 22a4c2

e7 e6g5 a5a4

lack adances tis pawn rter, and e opes to eentually transfer s rook into te game ia a and b b   Te pawn in no way stands worse worse on a4 tan it was doing on a, a , were wer e Wte Wte could attack it by c3 and  b3

23a2 24Jdlel

d8e7 g5e4

SHEVSK SHEVSKY Y - KERES KERES



hite as threatening to play 25.e3e4, therefore the text-move is e e or less less forced. f now now 25. 2 5.xe4 xe4 dxe4 26.c4, then 26 2 6 . . . e6 and lk obtains an adequate game game owing owing to to his control of o f the dd -square square  the unfavourable position of White's bishop on b2. The attempt 25 f 26.f3 g3 is also not especially more dangerous for Black ha the game continuation, since capturing the a4-pawn would only a hite aay from more important tasks.

25.d2- the therr good continuation was 25 2 5 .  , which which howeve howeverr after 25 . . . g3 26cf h ould ve rise to approximately the same position as in the game.

25... 25... 26.-

�e7-g5 e4-

te terr 26 . . . g3 27.f4 Black's queen has to ve up the defence of the 3-knight, and the weak pawn on g3 would sooner or later be lost.

t as simpler to immediately play 27.b2-c3-d2. But both payers ere already in time-troube, and hence the following manoeuvres shuld not be judged with the same yardstick as normal thought-out trnament play.

27... 28.b2-c3 .b2-c3

-h5 c8-d7

f course not not 28 . . . xh3 29.f4 winning a piece. Back has initily btained a quite good defensive position, since the e3-e4 advance ould eaken the f4-square, and -f4 would weaken the e4-square, an nally nally the the execution of g2-g4 is bound up wth certn difcult difculties ies..

29.-£4 ere e3-e4 was positionlly required, and in order to execute s

06

TH CYCLE

advance, Wte Wte had to prepare the def d efenc encee of the f4- square. Correct Corr ect as as theref there fore 29. 2 9.� � folloed by d2. n ths ay White ould ould soo s oonn have have obtained a clear advantage. The text-move is also tactically incorrect for the reason that a change in the pan structure in time-trouble is very risky, and can easy turn out to be positionally unfavourable.

"g5-h6 "h6- More stubborn as 30 ...e7, ...e7, hch ould intially have prevented g2 g4 and kept the retreat route via f6 open for the knght.

3.bl-b2

d7-

A tical bluff in time-trouble, hich here succeeds surprisingly ell. But nothng better can be found for Black, since if the time-trouble ended ithout ithout a signicant signicant change in the position, p osition, then the loss lo ss ould be inevitable inevitable..

The bluff succeeded and, oing to hs control over the e4square, Black no gets such strong counterplay that Whte's in comes into question. nstead White had to ays to increase his advantage. Namely,

RESH RESHEVS EVSKY KY - KES KES

07

e e  and Black Black is almost forced to ve ve up one more pawn (32 . . . g6 .  .gg4, or 32 . . . g6 33.xh5 foowed by g4). And secondly, 32.xf5 f 33.�xh4. n the latter line Black intended to mke his time u ub bed ed opponent oppone nt face face the t he very unpleasnt unpleasnt sacrice sacrice 33 . . . �d3 34.�xh5 c 35.dxc5 d4 36.xd4 �b3 followed by ...�x3, ...�x3, with counter hances on account of the strong passed pawn on the a-le. But White an pay the stronger 36.b4 when his two extra pieces would decide he outcome of the game.

32... 32...

-e4

ack does no exchange immediately on d3 so as to deprive his adversary versary of the opportun opp ortunity ity to, to, in some s ome variations, variations, carry out the e3e 3-e4 e4 hust. Now White's ony chance consists of the g2-g4 advance, but against this this Black now now poss p osses esse sess adequate defensive defensive tool to ols.s. t  t is doubtf doub tful ul i hite, after the wek 32nd move, is stil able to win the game.

33.2-4 34.g3 35J3 36.c2d3 37Je- 38J-

h43 h53 h53 e4d3 e8-e4 a8-e8

he previous few moves took place in extremely severe time-trouble. oth sides tried to make as neutral moves as possible, to avoid acidentay spoiing their position.

38... 38... 39.-

-h4 e8-e6

u not 39.e3 40.xe3 � 41.d2 and Black oses a rook. Now howe howeve verr 40 . . . xe3 is threatened. threatened.

 was better to immediately immediately play play 40.d2 40. d2 and protect protec t the e3e 3-pawn. pawn. The queen is unfavo unfavoura urably bly placed on d2, and soon so on has to ret re turn to d3. d 3.

TH CYCLE

08

40... 40...



The last las t move bef be fore the t he time control, c ontrol, and with this this Black Black weakens his position and yields his adversary fresh winning chances. nstead ns tead after after 40 . . . g6! Black would have stood excellently, and it is unlikely that White would have any genuine prospects of making use of his extra pawn. pawn. The game was adjourne adj ournedd in this positon po siton and Black now had to look for a way to defend the position in hs home analysis.

4.� The best sealed move. f instead, for example, 41.g2, then 41...e7 42.d2 xf  xf4! 4! 43 43.e.exf xf44 e2 and Black obtains enough of an attack to get a draw. Wite has to clear the d2square for his bishop, so that it can take over the defence of the e3-pawn.

4... 4...

�h4h5!

Black's defensive defensive plan plan consists consi sts of playin playingg .. . g7-g6 g7-g6 followed ollowed by . . . -e7 h4 and .... ..  to create an impregnable fortress. After engthy analysis  came to the concusion conc usion that Wte Wte lacks sufcient sufcient attacking attacking resources res ources against ts defensive set-up, and that Back, even in the case of best play by Whte, has excelent drawing chances.

SHEVS SHEVSKY KY - RES RES

42. 42.c3d2 43Jg3g5

09

g7

hite does not have me to go for the pawn grab on a4, since in this case Black would obtain excellent counterplay with the exchange sacrice on e3. For example 43.c2 � 44.g2 (or 44.xa4 xc .a7 e2) e2) 44. . . f3 45.xa4 xe3 46.xe3 xe3 and Black no lger has anytng in particular to fear. Hence Whte tries to get an atack going on the ngside at any cost. n fact, it looks like s only ining chance. ensch recommends 43.c1 � 44.d1, but this would e followed by 44. . . xd1 45.xd1 e7 and the endgame seems t e drawish, as White lacks the opportunity to penetrate into the eemy camp with hs rooks. For example 46.dg1 h4 47.3g2 f6 .c3 . c3 e8 e 8 and Black is able able to protect prote ct his his apa apawn wn in me. The The pawn sacrice 46.h4 xh4 47.h3 f6, foowed by ...g7, ... g7, would also not ield anthing, as Whte's rooks are unable to penetrate into Black's position.

43... 43... 44Jglg 3

�h5xh3

4.xg6 xg6 45.xg6 �  46.g1 46. g1 woul wouldd be answered answered by 46 . . . xf4. ence White tries to force the black queen into a more unfavourable psition, but in so doing doing he fas into an interesng inte resng trap.

44...

�h3h2

ith this capture, Whte already agrees to a draw, wch he is now orced to look for in any case. 5.g2 h3 46.g3 h 47.f1 also came into consideration, trying to se the open h-le for an attack. But in the event of correct defence, lack should also be able to nd sufcient defensive resources. For example, example, he h e can ca n immediately retreat with the queen q ueen to h 7 on the 46th 4 6th move move,, and thereafter thereafter proceed with with . . . � ...g7 ...g7 and ...g8. ...g8. ow very interesting compcations take place.

TH CYCLE

10 45...

46Jg36t g36t 47Jg6-g5?

e6xg6 ®g 8-f

After this norml retret, White surprisingly loses n exchnge,  ends up in  very difcult endgme with just sm drwing chnces. t ws necessry neces sry to continue continue with 47.xc 47. xc6! 6! bxc6 48.b7 48. b7 e8 49.�xf 49.�xf when White gets  drw. For exmple 49 ...®g7 ...®g7 .�d7 g8 51. nd Blck scrcely hs nything better thn 51...�e2 52.�xe8 � 53.b2 �b3 followed by ...�x3 ...�x3 nd ...�3-b3xb7. ...�3-b3xb7.

-e7! e7-! Now the ide behnd Blck's defence becomes pprent the rook is trpped nd Wite loses n exchnge, nd is forced to be the one h is ghting for  drw. n dtion, time-trouble gin strted to sturb Wte.

49.®b2-c3  .t

Wh2-h3

Stronger thn .e xe 51.fxe5, when Blck wins n importt tempo by 51...�h1 nd retins the pwn on 4. The text-move offers White much better drwing chnces.

RESHEVSK RESHEVSKY Y  KERES KERES

11

50... 50... 5.�d3-c2

5...

�h3-!

 51..xf4, then 52.xa4, and Whte obtains strong counterplay ing to the threat of 52.a8. ith the text-move, Black instead ves up one more pawn in the hpe of getting a s trong trong attack attack against the white king in return. nsufcient for a win was 51...xe3 52.xe3 xe3 53.d3, and he endgame is drawish no matter whether Black decides to exchange ueens or not.

�-lt s s possible possible was 52 . . . e8; in this way Black could try to prevent ne mplications from arising later. But in any case, the position would hve been approxmately the same as later can occur in the game.

53.c3-c2 54.�4-b3

e4-e8

tura turallllyy not 54.a7 54.a 7 h8  h8 and Whte Whte sti s ti cannot capture ca pture on b7 .

54... 54...

TH CYCLE

12

After 54. 54. . h8 h8 55 .c3 �2 �2 56.�b2 5 6.�b2 �c4 �c4 57.�c3 57 .�c3 �f1 58.�d3 58 .�d3 � a position would occur tht lter could lso hve come up in the game. Ts line perhps contined the benet tht it spres Blck the effo of investigting the subsequent complicted endgme vritions.

55 -cl 

A the commenttors gve this move  question mrk, nd consider i

to be White's White's decisi deci sive ve mis mistke. tke. ns  nsted ted they they recommend 55 5 5 .�b2, with with a drw. However, this clim seems to be too brve, becuse fter 55.�b Blck lso l so retins winning winning chnces tht re not prticulrly prticulrly wors worsee tha those thos e further on in the gme. Firstly Firstly Blck Blck cn, fter 55 5 5 .�b2, ply ply 55 . . . �1 56.�b3 h8 57.�d3 � f3 with the sme position po sition s in the notes to Blck's 54th move, whic whichh offers excelent winning chnces. It is likely tht, with limited time o the clock nd even more thretening time-trouble coming up, Blck would hve chosen this continution in the gme. Secondly Secondly,, fter 55 .�b Blck Blck cn lso ply 55 . . . �xa3 56.�x3 xa3. Lwensch then gives the excelent drwing continution 57.e4 dxe 58.d 58 .d55 cxd cxd 59.c 59 .c6 6 6 6 60 . 5 5 8 8 6 1 .c3  f 62 . e5 e5 c8 63 .c7 And now Blck hs nothing better thn going for a drw by the continut continution ion 63 . . . bxc6 64.b7 g8. However, this line is not forced, nd Blck cn improve his ply b nsw nswer erin ingg 57.e4 57 .e4 by 57 . . . 2. f now 58.c3, then 58... 58 ...dxe4 dxe4 59.d5

SHEVS SHEVSKY KY - KES KES

1

c c 60.c 6 0.c66 d4 and Back ins. For this reason rea son White White has t o pay either 5.c1 or 58.d 58 .d11 , here hereup upon on 58 .. . a8 foos. hite then has to proceed ith 5.exd5 (since the endgame after 5.e 5. e f f fooed ooed by by ... . . e4 is apparent apparen tly ost) o st).. Back Back ansers anse rs this by 5...c5 ... c5 and no an engame has arisen that is extremey difcut to ssess, even after engthy anaysis. Hoever, this is hat i determine he na vaue of .b2, since if White is abe to dra here, then he he position occurring occurring after  . . . f1 oud offer him ceary better eensive resources than the game continuation. Therefore et's try to o eeper into this position. hite has, in principe, to different continuations at his disposa mey mey,, ith ith or ithout the the pan sacrice sac rice c5-c c5 -c6. 6. Let's start by ooki oo king ng  he rst possibiity. fte fterr 60.c6 60 .c6 bxc6 Back isis threate threatening ning 6 1 . . . a6, a6 , hence the continuation continuation 61.b4 a6 62.c5 a 63.d2 b is amost forced. Furthermore it is cear that White i not be abe to hod the f-pan, and that it i e captured by the back king. Approximatey the foowing position occu occurr Whit Whitee  d3, c, c, Pans Pans on d4 and and b6; b6; Back Back   f4, b, b , ans on c6 and d. Back i by no means nd it as easy to press home home the in in as it i t may may ook at rst gance. gance. But B ut the in is possibe pos sibe to chieve by the fooing manoeuvre. First of a, Back pays pays his king to to b 7 and threatens . . . xb6. n order order to ra the pan endgame after the sacrice on b6, White has to be e to take near or distant opposition ith his king on the squares b4 or b2. Therefore his king is tied to the squares c, c2 and c3. With hite's king standing on c1 or c3, Back accorngy pays ... b3 or ..... . b 1 and an d brings brings his h is rook roo k to b 7, after after rst havin havingg brought his king king to 6. n order to thart the sacrice ...xb6 ... xb6,, White White has to keep his ng ng cose to the squares b2 and b4, most preferaby on the a4-square. s White no cannot pay his ng to b4, on account of the repy ...b6, ... b6, he has to give Back's ng access to the bsquare by, for eampe, moving to b3. No Back again pays the rook to the third rank, and thus forces the hite king further bacards, and then proceed proceedss ith ith . . . c4 fooed by ...h2. ... h2. No N o it is no onger difcut difcut to covince onesef that, no matter the pacement of White's king, ack can aays achieve a position here Wte i naly end up ithout reasonabe moves, and be forced to give up the pan on b6.

3 14

TH CYCLE

To demonstrate the abovementioned ideas in practice, we wi offer one possibe ne, which is not pretending to any particuar accuracy, but ony ius iustrates trates the described des cribed winn winnng ng method 64.d3 64. d3  f 6 6  .e3 . e3 b3 66.d2 66. d2 xf4 xf4 67.c2 67. c2 b 68 .d3 f  f 69.c2 69. c2 e6 70.c3 70. c3 d7 7 1 .c2 c8 c8 72.c3 b7 73.c2 a6 a6 74.c3 74.c3 b1 7.c2 g1 g1 76.b3 7 6.b3 g7 g7 77.b4 77 .b4 b7 78. a4 b8 b8 79.b3 79. b3 b 80.c3 g8 g8 81 8 1 .b3 g3 g3 82.c2 c4 and now either 83.d2 g2 84.e3 b2 8.f4 b 86.e a6 87.d6 b7, or 83.b2 g2 84.a3 d2 85.d6 d3 86.  a4 b3 87 .c b 1 88.  a3 c3 89. a2 b, or nay nay 83. d2 g2 g2 84. 84.  c1 c3 85. 85 . d 1 b2 b2 86. 86 . c 1 b 87. d 1 d3 88. 88 . e 1 b2 8 9 .  f1 e3 in any event event with a simpe win for for Back. These expanations shoud be enough to prove the fautiness of the 60.c6 breakthrough. Hence ony 60.c2 remains, which however is answered answered by 60 . . . c8 61.d3 f 62.c1 c6 63.d2 h6 64.c1 h3 65.e3 g3 and Whte is now forced to give Back's ng access to the e4-square. Further accurate anaysis is very difcut, but testing some variations shows that ite's bishop is extremey hepess in ths position, and hardy abe to prevent Back from soon achieving a decisive advantage. From the possibities ven above it becomes cear that the continuation 55.b2, as advocated by a the commentators, was no better than the text-move. t in fact enabed Back to win in two ways. For this reason, reaso n, award awarding ing 5 5 .c1 .c 1 , as payed payed in the game, game, with with a ques questition on mark is in my my opinion not justi ju stied ed.. After the text-move Back nds it by by no means mea ns easie e asierr to press pres s home the win win than in the ine iness ven ven above. above.

SEVSKY SEVSKY - K KRE RESS

55... 56.e3-e4?

315

a8-h8

 his move, the last one before the end of timerouble, is the isake hat signicant facitates Black's win. hie hie could have put up a much more s tubborn def de fence enc e by 56 .d2. d2 .  eam eampl plee 56 .. . :h1 57.�b2 �d �d  58.@ 5 8.@c3, c3, or 56 5 6 . .. :h2 57.d3 �f �f  .  .2, 2, and in neither neither case i s it possibl pos siblee to t o see se e a quick quick forced forced victory victory for for ak. The win is achievable onl after lengthy manoeuvring, resulting i hie's pieces being, bit b bit, forced into worse positions. But a ser analysis of these possibilities would lead us too far awa, and  not offer the reader anything of particular interest.

56...

h8-hl

imp imper er than than 56 . . . :h2 57 . d2. Black now wins easily ea sily..

57.e4-e5t 58.b3-e3

-e7

 58.e3 �d  and and Whit Whitee loses lo ses the bishop.

58... 58... 59.c2-c3 he he hre hreat at of 60 . . . �c4 mate now decides quickly.

60.e3-d3 6I.c3-b3 62.f4- 63.b3-a4 63.b3-a4

-alt alxcl cl-b2t h2-h8

ie resied. Fu of mistakes, bu a very interesting and eciting struggle.

316

Cycle3 Round 14 0 Boi-Reshs Boi-Reshs  Euwe-Smysov 0 Free: Keres

The key game in the fourteenth round as the one beteen Botvinnik and Reshevsky. Black again chose the Nimzo-ndian Defence, and this time utilized a system that as recommended by ex-orld champion Capablanca. Botvinnik should have ansered this by energetic play in the centre, but but instead ins tead he aoed the centre to be closed, close d, and as later orse due to a eaknes s on the queenside. queen side. Black hoever hoever did did not make make use of his advantage in the most accurate ay, and on the 26th and 34th moves White had the chance to put up a stubborn defence. But after not utiizing these possibiities, Botvinnik fe under a devastating pin on the -le, lost material, and as forced to resign. This as Botvinik's rst loss in the tournament. n the game EueSmyslov White tried to improve on the variation played in the game Keres-Smyslov (Round 12), but he onl succeeded due to Black's inaccurate reply. With an il-fated queen sally to the kingside, Smyslov enabled White to occupy all the central squares, and obtain a decisive positional advantage. After inning an exchange, Eue had the chance to nish off the game ith a prett queen sacrice, but even ithout this, White's extra exchange in the endgame as sufcient to secure the in. Thus Eue scored his rs victory in the tournament. Tournament table after the the 1 4th round Botv Bo tvinn innik ik 8, 8 , Keres 6 / , Reshevsk 5/, Smyslov 5/, and Eue 2/

BOTV BOTVNNK NNK - RSH RSHEV EVSK SKY Y

7

No 27. Nimzo-ndian Defence M. Boinn

S. Reshs

Moscow Moscow,, 8 r 948 948 l.d2-d4 2.c2-c4 3.bl-c3 4.e2-e3

g8- e7-e6 -b4 c7-c5

 he game between he same players in he rs cycle, Reshevsky iu iued ed wih wih 4. . . d5 .a3 e7 and, after some inaccuracies by Whie,  he beter game. But apparently Black was sl not convinced of he sundness sundnes s of his defensiv defensivee sysem, and here he choo ses se s a new line, hse hse main main goal goal is o resric re sric he scope s cope of Whie's bishop pair. pair.

5.-a3 admase Rubinsein, he invenor of he move 4.e3, usuay plaed .ge2 a this poin, and only laer continued wih a2a3 and,  he even of an exchange, recapured on c3 with the kigh. Bu hs ctinuaion is scarcely dangerous for Black, and he can choose eee eeenn several several sais s aisffactory sysems sys ems of def de fence. ence . For F or example,  . . . d6 .a a and a laer ... . . e6-e5.

...

b4xc3t

he he erea  . . .a also deserves consideration, as afer 6.dxc5 xc3 .3 . 3 a6  a6 Black ges a good game game owing owing o he s rong rong suppor suppo r poin  . Afer 6.d3 Black can, for example, example, play 6 . . . d6 followed b ...e. ... e.

6.b2xc3 7.-d3 8.l-e2

b8-c6 00 b7-b6

TH CYCLE

8

Black's defensive plan is clear. He tries to keep the position as closed as possible, thus restricting the scope of White's bishop pair. At the same time he intends to attack the c4-pawn by ...a, ... a, ...a6 ...a6 and ...c8. ...c8. t is clear that defending this pawn is, in the long run, impossible for White, and he is therefore forced to quickly generate counterplay o the kingside to try to stir up threats that wil disrupt Black's plan. The game now takes on a very sharp character, and it is the player who mos mos  slfully carries out his plan of campaign who wl get the advantage.

9.e3e4 White reacts correctly by immediately commencing an advance in the centre ce ntre and on the t he kingside. Now the very awkward awkward 1 .g . g is threatened threat ened,, wch would force force Black Bl ack to weaken the position po sition of his ng. But Black comes up th an interesting reply to this threat.

9...

e8!

A very strong move, which was invented by ex-world champion Capablanca. Capablanca. He employed it in almost almost the same position po sition in in the Karlsbad tournament in 1929 against ohner, ony with the additional moves 0-0 and ...a6 ...a6 made. The kight is excellently placed on e8 from where it protects he g 7 point and threatens to strengthen strengthe n the pressure pres sure against against the c4-pawn via the d6-square. At the same time it deprives White of

BV BVN NNK NK - SHEV SHEVSKY SKY

19

the chance to carry out the e4e5 advance ith gain of tempo.

0. 0.cl-e3 hite deprives Black's knight of the d6-square, from here it ld have supported the assault against the c4 pan. But the sharp ctinuation 1 .e also comes into consideration. n this ay White ld try to open up the position at any cost, and create more scope  his bishops. bishop s. n the game ienth ienthal-Najdorf al-Najdorf,, Stockholm Stockholm 1 948, White played played 1 0.0-0 0. 0-0  and and only only no 1 1 .e5. .e 5. Black Black should hav havee ansered this by 1 1 ... a6, ntinuing his attack against the pan on c4. t seems that the move 1 0.00 0. 00 is not neces nec essary sary at ts point, point, and that that White instead inste ad can use this this tempo tempo to prepare the the attack attack ith, ith, for for example, 1 0.e 0. e 5 a6 a6 1 1 .c2. .c2 .

0... .0-0

d7-d6 c6-5

n the abovementioned game ohner-Capablanca, the same position ccurred ccurred after after a rev reverse ersedd move move order, only ith ith the move . . . a6 instead ins tead  the knight knight text-move. ohner continued eay eay by play playng ng 1 2.a4? a 13.1 1 3.1 c7 1 4.ac1 and and after 1 4 ...c6 ...c6 he as forced to exchange exchange eens. This naturally gave Black a clearly better endgame. Botvinnik efends efends the c4-pan in a more rational ay and also retains chance chan cess of of a kingside attack.

2.e2-g3 3.�d-e2 4.-f4?

c8-6 �d8-d7

fter this, Black is able to close the centre completely, keeping White's bishops passive hile Black maintains his attack against the c4-pan. The correct continuation here as to play 14.e5, hich would have ven rise to a tense game ith mutual chances. Hoever, after the faulty text-move the scales clearly tilt in Black's favour.

4... 4...

-!

TH CYCLE

320

No the centre is permanently closed and White lacks any kind  counterplay. The question subsequently is only about hether Blak i be able to realize his positional advantage or not.

5.alel Again Again a loss lo ss of a tempo, tempo, because bec ause the threat threat of 1 6 .d5 .d 5 is easy ea sy to ard o o. ncidentaly the immediate 15.d5 g6 16.dxe6 xe6 17.exf5 gxf yields nothng. nothng. Black ins the pan on o n c4 and White ould only be lef le ft ith very problematic attacking chances. Better as the immedate 15.ad1 or 1 5 . fe 1 , hch hch oud have saved Wite some valu valuab able le time. g 7-g 6

16.d5 g7 only favours Black, thus Wite no embarks on preparing the e4e5 advance. But Black aso has a satisfactory defence in reserve against this.

6... 6...

d7-

Black sould not be unduly hasty ith the attack against the c4-pan. The immediate 16... 16...a4 a4 ould have given Wite the chance to open les in the centre by 17.d5!. i.e. 17... 17 ...xc4 xc4 18.dxe6 xe6 19.exf5 and Wte has good go od attacng chances as compensation compe nsation for for the pan.

BONNK BONNK  SHEV SHEVSKY SKY

32

7.e4-e5 his advance is sooner or later forced, since after further passive play, lack would step up the pressure against the c4-pawn by .. .8, and rce White to play d4-d5 or e4-e5 e4-e 5 all the same. sa me.

a8-c8

fter 18.exd6 xd6 19.dxc5 bxc White loses the c4-pawn without adequate compen com pensa sation. tion. With the text-move, text- move, White sets a small trap trap for for his opponent, namely 18... 18...ccxd4 xd4 1 9.xd 9.xd4 4 xc4 20.exd6 20.exd6 xd6 2 . .e e,, hich hich howeve howeverr is too easy e asy to t o se e through. through.

8... 8...

d6xe5!

Finally clariing the situation in the centre, since now 19.fxe5 wl not  due due to the the reply reply 1 9 ...cxd4 ... cxd4 follo followed wed by by ... . . xc4. And after 19.dxe5 al f White's minor pieces would be unfavourably placed and possess no spport points poi nts in the centre, cent re, whie whie Black Black on the other o ther hand can furthe furtherr increase his pressure against the c4-point. White's position should already be considered as strategically lost, even though he stil retains some practical counterchances.

9.de5

e8-g7

322

TH CYCLE

20.3- 2l. 2l.e3-

-d8 g7-h5!

Payed at the right moment, since White now faces an unpeasant task to defend the f4pawn. The move 22.e3 woud deprive the kight of its bes b estt squ s quare, are, and 22.g3 woud weaken the the h 1 a8 diagon diagonal. al. The game continuation 22.g3 however paces the bishop in an unfavourabe position.

22. 22.-g3 23.-e3 24.�e2-

�-e8 �e8-a4 h5xg3

If the immediate 24 . . . b3 25.xb3 xb3 was tried, then the reply 26.h4 26 .h4 is i s unpeasant unpeasant for Back. Howe However ver 24 . . . g5 also came into consideration, since 25.fxg5 f4 does not yied White a sufcient attack for the piece, and otheise protecting the f4pawn invoves much inconvenience. But the textexchange is aso quite good for Back, especia es peciayy when taking the the upcong timetroube into consideration. con sideration.

25.h2xg3

h7-h5

t is true that now Back stamps out the opportunity for counterpay on the kingside by g3g4, but he also allows his queen to be chased away

BOTV BOTVNNK NNK  SHE SHEVSKY

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rom its dominating post on the queenside. The correct continuation as to play play 25 2 5 . . . b3! 26.xb3 xb3, and if now 27.g4, then simply 7 .. . xg4 xg4 28. 28 . xg4 xg4  a5 th a clearly clearly better endgame for Black.

26d3-e2? stead it was necessary to utilize the opportunity to play 26.c2!, sice sice the ne 26 . . .xc4 27.xa4 xa2 28.d7 b8 29.c4 will not do or Black. Hence Black shoul sh ouldd proceed proc eed with 26 ..... . c6, c6 , but then then 27.a4 2 7.a4 ould foow, and White has been able to somewhat consolidate his position on the queenside, although Black stil retains an edge. After the textmove, Black soon forces a won endgame.

26 27gl-

g8- �a4-3!

he exchange o queens deprives White of any opportunity or esperate attacks on the ngside by g3-g4, and enables Black to buid p decisive pressure against the c4-pawn and on the -le. n the ollowing endgame White has only practical counter-chances caused by time-trouble. time-trouble.

28�x3 29e2-d3

a5x3

TH CYLE

3 2

Afte Afterr 29. 29 .   a 30. 3 0.e e33 Black also pla plays 29 . . . e7 and thereafte exchange both rooks on the le; then he plays the king to h6 a carries out the ...g6-g5 ...g6-g5 advance, brings the king to g6, and decides the game by ...h5-h4. ...h5-h4. Whte can do nothing to counter this plan, as his pieces are tied to the defence of the pawn on c4, and his king mst cover te treat of ...a5-b3-d2-e4. ...a5-b3-d2-e4.

29... 29... 30.-e2 3.-d2

-e7 b3-a5

Whte plays for the folowing trap, whch offers quite good prospects of success when tang Black's timetrouble into accont.

3... 3...

c8-c7?

Now Wite Wite get the oppo o pportunity rtunity to stir s tir up hgh hghyy intricate complicatios complic atios that m free him from h bad position. t was correct to play 3...@ and only after that .c8-c7-d7. Moreover, this shows that Black's 29th 29 th move was was unnece unne cess ssar ary, y, and that that instead instead 29 .. . a5 would have saved a couple of tempos.

32.g2-g4! White is forced to create complications. n the case of passive play, Black could double hs hs rooks on the the -e - e and and then play play ... . . b3 folowed by ...b ...b 7, and at a t a favourable moment mom ent carry car ry out the exchang exch anging ing combination ...c ...c and ...d3. .. .d3. After the text-move Black has considerable difculties i exploiting hs advantage.

32... 32...

c7-d7

t is hard hard to tel tel whether instead 32 . . . hxg4 33.h would have offered Black better winning chances, since the conteplay of the white rooks along the open o pen h-le h -le would turn turn out to be very troubles troublesome ome for Black. n any case, worse was 32 ...fxg4 ... fxg4 33.xg6 with adequate drawing chances.

BOTV BOTVNNK NNK  SHE SHEVSK VSKY

325

33.g4 o o 33.dd 33. dd11 oul ouldd be anwered anwered by by 33 . . . fxg4 34. 34.xg6 xg6  xc4 35.xd 35 .xd7 7 x7 x7 36 36. .xc4 xc4 xc4 xc4 37. 3 7.e e33  f8 with a winni winning ng endgame. endgame. The text excha exchang ngee give give Black a pawn weakne weakne  on h5 hich later coniderably co niderably ompcate the in.

33...



ere ere the continuation continuation 33 . . . xc4 xc4 34. 34.  xc4? xc  xc44 35 3 5 . fxe6 d5  d5,, winn winning ing a exchange, a very tempting. But intead of 34.xc4? White would aturally play 34.f6 folloed by ed1 and uddenly obtain a good game.

34Jel-dl?  bad mitake, hich hich later later almot ta  talemate lemate White White piece p iece,, and make lack lack tak t ak very imple. The correct continuation a 34.dd1 threatening to generate a troubleome troubleome atta attack ck again againtt Black Black eak hpawn by by h 1 . Some Som e of the ifcultie for for Black in th cae ca e are illu illutrated trated by the following ollowing po po  ible line. f, f, for example, 34 3 4...b ... b3, 3, then 35 .h1 .h 1   36 . c2 c2 and and now now the the reply reply 36 ...d2 ... d2 ill not do on account of 37.xh5; if Black however play 34. . .  35.h 35 .h11 g6, g6, then not the haty 36.g 36 .g44 hxg4 hxg4 37 37.h4 .h4  xc4

THRD CYCLE

326

38.dh1 xd3, but instead the quiet 36.hg1 g7 37.h1 and it is very hard to see how Black can make further progress. The endgame afte afterr 37 . . . b3 38.c2 d2 39.xh5 xc4 40.xd7 xd7 41.xc4 xc4 42.@e3 is in any case not favourable for Black, and it is also not possible po ssible to see s ee other ot her concrete ways ways to make use of Black's advan advantag tage.e.

34... 34...

h5h4

Now Whte has no waiting moves left, since every move by a piece would at least cost the pawn on c4. The end is therefore no longer interesting.

35.e2el Here Reshevsky gives the long variation 35.h1 b3 36.dd1 @ 37.hg1? b7 and nally proves a win for Black, but instead of 37.hg 37 .hg11 ? Whte can play more strong strongly with 37.c2 37 .c2 and this probabl probablyy saves the game. But the whole line is naturall naturallyy a big big mstake, s take, since after after 35. 35 .  h1 Black wins on the spot spot by 3 . . . xc4.

35... 36.e3d5t

a5b3

Hoping to surprise his adversary in timetrouble, but the position is already too simple for ths to work. The game is of course lost in an case.

36... 36... 37.d3x .d3x 38Jdlxd2 39.xd7 .xd7 40Jd2 4l. 42.ele2

e6xd5 b3xd2 d5xc4 d8xd7 e7e6 d7d3 and

for Black's Bl ack's reply. hie Resied without waiting for

BOTV BOTVINNIK INNI K - SHEVS SHEVSKY KY

3 27

eshevsky played the opening nd mddege excellently, but again aed hmself to make several inaccuracies in time-trouble. Overall, severe time-trouble occurred urprisingly often in ti tournament, here many unfortunate mitaes were made tat often spoed te it f all the previous rd wor.

HI CYCLE

328

No 28. Grfed Defence M.Euwe

 Smysov

Moscow Moscow,, 8 Apri Apri 948 l.d2-d4 Until now Euwe had ony played 1.e4 in the tournament, although no with any particular success. But in the present game he chooses a opening with a closed character. In so doing, Euwe was taking in consideration that Smyslov usually plays an odd line i the Grnf Defence, whch Euwe considered to be favourable for White

... 2.c2-c4 3.bl-c3 4.gl- 5Jd-b3 6.�b3xc4 7.e2-e4 8.cl-e3 9.�c4-b3 0.-a4

g8- g7-g6 d7-d5 -g7 d5xc4 0-0 c8-g4 -d7 d7-b6

Unti ths point the game had proceeded in the same way as the game Keres-Smyslov Keres- Smyslov from from the thrd cycle, where where White White played played 1 Jd J d 1  In ha game we can also nd more detaied explanations about the openi moves made so far. he textmove is a novelty inveted by Euwe Bu in my opinon it is scarcely stronger than the normal 10.d1, since th wakenng of the b4square later makes itself felt in a very disrupiv way

0...

a7-a5

aturally not 10... 10...xf3 xf3 11.gx xd4 12. 12.xd4 follo followed wed by 1 3 .a5. .a 5.

EU W E  SSLO V

329

.d4-d5 s advance merely weakens Wte's centre and opens up an excellent ao aona nall for for Blac Black's k's bisop. bisop. Better B etter was was 1 1 .d 1 .

...

b8-a6?

 the ame from te ft cycle between te same players, Smyslov tin tinued ued muc muc more more stronly stronly by 1 1 . . .xf3 .xf3 1 2. 2. xf3 xf3 d6, d6 , and obtained a fu fuyy satisf satis factory ame owin to te treat of 1 3 ...b4. ... b4. After te text ove, Wte avoids te weakenin s pawn structure on te ngside ad tus assures imself of te better prospects.

2.e2

e7e6

lack only loses time by ts excane, wic does notin to facilitate hs position. ence te immeate 12... 12...d6, d6, to utilize te weak b4 square to generate counterplay, was stroner.

3.h2h3 4.e2x 5.e4xd5

g4x e6xd5 §d8h4?

te already ad an indisputable advantae owin to s bisop pair

THI CYCLE

330

and excellent attacking cance on te queenide. In addtion, te text move loe anoter couple of tempo for no reaon. It enable Wite to coniderably increae  advantage, o tat Black i ubequently deprived of any kind of adequate counterplay. Te idea beind te text move, to play te te queen que en to b4, i generay generay correct, but Black execute it in an inaccurate way.  5 ...e ... e77 or or  5 ...d6, ... d6, foo foowed wed by  6 ...b4, ...b4, ad to be played, but after te text-move Black can eaily prevent t ay.

6.  c3e4!

An excellent move, wc primary treaten to win te queen by 7.g5, and oon force Black' piece to retreat. After ti move Wite' poition can already be conidered a poitionay winnng.

6... 6...

8e8

Black apparently did not want to move te rook from f8 for fear o f leavin leavingg te  -point witout protection. But in fact tere t ere wa no reaon reao n for t. After Afte r te text-move tex t-move te rook on o n f8 i very unfavou unfavourably rably placed, and in everal line it allow Wte te uel additional treat of play playin ingg c. c .

7.g2-g

h4d8

EUWE EUWE - SSL SSLOV OV

33 1

r 17. 17. . 7 8.d6 e6 Wite can aoid te excange of queen by sply playing 9.b5, but alo 9.xe6 e6 20.dxc7 would ecure h a marked adantage adantage in te t e endgame. e ndgame.

8.d5-d6

b6-c8

 ble tat 18... 18...b4 b4 would ae been more actie, but ten h also obtain a clarly winnng poition afer 9.dxc7 xc7 (1  ...d3 ... d3 20.xd3 xd3 2e2) 20. followed by 0-0, a  ps conrol  wole board.

9.d6xc7 20.0-0

d8xc7

hi ha a clearly winning poition, becaue almot l of Black's ps are inactie and are incapable of tang control of te importan r ral al quares quares.. Wte' Wte' ictory i now only a matter o f time.

e8-e6 c7-e5 r 21...e7 22.g5 te pawn on b7 fall l te ame, ince te bin binatio ationn 22 .. Je3 23.xe3 23 .xe3 x3 24.f 24. fxe3 6 25.4 25 .4 f6 wi not rk bcau of 26.d.

22.b3xb7

c8-e7

r 22 . . .b2 23.xc8 c8 24xc8 f8 25.6 and win.

23.e4-g5!    mari marial, al, bau ba u 23 . . . d6 loe a wole rook afer 24.f4,   h nrmediae nrmediae moe 23 . . . b8 24.a7 would alo no cange rs sinicantly.

23... 24. 24.e3-f4

332 33 2

HI CYCLE

Forced, ince oteie te kigt on e7 would fall

25.g34

�e54

Or 25     f6 26 2 6 f  fe 1  f5 27 27 c6 c6 and te knig knigtt fall fall all all te ame ame 

26.�b7xe7

g7

Afte Afterr 26   6, ten 27 2 7x x  peedil peedilyy decide decide

27.�e7e3? Up to ti point poi nt Euwe ad played played te game in excellent excelle nt fa fahio hion, n, but o o e mie te worty niing combination 27x! x 28c d8 29xd8  3e6 wic would immediately ave forced Blac to reign But te' poition i aleady o trong that the text-move alo aure im of an eay win

27... 28.xe3 29Jclc3 30JUdl 3.b2b3 32Jdld5

�f4xe3 xg5 - 6c5 e8

EUWE EUWE  SSL SSLOV OV

333

 smpest road to victory. Whte gve up hs e-pawn, but n return s ack's a-pawn and gans a qucky decsve advantage on the sd.

32 32 33glg2 34Jd5d7

g5xe3t c5a6

atraly not 34.xa5 due to 34... 34 ...d2 d2 .

34 35Jd7a7 36Ja7xa5 37Ja5b5 38Jc3c7t 39Jc7d7 40Jb5b6t 4h3h4t 42Jb6xb4t •••

e3-f4 a6b4 g8-g7 f4d2 g7 d2-el -g5 g5f4

Back resied ' only wn in the tournament, but neverthele an excellent vement. Ater h weak handlng o the openng, Smylov wa a to conodate h potion and he lot without any erou ssnc.

334

Cycle3 Round 15 / Reshevs-Euwe /

0 Keres-Boinni Keres- Boinni  Free: Smysov

e key game in te last round of te tird cycle was Keres Botvinnik Wite made a last attempt to catc up wit wit te leader of o f te tournament A Frenc Opening gave rise to a tense middlegame wer Wite maintained a sligt initiative, and nally forced a position with a strong knigt against Blacks nefcient bisop But wen trying t make use of is advantage, Wte continued weakly and enabled Black to open te position; later Wite also lost a pawn he following time trouble was rich in mutual inaccuracies until te game nally reace an appromately equal endgame But a few moves before te time control, Wite made anoter mistake and tereafter had to adjor in a rook endgame a pawn down, wit only poor cances to save the game However, wen resuming te game, Botvinnik did not choose th strongest continuation, and White was once again able to equalize But te second batc of time-trouble nally ruined Wtes position completely Black activated is rook and forced Wites counterpart t take up a passive defence, and Black steadily won te endgame after  ad been adjourned one more time e game Resevsky-Euwe proceeded quietly Euwe eited an irregular opening ope ning wit a good good game, and even obtained pres p ressu sure re agains Wites weak pawn However, he later enabled Wite to echang off tis weakness wen an equal endgame arose e game ended i a dra Wit te win in te 1 5t round, Botvinnik nally nally consodat con sodated ed is lea in te tournament Wit only eigt games left left to play e was now all of 2/ 2/ points poi nts aead ae ad of is closest close st rival rival us, us , rst rs t place pla ce in the tournamen ad practically already been decided After te 1 5t round the tournament tourname nt position is te follow ollowin ing g Botvinnik 9, Keres 6/, Resevsky 6, Smyslov 5/ and Euwe 3.

RESH RESHEV EVSK SKY Y - EUWE EUWE

335

N o 29. rreguar rreguar opening M.Euwe

S. Reshevs Moscow, 20h Apri 948 948 l.c2-c4

e7-e6

 eent tie Euwe ha preferred the noral Queen' Gabit ahead  ll kind of Indian yte, and alo in the preent gae he trie  tain a welown poition Rehevky, on te other hand, taking he tounaent poition into onideration, tried to pay for a win at  t.  t. hu he h e ube  ubeque quenty nty tirred up unuual unuual opation, o pation, whch whch heve do not turn out in hi favour

2gl- 3.g2-g3

d7-d5

s he gae Kee-Botvinnik fo the rt cyce alo howed, when hite hite ha ha not payed d2-d4 he ut ontanty on tanty take the ... . . d5-d4 d5 -d4 advance advance o o oniderati onide ration on when deveopin deveopingg the bihop biho p to g2. It yied Black an equate gae, and therefoe therefoe the iple 3.d4 3. d4 cae into conideation, con ideation, th a anition to a nora Queen' Gabit.

3...

d5-d4

ls  thi poition thi thrut i quite good and give ie to an eeti ee ting ng gae gae ih ih in po po ibitie. ibitie. After After 3 . . . f6 the ove 4.d4 an ve ie to a noa poition in the Catalan opening.

4.e2-e3 t thi ove doe not t well into the openng yte eeted by hite. hite. Now in the ae a e of an exhange on d4, he w have have an unpeaa unp eaant nt eae on d3 and epeialy on the d4quare. herefore, better wa .g2 followed by 0-0 and d2d3, or alo the iediate 4.e4 which ld ave White White a valuable tepo. tepo .

HI CYCLE

336

4

b8c6

Den De ntel telyy stronger stronger than than 4. . . c5, which White could answer with 5.exd4 cxd4 6.d3 followed by g2 and 0-0, when Whtes bishop on g2 is a very powerful force. With the text move, Black tries to make d4-square into a support point for his pieces, and hopes to later attack Whtes backward -pawn.

5e3xd4 It was certainly better to rst play .g2, and only after brinng the king to safety by casng, then open up the centre by an exchange on d4. Playing 5 . d3 followed by by e4 would would no longer come into cons c onsideration ideration here, since Whte would lose a valuable tempo and eventually end up in a passive defence.

5 6.g2

c6xd4

6...

g8h6

An orignal idea that is by no means bad. Black tries to strengthen the posion of hs kght on d4 by playing the other kght to f. However, the development of ths knight needed to be done only via

SHEVSK SHEVSKY Y  EUWE EUWE

337

, snce after .Je7 7.xd4 xd4 8.d3 Black would not hae the 8 . .b4 b4 resource resource at hs dsposal. dspo sal. hen after 8 . . . e Whte could een ay 9. and later, after c3, c3 , win another tempo by f4 f4 or d3d 3-d4. d4. .

70-0 8d2- 9xd4

h6- -e7

s a result of hs naccurate handng of the openng, White already as a relatiely constrcted position, as Black's centrally-placed kghts ompletely domnate the game. Hence Wte decides, een at the cost o seeral tempos, to exchange off both Black's kghts. But this also as to equaze the posion completely.

9  Ibl-d2 d2- 2xd4

xd4 0-0 e7- xd4

s a result of the exchanges, Black now, instead of a kght, possesses a no-less-powerful bishop on d4, while Wte is stil left with the weak pan on d3. he further exchange 13.e3 e 14.xd4 xd4 would by no means help Whte's postion. He therefore correctly decides to take action on the queenside, and tries to obstruct obs truct the deelopmen deelopmentt of lack's lightsqared bishop.

3Jal-l

e6-e5

t ths pont 13... 13...a5 a5 also desered serous consideration. Frst of l, t preents the 14.b4 adance and, secondly, it opens up a faourabe developing route a a6 for the queensde rook, and thus enables the bshop on c8, for the time being, to reman on its starting positon. lack lack could then generate generate strong strong pressure on the t he -le by ..... . e6-e e6 -e55 and ... . a8  a8-a -a66-d6 d6,, and Whte would would hae difculty difculty coming co ming up with with a satsfactory defence to counter this. fter the text-moe, Whte obtains some counterplay on the qeenside.

THI CYCE

33 8

4.b2b4

4... 4...

c8

Te excange exca nge of te b 7 -pawn -pawn for for te weakne wea kne  on d3 tat no take place wa certainly  in Black' interet. Even toug Black' advantage after te 3t move wa not o coniderable, owing to Wite' counterplay on te queenide, tere wa nevertele no reaon to impli te poition, wic inevitaby lead to a peedy dra Hence it wa better to play 4.b8 in order to prepare ...f. ... f. Alo te continuation 4... 4...a5 a5 would ave offered Black ome propect, for exampl examplee  5.bxa5 5. bxa5 a5  6.xb7 xb7 xb7  7 .b7 xa2 and and te te preure preure againt te f2-point could turn out to be very unpleaant for Wite.

5.g2xb7

xd3

Naturally not 5... 5...b8 b8 6.e4 and Black a imply lot a pawn. Of coure Wit Witee cannot play play  6.xd3 a 6 ..... . xf2 would win i queen, owever te capture on a8 i fully atifactory. atifactory.

6.b7xa8



Perap Euwe micalcuated earlier and expected to win ere wit te continuation 6... 6...xb xb 7.d5 c6 8.xc6 d3, ince after 9.e

SHEVSKY SHEVSKY - EUWE EUWE

339

 Blak would stand learly better But instead of 19e1 Wite ay ayss 1 9g5 9g5 ! �d6 20e7! 20 20c5 c5?? �g6 �g6 !) 20    �xe7 21�xd3 �xb th th an approximately equal equa l game fte fterr the text-mo text-movve 1 7 d5 is no longer possible pos sible because of o f 1 7 xc4, xc4, t after te excange, Wite no longer as anyting in particular to a

7Jd 8.-e2 9.c-b2 20.b2xd4

'd8xa8 'a8-c6 g7-g6 e5xd4

ack's passed pawn now gives im a sligy better endgame, wic owever is not possible to win in practice

2.'e2-d3 22Jb-d

'c6-d6 'd6xb4

hs xhange is equivalent to a draw offer If Black ad any intention hatsoeve of playi playing ng on, ten te only pos p ossibi sibiitityy was 22    d8 But vn vn then, the endgam would most likely end in a draw in the event of the areful play by Wt

23.d3xd4 24.®gl-g2 25.a2-a3 26.dlxd4 Da.

-e8 'b4-b6 'b6xd4 e8-e6

HIRD CYCLE

340

No 30. French Defence P Keres

M. Boinn

Moscow Moscow 20h 2s d 22nd Apri 948 948 l.d2-d4

e7e6

Botvinnik almot alway chooe th modet move againt 1.d, thus he keep the poibity open to tranpoe into either the Fre nch or Dutch Defence. A Botvinnk play both thee opening, thi reply uit h playing tyle well.

2.e2-e4 3.bl-d2

d7-d5

With thi method of play, Whte uually get a lating initiative withou any greater rik. herefore I abtained from the harper 3.c3, which I rt employed in the nal round.

3... 4.e4xd5 5.gl-

c7-c5 e6xd5

In the game Euwe-Botvinnik from the econd cycle, where some explanation have been given about the move made o far, White played .b c6 6.e2 e7 but dd not achieve any igca advantage advantage after the exchange exchange of queen. queen . he text-move i certainly c ertainly ore intereting, and give rie to a mor tene poition where immedia iplication i not poible.

5...

a7a6

A novelty, whch however eem to be more dubiou for Black than the normal move move 5 . . .  f6 or 5 . . .  c6. c6 . It I t i true that Black Black in in ome lins lins prevent prevent the troubleome troubleom e check b, but in o doin doingg he loe lo e a valua valua  tempo and enable White to gain a clear edge in development.

S - BOINNIK BOINNIK

34 1

6.d4xc5? th th this this exchange Wte es back the tempo te mpo Black Blac k lost los t on is preious preiou s ve, ve, and is not getting getting any signcant signcant adantag adantagee besides be sides isolati is olating ng te pa pawn wn.. Hence normal deelop deelopment ment of the pieces by 6 .e2  c6 7.0 7 .000   8.e 8. e  look lo okss stronger, when Black has h as to oercome much greater ulties than in the game.

6... 7.-b3 8.cl-g5

xc5 c5-a7

ain weak, snce after Black's natural reply, Wite is forced into a teconsuming knight manoeure that depries him of any prospects  gaining a genuine adantage  hite wanted to employ the system of deelopment uized in the ae, then it would hae been better to immediately play 8.e2  f6 fd followed by e3, also keeping the possibility open of playing 0

8...

g8-

  xf2 foowed by ..e ..e was threatened, and after the natural eece eece 9 .d3 the pin after after 9 . . . 0-0  0.0-0 0. 0-0 g g wou would ld be ery trou troublesom blesomee r White. With the textmoe White places hs knight on a strong etral post, and poses Black relatiely big problems.

9... 0.-2 .-2

00 Vd8-d6

lak naturally wants to free himself from the troublesome pin as fast as possible, and in addition he carries this out with gain of tempo due t the threat threat of . . .  e. But owin owingg to to his 9th moe, White has the good etrea etreatt square e3 in resere res ere for for his bishop. bis hop.

.00

-4

3 42

THI CYCLE

2.g5-e3

b8-c6

Wit ti move Blc i not tretening o muc to ply 13... 13 ...ib8, wc wc  Wte Wt e could nwer quite well well wit wit g2-g3 but rter 13 . e e  centrlizing bot gt nd tretenng to me n eventul a to c4. Wite' following excnge i tu more or le forced but nevertele it ecure im n excellent gme.

3.d4xc6!

a7xe3!

Wit ti mll tctic Blck ve imelf from tng getting eve wore ince fter 13... 13...bxc6 bxc6 14.x7 x7 15.c4 Wite would ta omewt better. Now Wte get  pwn wene on e3 in  cmp wic compente Blc for te we centrl qure on d4 nd c.

4.xe3 Afte Afterr 1 4.\xd5 4.\xd5 te con contin tinu utio tionn 1 4 ...x ... xff2! 1 5.\xd6 5.\xd6  e4 e4 1 6.@1 6.@ 1 x  x 17.e7 followed by xc8 nd d3 ve rie to n pproximtel equl poition. Te text-move on te oter nd retin te tenio in te poition nd till offer Wite  ligt inititive.

4... 5.e2-d3?

b7xc6

S  BOINNIK BOINNIK

343

he he has prospects of getting an attac on the ngside, but te bisop s nfavourably placed on d3, and enables Blac to carry out the ... c 6  5 advance with gain of tempo due to the double threat. In addition, a's ght is much more unpleasany placed on f6 for Wte tan  s on e4. sead 15.c4 was much stronger, wih te main hrea being to play .d4 followed by c4-c5. his would have secured Whte a long-term i ia aiv ive, e, whereas now afer the text-move text-move Blac equalizes equalize s without withou t any eaer effor. oher oher good coninuation coninuation for for Whe Whe was 1 5 .f . f4.

5... 5...

e4-

aurally no 15... 15...f5? f5? 16. 16.xe4 fxe4  7 . xf8 foowed by d4 with a ear edge for White. But wit the text-move Blac threatens to play 1 5 ...c5 ... c5 and also in a number of lines o play ...g4, ... g4, creating some dculties for White.

6.dlel

-g4

ording to Boleslavsy, this move is a mistae hat once again puts lac in difculties. Bu as a maer of fac, the lines that occur in the ame are are so compicated that i is very difcul o say s ay whether Blac's aac is sufcien to balance te position or not. In any case, a very vely middlegame now taes place where boh sides operae with a mber of hidde hreas ad manoeuvres. sead of he ex-move, Boleslavsy advocaes 16... 16 ...e8, e8, and eleves ha  would yield Blac an edge. However, hs opinion is a oo optimisic, since 16... 16...e8 e8 would also give rise o complicaed aiai aiaions ons tha are very fcul to nally ass ess es s Whe can, c an, for for insance, ins ance, pay 1 7.h4, and and if ow 1 7 ...xe3, ... xe3, hen hen 1 8.xf6! 8.xf6! xf6 xf6 1 9.xh7 9.xh7 @ f8 20.h8 @e7 @e 7 21 .  and Whi Whiee has a dangerous attac as compensation comp ensation or he sacriced exchange; if Blac however plays 17. 17. . . h6, h6, hen there there ollow ollowss 1 8 .f .f44 whereupon whereupon Whte a leas is i s no sandng sandng worse. ors e. he most dangerous reply afer 17.h4 hus seems o be 17... 17 ...c5, c5, ch Wi Wiee answers answers mos mos  easil easilyy by  8.c4 8. c4 in order order o afer afer 1 8 ... xe3 aai aainn proceed along along the lines ven ven above above by plain plaingg 1 9 .xf . xf66 ! .

THI CYCLE

344

But if Blc would immdtly ply 16... 16...c5 c5 thn bid 17.c th could could lo lo follow ollow 1 7 .h4 h6 (1 7 . . . 8 ld to th vrition  bov) bov) 1 8.  xc5 xc5 1 9 .xf . xf66 gxf gxf66 2.xh6 2.x h6 nd Whit Whit'' contin contin   ttc ur  ur hm of t lt  dr dr

7.Yel-h4

-

Aftr 17... 17...h6 h6 Wht would not ply 18.4  uggtd by Bollvk bcu ftr 18... 18...d d Blc would hv n xcllnt gm du to hs control of th 5qur but intd 18.f4 followd by 18... 18 ...5 5 1 9.xg 9.xg or 1 8 ... ...  x3 1 9.g3 9.g3 g5 2.x. 2.x. With th txtmov Blc in om n thrtn th unpleaa ...f8f6h6. ... f8f6h6.

8.-f4! Indirctly defnding th pwn on e3 ince now 18 18......xe3 xe3 woul  nwrd by 19.1 g4 2.xg nd 19.xg4 i now thrtene  vrl lin.

8... 8...

g4-e5

Aftr 18... 18...h6 h6 Wht ha the impl rply 19 19g3 g3 which beide oth thing lo threaten 2.xg.

S - BONNIK BONNIK

345

On h othr had, itriguig complicatios could have occurred after 1 8 ..!. .. !. he he safes safestt reply reply is certail certailyy  9.g3 ( (  9 . . . h6 20.h3, or  9 ...g6 ... g6

g), but also very iterestig is 9.h3 e3. If ow 20.e?, h h 20 . . .g5! 2  .xg g6 22.h4 xg2 xg2 ad Blac Blac wins. Whte Whte must hfor play dfferetly, for example 20.f3 whch seems to yield im   ttr  ttr game.  is tru that with the text-move Blac avoids al tese te se compca co mpcations, tions,  ow his attac has also come to a end, and Whte reatens to ai a mared positioal advantage by uzing te weaness of the tral dark squares.

9.�h4-g3

a8-a7

Of ours ot 9... 9...g6 g6 20.xf5 ad Wte retais the extra paw.

20.al- 2.b3-d4!  lack is practicay forced to capture on d3, because it is o gr possible to protect the f-paw by other meas. But after ths hage the cetral dar squares become even weaer, wch gives hit a clar positioal advatage. It ow becomes clear that, istead o f th hazardou hazardouss  6 ... ... g4, g4, it would would have bee bee  better be tter for Blac Blac  to try to alz by 6... 6...e8, e8, which he is o loger able to do i the game.

2... 22.c2xd3 23.d4-

e5xd3 c6-c5

iay White had plaed to play 23.b3 at tis poit, whch would so hav give him a clear positioal advatage after a subsquet d3. ut, at the last momet, mome t, White White for for some som e reaso decided dec ided to retreat h ight ight i the other othe r drecti drection. on. After Aft er an excelent mddlegame Wite, r th iuece of sgt time-pressure, starts to play weaer ad akr. ially he loses all hs advantage, ad is eve the oe who gets io difulties.

HI CYCLE

3 46

23... 23...

d6-b6

e min drwbc of Wite' preiou moe w te fct tt i remoed Wte t piece from te queenide nd eft it competely witout protection, nd it i tere tt Blc now direct i ttck Remoing Remoing te queen from d6 i nece ne ce ry ry,, ince 23    e7 would would fte fte 24xf5 xg3 25x @x 26xg3 xe3 27@£! e gien Wite  cery better be tter endgme, nd nd o  o 23    e8 e 8 24e4 d8 d8 25xe 25 xe8 8 xe8 xe8 26e5 foowed by d3d4 i fourbe for Wite

24JU-h4 An importnt gin of tempo tempo After After 24b3 24b 3 Blc Blc cn play play 24    c4 nd tu eiminte te tenion in te centre

24... 24...

h7-h6

25.-e5? Now Wite  eriou difcultie defending  queenide pwn In dtion, Wte  to conider i roo on 4,  it i not tng pt in te gme e correct continution w intead to py 25e5!, centrlizing te queen nd imutneouy protecting te pwn on b2 In o doing, Wite coud e ecured i dantge, we fter te text-moe, on te oter nd, Bck get ome wwd tret

S  BNNIK BNNIK

347

2 5... 26.d3-d4?  bad mitake, which not only loe a pawn but in addition enable lack to create a number of tactical threat. In time-trouble White a unable to lly ae the complication occurring after 26.b3 g. ut in actual fact they would by no mean have been dangerou for m; after 27hf4 foowed by 4 Black would only have achieved a unneceary weakening of hi own kng poition, without getting aything in return. fter the weak text-move the cale quicy tt in Black' favour.

26... 26...

c5xd4

fte fterr 26 . . . xb2 xb2 White White can play play 27.dxc5, 27 .dxc5, ince ince 27 . . . f4 fa to 28.hxf4 xe 29.xf6.

ut n o t 27 .exd4 f4! and neither rook r ook can take on f4 becau bec auee o f 2 ...xd ... xd44!. ! . Afte Afterr the text-mo text-move ve Wte can c an imply imply anwer 27 . . . f4 by play playin ingg 28 2 8 .dx . dxff4.

27... 27... 28Jd4xd5?

b6xb2

hi capture hould  hould immediat immediately ely have have placed Wite Wite in a lot lo t poio po ion. n. ere 28.a4 had to be played; Whte would then, depite the minu pawn pawn,, have have obtained quite decen de centt counterpl counte rplay. ay. But in timetrouble time trouble both b oth sie play very inaccurately.

28...

c8-e6?

lo not totally totally clear clear in it outcome wa the capture c apture 28 . . .xa2, ince afe aferr 29. 2 9.c c5!5! White W hite would would get very dangerou dangerou counterplay owing owing to the threat of 30.c7. we weve ver,r, 28 2 8 ..... . f4! 29.e 29 .exf xf44 xf  xf44 would would have have won on the th e po  pot.t. I f now

348

THIRD CYCLE

30J 30 Jf f4, 4, then then natura naturay y 30 3 0 . . . �c1 31.@f2 xf4 32.f3 e6; an  30.�xf4 xf4 31.xf4, then 3...b7 32.d8 @h7 an White can prevent further further material material loe lo e.. Fnay Fnay 30. 30 . f3 �xa2 alo lea to a cla cla n for Black, a he ha a better poition and a trong extra pawn. Inted ite could lo ty 29.�e 29.�£ fxe3), but in s cae Blck can fo intance otain a wning poition with th continuation continuation 29 . . . fxe3 30. 30 .xf xf66 xf6 xf6 3 3  .d8 . d8 @h7, @h 7, inc inc 32.xc8 32 .xc8 �xe �xe r 32.d �6 or 32.c4 � 33.�xf2 x, folowed y ...b7, ...b7, e l l inuf in ufcint cint to ave Wte. Wte. Be B eide ide th, after after 29.� 29 .�  Black coul coul ao continu continuee wi with th 29 . . . �xa2 and retain a better poition and an extra pawn.

29.d5-d4? During During th coure cou re of the game, Whte Whte wa o  o occuped occu ped with with invetgatn invetgatn the coneq cone quence of 28 . . . f4! that, in tme-trouble, he wa unable t react directly to the weaker move made n the game. Here 29.d7! xd7 30.xd7 �xa2 3.x, followed by �e, ha to be played, and t  unlkely that Black would be able to win the reulting endgame. Howver, if Black would intead anwer 29.d7 by playin playingg 29 . . . g, then there would follow 30.d4 with the threat of 31.h4, auring Whte of counterplay rich n poibilitie a 30 ...f4 ... f4  not dangero dangerou u on account of 3  .dxf4. .dxf4.

S - BOINNIK BOINNIK

29 29

39

®g8-h7?

 lack had to play 29 ...xa2 ...xa2 if he wanted to retain any propect   advantage. White hould in th cae either play 30.d7 xd7 7 and have ome drawing chane in the foowing endgame,  0h4 followed by a later f4, trengthening hi grip on the central k square. e he text-move text-move he poition po ition become becom e equal.

30e5-d7 ce again Whte wa taken by urprie by Black' previou move, and kes the rt move that come to hi mnd. pparently impler wa 30.f2, retaining the pawn without hanng the kight. However, 30.h4! look tronger, with the tion of playing 31.f2. If thereafter 30. 30 . . . f4, then 3 1 .f . fxf4 xf4 xf x f4 (.a1 32.@h2 xf4 33.xf4) 32.g6 @h8 33.xf4 with a ure a a;; if howeve howeverr 30 . . . xa2, xa2, then 31 3 1 .c 1 ! and and Wite' Wite' atta attack ck more more than penate for the acriced pawn.

30 30 3ld4xd7 32g3- 33Jd7-d4

e6xd7 -g6 b2-e5

hte had again been able to equalize from a lot poition, but he i able to nd a clear plan of campaign in time-trouble. But depite hs, hs, the poition po ition intiall intiallyy remain equal.

33 33 34-f4

-b8

au aura rally lly not not 34.xf 34.x f5? xe3 35. 3 5.  b2  b2!! and Black win.

34 34 35d4-d2 36h2-h3

e5-e6 b8-b5 b5-e5

THI TH I CYCL CYCLE E

350

37.®gl-h2 Simpler wa 37. f6 38.\d4 and Black' attack a come to end.

an

Te deciive mitake, wc loe a pawn and lead to an endga were Wite a only problematic cance of a dra A natural continuation, epecially in timetrouble, wa to play 38. e4 39.g3 and, altoug Wite' piece are rater contricted at th moment, e hould not have any dfcultie oldng te poition.

38... 38... Naturally Naturally not te immediate 38 . . .xe3 39.d6 wit equality. After te textmove Wte' bet cance wa to play 39.d6, tryin to obtain an excange of queen. Wit te queen till on te boa, Black treaten to generate a tong attack againt the enemy kng.

39.�f4-b8 40Jd2-d8

e4xe3 �e6-e5t

Altoug the foowing rook endgame i winnig for Black, it ti require overcomng large tecnical difcultie. Simpler terefore was 40 ... f4, ince 41 4 1 .8 . 8 @g6 @g6 wa by no mean dangerou. dangerou. Furthermoe, Black alway alway retained retaine d te po po  ibilty ibilty of of o ffering an excange excan ge of queen, q ueen, and tu tranpoing tranpo ing to te endgame tat occur in the game.

4.�b8xe5 42dl- At ti point te game wa adjourned and ti wa the move ta White ealed. e aled. In i ome analyi Wite Wite convinced convinced ime imelf lf tat Black a a local tatec plan of campaign againt wich Wte a n atifactory defence. Wite aeed i propect in thi endgame t

S BONNIK -

351

e ly of a practical nature if Black perap did not carry out i ing plan accurately enoug.

42... 42...

g7-g5?

 s very rare for Botinnik not to play te tronget rt move after e analyi. But ere Black commit a bad tactical itake by eig up te poition of i king too early. In o doing, e eriouly jeardize i win by off offering Wite Wite variou variou tactical cance c ance.. Probably Prob ably k did not nd a clear winning continuation for Black in i e analyi and reumed te game witout any clear tougt-out a h circumtance ould ave been fatal for im. g oter ting ting in i i  ome om e analyi analyi Wite could not ee e e ow to ee ee himself againt an attack begnni begnning ng wit wit 4 ... . f4! f4!.. After After t Black eaens eaens n everal ne ne to play   . f4f 4 f3 in combination c ombination wit an a a  ault aast the h-pawn, or alo te manoeuvre ..@7g6-5 .. @7g6-5 followed by   55 and a ubequent . . . @4 followed ollowed by an advance of o f te g-pawn e resence of te pawn on te a-le tie Wite' rook o tigtly  e defence of te apawn tat tey are unable to adequately ward  lack' attack on te kingide It i of coure almot impoible to etrate an accurate winning variation analytically but by executing e atack atack in in accordance acco rdance wit te general line line  gven gven above, Black Bl ack could co uld  y iion win te game witout any great problem pro blem ter te text-move naturally it cannot be claimed tat Black a

THI CYCLE

32

spoilt his winning positon. But it is at least clear that Black later  no method of play where Wte would not have excellent drw chances.

43.g2-g4! Naturally Wte immediately utzes the chance to exchange off  pair of pawns, which consideraby helps s position. It goes wit saying saying that Black cannot canno t play 43 . . . f4? due to 44J�2d7, and thus he  to accept the exchange of his f-pawn. Incidentay, weaker was 43.2d7 @g6 44.g4 on account  44 .. . e2, wch yields Black better winnng chances than the g continuation.

43 ... Afte Afterr 43 . . . @g6 Whte does doe s no n o t need to t o transpose transpo se t o the variati variation on gi gi  in the previous note 44.2d7 e2, as instead he has the stron conti con tinuatio nuationn 44.g8 @ 45. 45 .a8 a8 at s dsposal, dsp osal, with with vario various us thret The exc exchan hange ge 43 . . . fxg4 44.hxg4 deprives the black king of  important penetration square h5, and is favourable only for Wh Hence the only defence, besides the text-move, that came i consideration consideration for Black was 43 . . .e7. But White would answer this  44.8d7 44. 8d7 xd7 xd7 45. 4 5.xd7 xd7 @g6 46.@g3 46. @g3 f4 f4 47 47 . @f3 @f3 and otain a po positi siti where no forced orce d win win for Black can be seen se en.. The same s ame situation howev howeve e also arise ari sess after the the text-move, t ext-move, so it is very very fcult fcult to decide whic whic  offers Black better practical winnng chances.

h7-g7 This exchange is sooner or later forced, since Black threatened  several nes to play the very strong ...f5-f4. ...f5-f4. Also possible, of course was to rst play 45. 45 .x x @x and oy then 46.gxf5, but ts ts is of n real importance.

45...

 - BONNIK BONNIK

33

46.-? ite ad come to resume an adjourned position that promse hm ly sma chances of surviva. However, sudeny he had acheved ecellen ecellentt drawing drawing chances, and spent s pent too much me on the rst rs t moves d once again was in tmetrouble. The textmove naturay dd not ven merit consideration, and shoud immeiatey have paced te i a clearl clearlyy lost los t position. po sition. t before before going going into the detas, det as, one more genera note: the question ques tion  weter this endgame is i s a win or a draw wi be decided by whch whch layer is rst to take control of the squares a3-a5 with hs rook. By wing tis idea, te follong part of the game wbe much easier t nderstand. s lack treatens to immedatel immedatelyy play 46 . . .a5, ite's repy 6 is almost almost forced. If now 46 46 . . .x, x , then 47.@g3 47 .@g3 and we we have have aceved te same position as occurs a few moves later in the game, ly wit the irreleva irrelevant nt dff dfference erence in pawn posion pos ion beeen b eeen a2 and a3. a 3. ence 46 ... . @ @  is stronger, stronger, follow ollowed ed by 47.d6! 47.d6 !  f6 48. 4 8.d7! d7! .  no now w 48 . . . @g6, ten 49.@g3 c6 50.d3! followed by a3 if we weve verr 48 . . . @e6, then 49.b7 @dS S.@g3 and agan te has ecell ecellent ent defensiv defensivee resources resourc es at hs sposa. spo sa. Final Finaly, y, 48 . . . @e8 49.h7 also does not o ffer fer Back any genuine winnn winnngg chances chanc es.. rom this we can draw te conclusion tat with 46.x! te cld ave forced a position that occurred a coupe of moves ater in te game.

THI CYCLE

34

46... .. .

 -? - ?

Here Here 46 . . . a5 would have won without wit hout any great difculty difcul ty.. For exa exa  47.x 47 .x  (47 (47 .7d3 .7 d3 f4 f4 foll follow owed ed by ..... .
47.h2-g3? Here 47. 47 . x xd7 48. 4 8.c2! c2! d6 49.c 49 .c4! 4! would would lead to a drawn positi positi as later lat er occurred occu rred in the game. If however Black, instead in stead of 48. 48 . d d plays plays 48 . . . a5, then 49.c4 d2 S.
47

••

xd2?

It is curious to observe how many mstakes are made in this rate siple endgame during the span of two to three moves and this i  position pos ition that that had been be en analyzed analyzed at home! Here Here Black natural naturaly y had to procee pr oceedd with with 47 . . .f3 48.
  BOINNIK BOINNIK

3

 ttempt 48 . . J 49J�d7! 49J �d7! @g6 @g6 S.�d6 S.� d6 �f � f6 5 1 .�d5 .� d5,, foowed oowed ho d the dr For ex exm mp pe:e: 5 1 . . . �c6 5 2 . �  5 @ h S by  S, woud so hod 3.2 nd there is evdenty no way for Bck to strengthen his ition further. The text-move so fs to offer substantiay better pcts.

it the timetroube, White comes up with an interesting drawing iution, wch however does not seem to be the ony one. 49.4  S.dS @g6 51.5 aso ooks possibe, though this ine is not so  ,,    Bck cn c n s s  mke some so me winnin winningg attempts with  king king say to  uenside. uenside. The Th e textmove textmove is simper.

49... .. . tr engthy thought, Bck decides to reject the pawn sacrice  rd rd to t o him, since sin ce the engme engme arising arising aftr aftr 49 . . .�c3 S.@g4 3 is drawish. te however does not pay 51.h4?, as dvocated by Boesavsky, u to 51...h4 52.@xh4 �! foowed by ...� ...� f6 and 52.�7 52 .�7 @ f6 3.xh4 (53.�d6 @eS 54.�xh6 h3) 53... 53 ...�e3! �e3! 54.@hS �e7 55.�2

36

THI CYCLE CYCLE

g7 oul oul als a lsoo no no o, as n  n bo b o as  ass s a a as a in inn n nga u  a oul be b e oban ob an af af 49  3 50 50  g4 xa3 xa 3 wi wi   onnuaon 517!  527 a4 53g3, an f no 5 n 54 5 4a a77  In any vn, la la los lo sss bak a pan, hn We We w w no av any fus focng  a

50.a3-a4? Evn oug s move sll oes no ho aay he a,   W's fne conseably con seably moe ful Te naual ove 50a4!



oul av su a sple a Afe s ee as no nee  W o uy  playng 3h4, fo xapl 50 g6  g6 51a5 c 52g2 6 53g3 an lak anno ae fuhe pogss, o  5 0 f6 f6 5 1 4 g6 g6 52xg5 52xg5 xgS 53g 53 g4, 4, o n nal ally ly 50   f6 51 gx4 52x4 6 53g4 an We as easly olsavsky's oenaon o play 504 s, on e o n of u u o ubous valu, valu, sn Blak oul oul play 50    c3 c3 S1 S 1   gx4 52x4 52 x4 xa  xa33 an an an pac pa cal al nn nnng ng ances ue o W' W' ng bng u of o ff oo fa aay fo fo  bak ank a nk

5 0 ... 5.h3-h4

g7-g6

I as also possbl o po aong h lns of e noe o Wh' 49 ov by playng 515 S 52a5 3 53g2, an Blc

 - OIK OIK

37

  ake fue fue pogess poges s as a s e  foe foe o play e eea 53   6 t o wa e ea of 54�6 u afe 54@g3 @g6 SS@g4 @f6  We oul ave su a song poson a lak saely  any oe nnng nnng anes e exove s also sl possble, po ssble, bu  opla o plaes es We's We's efene efene  e by leang e oue fo lak's kng o peneae oug  n 4

51... 52.h45

@g6-h5 h65

53.4-d3?  isake a nally uns We's poson   5 5!! wul wul sll av avee seue se ue a a a, fo fo exaple: exap le: 5 3   �3 54 54  @g2   S6 S6 aS 56� 5 6�55 g4 g4 57�xa5 57 �xa5 �2 �2 58@ 58 @1 1 ! @g3 59�a8 59 �a8 an We We  u We as unable o auaely alulae s possbly n -uble, an us ee o oo oose se e passv pas svee ef e fene playe n the e Howeve, Howeve, n ook engaes engae s su a a a alos alo s alays alays leas to fea

c6-c4  a5 �a4 SS�S �a3 56@g2 @4 folloe by g5-g4 g5-g4

THI CYCLE

358

54... 54 ...

a6-a5

We' roo no an o unfavourably a i i unable o rani efcien counerplay aain Blac' pan. Blac in e en ealy by brinin  in over o e queenie. Of coure i coul laer ave pu up more ubborn reiance a ome poin  i poiion i lo in any even.

55.®g3-h3 56.®h3-g3 57.a3-al 58.®g3-h3

c4-b4 b4-f4 f4-g4 f4-g4 g4-e4

Blac rie o in ime o re-ajourn e ame o a o n e ae roa o vicory in ome analyi Noin i appen before Blac in come cloer o e queenie

59.al- 60.®h3-g3 61.®g3- 62.®-g3 63.3-al

®5-g6 ®g6- ®-e5 e4-d4

A i poin e ame a ajourne for e econ ime. Blac' in i no beyon oub.

®e5-d5 d4-b4 Of coure coure no 64 .. a4? a4? 65bS 65 bS ®c4 66.x5 66 .x5 a a  67.@2! 67. @2! an an We ra.

65.bl- 66.-el 

®d5-e4

66.@4 xa4 67.@x5 c4 alo loe a Blac' a-pan ecie  ame.

  - OTV OTVIIK IIK

66 ...

39

e4-d4

67. g3-h2     xa4 8f 8 f55 a1 69@h2 69 @h2 g4 g4 0 0 ff4 @c3 @c 3 1  1 xg  xg44 1  1 an c wn e' poon  hopele u a b more ubborn wa 

67... .. .

b4xa4

w lac can alo wn whou he g-pawn an he  herefore no  o wae wae me on    efenc efencee Ther T heree followe:

68Jel-gl 69.glxg5 70. h2-g2 71.g2- 71. g2- 72Jg5-a5

a4-c4 a5-a4 d4-c3 a4-a3 c3-b3

White resied. A y ereng game game  where he avanage avanage hfe everal me I 

   a p pyy ha boh bo h e e  mae o many make n uch an neren ner en  game ha he on' hare of  eal were lo on he cor

360

4

Cycle 4 Round 6 1 Keres-Euwe 0 ¥ Reshevs-Smysov  Free: Boinnik

The fourth cycle again started off with tense games. In the game KeresEuwe, where the panish Defence was utilized, the ex-wor champion champion chose ch ose his hi s favourite vourite variati variation on  the Open Def D efence, ence, whic Keres answered with hs patent move 9.e2. In his home analysis Euwe had prepared a long counter-manoeuvre in reply, which however eventually turned out to be favourable for White all the same, and left Black Black with an unemployed bishop bis hop again against st White's White's stong knight knight on d4. In a positionay lost situation, Euwe tried to commence counterplay but this oly gave Whte the chance to decide the game by a dec attack against agains t the king. king. The lav Defence played in the game Reshevskymyslov gave ise to an orinal middlegame, where White placed his queen in an exposed position pos ition and thereby ran into dfculties dfculties.. myslov could cou ld probably have have attained some advantage in the ddlegame, but dd not use these possibilities in the best way, and nally forced a transition to an equal pawn endgame that quicy ended in a draw. The tournament position after the 16th round: Botvinnk 9, Keres 7/, 7/, Reshevsky Reshev sky 6/, 6/, myslov 6, and Euwe 3

KERE - EUW EUWE

36

No 31 3 1 . Te Ruy Ruy Lop Keress P Kere

M. Euwe uwe

Moscow, 22nd pr 1948 l.e2e4

e7e5

 erer times Euwe often often used use d to ply ply the French Def De fenc encee nd in recent rece nt urnments he lso sometimes employed the icilin Defence. But in s tournment the former world chmpion exclusively specilized in e open systems, both s White nd Blck. But it seems to me tht e's strength lies precisely in positionl ply nd he should thus try  void complictions s much s possible. For ths reson hs plying e e is better suited for closed closed opening systems, for exmple the Cro     .. I t is curi cu riou ouss tht th t Euwe hs h s o  oss t never nev er employed empl oyed th tht t ope o pening, ning,  es es not in ny importn importntt gmes. gm es.

2�gl 3 .b5  b5 4.b5a b5 a4 5.00

�b8c6 a7a6 �g8 �xe4

ers go Euwe only plyed this Open line of the pnish Defence,  he lter refrined from ths in fvour of the closed method of . But the closed lines did not yield hm ny positive results in ths ment, nd thus he decides to return to hs former fvourite iin. When tng into ccount tht Euwe is considered one of e e re retest test experts expe rts on o n the Op Open en psh, p sh, ths decision is fully ully justied ju stied   psychologicl point of view. But from the chess point of view i i quite  risky experiment, becuse ginst ths openg line there e i rece recent nt yers been be en found found severl new systems o f ttck  ttck tht th t hve hve e e it look dubious for Blck.

6.d2d4 7.a4b3

b7b5

FOURTH CYCLE

362

In order to avoid whatever variation Back had prepare prep ared, d, the compica and itte investigated continuation 7.d5 d6 8.dxc6 bxa4 9.e1 ca into consideration. However, Back's strong pawn centre and bis pair seem to be sufcient to thwart White's attacking attempts, w afteards Back woud graduay attain a positiona edge. 7. . .

8.d4xe5

d7d5

Anothe Ano therr way to avoid the ines ine s mappe ma ppedd out by theory was by payi paying ng 8.a4, which was popuar some years ago. But chechter's recommenda 8 .  xd4! 9 .xd4 exd4 1 0.axb5 0. axb5 cS then yieds Back such a po powe werf rf  position that Whte woud rather pay the main ine .

8 ...

c8e6

Now the starting position of the Open panish has occurred, whr 9.c3 is considered the main continuation. Black then has the choic to either e ither proc p roceed eed in aggre aggre s sive sive style by payi paying ng 9 . . .c5 or the m modest modest 9 .. .e7; e 7; aso as o 9 . . . c5 c5 has has justied ju stied itsef seve severa ra times times in practic practic In order to avoid a these thes e we-inv we-investigated estigated pos po s sibiities, sibiities, White decid to empoy a ess we own ne in the hope hop e that Back's home anasi there woud not be as extensive as in the theoretica variations af 9.c3 that have been based on numerous games. Now an interes middegame takes pace.

9dle2! The main advantage of this move, which I have already utized i important games on some occasions, is perhaps no that it is l known, but rather its great strength. White refrains from the loss f temp te mpoo bo bound und up with with retaining retaining th thee b3-bishop, b3- bishop, and an d intends to genera genera pressure pres sure against against Black's central point dS by the moves d 1 and c c4. Athough it is sti eary to ve a na assessment of whether this manoeuvre is particuary p articuary dangerous for Back, Back, the practica practic a experienc expe rienc of 9 .e presents a rather rather depressing depres sing picture: so s o far far Back has not bee able in any game to nd a competey satisfactory system of defenc that assures as sures hm hm of o f easy equait equaity.y.

   - EU W E

9 ... .. .

363

e7 e7

ray ray Back pays pays 9 . . .c5 at this point, as aso occurred in the as Keres-Reshevsky, mysov-Euwe and mysov-Reshevsky, d in the ater rounds. Euwe made the textmove without thinking d had apparenty prepared the foowing method of pay thoroughy  he. stad Bronstein and Konstantinoposky advocate 9 ...c5, c5, so as to swr swr 10.e3 1 0.e3 by payi paying ng 10 1 0...e7 ...e7.. But a na na assess asse ssment ment of this move move  ny be attained by practica experience. Personay I beieve that s is scarcey scarcey stronger for for Back than the norma nor ma 9 . . .e7  e7 or 9 .. . c5, as d in the tournament.

lOJUdl

0-0

ft ftrr 10 . . . c5 11.c4 xb3 1.axb3 Back has difcuties defending  d5-point; if for exampe 1 ...0-0, ... 0-0, White White can choose choo se betw b etween een either  .d5 xd5 xd5 1 4.c3 4. c3 xf3 xf3 1 5.gx (Keres-A (Keres-Aator atortse tsevv, Len Lenin ingr grad ad 1 947) 947) r as retaining the tension in the position by 13.c3 b4 14.e3 (rs-exander, London 1947). f however Back tries 10... 10...  a5, a5 , then then 1 1 .  d4 is a very very strong strong repy repy, fr am amp pe:e: 1 1 .. . xb3 1 .axb3 c5? 1 3. 3.  c6 fo foo owe wedd by by  xe7 and and f- r  1 . . .c5 1 . f5! xf5 xf5 1 3.xd5 and and Wh Whititee gets gets the the adva advant ntag age.e.

3

FOURTH CYCLE

However, al these lines contain so many possibilities that have  been tried out in practice and they are rather complicated to analys, so there is scarcely any hope that a nal assessment about them ca  gven in the near ture

ll.c2c4 1 2 .b3xc4

b5xc4 e7c5

Euwe played the opening quickly, apparently having prepared  whole method of play in his home analysis But th variation turs out to be unfavourable for Black, which indicates that Euwe in s preparation di not take into consideration all the possibities i had at his disposal in this position This is another good ustrati ustrati f the potential that is lying in the relatively new line 9 Romanovsky considers ts move to be a mstake and instead recome recomends nds 2     aS since since 3xa6  c5 fol folo owe wedd by    ab3 woul wouldd ead to the win of an exchange for Black However White is naturay not going after the worthess a-pawn, but instead proceeds wit 3d3 cS 4c2 and obtains an even stronger position than i the game game

1 3 .cle3 cl e3 14.e2xe3

Ac5xe3 d8b8

This is what appears to be the chef idea behnd Black's system f defence hite cannot now capture at dS as there would follow  later  xb  x b,, and after 1 5 b3  b3 Black can play 1 5 a5  a5 exchan off Wte's strong attacng bishop But it seems that Black did n take into account that he has stil not got rid of the main positional drawbac drawbackk of the Open panish, namely namely the weakne weakness ss of the d4d4- a cSsquares It is the weakness of these squares that subsequently yields White a clear positional advantage advantage The other possibty that came into consideration at this pi was 1 4    b4, but it would would not have been much stronger, since since in additi additi   Sb3 S b3 cS 1 6  c3! c3 ! White White coul couldd also also play play the quiet quiet 1 5e, 5 e, threat threateni eni  6a 6 a33 with with a good game

K ERE  E UW E

1 5 . c4-b3 16b1-!

36

�c6-a5

, on the other hand, was 6.d4? cS! 7.xe6 fxe6 8. c4 and lc voids becong worse by tactica eans. With te textove  ite ite starts to take take contro over over the i iportant portant d4- and cS-s cS -squar quares es and us scures a positionl advantage.

1 6... 17lx

�e2

ftr 7.xd Back can avoid the worst consequences by the cobin cobintion tion 7 . . . d4! d4! 8.x 8.xdd4 xb3 9.axb3 9.axb3 xb3 0. 0.xb3 xb3 xb3. xb3.

1 7... 18.xb3

�a5xb3 -c8

 osition has now occurred where Whte stands better owing to hs contro controll of the centra dark squares, square s, athoug athoughh Black has certain cer tain counter cncs due to the pawn weaknesses on the b-e. But holding this  of position, where the defender is left with evera ines that  l to  sightly worse gae, is very difcut in practice, and usua t defender loses.

FOURTH CYCLE

366

The same thng aso happe h appens ns here, and it is very difcut difcut to caim wch method of pay woud have offered Back the best saving chances. In the game Back decides to keep on the queens and nay oses to a kingside attack, hence many anaysts have recommended that Back pay 18... 18...b6 b6 at ths point, to force an exchange of queens. But the endgame after 19.xb6 cxb6 0.d4 8 1.f4 foowed by @ is aso ceary better for White, and in my opinion does not offer any worse winning chances than the game continuation.

19Jalcl

c7c5!

The bes b estt counter-chance for Back, athough Whte now now gets rid of a pawn weakness on the b-e. In the event of a passive defence, White woud proceed with 0.5 foowed by d4 and thus eiminate a counterpay on the queenside, and thereafter decide the game by an attack against agains t the ene enemy my ng ng..

20.clxc5 21.e3xc5 22.d4

c8xc5 b8xb3

22... .. .

b3b7

After this retreat, Back is for a ong time eft with a passive defence where he acks any knd knd of counterpay counterpay. Hence    . . .a, troubng

KERE - EUW EUWE

367

ie wih a mating threat, woud perhaps have offered him the best rc rciica ca chances. chances . But B ut aso in this cas c asee Back's Back's position p osition woud woud after after 3.h 3 .h33   4. 4.@h @h e4 e 4 5.�e 5 .�e f4 f4 6.g3 6 .g3 h6 h 6 7.h4 7 .h4 not have have been be en fuy uy factory, because his queenside has been ef compeey wihout recion. 22 c4 aso deserved attention, since after 3.xc4 dxc4 Back reaens ...c4-c3 ...c4-c3 in severa ines and the a-pawn woud become very gero gerous. us. Whte therefore therefore intended to answer  . . .c4 by paying . xcS 4.c5 �b8 5.�c �b4 6.�d and sti retain a ceary eter endgame. 

23.h2h3 24.glh2 25.f4

a8d8 g7g6 h7h5

ack has indeed initiay defended himsef against the threat of f4-f5,    i doing doing so he had ha d to consideraby weaken weaken the th e position o f hs king. king. i iee now takes action on the queenside quee nside and rs  rstt of a brings his rook r ook i he pay.

b7d7 ray ray no 6 . . .xb 7.xe6 fxe6 8.e7 winning. With the text e e Back strengthens the contro co ntro over he fS-s S- s quare to ward ward of o ff the t he ssibe threa of f4-f5. Bu now there foows an attack against the awn.

27.c5b6 28.d3

d8a8 d7a7

c is now practicay forced to offer the exchange of queens that he ried o aoid on the nd move.

29.b6b4? hite overestimates hs position and hopes to win by an attack against e king. However this prospect is unreaistic, and enabes Back to

FURTH CYCLE

368

gain disruptive counterpay Correct was 9xa7 �xa7 30@g3 with  ceary better endgame for White, which Back woud scarcey be able to draw even with the best defence

29 . . .

a7 a7d7 d7??

After this, everything goes back onto norma tracks, and White ca proceed with his attack However, much more troubesome for White was the continua continuation tion 9   �c8, whch woud have enabed Back to activate his heavy pieces Naturay White woud in that case after for exampe, 30d �c4 31�d3 aso have retained his positi advantage, but he woud initiay have ost hs attack, and Back wuld in any any event event have have obtained obtai ned much much better chances chance s of a succe suc cess s  fnce than in the game

30.b4a5 imper imper was was 30 3 0b6 b6 a7 3 1  xa7, but b ut instead Whte Whte again again tries tries to wi by a direct attack However, this time the attempt invoves no risk

30...

e6?

The transfer of the bishop to e4 is unfavourabe for Back, since it cears the way for Whte's epawn to advance, and secondy the text move move oses os es at east a pawn Here Here the passi pas sive ve defenc defencee 30   a7  a7 wou

K E R E  - E UW E

369

 offerd Back bttr prospects, even toug Wit in tis vnt ins is marked positiona dg after 31.�a4. Now a speedy is s plc.

31.a3c3  ndgam aftr 31...�c8 3.xa6 �xc3 33.bxc3 is aso opess. opess.

 e4 e4 2 .. . 6 33.�c6 aso fais to sav Back, since at east one pawn woud  ost. ost . Now N ow owv owvr r Back fas fas under unde r a mating mating attack. attac k.

33.a5c3

d7e7?

 blndr blndr in a ost position. po sition. Back Back intnds to answer answer 34. 34 .66 by 34... 34...f6, f6,  is not n ot payi paying ng attntion to t simp rpy 34.  c6. c6 . Hower, Hower, Wte Wte's's ck ck woul wouldd e e bn b n dcisi d cisi vn against against t bst b st df d fnc nce,e, bcau b caus s i ws no longer possibe to prvent prvent te pntrat pn tration ion of te rook onto  7t or 8t ranks.

34.�d4c6 Back resied.

FOURTH CYCLE

3 70

No 32. Sav Defence S. Reshevs

 Smysov

Mosco Moscow, 22nd pri pri 1 948 l.d2-d4 2.c2-c4

d7-d5 c7-c6

Besdes the Grnfeld Defence, myslov s also fond of playng the lav Defence, but only aganst those opponents ho prefer complcated lnes n ths openng. He has already used ts lne several mes aganst Reshevsky es hevsky and here, as a s el el as n the earler earler encounters, he obtans t better game after the openng.

g8- In order to prevent the folong capture, the contnuaton 4.e3 also comes nto consderaton. Black can hoever anser t by playng 4 ..... .f5 and thus get a satsfactory game. Reshevsky almost exclusvly employs the text-move, hch make the postion more tense.

4...

d5xc4

4. . . e6 as more frequently used n th thee tournamen t ournament,t, and s a contnuato that also has ts good and bad sdes. It s true that th the text-move Black gves up the centre, but he obtans rapd development and gets good pece-play as compensaton.

5.a2-a4 The gambt lne S.e4 bS 6.e5 dS 7.a4 does not seem to offer Whte adequate compensaton n return for the sacrced pan. Because,  addton to the extra pan, Black also controls the mportant centra square dS. dS . In the game Tolush Tolush- -myslov myslov,, Lenngrad Lenngrad 1 947, 94 7, Whte for for ths reason ansered ansered 7 . . .e6 by playng the nterestng 8.gS xc3 9.bxc3

REH RE HEVK EVKY Y -  YL YLOV OV

37 

S 1 0.e6 0. e6 and obtained a dangerous dangerous attack. stead s tead of the somehat risky continuation 7 . . .e6, Black can, on ongg other thngs, thngs, play the quieter 7 . . .e6 and thus avoi avoidd any kind of plications.

5 ... 6.e2e3

c8-

 the game from the second cycle beteen the same opponents, shevsky continued ith 6.e5, but after some complications as te one to get into difculties. The text-move looks stronger. White es himself of some prospects of an openng advantage, ithout h risk risk,, by threaten threatenng ng to play e3-e4. e3-e 4.

6...

e7e6

asker's asker's defenc defencee 6 . . .  a6 7.xc4 7 .xc4  b4 has long ago disappeared disappeared from tament practice. After 8.0-0 Black has no satisfactory defence aist aist White's threa th reatt to play e2 e2 folloed olloed by e3-e4. e3- e4. The text-move text -move is e logica logical,l, because becaus e no Black Blac k develops develops s bishop bisho p to b4 and thus for h time time being prevents White from playing the e3e e3 e44 advance advance .

7.xc  xc44 8.00

-b4 00

fte fte 8 . . . bd7 in the game Kottnauer-myslov, Prague 1946, there fwed the pan sacrice 9.e2 g6 10.e4, hich secured White a gerou gerouss attack. After After 8 . . .  bd7 Eue incidentally conside con siders rs the move ."b3 to be very strong; in a game against Landau the continuation ..... . "b6 "b6 1 0.e4  xe4 1 1 .xe . xe44 xe xe44 1 2.xe6 2.xe6 fxe6 1 3.a5 3.a 5 assured assured hm hm f a ecisive advantage.

9.dle2 he most frequently utized continuation, hich threatens e3-e4. 9."3 9. "3 woud woud no hav have been b een less les s dangerous dangerous because of 9 . . .e7, e7, and fter 10.a2 there can simply follo 10... 10...d6 d6 and the b7-pan is tected.

FOURTH CYCLE

37 2

-g4

9 ...

This move s consdered to be the strongest contnuaton for Black i ths poston. In ths ay Black ntaly prevents the e3-e4 advance a brngs hs bshop to a more favourable square so that e3-e4 ill  subsequentl subs equentlyy take place th gan of tempo. The stratecalyjusted advance 9 . . c5 s premature at ths pi on ongg to to 1 0.a2 0. a2 aS 1 1 .dxc5 .dxc 5 , and it s not so easy fo for Black to i back bac k the sacr sa crce cedd pan, and and after 9 . . . e4 e4 Whte can can oobtan btan excelle attac attacng ng chances by the pa pann sacrces 1 0.d3 or 1 0.g4 g6 g6 1 1 .e5, thus obtanng excelent attacking chances. 

10.h2h3 Earlier Earlier 1 0J�d1 0J� d1 bd7 bd7 1 1 .e4 e7 e 7 1 2.e5 2. e5 dS 1 3 .e4 used to to be pl play aye e here. Black Black ansered ansered t by 1 3 ...f6 ... f6 hereupon hereup on he obtaned obta ned a satis s atisffactory game. The text-move text- move s sharper sha rper and force forcess Black to mmediately mmediately decie upon a further plan of campagn.

1 0 ...

g4

myslov leaves Whte ith the bshop par and ntends to carry ou the ...e6-e5 ...e6-e5 advance and in ths ay obtain necessary counterplay  the centre. But he had not much of a choice, since after the retrea

HEVK HEVKY Y  Y YLO LOV V

373

O ...hS ...hS 1 1 .g4 g6 g6 Wt Wtee gets gets exceent exceent attac attacng ng chances by 1 2.e5 2. e5..

 i s difc difcult ult t o say hc hchh method of play play oers oers Black better be tter prospect prosp ectss f equaty.

ll.e2 12JUdl

b8d7

 is lear that White White as unable to prevent Black's ntenton of playng playng ...e6-e5; ... e6-e5; instead he had to come up th a suitable plan to meet ths ava avance. nce. The text-ove text-ove does not seem to be the strongest stronges t one, because bec ause e intended thrust in the centre does not offer White any partcular rspects of an advantage. och's recommendaton to play 12.e2 as a plan orthy of nsderat nsderaton, on, so as to mee m eett 12 ..... . e5 by off offerng erng a pan pan sacrce by 1.g3. Its acceptance ould after 13... 13...exd4 exd4 14.exd4 b6 1S. 1S. d3 4 16.d1 yeld Wte an excellent attack. Black can hoever play e e more more car caref efuul 1 2 ...c7, ... c7, ith ith the intention intenti on of carrying out an eventual eventual ...65. ... 65. ence the knght sally 12.e4 seems to cause Black the greatest ifult ifultie ies.s. Ths ould, among other thngs, also als o threaten threat en the th e exchange n f6 and thus even more obstruct the executon of the ...e6-e5 ...e6-e5 or ...6-c5 ... 6-c5 thrusts. In this event Whte could have had good prospects of retaing hs small openg advantage.

1 2 ... 13.d4d5

e6e5

nstead ns tead 1 3 .fS ould ould still have off offered Whte prospe pro spect ctss of an advantage. ite's queen ould be very strongly placed on fS and an exchange n d4 only strengthens Whte's position rther. After 13... 13...e7 e7 there ol follo 14.d5, hist 13... 13...c7 c7 14. 14.d2 folloed by ac a c  ould leave Black in an uncomfortably constrcted postion.

1 3 ...

b4xc3!

lmost forced, snce the exchange on dS ould after 14.xd5 yeld hite a clear advantage. Whte no has to go for the follong

374

FOURTH CYCLE

complcated method of play, because the quet 14.bxc3 ould aft 1 4...e4 ... e4 1 5 .e2 cxdS cx dS yeld yeld Black a good game.

14.d5xc6

e5e4

Forcn Forcngg Whte's queen quee n to a les l esss favourable avourable square and at the sam ti ti clearng the strong central square eS for the bshop. Black has  equalzed complete comple tely ly..

15.? Ths attemp a ttemptt to complcate com plcate the position po sition s advantageous advantageous only for for Bla and soon brngs White nto dfcultes. aturay 15.e2 eS 16.cx had to be played; Black Black could for for nstance anser t by 1 6... ... e 7 follow ollow by ...xd7 ...xd7 or ...8 ...8 th an approxmately equal game. Incdental ths ne occurred n the game Lensch-Alatortsev, osco 1948.

1 5 ... 16.c6xd7

c3e5 d8c7

Black has no nshed his development ith gain of tempo a i addton addton threatens threate ns to start s tart chasng chas ng the hte hte queen, hch lacks suita retreat squares. s quares. Havng also fallen consderably cons derably behind n developmt Whte no has to struggle hard to avod rapdy endng up n a s poston.

REHEVKY REHEVKY -  Y YLO LOV V

17.c4b3 l.£g

37

g7g6 g8g7

enly 19... 19...h6 h6 20.h4 gS s threatened, nnng the queen. Whte  as one defence aganst ths threat, but t nvolves a consderable kenng of the kng's poston, and markedly ncreases Black's ng chances.

19.f4 20.g2 2.g5g2

e4  h7h6  c7b6  c7b 6

ith ths move Black rst of al makes t t more dfcult to n back the -pan, and sec s econdly ondly he chases chas es Whte's bshop b shop to a more mo re favourable siton. It I t as certanly certanly better to mmedate mmedately ly play play 21 . . .ad8, .a d8, but b ut also 1xd7 as good enough and ould have secured Black strong ure.  ure. o o Whte Whte agan obtans counterpla count erplayy.

22.b3c2 23Jal3!

d8

 brng brngng ng hs queen's rook nto the game, Whte  hardy experenc expe rencee y more dfcultes and no commences on a counterattack, eateng eateng chey to play 24. f4. Hence Black has ha s to capture on o n d7, but b ut i ong so he s forced to gv gvee up all clams of o f an advantage. advantage. Re h hevsky evsky ful fully ly utzed Black's naccuacy on the 21 2 1 st move. move.

23 24Jdlxd7 25.f4! •••

d8xd7 xd7 e5

e capture capture 2S . . .xf4 ould not do, snce after 26.b3 folloed by c3 and aS, or also 26.a5 folloed by c3, Wte ould n a pece. o hoever the b7-pan falls and Black s the one ho has to take e to retan equalty.

26.a3b3

b6c5

FOURTH CYCLE

3 76

Afte Afterr 26 . . . c6 27xc6 bxc6 28.@ the endgame looks somew better for te. Therefore Black decdes to solve the problems n  poston po ston by tactcal means. mea ns. o a number of nterestng ntere stng complct take place.

27b3b5 28b5xb7

c5c4

The threat of 28 . . . 8 s very troubles troublesome ome for Whte, becaus  lacks the ablty to smultaneously protect both hs bshops.  smplcatons commenced by the text-move eventually give rse  an equal endgame. However, Whte scarcely has anythng better a  dsposal. dspos al. If for exampe exampe 48.b3, 48.b 3, th then en 48 . . .c3 49.xb7 f8 and own to the threat of 50 . . .c8 nothng better can be seen for Whte t aong a perpetual check after 50.d5 e 51.@g2 e2.

28 ... .. .

a8c8 a8c8!!

o o 28 .. .f8 as weaker due due to 29.x 29. x, , snce after after 29 . . .@x 30.b7 30 .b7 the threat of 3 1 .b3 ves Whte a decsve decsve adva advanta ntage. ge.

29.b7xd7 30.g2xc2 31.cld2

c4xc2 c8xc2  xb2  xb2

REHEVKY REHEVKY -  Y YLO LOV V

32.gl 32.gl 33.e2 33.e2

377

a7a6  2  2  c l

e pan endng s cearly dran. There folloed

34.e2dl 35Jd7xd2 36. dlx dl xd2 37.d2e2

c2xd2  cl  c l xd2 xd2 g6g5

turally Whte cannot go for the a6-pan th hs ng as Black eat eatene enedd to create a passe pa ssedd pan on the kngsde kngsde by ... . .£-fS foloed by . . g5-g4. Lkese Black cannot undertake any nnng attempts by 37 . . f6 3 8     hS, hS , because beca use Whte Whte can secure se cure the dra dra most mos t easly by the nua nuaon on e3-e4-e5 e3-e 4-e5.. Hence both players players decde to rapdly stamp out  ompcat omp catons ons and create a poston po ston that s  s a dead d ead dra d ra . 



37 . . .

38.e2 38.e2 39.e3e4 40. xe4 41. 41. e44 Draw.

-f

g7 xe4 g5 x 4

a6a5

37 8

Cycle4 Roun 7 1 SmovKeres 0 Vz EuweBoinn Vz Free: Reshevs

The game myslov-Keres had crucal mportance n decdng the most dangerous compettor to Botvnnk. Wte chose to play the Exchang Varaton of the Queen's Gambt. In an attempt to play for a n at a costs, Black refraned from smplng contnuatons and contnue the game n a very rsky ay. But Whte ansered ths by more que play, hereupon Black ran nto dcultes. In a complcated poston Black also got nto tme trouble. Ts made hm contnue the game thout a ell ell thought-o thought-out ut plan; he los l ostt severa severa pans and resgned t adjournment adj ournment pos p oston ton thout thout resum res umng ng the game. Eue and Botv Bo tvnnk nnk played the same s ame lne n the French Def De fenc as they dd n the second cycle, and ths tme t me Botv Bo tvnn nnkk dd not refra refra from smplng exchanges. Eue mantaned a slght ntatve i the ddlegame ong to Black's eak -pan, but then naccurate xchanged t off for hs f-pan and ts aso needlessy actvated te enemy rook. But the poston as already so smpled that Eu subsequeny had no great problems forcng a dra. The tournament poston after the 17th round Botvnnk 9/ Keres 7/, myslov 7, Reshevsky 6 and Eue 3/.

ML MLO OV - 

379

No 33. Queen's Gbit  Smysov

P Keres

Mosco Moscow, 25 25th th pri l 948 l.d2d4

d7d5

ng ng the tournament tourname nt poston pos ton nto consde con sderaton, raton, Black s not lng lng  plo ployy the complcated lne of the Catalan Catalan that tha t as played bet be teen een  same opponents n the second secon d cycle. Instead Ins tead he s tryng tryng to transpos transp osee  game nto queter paths. Ths s not a bad tactc n tself, but later ck does not contnue the game n the same style and thus gets nto cultes.

2.c2c4 3.blc3

e7e6 g8

 ...c6 ... c6 mmedately Whte can make a promsng pan sacrce by  contnuaton 4.e4 dxe4 S.xe4 b4 6.d2, acceptance of hch ld assure hm of a dangerous attack. Wth e text-move Black hoses the Orthodox Varaton of the Queen's Gambt, hch has ost ost dsappeared from recent recen t tournament practce. pr actce. If

4.clg5

c7c6

ay ay 4 . . .e7 e7 or 4 . . . bd7 are played here, ntally retanng the potunty, in some lnes, to play ...c7-c5 ...c7-c5 n one move. But the text e lso has ts good sdes.

.e2e3 yslo aods the potental complcatons arsng after S.f3 dxc4 6.4 S hch hoever seem to be perfecy ne for Whte accordng  the latest practcal experence. The text-move cuts off the etreat t to the queenside for the bishop and in some lnes enables Black  ttc ttc the knght on c c .

FOURTH CYCLE

380

5 ...

�b8-d7

Black agan takes the game back to paths mapped out by theory.  n order to utlze utlze Whte's prevous prevous move, the unusual unusual S . . .b6 w orthy of consderaton. It ould have threatened the pan on b2 n an attempt to n tme for the . .e4 sally. Also fully reasonable of course as as S . . .e7, th a transton to the normal Orthodox lne.

6.c4xd5 Whte rrtatngly tharts allnes lne s here Black ould ould be able able to cre cre  any sgncant complcatons. For example, 6. could be ansere by 6 . . .a5, vng rse to the sharp Cambrdge prngs varaton. The text-exchange releases the tenson n the centre and enables bot sdes to quetly complete ther development thout givng ether si any genune prospects of obtanng an openng advantage.

6... 7 .  

e6xd5  -e7  -e 7

In the game pelmannCapablanca, Karlsbad 1929, Black tred out  ne system syst em of development development by play playng ng 7 . . .d6, bu but afte afterr 8.g 8. ge2  9.c2 h6 10.h4 Wte soon carred out the strong e3e4 thrust a obtaned ob taned a clear advantage. advantage. Black Black cannot can not become beco me aggress aggress ve at too ea ea a stage, snce then Whte's slght edge n development could become  decsve factor in the event of a sudden openng of the poston.

Theory The ory recommends recom mends 8.c2 8. c2 here; after after the text-move text-move Black could ha ha equalzed and and smpled smple d th thee po poston ston by playng playng 8 . . .e4. But he seeng that Whte s not tryng to get any specal advantage out of th openng, Black decdes to grab the ntatve hmself and for the t beng refrans from all smplng contnuatons.

8 ... .. .

00

MLO LOV V - 

38

 hs pont a number of other moves also came nto cons c onsderat deraton, on, for for m mpl plee 8 . . . f8 f8 or 8 . . . h6, h6 , or also th thee smpln smplngg 8 . . . h5. h5 . Wth Wth the the text text  ve Black quetly contnues th hs development and tres to re  te's follong plans before commencng any counterplay.

9.d1c2

e8

e Black on the prevous move could very el have chosen  pl play ay 8 . . . h6, ths move ould no have been very rsky ong to 4. Wte ould n ths case proceed th 000 folloed by g24 and obtan a very dangerous attack aganst the enemy ng fre Black ould be able to undertake anythng on the queensde. h the text-move Black once agan ndrectly defends the e4-square  clears a good def d efens ensve square on o n  for the ght.

10.00  sharper 10.0-0-0 s also often played, but from an objectve pont f ve queensde castlng s not ell motvated. Black's kngsde s mpletely mpletely thout th out eaknesse eaknes sess and Wte Wt e theref the refore ore has great dfculty dfculty  generatng a successful attack on ths ank, hlst Black's attackng nces on the queensde are much more favourable. e textmove seems to be the strongest opton, because the pstional psti onal threat bound bou nd up th ths move, to t o play ab 1 folloed by b2b2 4, s much much more mor e troublesome for Black than a lttle-j lttle-jus usted ted attackng attackng mpt on the ngsde.

1 0 ... 1l.a1b1

�d7

 arler arler tmes 1 1 .e5 .e 5 as often often played played here, here, but after after ts the age 11...g4 12. 12.xe7 xe7 1 3 .xg4 xg4 xg4 yelds Black easy alty. The text-move, mmedately threatenng to generate an attack  e queensde by b2b4, s undoubtedly more energetc and sets  sme ntrcate problem to solve.

1 1 ...

�

FOURTH CYCLE

382

With ths move, Black deprives the enemy bishop of the possii  retreating, and after ... ... f6-e4 forces simpliing exchanges. Bc has no equaliz equalized ed the position. po sition.

12.b2b4

1 2 ...

e7d6

As on the 8 move, Blck lso here refrains from the simplii 1 2 ...e4 ... e4 (hich ould perhaps have been even more benecial  the intermedate moves 12... 12...a6 a6 and 13.a4) and after 13.xe7  ould have assured Black of adequate counterplay on the kigi Instead Blck embarks on a more mbitious plan of campai  threatening threatening to play play ... . .h 7 -h6. Hoever, Hoever, the execution of this pla i  time consumng and in the meantime enables Wite to conside strengthen his pressure on the queenside.

13.b4b5

c8d7

Blck had init initall allyy intended to play play 1 3 . . . h6, h6, but af after ter 1 4.xf6 4.xf6 xf6 xf6 1    complications ould occur that Black did not have time to calcl completely during the course of game. But it looks as though this  of pying as quite stisfactory for Black ad that he continua

ML MLO OV - 

38 3

   f4, 4 , hch hch as tos to s sed se d asde as de by Black Black durng durng the game as a s beng beng too pcated, pcated, ould ould assure ass ure h of good counterchances. counterchance s. For example, 5 Ve6 17.exd6 17 .exd6 Vg4 does doe s not no t ve ve Whte Whte anhng anhng as Black Blac k ns ns the ie ie back th a good game. gam e. t the text-move s not bad ether, although Wte no has more ied possbltes at s dsposal to proceed th hs attack on the nsde.

14.b5xc6

d7xc6?

t t tis tis capture s a bad mstake. ms take. It dsorganzes dsorganze s Black's hole def de fen ensv svee p p and for for no reason reas on yelds Whte all all the the man trumps trump s of th thee pos p oston ton..  s natural naturally ly correct to play play 1 5 ..... . bx bxc6 c6 here he re;; for for the th e tme beng Black d have been abe to defend all s eaknesses and be threatenng  nate dangeous dangeous counterplay on the kngsde by by ... . h7 -h6 ys yso ovv had h ad ntended ntended to t o anser anser 14 . bx bxc6 c6 by pl play ayn ngg 1 5.f 5. f5, but i contnuaton s completely harmless for Black; there could smply f 15. 15. c8  c8 1 6 .xd7 xd7 and Black oul ouldd have a completel co mpletelyy factory poston ong to the threat of h7-h6 h7-h6

15.c2b3

d6e7

 as dfcut to defend the d5-pan by other means, and a pan ce by, for example, 15.. 15..h6 h6 ould lkese have faed to offer k any genune counter-chances. o hoever the man as of 's prevous move have been revealed besdes the eakesses on  eensde, Back's 12th move also turned out to be a loss of tme  t bshop had to return to ts prevous post.

16.g5! hat hat surprsng, but postonall po stonallyy a lly jus ju s ted exchange. exchang e. Whte's isop on g5 as badly placed and the knght on f6 s a much more iportant defensve pece n Black's poston than the bshop on e7 f f 1 6.b5 d7  d7 1 7.xe7 x7 Black ould ould hav havee been bee n able able to drect  peces to the defence of the queensde, and perhaps have had hat better prospects of generatng counterplay than after the exchange

384

FOURTH CYCLE

1 6 ... 17.d3-b5 18J-cl

e7 d8-d6 h7-h5

Ths attackng attempt atte mpt on the kngsde only creates fre sh eaknesse eakness e i Black's camp and n addton loses valuable tme. 18... 18...  e7 ould   o ffered better be tter prospe pro spect ctss of a succe suc cess s ful defence, ntendng to eventu eventu  commence comme nce acton on the kngs kngsd dee by .. .g7 -gS. -gS . Hoever, Black's po potio tio s n any event very constrcted and t s very dfcult for hm to o up th a plan that could yeld hm actve counterplay.

19.�c3-e2 20.b5xc6 21.b3-a4

h5-h4 b7xc6 �g6-e7

For the tme beng Black has been able to protect all hs eae on the queensde, but only temporary. In actual fat, Whte contro the hole queensde and t s only a queston of tme before som of Black's pan eaknesse eaknes sess l l fall. fall.

22Jbl-b7? But ths foray s premature and eventualy ony gves rse to th exchange of a par of rooks thout strengthenng Whte's poston  any consderable cons derable ay ay.. It s rather the oppos op poste te n the meantme Black 

MLO LOV V - 

38

e to regroup hs pans n a more favourable efensve poston so t ecomes very fcult for Whte to explot hs avantage. avantage. uch uch stronger as 22.a6 22.a6  , hc hchh no oes oes threate threatenn to play 23. 23 .b7 b7.. fter fter ths Black oul oul scarcely sc arcely have have been be en able to t o avo avo materal materal losse los ses,s, ch n a passv pas svee poston pos ton s equvalent equvalent to efeat. Perhaps Perhap s after 22.a6 22. a6 hte hte feare the t he reply 22 . . . h3, but t s not angerous. Whte oul iply anser t by playng 23.g3 an Black oul not have acheve ythng ythng other other than an atonal atonal eak eake ess ss on h3. h3 .

2 2...

a7-a5

te no has much more cultes n attacg Black's pans on e queense, an ths makes t more fcult to n a nnng plan. t looks as f Black has escape the orst.

23.h2-h3 fter 23. 23 .cb cb 1 there coul foll follo o 23 . . . eb8 24.xb8 xb8 25.xb8 xb8 26.xaS b 27.e1 fS 28.f1 6, an Wte has great fculy makng use of hs extra pan. Almost the same poston coul also occur later n the game.

23 24Jcl-bl 25Jblx7 •••

- bxb7 c6-c5!

lack no gets r of hs man pan eakess an alost obtans an equal game. Aso possble as a rther smpcaton of the poston by playng 25 ...b8, ... b8, an f no 26.xb8 xb8 27.xaS b 28.e1, then 28 .. .f5 29.f1 6 an the actve placement of the black peces ees to be sufcent compensaton for the sacrce pan. But the text move move s smpler.

26.b7-b5 Afte Afterr 26. 2 6.xc5 xc5 xcS 27.xh4? 27 .xh4? there oul foll follo o 27 . . .4, an no

FOURTH CYCLE

386

28. 28 . exd4 dS ould even lose los e a pece p ece.. But the attack attack aganst the aS pan ntated by the textmove s also nsufcent to acheve a sgncant edge.

26... .. . 27.�e2xd4

c5xd4

27 ... .. .

a8c8?

Ths ll-consdered attackng attempt, caused by tme-trouble, aga leads Black nto dfcultes and loses at least a pan. Black natura had to defend defend the a-pan a-pan by 27 . . .c7, after ch Wte ould have great grea t dfculty provng hs hs advantage due due to th thee threat th reat of 28 . . . c1 c 1 .    for example, 28. 2 8.b b33 then Black Black can can pl play ay 28 . . .c6 c6 and no partcular strong attacng contnuaton for Whte can be found. Also possbe as as 27 . . .xd4 folloed by ...8. ...8.

28.�d4b3

c3

Oth erwssee the aS-p Otherw aS -pa ann ould fa fall thout Black beng able to acheve acheve any sgnca sgncant nt counterplay counte rplay n return. o hoever hoever 2 9 9  xaS ould ould not do becaus b ecausee of the reply 29 . . . a6, and Whte' Whte'ss peces pec es on the queensde are hopeles hopele s sly ted ted up. But But the fall fall of of the h4-pan s also als o very very unpleasat for Black, snce no n several lnes Whte threatens to get a stron

MLO MLOV   

387

ttac ttackk on the kng kng.. Hence 28 . . . 2 ould ould perhaps perh aps have have of o ffered the be b e st ract ractcal cal chances by b y at least bnng bnng the rook roo k to a strong square.

29.a44

c8-c4

30.g2-g4! fter 30.g3 xg3 31.fxg3 a4 Black ould get an endgame th xcellent drang chances, and 30.\hS g6 ould lkese yeld Black coterplay for the sacrced pan. The text-move opens an escape sare on g2 for Whte's ng, and thus emnates al potental matng trats on the rst rank.

30...

a5-a4

o be bett tter er s 30 . . .f6 31.g5 and Black scarcely has anythng better t xchangng xchangng on gS, gS , hch hoever hoever gves gves rse to approxmately ap proxmately the se poston poston as n the game. game. Black had no tme to play 30 . . .a4 ong to te threat of 31.gS. gS.

31.�3-d4 tur turall ally not 31 3 1 . g5? h6 and Black Black ns a pece.

388

FOURTH CYCLE

31... 3 2 . xd4

c3xd4 d6e5?

After After this this loss los s of time time,, Bl Blac ack' k'ss position p osition becomes becom es hopeless hopele ss;; on the the ot hand 32.6 (33.�b6? xd4) sti offered prospects of stubb resistance. The remanng part of o f the game is no longer interesting interesting..

3 3 . d4

e5d6

The attackng attempt 33 ...�c1 �c1 34.@g2 e4 ould lose a piece af 35.�b8.

34Jb5a5

c4c8

After the loss los s of the seco se cond nd pan, Black mght mght as ell ell resign; theref theref 34...c8 ... c8 or 34 ..... . a3 should have been tried instead.

35.a5xa4 36.h4h5 37.h5 38.a4a7 39.a7d7 40.d7xd4

e7g6 d6 c6 c8 d5d4 a8

The timetrouble had come to an end, and ith it the game.

41.a4 Back resigned.

EUWE EUWE - BOIIK BOIIK

389

No ·3 4. French French Defence Defence M. Euwe

M. Boinnik

Moscow, 25th ri 1948 l.e2e4 2.d2d4 3bld2 4.e4xd5 5 .   b5 b5

e7e6 d7d5 c7c5 e6xd5

s poston poston also occurred beteen the the same opponents n the second secon d cl cle.e. In that game Black playe playedd 5 . . c6  . c 6 and an d ran nto nt o dfcult dfc ultes es de desp spte te   smpled lne lne chosen chos en by Eue. Eue. In the present prese nt game Black nstead ooses to exchange off Whte's strong attacng bshop and thus osderably eases the conduct of the defence. Hence 5.gf3 as er, keepng the opportunty to play bS at a later stage of the e.

5 ... 6.dle2 

c8d7

fte the exchange of queens that folos ts move, the poston omes so s o smped that Whte scarcely has any good oppo o pportu rtuntes ntes  utlze the eakness of Black's -pan to get an attack gong. For s s reason the smple smple 6 .xd7 xd7 7 . e2, folloed olloed by 00 th som s omee acng chances aganst Black's somehat eakened centre, offered ee ee cances of success. succes s.

6... 7.b5xd7 8.d4xc5

d8e7 �b8xd7 �d7xc5

spt  sptee te great great smplcatons, smplcat ons, Whte has obtaned o btaned a somehat s omehat more forabl poston, because he has complete control over the d4r and Black's pan on dS stl consttutes a postonal eakess.

390

FOURTH CYCLE

In the game Kan-Bondarevsky, Tbls 1937, nstead of the text-mo Black tred tred 8 . . .xe2 9.xe2 xcS, but after 10.b3 b6 11. gf6 12. 12.g5 follo olloed ed by 0-00, 0-0 0, he ran ra n nto fcultes. fcultes. It seems seem s th that at   ths smpled varaton Black gets a slght dsadvantage n every cs, on ongg to the eaknes eaknesss on o n dS; the only queston s hch of these s offers offers Black the best practcal practcal chances to later equal equalze ze the posto. p osto.

Ths move, hch tends toards further smplcatons, can by o means be approved of as t facltates Black's task consderably. uch stronger as 9.df3; among other thngs ths threatens to retan the queens on the the board board by 10 1 0.e3. e3 . After After the exchange 9 . . .xe2 10.xe2 Whte can develop hs bshop to e3 unhndered, and n ths ay assure hmself of absolute control over the mportant d4-square and  addton have a small edge n development. In ths event Black oul have to overcome at least as sgncant dfcultes as n the varato gven n the prevous note.

9 ... 10.�glxe2

e7xe2  �c5xb3

In the game Tamanov-Bondarevsky, osco 1948, Black refraned from the exchange and played 10... 10...e6, e6, hch hoever s scarcel

EUWE EUWE - BOIIK BOIIK

39 

tronger tronger than than the text-move. Whte Whte contnued th the smple 1 1 .e3 f6 f6 1 2.00 2. 0000 and also obtane ob tanedd the better be tter game gam e o ong ng to hs absolut abs olutee ntrol over the d4-square.

11.a2xb3

c5

 a reult of Whte' eak 9th move, Black as able to develop hs iop to a strong str ong post, and no consder con sderably ably ob obstruct struct Whte's Whte's planned upaton of the d4-square. But B ut despte ths, Whte st s tllll retans retans a small ge, ge, nce the chronc eakess eakess n Black's Black's poston  the dS-pa dS-p ann  a a rem rema ane. ne.

12.cld2 ee or durng the next couple of moves, Whte had to carry out t trategcally mportant manoeuvre e2-f4-d3 and, nstead of the 4quare, take up a poston on d3. The play aganst the g7 g7 -pan enced by the text-move s merely a lo of tme and does not ff ff Whte Whte any genune genune prospe pro spect ct o f an advantage. advantage.

1 2 ... 1 3 .d2c3

�g8e7 �e7c6

it th Black thart the manoeuvre 14.f4 folloed by d3, as i wuld be answered by 14... 14...d4 d4 1S.d2 eS and the d3-quare stays   Black' Black' ontrol.  ontrol. Th  nevertheles neverthelesss a rsky move, move, because bec ause Black Black i ubequently practcally forced to arce a pan n return for ony  poblematc attackng chance. mpler therefore a 13... 13...0-0, 0-0, altug Whte could agan anse t by f4 folloe by d3.

14.000  ng up the f2pan, Whte alo ve up hs last prospects of an aant aantage age,, wh wa t  tll po pos sble ble to retan th th the move 1 4.d 4. d 1 . After i i Blak i practcally forced forced to acrce  acrce a pan pan by play playng ng 1 4...0-0-0. ... 0-0-0.    woul woul be fooe fooedd b 1 S .xg7 .xg7 hg8 1 6.f6 6.f6 d6 1 7 .h4 and an d no la anot well play 17... 17...xg2 xg2 ue to 18.g3. Hence Black should,

FOUR FOU RTH CYCLE

39 2

for example, play 17. 17. . . �e8 in an attempt to uize the rather insec insec position of Whte's king. This ould yield hm some compensatio fo the sacriced pan, but it should scarcely be sufcient to complt equalize the position.

1 4...

c5

8 7 6 5 4 3

5.c3xg7? After getting out of the openng, Eue simply plays this game ea Firstly he refrained from several opportunities to consolidate s openng advantage, and besides that he no brings Black's rook ito the game game ith gain of tempo. t empo. aturally aturally 1 5 .�xd5 .� xd5 had to be played he ith an approxmately equal game.

1 5 ... 16.g7h6 17J1xd5 18Jd5xd8

h8g8 g8xg2 a8d8 �c6xd8

A couple of moves earer Black would ot even have been able to dream of such a position here he has been able to exchange off th eak pan on dS for the one on g2, and here hs pieces are exerti markedly greater activity activity than White's. Black Bla ck now now threates threate s to pace p ace s s

EUWE EUWE - BOIIK BOIIK

393

ght on the strong e6-square and after that try to make use of hs assed pan on the f-le

19.®cld2 20 . h6e3

d8e6 ®e8e7

a ould have retaned some prospets of an advantage by playng ould have have deprv dep rved ed Whte Whte of the opp o pportunty ortunty to later 20    a6, hh ould rn rngg hs rook nto play va a th gan gan of tempo tempo  But B ut no the poston pos ton i ompletely equal

2  . e3 e3  22.®d2e3

g2 

o better as as 22   g2 23f3 and Black's rook has to abandon the eond rank all the same

23.hlal 24.ala4 25.h2h4

a7a6 h5

ow Whte's h-pan s proteted by an actve rook, and thus the oston s completely level

25 ... .. . 26.®e3 27.®e3 28.®e3 29.®e3 Draw.

he e5 e5 e5

394

Cycle 4 Round 8 / BoinnikSmysov /

0 KeresReshs 1 Free: Free: Euwe uwe 

Botvnnk and myslov agan played the Grnfeld Defence n ti ndvdual game, and ths tme Botvnk employed a dfferent syst of development than n the 8th round. myslov played the openi ornally ornally but badly, badly, and qucy qucy ended end ed up n a very very pass pa ssv vee and con c onstrt strt poston. The volent lberatng attempt 19... 19...f5 f5 should mmedat have offered Whte a clear advantage, but Botvnnk aso dd not  the mdlegame n the best ay, and after some mutual naccuraces  rook endgame occurred th an extra pan for Botvnnk. But n s home analyss myslov as abe to come up th adequate defesi resour res ources ces for for Black, and despte de spte lengthy nnng nnng attempts by Whte Whte t t game ended n a dra on te 80th move. The game Keres-R Keres- Reshevsky esh evsky opened th th the pash De Deffence. B chose to play te same lne as n the game Keres-Eue n the 16t round and had prepa pr epared red an mprovement mproveme nt fo for Black n n hs ome o me anaysis. But as a matter of fact the ne system of development ntroduced  Reshevsky Resh evsky dd not turn out to be be better tter for Black, Black, but as nstead ns tead vr vr rsky. Ths as aso later revealed n te 19th round game myso Eue here Whte demolshed Black's poston t a strong paw sacrce. But n the present game Whte coud not rsk mang t pan sacrce tout any prevous home analyss. After not ta ths chance t as nstead Black ho grabbed the ntatve by a pw sacrce and pnned don all Whte's peces nto defensve postos. By a cold-blooded defence Whte as able to ard off Black's attc hereupon an approxmately equal endgame occurred. But ten tim trouble arrved and caused mstakes tat rapdly made Wte's posto hopeless. The game as adjourned, but Whte resgned thout resumng the game. After the 18th round the tournament poston s the follong Botvnnk 10, Reshevsky, Keres and myslov 7/ and Eue 3/.

BVII BVIIK K - MLO MLOV V

39

No 35 3 5 . Grnfd Grnfd Dfnc Dfnc M. Boinnik

 Smysov

Moscow Moscow, 27 and 28 pri l 948 l.d2d4 2.c2c4 3.g2g3

�g8 g7-g6

 the the secondse cond-cyc cycle le game game between between the same opponents oppone nts Wte chose the mal mal continu continuati ation on 3. 3.  c3 dS 4.  g7 g7 Sb3 S b3 dxc4 6.xc4 0-0 0-0 7.e4 7 .e4 g4 8.e3 fd7 and ow introduced the novelty 9.d2, but without etti ettigg any opening openi ng advantag advantagee after 9 . . .b6 10.d3 c6 followed by ...e6. ...e6. With the text-move Botvinnk chooses a quiet method of play  ties to abstain from playing c3 as long as possible, waiting for ck to rst cary out the ...d7 ...d7 dS advance.

3 ...

d7d5

he he same advance advance is als alsoo possible pos sible afte afte 3 . . .g g7 4.g2, with appoximately te same position as after the textmove. As myslov almost never loys the normal King's Indian Defence with ...d7-d6, ...d7-d6, then he has t execute ths ...d7 ...d7 -dS thrust thrus t during the time frame of the cong c ong two two oves. Otheise White would proceed by playing 4.g2 followed by  c3 and and thus foce foce Black to transp transpose ose into the the . . .d7-d6 d7-d6 line line..  oder oder to pepare .. .d7-dS, 3 ..... . c6 also came into consideration c onsideration at this it, but after ths White can thwart Black's plan by playing 4.d5 and ai a sght spatial advantage.

4.c4xd5 .g2 6.�gl

�xd5 g7

hite has to be caeful with the execution of the e2-e4 advance, ecause a premature e2-e4 would only weaken Wte's central position po sition d yie yield ld Black attacng chances chances.. Fo example 6.e4 6. e4  b4 7 .a3  4c6

FOURTH CYCLE

3 96

8d5 8 d5  d4 9 9   e2 g4 g4 and and Black stands exc excell ellent ently ly on ongg to the stro stro knight on d4

6... 7.00

00

7 ...

�d5b6?

It is hard to grasp hy Black retreats his kght from a good central psiti ithut being forced to do so uch better as the ormal theorecl theorecl cti ctiuat uatio io 7    c 5 , ith hch hch Black initates counter-play counter-play  e centre ce ntre If thereafter thereafter 8dxc5 8 dxc5,, then smply smply 8   a; if hoever 8 8  c3, c3 , Black can among other th thng ngss transp transpse se to a normal postion postion in the rfeld rfeld D e fece by playng playng 8    xc3 9bxc3 so, after 8  e4 Black ca c a obta adequate couter-play couter-play by by nstead of 8   b play playng ng 8     f and a nd thus th us alo alost st forcng ie ie to eaken hs cen centre tre by by 9e4-e5 After the textmove te effortlessly takes control of the hole centre and attains a clear opeg advantage

a7a5? If Black, th an undeveloped poston, s forced to make such excursons, t s proof of a faulty openng strategy Better than the

BOT BO T IK IK - ML MLOV OV

397

-mov -movee as as undoubte undoubtedly dly 8. 8. 6, 6, so as to anser 9.d5 9. d5 by 9 . . .b8  subsequently assault as sault White's White's central pa pann ith ith the moves . . .c6 and . . . 6. Hoeve Hoever,r, Whte could have tharted these thes e complications by the m 9.e3 9.e 3 and and on only ly after after 9 . . . e5 have played 1 0.d5 0. d5 folloe olloedd by e4 ith ith a od game.

9 . c1 c 1 f4 f4 10.d1cl!

c7c6 e8

ack naturay could not capture on d4 at this point, but the threat f .h6 could also not be ignored. White has no completed his vopment and also been able to prevent Black from executing the fng ...c ...c 7 -cS -cS or . . . e 7 -eS breaks, breaks, and has thus assured as sured himself of a ar openng advantage. Exploiting the advantage is naturally not an asy task, because the position is rather closed and Black's position as no major eaknesses. Hoever, from a positional point of vie hite' hite'ss position p osition can amost be b e considered as inning inning..

11JUd1 12.h2h3

b8a6

hite has no need to hurry or, after say say 1 2.e4, 2. e4, alo alo  the disturbing pin ...g4. ...g4. As Black in any case lacks suitable developing squares for his ices and has no prospects of active counter-play, White can alo imself as much time as he ants to prepare the foloing decisive ack.

1 2 ... 13.e2e4 1 4. e5

a5a4 c8d7 d8c8

ack no longer has time to retain the bishop pair since, for example, afr afr 4  4 ...e6 ...e6 there could could fol follo lo  1 5 .h6 h8 1 6. f4 ith a strong strong atta attack ck aainst the enemy king. The text-move also fails to improve Black's osition signicantly, but there ere no longer any satisfactory moves. e ony question is hether White White  be able to consis cons istentl tentlyy increase s advanta advantag g into a in or not. no t.

FOURTH CYCLE

39 8

e8d8 Alatortsev recommends 15... 15...c7, c7, but ths should not be sufcet t repar rep ar Black's poston po ston sgncany. sgncany. Wte could, for for example, conti c onti  th 16. 16.h6 h8 h8 1 7 .e3 .e 3 and and thereaf th ereafter ter strengthen hs hs po posto sto by �ac or -f4.

16.f4g5 Wth ths move Whte forces Black to eaken hs pan structure  the kngsde. kngsde. But n so dong he loses los es tme and enables Black to forc forc  smplng exchange. Hence a smple strengthenng of the posto by 16.e3 looks stronger, to anser 16... 16...e8 e8 by 17.h4 threatenng h3. In the eve event nt of pass pas sve ve defence, defence, Wht Whtee can proceed t thh 1 7.�ac 7. �ac11   threaten to ether play d4-d5 or dS and also keep the opportunty t generate an attack on the kngsde.

1 6...

- f

Black has problems defendng the e7-pont, because t goes tho sayng that 16... 16...�e �e88 s akwar akwardd for hm, and and 1 6 ...f8 ...f8 ould enable t exchange 17. 17.h6, h 6, eakenng the pos p oston ton of Black's kng. After t textmove Black's poston s slghy eased as a result of the exchang but despte de spte ths Whte mantans mantans a clear advantag advantagee ong ong to hs bsho par and spatal sp atal advantage. advantage.

BOTVII BOTVIIK K  MLO MLOV V

17)e5xd7 1 8 .g5e3

399

c8xd7

18.ih6 could of course also be played, but after the closing in of

ck ck's's bishop, the th e text-move text-move is also very good; espe e specia cialy ly as iti t is done don e ih ih gai gainn of tempo due to the threat of 1 9.xa4. 9. xa4.

1 8 ...

g8-h8

e only chance to utilize Whte's inexact 16th move as by playing a s after after 1 9 .d5 .d 5 to create very intricate intricate complications ith 1 8 . . . c7, so as e move 19... 19...c4. c4. We can see that by advancing the a-pan in the eng Black has only created difculties for hmself, depriving the ight of its natural protection.

1 9 .g2 ere Whte fails to utize the excellent tactical chance to play 19.d5, inc incee 19 ..... . c4 ould simpy lose a pan after 20.xa4, for example: ... cxd5 d5 2 2 d5 xa xa44 22. 22.b3. b3. As 1 9 ...c7 ... c7 ould also not do for Black 20 ...cx ecuse ecuse of 20.bS, 20. bS, he is only left left ith ith 1 9 ...cS ... cS.. Whte can hoever anser anser  by 20.h4 folloed olloed by by h3 nd obtain very strong s trong pres pre s sure. sure . aturally the textmove also does not ve up the advantage, but for e time being Black is able to ard off all the direct threats.

1 9 ...

?

FOURTH CYCLE

400

Black must have made some knd of mscaculaton hen makng i move, snc s ncee he should sh ould no smply have lost los t a pan pan thout gettng  compensaton n return. 19.. 19.. .c7 had to be played to defend agai the threat of 20.d5, and planng to execute ...e7-e5 ...e7-e5 or ...f6-f5 ... f6-f5 as t occasn ases.

20.d4-d5!

c6-c5

Practcally Practcally forced, forced, because becaus e 20 .. .c7 ould ould after after 21 . bS b S cxbS 22. 22.   xc7 23.xb6 dc8 24.ac 24 .ac11  e 8 2S.xc8 2S .xc8 xc8 26.xb5 yeld Wh Wh  on endgame. But no Black loses a pan.

2.-b5? One cannot see hy Whte dd not smply pocket a pan by 21. xa6 22.xc5 22 .xc5?? If thereafter thereafter 22 . . . fxe4, then 23.d 23 .d66 and Black Black los loses es at lea lea a pan pan and has a hopeless hopeles s poston. p oston. The text-move text-move s also posto p ostona nallll good, but does not enable a drect n of materal.

2 1 ...

d7-c7

o better s 21 2 1 . . .c8 22.gS. 22.gS.

22.e3-f4? Wth ths unconsdered move Whte Whte surrenders the greatest part of h advantage advantage and enable e nabless Black Bla ck to acheve rather substantal subs tantal counterpla counterpla.. The correct contnuaton as 22.exf5 gxfS and no not the mmedia 23.c2 c8 hen Black has some counter-chances ong to t threats of ...b4 ...b4 and ... ... c7, c7 , but nstead the quet 23.xa4 hereupo hereupo one cannot see hat concrete counterchances Black has ganed i return for the pan.

22... 23.f4e5  24.-f4

g7-e5 c7xe5 e5-g7

BOTVI BOTVIIK IK - MLO MLOV

40

2.cle3?  Whie waned o reain even he slghes slghes iece o hs ormer orme r grea dvana dvanage, ge, hen he had o roceed rocee d consis con sisenly enly here by lay layng ng 2S.xa 2S .xa66 (2.e  c7) c7) 25 .. . a6 26. 2 6.e e,, and Black would would answer i by he couner hrs hrs 26 . . .g on he ngside. Whie now simly lays 27.e3 and ain ainss he somewha somewha beer osiion, or insance: 27 . . .c4 28.xc 4 4 (28 . . . xb2 29.g1) 29.gx4 g6 30.g1 g8 31.xg6 ollowed by  or also also 27 .. .  d7 28.e6 28.e 6 and a nd Wh Whee likewise likewise reains reai ns an edge. er he exmov ex movee Black no longer has any diculies in equalzing h osiion, h os iion, and in some s ome lines line s even ges a slgh iniiaive. iniiaive. 25 ...

xe4

lso ossible was he immedae 25 ...a3, ...a3, and i 26.bxa3 26 .bxa3 hen 26 . . . fxe4, and Whe canno recaure on e4 wih he queen or he kngh; he o odd howeve howeverr lay 27. 27 .ac ac11 and ransose ransos e o he game coninu co ninuation. ation.

26Jalcl aural auralyy no no  26.xe4 26 .xe4 due o e rely rely 26 2 6 ..... . a3 a3  , wch would would yeld yeld Black a dangerous initaive. so bad was 26.xa6 xa6 27.xc5, again on cco ccoun un o 27 . . . a3.

26... 26 ... 27.b2xa3

a4!

FOURTH CYCLE

402

Or 27.b3 b4 and Black can caure wih he kigh on dS a 28.xe4 28 .xe4 as well well as afer afer 28.\xcS 28 .\xcS,, because bec ause Whe Whe canno canno  caure caure hr hr imes on dS as here here woul wouldd folo folow w ... . . b2. In addiion, Black's awn o a3 could easy ea sy become a dangerous orce in hes hesee lnes. lnes.

27... 27 ...

b6c8?

I is ineresin ineres ingg o observe ob serve ha Black does no uilze uilze he ooruni ooruni o carry carry ou he hrea hrea o 27 . . . c7!, which had been hanging in h air all he time. Ts move would in ac have assured Black o eas equaliy, or examle: 28.\xcS (28.xe4? xbS ollowed by ...b) b) 28 . ..bxd .. bxd (Also ossible is Lwensch's recommendaion o a 28 .. .  cx cxd d,, and ii 29. 29.  xe4, xe4, hen 29 29 . . .dc8 30.2 xc oowed b ...xa3.) ... xa3.) 29. 29 .xd xd (29. 29.  xe4? xe4? b b2) 29 . . .xd and Whie canno a 30.xd xdS xdS 31 .\xdS .\xdS due due o ..... .b2. Aer he assive ex-move Whie again obains a dsinc advana and, or a sar, wins a awn.

28.c3xe4 29. 29 .b5xa6 b 5xa6

c8d6

Aer 29.xd6 exd6 Black would sand excellenly. The ex-mov eliminaes he srong igh on d6, since a caure on a6 would b answer answered ed by by 30.xc 30. xc..

BOTV BOTVINNIK INN IK - ML MLOV

29... 30.e3xe4

403

d6xe4

aurally no 30.xb7? b2 followed by .xa3. Now an endgame akes akes lace where Whe, n addon o an exra awn, also has h as he beer be er roeced kng oson and hus obans excellen wnnng chances.

30... 31.clxc5 32.dld2

a8xa6 a6xa3

ensch consders hs move o be mrecse and nsead advocaes c2 n an aem o hwar hwar he doubln doublngg of he rooks on he a-le. oever, oever, removn removngg he queen quee n from from s domnang os n he ce cenre nre s saely he sronges connuaon for We a hs on; Black can,   examle, answer an swer 32.c2 32 .c2 by lay layn ngg 32 . . .f6 f6 or even 32... 32...g5, g5, and s oban oban easer counerla counerlayy han n he game ga me

32...

d8a8

 32 . ..g5 .. g5 could smy smy be answered answered by 3 3 . f5 and Black has no been ale o clear any square for eneraon wh s queen. The acon on e a-le commenced by he ex-move s however also harmess, and as o ease e ase Black's dfcul dfcul oson. oson .

33.e4e6 c4 also mered consderaon, hreaenng 34.8. Black would aser hs by 33 ...f6 ...f6 and acheve some couner-lay. I s unlkely a he followng rook exchange would reduce Whe's wnnng ances comared o he 33.c4-lne. Esecally when also akng no sderaon he meressure, wch had already sared o rouble  layes

33 ...

a3c3

e e he exch exchange ange of queens queen s by 33 . . .f6 34.xf6 exf6 35.c2

404

FOURTH CYCLE

Wie would ossess a srong assed awn on the d-le ha shoul be suf su fcien cie n o secure s ecure him he win, since Black is no able o aain an any acive couner-lay. The exmove was more or less forced, as We was hreaening  win another awn awn by by 34. 34 .8. 8.

34Jc5xc3

Yg7xc3

35.Ye6e5? I is undersandable tha Wie ries o simli he osiion in ime rouble, bu he ensuing rook endgame only offers hm very small racical winnng chances. I goes wihou saying ha wih a bee roeced king osiion, Whie should ry o avoid he exchange  queens, queen s, and aack aac k Black's king as well as hs indvidual indvidual awn awn weakne weakness sses es For hs reason he ex-exchange is in rincile wrong. Afer 35.e2 Black would have had grea difculy coming u wih a sais s aisffacory def de fence, ence , for examle 35 . . .\d3 36.h4 d8 37.xe7 xd 38.f 38 .f6 6 g8 g8 39. 3 9.e e77 and and wins, wins, or 35 . . .\f6 36.xf6 exf6 37.g2 an he rook endgame is scarcely enable for Black, owing o he sron assed ass ed awn awn on he d-le. The only saving chance Black has a his disosal afer 35.e2 seem o be 35  . \c4, bu afer 36.a4 d8 37.xe7 (37.d2 also comes ino considerai consideraion) on) 37 . . .\xdS 38.h4 Whie sands much beer and has excellen excellen winnng chance chancess owin owingg o Black's Black's airy airy king osiion.

BOTV BOTVINNIK INN IK - ML MLOV OV

35 ... .. . 36.f4xe5 37.h2g2

40 

c3xe5 h8g7 g7

ow a rook endgame is reached where Whie has he opporuniy o creae a passed pawn on he -le. However i has a sigican ifference wih he endgame menioned in he noe o Whie's 35h ove. In he abovemenioned endgame Whe already had he passed awn and he did di d no need nee d o move i furher furher from he h e 5h 5 h rank wihou elng reasons; bu here he passed pawn sl has o be creaed and hen Whie does so his pawn would be sandng on he 6h rank from where Black can easily aack and nally capure i wih hs king and rook. As Whie also canno easiy move his king closer o he awns awns his winning winning chances are very problemaic. problemai c.

38Jd2  ? ih ih his move move Whie Whie loses los es a couple of valuabl valuablee empos emp os and a nd surrende surr enders rs his las winnng chances. I was necessary o coninue in aacking syle by 38.f3! �a3 39.e4 and if now 39 ...�x ...�xg3 g3 hen 40.e6    .� .�  e8 42.�b2 42. �b2.. I n hi hiss variai variaion on Black Black woul wouldd s s il il have have had grea difculies o aain he draw and i is questionable if i would be ossible even wih he bes defence.

38... 39Jd2

e8

B now now 39.e 39 .e66 would would already be oo lae due o 39 . . .�a5 �a 5 for example: 40.�d2 d8 hreaening ...d8-c7-d6 ...d8-c7-d6 or 40.� h5 41.�g7  2.�xg6 2. �xg6 �xd5 �xd5  in boh cases ca ses wih wih adequae adequae couner-play couner-play for for Black. Bu e ex-move e x-move also fails o offer offer any genuine genuine winng chances. chances .

3 9 ...

a8a3

ven ven simpler simpler was 39 . . .�a5 �a5  hreae hreaenn nngg 40. . . e6 and if 40.e6 40.e 6 hen 40 . . . d8.

FOUR FO URTH TH CYCLE

406

40Jd2-b2

40... .. .

-d3?

Wih his move Black unnecessarily complicaes he defence and again j eopard eopardes es his his posiion. p osiion. Insead In sead he coninuai coninuaion on 40 40 . . .5! would have assured as sured a dra draw and and if 41 4 1 .�xb7 .�x b7 �xdS 42.e6 42.e 6 hen 42. . .@; if however 41 .�d2 he hen 41 . . . e6.

Afe Aferr 41 4 1 .�xb 7 he draw draw is aained aained by 41 ..... . �xd5 42.e6 42.e 6 @. @ . Now howe howeve verr Whie again ges winning chances since for example 41...�d2 42.@f3 �xa2 43.�xb7 would yield We a winning posiion. Black mus now defend himself very accuraely in order o again equalie he posiion.

41.. 41. . . 42.a2-a4

e8d8 b7-b6!

Black has o hwar he a4-a5 advance which would deprive m of all prospe pro specs cs of couner-pl couner-p lay ay for for example: examp le: 42 . . .@c7 43.a5 and 43 . . .�e3loses o 44.d6 cxd6 45.exd6 45 .exd6 @xd6 46.�xb7 46. �xb7.. The ex-move ex-move is a preparaor sep for an evenual ... . . @c7 and hus forces orce s furher exchanges.

BONN BO NNIK IK - MLOV

40 7

43Jb5xb6 he waiing acic 43.@ @c7 ves Whie nohng and if now 44.a5 bxaS 45.�xa5 45.�xa5 hen 45 .. . @b6. 43.a 43 .a55 bxaS 44.�xa5 44.�xa 5 like likewise wise fail failss o offe offer hie hie any any winning winning chances because becaus e Black simply simply plays 44 . . .@e8 and one canno see how Whe would be able o srenghen s posiion furher. The ex-move ses Black greaer dfculies. dfculies.

43 44Jb6b8  ••

d3xd5

ronger han 44.e6 @c7 45.�a6 �cS and Whe canno make rogress.

44... .. . 45Jb8h8

@d8d7 d5xe5

he aemp aemp 4 S . . . hS 46.�g8 46. �g8 �xeS 47 .�xg6 could urn ou o be dangerous dangerous for Black for for example: exampl e: 47 . . .�a5 48.h4! 48. h4! �xa4 49. 49.�g �g55 .

®d7e6 lack mus mus ake ake good care ha hs hs opponen o pponen wi no be able o creae wo conneced connec ed passed pas sed pawns on he ngside and herefore herefore he rushes rus hes wih wih his king king o o he h e suppor supp or of he g-pawn. g-pawn. or example example dangerous dangerous was 46 . . .�e2 47.@ �a2 48.�g7 �a3 9.@ 9. @ �a2 S.@ S .@e1 e1 and and Black is no longer able o proec he he g-pawn g-pawn alhough i is no cerain ha he ensuing rook endgame would be winning for Whie.

47.h7h4 48.®g2

e5e2  e2!

 ow Black's rook is sanding in he righ righ place behind b ehind Whie's passe pa ssedd awn and hus hu s he h e draw draw is mor m oree or les l esss clear. Whe's followin ollowingg winning winning aemps lead o nohing.

FOURTH CYCL

408

49Jh4e4 49Jh4e4 50Je4f4 51JUc4 52.g4

e6 g7  e7e5

Also possib Also pos sible le was 52 . . . @f6 bu he ex-move is simpler. Black ca already draw in several ways.

53.g4h4 54.c4b4 55.h4g4 56.h3h4

g7h6 a3al al h6g7

imple implerr h han an 56 . . . @h7 when Whie could sill make winning aem by 57.@gS �xg3 �xg3 58.@f 58. @f6. 6.

57.h4h5 xchangin xchangingg anoher pawn bu i is i s no poss p ossibl iblee for Whe o srenghe s position furher by oher means. Now some more ineresi siuaions follo

57... 57 ... 58.g4xh5

g6xh5 g6xh5   g7

Nau Na urall rallyy no 58 . . . �xg3? 59.�g4! and Whe wins.

59.h5h4 59.@g4 @e6 also does no change he posiion signicaly becaue afer 60.�b6 @dS 61.�a6 e4 Black draws easily.

59 ... The simples waiing move as he following advance of he g-paw i by no meas dangerous dangerous for Black 59 . . . @e6 would also also have drawn.

BOTVINNIK BOTVINNIK - ML MLOV

60.g3g4

409

<

ow Whe can make no furher progress wihou placing hs rook in fron of he passe pas sedd pawn pawn on he a-le a- le becaus be causee Black can make make waiing waiing oves wih his king beween f6 and g6. Ths however opens up he road for Black's e-pawn which nally shus Whe's king compleely ou of he game

61.b4b6 62.b6b7 63.b7b4 64.b4b6  65.b6b7 66.b7a7

< <g6
<g6 e5e4

lack lack immediaely immediaely akes akes he chance o advance advance hs pas p asse sedd pawn. Whie's sbsequen sbs equen winin winingg aemps remain fue

67.a7a6 67.a7a6 68.g4g5 69.

70 2  2 would also have drawn easily for example: 71a5  g7 72�a8

40

FOURTH CYCL

@h7 73 7 3 .a6 @g7 74.a7 @h7 75.g6 7 5.g6 @g7 76.@e 76. @e11 S and and Whie Whie cann canno o win as his king has no place o escape from he checks when movin closer o he pawns.

71.®el 72.a4a5

®g7

72.b6 a3 73.b4 a2 would likewise no ve anyhing and nor would 72.g6 e4 73.a5 eS.

72 ... 73Ja6a7 74Ja7a8

e3e5 ®g7g6 ®g6g7

74... 74 ...@xg5 @xg5 75.a6 e7! 76.a7 g7 77.@xe2 @g4 would also have draw alhough Black in his case sil has some more hreas o overcome The ex-move is simpler. simpler.

75.g5g6 75.a6 e6 76.a7 a6 or 76.g6 xg6 77.@xe2 f6 would also lead o a quick dra

75... 76.a5a6 77.a8a7 

®g7xg6 ®g6g7 ®g7g6

Black avoids he las rap: 77 ...@g8? ...@g8? 78.b7 followed by a6-a7 and Whie wins. wins.

78.a7b7 79.b7b6 80.®elxe2 Draw.

e5a5 ®g6 ®e7

A very ineresing game. Afer Bovinnik failed o uiie his winnin chances chanc es myslov myslov def de fended ende d himself himse lf very resourc res ourcef eful ully ly..

KERE KE RE - REHEV REHEVKY KY

4

No 36. 36 . Te Ruy Ruy Lopez Lope z P Keres

S. Reshs

Mosco Moscow, 27th 27th pri 1 948 l.e2e4 2.gl 3 . b5 4.b5a4

e7e5 b8c6 a7a6 g8

 he game from he second cycle beween he same opponens shevsky shevsky played played 4    d6 5c4 g4 Bu i laer brough him ino iculies and i was only wih grea effor ha he was evenually able  hold he posiion n he curren game Reshevsky employs anoher sem of defence defe nce ha he had prepared well in in hs home analysis analysis

5.00

xe4

rmal  rmally ly Reshe Reshevsky vsky proceeds wih wih 5   e7 e 7 as for example in he game ains myslov from he rs cycle and he almos never uilies he en Def De fenc encee However However here he reckons ha Whe wil wil play he same lie lie agains agains him as he did a couple of o f rounds r ounds earlier ear lier agains agains Euwe and lack has a new sysem of defence in reserve agains his

6.2d4 7.a4b3 8.d4xe5 9.dle2

b7b5 d7d5 c8e6

 was exacly hs move ha Reshev Res hevsky sky was wai waing ng for for and hus i was erhaps psychologicall psychologicallyy more correc corre c o proceed proce ed along he pahs of he rmal seup se up wih 9c3 9 c3 followed ollowed by by bd2 b d2 Bu B u  was very curious abou eshevsky's eshevsky's improveme improvemen n and for his reason  noneheless noneheles s decided o  no he line prepared by my opponen

9 ... .. .

 e4c5 4c5

42

FOURTH CYCL

Closer explanaions regardng he moves made so far have been ve in he commens o he game Keres-uwe from he same cycle. Tha game game wen 9 . . .e 7 1 .d . d 1 0-0 1 1 .c4 .c 4 and Black Black soon soo n ran ran ino ino difcul difculies ies The ex-move in iself does no consiue a new ype of defensive sysem sys em because beca use in he oher ohe r lnes ried so far Black soone so onerr or laer ha ha also rereaed rereaed his kngh kngh o cS. c S.

lO  dl

�c5xb3

1 0 ...e7 ... e7 is answered by 1 1 .c4! .c 4! and Black again again ges ges ino difcu difculies lies de de o he dS-poin. In he game myslov-Reshevsky from he fh cycle Black played 10... 10...b4 b4 a hs hs poin.

l l . xb3

\d8c8

This is i s precisely prec isely he new idea inroduced by Res Reshevs hevskky. Black Blac k removes removes hs queen from he dangerous -le and hus defends hmself agains he hrea of 12.c4. Bu even hough Black is successful wih hs mehod of play in he presen game i is scarcely sronger han he oher coninuaions used so far.

12.clg5 The same posiion also occurred in he game myslovuwe in he nex round. Whe Whe who had had ime o analyse analyse hs posiion po siion a home home  boldly played 12.c4! and won quicy alhough he was considerably

KR KR - RHVK RHVKY

41 3

eled eled by Black's Black's weak defence. defence. During During he he course c ourse o f he resen  resen game  ould no risk of o ffering his pawn sacrice sacric e since Reshevsky Reshe vsky had layed e moves moves made so far almo almos s wihou using any ime ime on he clock and  was herefore sure he had been rearing he whole line horoughly  ome. ome. And in so doing i was was hard o believe ha Black in his home ho me alysis could have overlooked such a srikng sacrice as 12.c4. Hence  lanned lanned o make his awn sacrice laer in he game and rs  rs re r eare are i wih he ex-move. bjecively seaking 12.c4! undoubedly reresens he sronges ack acking ing coninu con inuaion aion for for Whie Whie in his o  o siion and an d makes he  he oe o ening ning sem chosen chos en by Black very dubious. Bu he ex-move is also no n o bad  all all and simarly assure as suress Whie of a good game.

1 2 ...

h7h6

ere Reshevsky hough for a long ime and i made me draw he conclusion ha he had no invesigaed 12.g5 carefully in his rearaory sudy. The exmove is essenial for he execuion of lack's subsequen defensive lan.

13.g5h4

c5

Afe Aferr 13 1 3 ...e7 ...e7 h hee con conin inua uaiion on 14. 1 4.xe xe77  xe xe77 1 5.b4 c5 1 6.bxc5 xcS xcS 1 7. 7. d4 d4 wou would ld assure as sure We of a sligh sligh osiional  osiional edge. owever insead of he ex-move 13... 13...g5 g5 14.g3 also meried cosideraion and could give rise o he following ossibiliies: a) 14... 14... g7 1 S . c3 and now now he sacrice sacrice 1 5 ...b7  b7 1 6. xd xd55 0-0-0 0-0-0 would afer 17.c4 have nong like he same effec as in he game. b) 14... 14...b b77 1 5.c4! dxc xc44 1 6.bxc4x 6.bxc4xc4 c4 1 7.e4 7.e4 and and Bl Blac ackk is in indi dif fcu cullies ies for examle: 17... 17...  aS 1 8.d 8.d4 cS 1 9.c3 9.c3 or 1 7 ...e7 ...e7 1 8. 8.  c3 and if 1 8 .. . 0-0 0-0 h hen en 1 9. 9.  d4  d8 20. fS. c) 14... 14...c5 c5 15.c4! dxc4 16.e4 and Black again has no adequae defence a his disosal for example: 16... 16...  e7 1 7 .bxc4 and if now 17 ..... .xc4 xc4 hen 1 8.e6 8. e6!! wih wih a erce aack aack.. he lines ven above nauraly do no consiue an exac analysis bu hey are sufcien o iusrae he dangers ha are hreaening lack afer having weakened his os  osiion iion on boh b oh anks  anks..

44

FOURTH CYCLE

1 4 . blc3? Curiously enough his coninuaion which wins a pawn almos b force or ce urns urn s ou ou  o be a misake. mis ake. And An d ii is exa e xacly cly his move which gie gie up Whe's aack and enables Black o ake over he iniiaive. I is clear ha he posiion requires quick and resolue handling from Whie if he wans o uilie Black's weakness weakne sses es on he he queenside queen side o gain gain an openi openi advanage. During he course of he game I considered for a long ime he alreadyprepared possibiy 14.c4! bu he lmied amoun of ie on he clock did no enable me o see deeply ino al he possible complicaed variaions. As a maer of fac 14.c4! yields ie a ver srong aack and can afer 14... 14...dxc4 dxc4 1 5 .bxc4 xc xc44 1 6 .e4 giv givee rise rise  he foowing lines: a) 16 .. .e6? e 6? 1 7.�xa6! 7. �xa6! �xa6 1 8.xc6 8.xc6 and and wins. wins. b) 16... 16...b7 b7 17.bd2 and Whie wins he pawn back wih a beer posiion posiion since af afer er 1 7 ...e6 ...e6 here comes he awkward 18.�ac1. c) 16... 16...e7 e7 17. 17. xe7 xe7 xe7 (Or (Or 1 7 ...xe7 ... xe7 18.c6 foowed by �d.) 18.c3! and Whie has a very srong aack ha a leas compensae for he sacriced pawn. Le's briey examine a couple of defensie possibiliies ha come ino consideraion for Black: c)) 18... c 18 ...�d8 �d8 1 9.�xd8 xd8 xd8 20.�d1 (20.e6 xe6 xe6 21 .e5 d6 d6 22. 22.xg xg h8) 20 . . .c8 (Or 20 . . .e8 21.h4) 21.h4! and Whe gains  advanage afer 21...c6 22.h7 as well as afer 21... 21.. .e6 22.d 22. d5 5 xS xS 23.� 23 .�xd5 xd5 follow ollowed ed by by e6.

KERE KE RE - REHEVKY REHEVKY



) 18... 18...e e66 1 9. 9.  d5 xd xd55 20. 20. d d55 b6 he he varia variaion ion 20. . .c6 1. 1 .11 ! xf xf2 2 2.@x xc xc 3.b4 3.b4 @e8 24.c5 24.c 5 b b  25.xc7 25 .xc7 is an eres eresing ing winnin winningg line and 20 . . .b6 b6 is answered by he roublesome  . b4 22. d4.) 2 1 .ad1 .a d1 and Black canno well well pl play ay 2 1 . . .hd8 on aoun aoun of 22.h4 22.h4 g5 g5 3.  3.xg5. xg5. he variaions variaions ven above illusrae he  he difculies Black Bla ck would would have have had o conend wih afer he pawn sacrice 14.c4!. Bu by passing  his opporuniy Whie also loses his las prospecs of an opening avanage and is now forced o ake up a laborious defence.

1 4... 15.h4g3

g7g5

he sarice 15.xd5 gxh4 16.f6 @ is incorrec because Whie oy ges wo pawns in exchange for for he piece pi ece and he h e lacks he pos p ossibiliy sibiliy of direing all his pieces ino an aack agains he enemy king.

1 5 ...

 c-b7!  c-b 7!

 is of fae! Afer Whie wice passed up favourable opporuniies o gain a very dangerous aack by making a pawn sacrice Black lies he rs opporuniy he ges o do he same hing and now aans a menacing iniiaive. Bu in acual fac Black's pawn sacrice is raicay forced as 15... 15...b4 b4 15... 15...e7 e7 or 15... 15...d7 d7 all allow he reply

FOURTH CYCLE

46

16.xb5 and afer 15... 15...g4 g4 16.e1 d4 17.d2 followed by  Black would no longer be able o casle. ca sle. Whie now has nohng nohng beer beer han o accep he pawn pawn sacrice. sac rice.

16c3xd5

000!

Unusual and perhaps he only occasion in he sory of he e panish when Black casles queenside! Black has obained excee developmen as compensaion for he sacriced pawn and no hreaens hreaen s o generae a dangerous dangero us aack again agains s he enemy king. king. Hee We decides o eliminae al he hreas on he g-le.

We could also play 17.e3 g4 18.h4 d4 19.\e bu on  occasion he would als alsoo lack he oppo o pporun runy y o creae any vad couner couner play. play. Black Blac k would hen be able ab le o calmly srenghen srengh en his posi po siion ion furher furher for example wih he coninuaion 19... 19...b6 b6 20.b 20 .b44 \e4. The ex-m ex- moe oe holds ou beer prospecs since now a leas he knigh on f6 is we placed.

1 7...

g5g4

 - HEV HEVKY KY

41 7

any any commenaors consider co nsider his move o be he decisi decis ive misake and sead advocae 18.h4 d4 19.e4. I did of course consider hs ion during during he course cours e of he game bu ref re frained from from i due o he le le re repl plyy 1 9 ...xe4 ...xe4 20. xe4 e7 and no saisf sa isfacory acory de deffence of he awn awn can be seen. see n. I f for insance ins ance 21 �d2 hen simply 21 21 . . .g5 g5 wih a big advanage for Black. The exmove proecs he c2-pawn and is rainly sronger han 18.h4.

1 8 ... 19.e2

�c6d4

ring he game Whe refrained from pling 19.e4 because  he lne 19... 19... f5 f5 20.xb7 20.xb7 @xb7 2 1 .�d2 b4 b 4 22.�xd 22. �xd44 (22.c (22.c33  b3) b3) 22 ... �xd4 �xd4 23.c 2 3.c33 �d2 24.cxb4 24.cxb4 �xb2 �x b2 and a nd Whie Whie's's pieces are are so avourably placed ha he can scarcely come up wih any adequae efensive chances.

1 9 ...

h6h5

19 ..... .b4 looks very very dangerous dangerous so as o answer 20.c 20 .c33 by 20 . . . xb3 1.cxb4 xa1 followed by ...c4 ...c4 or also 20.�xd4 �xd4 21.c3 �d2 2.cxb4 xb3 xb3 in boh cas c ases es wih wih a winnin winningg posiion for for Black. Hence hie has o play 20.�ac1 bu also in his case Black could secure een een pres pre s sure wih for insance 20 . . . a5. A any rae during he game 19 1 9 ...b4 ...b4 seemed see med o me a more dangerous danger ous move han he advance advance  he h-pawn.

FOURTH CYCLE

48

However no paricularly dangerous for Wie is Boleslavskys suggesion o play 19... 19...b6 b6 planning o play ...a6-a5-a4. ...a6-a5-a4. Wie woul simply answer hs hs by 20.�d3 20. �d3 and if no now w 20 . . .a5 21.�ad1 a4 hen 22.c and Black would would no no  be able abl e o signcanly signcanly srenghen his aack. On he oher hand he immediae 19. 19. . . a5! is worhy worhy ooff serious serious considerai con sideraion on since since 20.�x 20 .�xa5 a5 fails aga agains ins 20. . .b4 21 2 1 .�a2 .� a2 xe 1 follow ollowe e by ...xc2 ...xc2 and ...xb3. xb3. Whie would in his case have o conduc  laborious defence for example by 20.�ac1 and an evenual d3.  believe ha Black in hs even would have aained beer prospecs han in he game.

20 .g3f g3 f4 Naurall Naurallyy no 20.h4 2 0.h4 due o 20 . . . f5.

20... 21.Af4e3

h5h4 h4h3

The 21 2 1 . . .g3 advance would would yield Black nohng nohng since Whe would would repl repl 22. 22 . fxg3 hxg3 hxg3 23.h 23 .h3 3 or o r also also he immediae immediae 22.h 22 .h3 3 and i is no possi pos sible ble o srenghen Black's aack in any sigican way.

Threaening 23.�ad1 followed by a subsequen double exchange o rooks roo ks hus forcing Black Bla ck o mmedaely reac reac  in an acive acive way way..

22...

h3xg2

22...g3 ... g3 would no lead o any concree oucome for Black here eiher because Whe simply plays 23.hxg3 hxg2 24.xg2.

23.x 24.�elx

�d4  Ac5xe3

If he immedae 24 . . .gxf3 hen afer 25.�xd8 �xd8 26.g5 xe3 27.x 27 .xe3 e3 i is even We who ges an edge owin owingg o his srong h-pawn.

KERE KE RE - HEVKY HEVKY

25Jd2xd8

41 9

h8xd8

I isis difcul o o say say wheher wheher his move move des d eserves erves a question ques tion mark or or no no  bu in any even i is clear c lear ha when ang he subsequen subs equen imerouble ino consideraion he simping continuation 26.fxe3  27. was was more appropr appropriae iae.. If hereaf hereafer er 27 ... f5 f5 he henn 28.e1 28. e1 and Whie Whie sill sill hreaens hreaens o execue execue he e3-e4 e3- e4 advance advance;; if howeve howeverr 27 . . .c6 c6 hen 28.e4 b7 b7 29.b4 and and if no now w 29 . . .c8 hen 30.xf3 xc2 31.c3. In all hese lines Whie aains good couner-play and on quie a few occasi occ asions ons his pas p asse sedd pawn pawn on he h-le h- le could play a decisive dec isive role.

26... .. .

e3d4

he exc exchan hange ge sacrice sacrice 26 . . .f4 f4 27.d3 xd3 28.cxd3 xeS 29.e4 xb2 off offers Whie fairl airlyy good defensiv defensivee chances afer afer 30. 3 0.b b 1 . he ex-move ex-move is cerain ce rainly ly sronger especiall esp eciallyy when wh en considering con sidering he ongoing ime-rouble. Also insuf insu fcien o assure assur e Black Black of a win win isis he coninuation 26 . . .xg2 xg2 27.xg2 d2 28.e4 dS 29.g3 xe4 30.fxe3 xc2 31.xc2 xc2 32.xa6 32. xa6 xb2 x b2 33. 3 3.xg4 xg4 and and he rook endgame endgame is enable for for Whie. Whie.

27Jeld3 28.alel

e6

FOURTH CYCL

420

Avoiding he exchange of queens by 28.g3 foowed by f4 wo have offered Whe beer prospecs because if Black would e capure on d3 Whe wins he g4pawn and gains couner-chance owing o he pass p assed ed h-pawn. h -pawn. Bu he ex-move ex-move is also payable. payable.

28 . . .

a6a5 a6 a5

Afer Afer 28 . . .xg2 29.xg2 xd3 30.cxd3 xb2 31.xg4 Whie's paw on he h-le is jus as dangerous as Black's one on he a-le.

29.e4? Bu refraining from exchanng queens in his posiion is a misake Whie ies up all hs pieces o he defence of he cenral squares and  no onger abe o free hmself from Black's pressure.  was spossible o play 29.g3 bu even simpler seems o e 29.xb7 xb7 30.e4 b6 31.g2 followed by g2-g3-f4. B in he ongoing ime-rouble Whie fais o come up wih an adequae defensive plan and loses a enabe posiion wihin jus a few moves.

29... .. .

®c8b8

This move move serves as preparaio preparaionn for . . .c6 or ...dS ...dS which were no possible a he momen as 30.d6 would win an exchange. Wih e ex-move ex- move Black also als o simulaneousy simulaneo usy hwar hwarss he hrea of 30.g3 3 0.g3 xe xe 31.xg4.

30.b3b4 A clever move; move; Whe ries ries o lure his opponen ino he line 30 3 0...axb ... axb 31.xb4 xb2 32.c5 xg2 33.xg2 and suddenly Whe sands exceenly exceenly owing owing o he hrea of 34. 34.  c6. However However Black Black can simp advance hs a-pawn furher and in several lines urn i ino a ver dangerous force. Bu Whie had difculies coming up wih an adequae pan o campaign campaign and he hrea hrea of 30... 30 ...d d55 makes a waiing waiing acic impossibe impos sibe Afer Afer 30.c 30 .c33 i is rue ha 30 . . .xc3 31.dc5 xe4 32.xb7 xg

RE R E - REHEV REHEVKY KY

42

33.xd8 xe 34.xg2 followed by x would yield Whie a saisf sais facory endgame however however Black would would proce p roceed ed wih 30 . . .xe4 xe4 3.xe4 xc3! 32.xb7 xb7 33.e3 d4 followed by ...c7-c5 c 7- c5 and obain good winning chances. Hence he ex-move perhaps offers he bes pracical saving chances.

30... 3l.c2c3?

a5a4

he decisive misake whereupon Black forces an easily won endgame. ere 3.ec5! xg2 32.xg2 xcS 33.xc5 had o be played and would sill have offered Whie subsanial drawing chances in he endgame endgame for example: example: 33 . . . d2 34.b3! xc2 35.bxa4 bxa4 36.a1 or also also 33 . . .xc2 34.g3 and in neiher case is i clear wheher Black w be able o win he endgame. Bu now he bae is pracically over.

31.. 31. . .

 xe4!

Afer 31...xc3 32.xc3 he bS-pawn would fa or an exchange of rooks would ake place. Ths would have given Whie some couner play. he exmove on he oher hand breaks down all resisance.

32Jelxe4

FOUR FO URTH TH CYCL

422

Afer 32.\xe4 \xe4 33.e4 xc3 boh 34.bxc3 as well as 34�e3 would be answered by he simple 34... 34...d3 d3 wih an easily winni endgame.

32...

d4xc3?

Here Here 32 . . . b6 33.e1 �d2 34.�f4 �xb2 would have won on he spo as he a-pawn speedily decides. Afer he ex-move Whie could s put up some resisance.

33.e4e3? After 33.\xg4! �xd3 34.bxc3 We could still put up a subbor deffen de ence, ce, alhough a lhough Black would sand s and markedly beer afer, afer, for example 34... 34 ...d dS.S. Bu in ime-rouble, Whe overlooked overlooked he foowin oowin obvios obvios combinaion.

33 ... 34.glxg2 This exchange sacrice is immedaely decisive, because he passe pawn on he a-le urns out o be too srong.

35.e3xd 36.d3d5 37.d5d8  38.d8a8 39.a8 40.x

c3xb2 c7c6 b8c7 c7b7 b2xe5 b7b6

A his poin he game was adjourned. Whie sealed hs move.

41.f4 and Resied withou resuming he game, Black's passed pawns on the queenside easily e asily decide matters.

423

Cycle 4 Round 19 0 Resh Reshev evs s Boinnik Boinnik 1 1 SmysovEuwe 0 Free: Keres

he game ReshevskyBotvinnk became very tense right from the opening. The players employed a little-known method of play in the rench Defence where Wte has to generate an attack on the kingside while Black is attacking on the qeensi qe enside. de. he bisho bi shopp exchange of o ffered y lack on the 1 2th move move weakened weakened the e6-point e6-p oint and assred ass red White White of of a  initiativ initiativee which he h e initiay initiay tized skilfl skilfly y.. However However in i n an excellent position Reshevsky was ndly hasty in opening p the position and simply lost a pawn. He sbseqently contined plang so poorly that ack had no problem probl em exploiting his advantage. advantage. he game myslovE myslovEwe we proceeded proce eded p to the 1 2th move move in the same sam e way as the one between bet ween Keres and Reshevsky eshevs ky from from the previos previos rond. myslov had had time to exhastively examne a the conseqences of e pawn sacrice and ths played 12.c4! thot hinking. For Ewe this move move came as a total srprise srp rise.. He contined c ontined the game very weakly weakly came nder a devastating attack and was forced to resign as early as the 26th move. he tornament tornament position position aft after er the the 1 9th rond: Botv Bo tvinn innik ik 1 1  myslo myslovv 8/ Keres and Reshevsky 7 and Ewe 3/.

424

FOURTH CYCLE

No 37. French Defence S. Reshs Reshs

M. Boinni

Moscow Mosc ow,, 3rd and 5th May 1948 1 948 l.d2d4

e7e6

Bovinnik says rue o s reperoire so far: o eiher play he Fr Deffence by 2.e4 De 2 .e4 dS d S or o r he Duch by 2.c4 2. c4 fS . Reshevsk eshevs ky who had cha cha of caching caching up wih wih he leader leade r of he ournamen only in he eve o  win in his game chooses a sharp line in he French Defenc.

2.e2e4 3.blc3

d7d5

The continuaion 3.d2 undoubedly appeard oo simpl o Reshevsky alhough i assures Whie of a long-erm iniiaive a  games Euwe-Bovinnik from he second and fourh cycles and K Botvinnik in he hird cycle demonsraed. The exmove make h play more complicaed bu i is no cerain ha i yields Whie be prospecs han 3.d2.

3 ... 4.e4e5

b4

In he game Keres-Bovinnik from he fh cycle Whie played h even more complicaed 4.d2 dxe4 5.g4 and offered his oppone  double pawn sacrice. Bu he ex-move is more common.

4... 5.a2a3

c7c5

The normal coninuaion S.d2 e7 6.b5 xd2 7.xd2 0-0 do no offer Whie any prospecs of an advanage hus he proceeds i  more energeic way. I was spossible o play 5.g4 in order o si up huge and le-investigaed complicaions.

HEV HEVKY KY - BO BOTV TVIIK IIK

5...

42 

b4x b 4xc3 c3

S ..... . aS was played beween he same opponens in a mach beween he ovie and American eams in 1946. ie could however have nswered his very srongly by 6.b4 cxb4 7.b5, bu also 6.g4, as ayed in he game, secured Whie a beer game.

6.b2xc3

d8-c7

oinnik oinnik used o play play 6 . . .  e7 7. 7 . a4 aS a his his poin, so as afer afer 8.d2 or 8.d2 o sooner or laer close he cenre by ...c5-c4. ...c5-c4. However, ov o vinn innik ik had had bad experiences of he move move 6 . . . e7 in he radio-mach radio-mach game agains Alexander (ovie Union versus Briain, 1946), who coninued wih 7.g4 cxd4 8.xg7 foowed by xh7 and gained a ry dangeros aack. Alhough Alhough i is no possible pos sible o make make a nal asses ass essmen smen of he whole whole line line o he basis of his game, because Bovinnik could undoubedly have played much more srongly on several occasions, Black neverheless mploys insead an old and well-proven defence ha is direced specially agains he say 7.g4.

7.dl-g4 Whie now loses a couple of empos and enables his adversary o velop an aack on he queenside. Bu in so doing, he permanenly

FOURTH CYCLE

426

elimn elimnae aess he poss po ssibi ibili liyy of aack aacking ing he eS-poin eS -poin by .. .-f6 a  assures hmself of a spaial avanage in he cenre. I is ifcl  a s sess se ss wih cerainy wheher Black is able o uilize uilize he ime gaie gaie  build up srong enough pressure on he queenside. If his is o  case, hen he bishop pair and spaal advanage in he cenre o secure Whie a solid posiional avanage, despie he ime los i  openg. The coninuaion 7. 7 .   has of o fen been employe insea inse a of   move, bu he resuling posiio deniively becomes less iner han he ense ens e posiion po siion ha aris arises es afer he he ex-move. ex-move.

7... .. .

 

I was exacly his avance, efenng he g7pawn, which a  cief iea behin Black's las move; i also akes place wih he i of a empo. Bu even so, Whie's previous move canno be consier as poinless poinle ss,, beca be cause use forcing ... . .  -f5 is favourable avourable in several way wayss f proecing Whie's cenre. Now an ineresing bale akes place  Black comme co mmence ncess an aack on he queensie queensi e whe Whie ries o ob obi i he upper hand on he kingsie an generae hreas in hs irecio In any case i seems o me ha Whie shoul no complain abou  oucome of he opening, as is also shown by he rher course of  game.

8.g4g3 Also possible was 8.exf6 xf6 9.g3 xg3 10.hxg3 c6 an B gains couner-play owing o he weak pawns on he c-le. oreove such simpcaion of he posiion was by no means accepable fo Reshevsky.

8 ...

c5xd4

Ths exchange serves as preparaion for he foowing move, beca he immeae immeae 8 . . . e7 would ve We an edge afer 9.xg7 � 1 0.xh 0.xh77 cx cxdd4 1 1 .e2!. . e2!.

9.c3xd4

�g8e7

HEV HEVKY KY - BOTVIIK BOTVIIK

427

ccepng ccepng he pawn pawn sacrice s acrice by 9 . . .xc2 1 0.d2 would would yield Whe an xcellen aack, and hs only a he cos of one pawn. The previous xchange on d4 has enabled he ex-move, because Whe obviously canno capure wih 1 0.xg7 owin owingg o o 1 0 ...g8 ... g8 foow foowed ed by by ... . .c3.

1 0 . cl cl 

00

10 .  bc6 1 1 .f .f3 is also ofen ofen played played here, here , and only laer . . . 00. This prives Whie of he opporuniy o develop hs kigh o he srong f4-square via e2. Bovinnik is however planning on a oay differen ype of sysem. I involves he developmen of he bishop o a6, hus rying o exchange off he ligh-squared bishops and srenghen he pressure agains agains he weak weak pawn on c2.

ll.

1 1 ...

b7b6

I his way Black does indeed exchange off Whe's srong bishop, bu his operaion bu operaion also loses los es much valuable valuable me. me. 1 1 . . .bc6 bc6 followe ollowedd by ...d7 d7 and a laer ...c6-a5 ...c6-a5 was usually played in hs posiion. Boh hese sysems of course have heir pros and cons, and here he preference of one before he oher is more a maer of ase.

12.gle2

428

FOURT CYCLE

The developmen of he kgh o e2 looks sronger han f3  i usually played in his variaion. Because now Whe's kgh  permanen conrol of he srong f4square. Perhaps i was hereo bes for Black o refrain from he sysem involving he exchan o bisho bi shops, ps, since sinc e laer he he experien ex periences ces pleny of rouble over over he he defec o o hee e6-p h e6 -paawn, whch has be been en weakened as a resul res ul of his excha 

1 2 ... 13.�e2f4

c8a6 c7d7

The weakes weakesss on e6 is alread alreadyy becomng be comng unpleasanl unpleas anlyy apparen.  now obains a sligh edge in developmen.

1 4.d3xa6 Also possible was 14h4 xd3 15.xd3, which gves rise o he a coninuaion coninuaion and elimnae elimnaess he defensiv defensivee resource reso urce ... . .a6-c7.

1 4... 15.g3d3

�b8xa6 �a6b8

I is rue rue ha ha afer afer 1 5 ...c7 ... c7 Black could ransfer his knigh o e  use i for he proecion of he ngside, bu i so doing he wo ve up he couneraack on he queenside, and hus gve Whie  hands in he choice of o f a rher plan of campaign. From he b8sq b8s q  Black inends o ransfer he kigh o c6 and subsequenly exec  evenual ransfer via aS o he c4-square, which consiues he o imporan suppor supp or poin for for Black's Black's pieces on he queenside.

16.h2h4! To compensae for Black's play on he queenside, Whie has o si  an aack on he kingside. For his purpose Whie refrais fro  naurallooking move 16.00 and insead iniiaes an advance w  hpawn, which laer helps h o creae a wealh of dangerous h Black has o direc much aenion o ward ward off hs aack, and is hec forced o refrain from concenraing he greaes par of his piece o he queenside.

REHEVK RE HEVKY Y - BOTVI BOTVIIK IK

1 6... 17Jh1h3 1. h3g3

42 9

�bc6 a gh

hie was already hreaening 19.h5, bu Black's ng is no safely laced on h8. Perhaps beer herefore was 18... 18... g, in order o rerea e e king o h8 only in case of urgen need.

19.h4h5 mos forced, because Whie was hreaening o play 20.g6! ih a mos dangerous aack. However, he posiion of Black's king sill remains lnerable.

20.h5h6 lhough his hrus closes he pawn srucure on he kingside, i also ves We several benes. Firsly he f6-square is cleared for he ie pieces, and secondly Black mus permanenly proec he g6oin agains agains poenial poenial sacrices s acrices.. This yields Whie a clear furher furher plan of campaign, even hough his chances o break hrough o he enemy g have been made more difcul. owever, he more elasic aacng coninuaion 20.e2 deserved serious consideraion, when Whie is no ye showing all his cards. verall an objecive assessmen of he posiion ha has now arisen is

FOURTH CYCLE

430

very dfcul Boh sides can only operae wih far-reacng plans tt are almos impossible o analyze exacly Bu i a least appears tt Whe has come ou of he openng wih a sgh edge, since is att looks more dangerous han Black's couner-play on he queenside

20... 21.alcl

g7-

I is difcul o grasp he point of ths move Because if it w  preparaory sep for Whie o play he c2-c4 hrus, it must have bee oally oally clear o im ha Black Bl ack is able ab le o simply hwar hwar hs in several w w oreover, even if hs advance was execued, i is not very dangero for Black a all Hence he immedate 21e2 was beer, clearing t roue o g5 for he bishop

21.. 21. . . Now 22c4 22 c4 dxc4 23c4 23 c4 fai faiss o  o 23    xe5, xe5 , and so Whe Whe must emb on he execuion of s original aacng pan all he same

22.�f4e2

�c6b8?

From a defensiv defensivee poin of o f view 22   d8 would of course have bee beer, be er, wih he inenion inen ion o later ransf rans fer he kngh kngh o . But in so doi doi Black Black would would ref re frain from from s aacng prospe pro specs cs on he queenside, queensi de, whi whi Bovinnik is no wling to allow a any cos Howeve, the regroupi commenced by he ex-move is far oo ime consuming, and in t meantime enables Whie to considerably step p his pressure on t ngside Ths is he reason why Black soon runs ino dfculies The correc corre c conin co ninuatio uationn a hs h s poin was in my opinon o play t t bold foray 22    a5! I is rue ha he exchange 23xa5 bxa5 wo yield Black a fresh pawn weaess on he queenside, but it wou eminae Whie's s rong bishop bis hop and and open o pen up new lne lness for for aack Thi Thi ogeher wih he conrol over he c4-square, would yield Blac  excellen game If Whe would absain from exchanng on aS, te he igh would immediately ge o c4, and Black would win a least  couple of valuable tempos compared wih he game coninuaion

REHEVK EHEVKY Y - BOINNI BOINNIK K

43

23.el s Black Black is wasin los los of ime manoeuvri man oeuvrin n on he queenside, queens ide, We ecides o brin his his kin o saf s afey ey before before enerain he aack

23... 24.gl 25.d2g5

c8c4 �b8c6 �e7g8

ith his move, Black places hs knih in a salemae posiion Bu owin Whie's bishop o e o f6 was also bound up wih rea is ince, for example, afe aferr 25   @8 26f6 aS 27f4 Black has to eckon wih various kinds of aackin coninuaions, for insance 3d 3 d11 h5 h 5 To ward off off these hreats hreats Black should s hould hen play hs kin to , even houh his posiion would hereafer scarcely have been ore favourable vourable han in he ame ame  I is very ve ry hard o say which which mehod of play would have offered Black he beer prospecs, because hey oth have their pros and cons

26.clel hie hie ses s es u p he danerous hrea of f6 f6 foll followe owedd by sron s ron pressure pres sure aains he e6-pawn In several lines he sacrice x6 followed by h6h7 h6h7 is also hreaened For his reason Black, jus ju s in case, proecs pr oecs he 6-point

26 ... 27.c2c3 28.�e2f4

d7 �c6a5 c4c6!

Whie was aleady hreaenn 29f6, hus Blac is forced o once aai aainn proec proe c the e6-p e 6-poin oin However However,, in so doin d oin he wihdraws wihdraws anoher of hs aackn aackn pieces from he queenside queensi de and maes We's def de fenc encee of his an very simple simple I I  now becomes become s clear cle ar ha Whe' Whe's hreas hreas on he knside are more eln han Black's couner-play on the queens qu eenside ide and ha the scales, sc ales, slowly slowly bu surely s urely,, are in in in he's he's favour

FOURTH CYCLE

432

  ? 29  

I is a piy ha Reshevsky, a he mos crucial momen of he gam makes a bad msake. I loses a pawn wihou any compensaion a a and ruins Whe's whole posiion. pos iion. If Whe waned o play play base ba sedd on e e hrea hrea bound up wih he exmove, he rs rs  had o play play he preparaor 29.�ge 29. �ge33  c4 30.�3e2, 30.� 3e2, because afer afer 30 . . .xa3? he coninuaio 31.f6! xf6 32.exf6 would yield Whie a decisive aack. Hence Hence Black mus mus answer answer 29.�ge3 29 .�ge3  c4 30.� 30 .�3e2 3e2 by play playin ingg 30 . . . 3 1 .f . f6 g8. In hs way way here here would would incidenally incidenally occur approxima e same posion po sion as could have have occurred if Black, insead ins ead of 25 2 5 . . .g8 woul wouldd have have played played 25 . . . g8. Whie could have proceeded by playin 26.b 26 .b 1 followed ollowed by b4 b4 in order o secure se cure his his queenside queen side bef b efore ore lae coninuing wih he execuion of hs aack on he ngside by f2f3 folowed by g2-g4. I was also possible for Whe o generae a dfferen promisin aack by by playi playing ng 29. 29 .h2 h2 folo olowe wedd by �h1 �h 1 , g1  g1 and h4. This wol wol hreaen xg6 followed by h6-h, h6-h, and in he meanime he can also proec his queenside pawns wih he move a3a4. Black should hen sooner or laer play ...e7, ...e7, whch in many cases would ve rise o appromae appromaely ly he same posiion p osiion as in he previous ne. On he presen pres en occasi occ asion on Wie's rooks ro oks would would be sandng markedly markedly more acivel acively, y, an hus have made Black's defence very dfcul. Lasly, he coninuaion 29.d2 c4 30.c was also worhy of consideraion. In hs way Whie would for he momen also hav

ML MLOV OV - EUWE EUWE

433

roeced hs queenside and have hreaened o execue approximaely hee same ype of aack as afer 29. h 29 .h2 h2..

29... 30.e5

�g8 �a5-c4!

arenly eshevsky overlooked his simple reply, which deprives Whe of he chance o double rooks on he e-le. The immediae 30 .. xf6 xf6 was was nau naura rallllyy bad on accoun of 3 1 .ge3, .ge3 , snce 3 1 . . .e8 . e8 w o o do on accoun accoun of of 32. 3 2.xd5 xd5.. Whe Whe now loses lose s he f6- f6-aawn and ges ino a los lo s posiion. po siion.

31.d3-bl? urhermore Whie had run ino huge imerouble, whch makes hm ay he following par of he game very weakly. Here 31.h3 xf6 32.f4! offered beer rospecs. I would a leas have blocked Black's kingside and, despie he minus pawn, have assured Whe of some couner-play. However, afer he weak ex-move Black shus ou he hie pieces from he game.

31.. 31. . . 32.a3-a4



32b5 was he las chance o u u some ressance. The ex-move loses wihou a gh.

32 33.�f4-d3 •••

g6-g5 -f4

I was cerainly simpler o play 33 ...xh6 xh6 wih wo exra pawns, bu Bovinnik ries o uilize his opponen's ime-rouble and plays for  aing aing aack. aa ck.

34Jg3-h3 35Jh3-hl 36.bl-dl

g5-g4 c6-c7 -g6?

434

FOURTH CYCLE

Black Black makes make s hs win unduly unduly difcul. difcul. Afer 36 . . .g8 Whe would hav lacked he couner-play ha occurs in he game, and Black could easil have srenghened his posiion furher. ow ie again obais couner-chances.

37Jhl-h4 38g2-g3

f4- c7-

Afer he closing of he pawn formaion on he ngside, Whe had already avoided he he wors cons co nseque equenc nces es and was even even hreaening hreaen ing o pla pla 39.f4. And i is exacly agains his ha he exmove is dreced.

39Jd3-f4? For he second ime during this game, Reshevsky makes a completl unineible misake. Because he subsequen exchange sacric is suggesing iself, and leads o a speedy nish. The correct coninuatio was 39.e5! xe5 40.xe5 and he exceen placemen of he w pieces assures him of vad prospecs of saving he game, despit Black's xra pawn.

39   40g3xf4 4ldl-bl

REH RE HEV EVK KY Y - BOTVIIK BOTVIIK

43

t his point the game was adjourned and Black sealed his move. White's White's position is hopeless, hopeles s, since since there is no def de fence against the threat of ...g4g3; ...g4g3; if for example 41@f, then there would similarly follow 41 . ..f .. f5, 5, threateni threatening ng .. .g3 or ...h. ...h.

41.. 41. . .

f4-!

Now the threat of 42. . .g3 decides rapidly. There foowed:

42.bl-d3 43.d3- 44.®gl 44.®gl  45.-h3 46.® 47.®-e3

g4-g3 g3  -g5 g5-g2 c4-d2  g2-g3 g2-g3 

White resigned.  very interesting game, which unfortunaely lost much of its value owin owingg to Res Reshevs hevsky' ky'ss bad mistake mistak e on he 29 2 9 move. move. The middlegame is an instructive instructive example example of attacks on opposite opposit e anks.  anks. nd  nd once again again te well-known truth is conrmed that an attack in the drection of the ing is always more dangerous than one against other positional weaes weaesse ses,s, eve evenn though the the latter might be much simpler to conduct. co nduct.

FOURTH CYCLE

436

No 38.

Te Ruy p

 Smysov

M . Euwe Euwe

Moscow, 3rd May 1948 l.e2-e4 2.gl- 3.-b5 4.b5-a4 5.0-0

e7-e5 b8-c6 a7-a6 g8- xe4

Euwe aain employs the Open variation of the panish Defe despite his unpleasant experience with it aainst Keres a couple o rounds earlier It is true that he uses another method of play here  same as was tried in the ame KeresReshevsky in the previous ro but it likewise fails to ain him any better results It seems tht  Open line of the panish is oin throuh a crisis at the moment  it requires several several more practical pract ical experiments exp eriments be beffore any lly lly adequ adequ  openin system can be worked out for Black

6.d2-d4 7.a4-b3 8.d4xe5 9.dl-e2!

b7-b5 d7-d5 c8-e6

I took t ook up this move a couple of o f years ao mainly in order to avoi  normal nor mal widely-known widely-known variation variationss arisin after after 9 c3 and thus presen pre sentt Ba with new problems prob lems to solve However However current practical practical experience ex perience  shown that ths new move proves to be b e very stron and that Blac h rave difculties meetin the threatened attack aainst the dS-poi As can be seen from several ames startin with this variation i tournament also failed to present a satisfactory answer to the questio of how Black should def de fend himself himsel f after the the textmove textmove

9 ... lO-dl

e4-c5 c5xb3

MLOV  EUWE UWE

ll.2xb3

437

d8-c8

Reshevs es hevsky ky also also uzed he same opening opening sysem sys em in he abovemenioned abovemenio ned game again agains s Kere Keres.s. Bu B u he was only succes succe s s l owin owingg o Whie's rher rh er resrained play. However, before he presen game myslov had ime o analyse in deail he consequences of he following pawn sacrice, ch in fac urns ou o be very srong. Hence he mehod of play chosen by Black should be considered as insufcien, and Black mus look loo k fo for oher o her mehods o dismane Whie's Whie's hreas afer afer 9.e 9 .e2. 2.

12.c2-c4! uch more energeic han 12.g5 as was played in he game menioned above, whch however in he even of correc furher play ould also have secured We a good posiion. Wih he ex-move Whie is offering a pawn sacrice. As compensaion he ges excellen evelopmen evelopmen and aacking aacking chance chancess agains agains he black ng in he cenre. I can be claimed as cerain ha he curren pawn sacrice makes he opening sysem chosen by Black good for nohing. nohing.

1 2 ...

d5xc4

he comparaively bes defensive chances were offered by 12... 12...bxc4 bxc4 13.bxc4 b4, alhough We reains a marked posiional edge afer he move 14.c3! (inending 14... 14...dx dxc4 c4 1 5.g5 5.g5  d3 1 6.b3). or oreo eove ver,r, declining he pawn sacrice is also unaccepable for Black from he perspecive ha his whole sysem of developmen was direced owards prevening he c2c4 hrus. If Whie is hen able o execue he advance unpunished, hen Black's whole sysem of developmen mus be considered a failure. Also unsais unsaisffacory acory of course course is 1 2 ...b4 ... b4 1 3.cxb5 axbS 1 4.xa8 4.xa8 xa8 xa8 1 5.xbS c6 1 6.b6 and and Black Black does no have have sufcien sufcien compensaion compensaion for he pawn.

13.b3xc4 14.e2-e4

e6xc4

FOURTH CYCLE

438

I was exacly ex acly s pos p osiion iion ha Whe waned o reach when of o fferin t pawn pawn sacric sa crice,e, in he hope hop e of now exploiin he queen side side weakness weaknes s and in paricular paricular he precarious posiion pos iion of he enemy n. n. As a matt matt of fac Black's def d efenc encee is very dfcul, dfcul, and he should sho uld be happy if he i able o escape from his posiion by reurnn he exra pawn and not incurrin any reaer positional drawbacks.



1 4

c

e

g

�c6e7?

As a mater of fac hs defence is compleely weak, and rapid places Back in a hopeless posiion. Furhermore Black now also falls consi co nsiderably derably be behnd hnd in developmen and his n n is expos ex posed ed o a decisive decisive aack. Even houh Black's posiion was raher difcul in every case, he sill had wo defensive resources a his disposal ha would have made Whie's ask as k comparaiv co mparaivel elyy ricky, ricky, namely: a) 14... 14...b4 b4 (14 (1 4.. . \e6? 15.d6!) 1S.5 (Afer 15.a3 Black can pa 1 5 ...b3 ... b3 follow followed ed by . . . c6.) 15... 15...c c55 (I was no loner possible pos sible o hwa hwa the hrea of 16.d8.) 16.d8 xd8 17.xd8 xd8 And despie he loss los s of h hee queen, Black has subs s ubsan ania iall draw drawin in chances. chances. b) 14... 14...\b7 \b7 15.c3 (Afer 15.d4 Black has he defensive resourc 1 5 ...0-0-0 ... 0-0-0 a his his dsposa dspos al, and 1 S .S  a5 like likewise wise off offers Back adequ adequat at defensive chances.) And now no 15... 15...b3 b3 16.e6! fxe6 17.5 wit a winn winnin in aack, aack, bu bu he more more modest modes t 1 5 ...b ... b8.8. Undoubtedly Undoub tedly White aso aso a hs point obains ood atackin chances in exchane for he pawn, bu Black's defensive resources should no be underesimaed.

MLO LOV V  EUWE

439

rom the notes above it becomes clear that Back's osition after he accetance of the awn sacrice was not as hoeless as most commentators comment ators tended t ended to believe. The real reason rea son for th thee defeat defeat is above the anti-os anti- ositional itional text-move. Now N ow Wite's attack lays itself itse lf..

15�bl-

c7-c6

lack could not very we lay 15... 15...b3 b3 16.d3 e6 17.xb5 fS due o 18.xc7 and he is thus forced to return hs extra awn. However s is equivalent to to losing the game. Perhas Black Bl ack could, here he re or later, later, have layed somewhat better, and in ths way delayed the colase of his osition. o sition. But B ut not no t even even the bes be s t defence defence could have have saved m from from defeat.

16.�a3xc4 17.V 17.Vec4

b5xc4 Vc8-b7

fte fterr 1 7 ...e6 ... e6 White could win a awn by 18.xe6 followed by gS, or l lay ay th thee queen queen sacr sacrice ice 1 8.xa6 8. xa6 xc4 xc4 1 9.xa8 9. xa8 c8 c 8 20.xc8 @e7 1 .c7 . c7 with with a decisive decisive attack, as demonstrated demons trated by master maste r akogonov akogonov. nd if Black lays 17... 17...  d5, d5 , then 1 8. 8.  d4 forces forces him to to either retreat retreat with the knight or give u the c6awn. Now however, Back ends u in a stalemate osition.

18.e5-e6 19.dl-d7 20.Vc4xb5

- f

Vb7-b5

n such a osition o sition it is a ity ity to exchange queens queens,, although although ts leads to a simle win win as we. or instance ins tance 20.g4 would would have won fast faster. er.

20... .. . 21.�-d4

c6xb5 a8-c8

22. 22.  xb5 was threatened. Black is no longer able able to def de fend his queen side awns.

440

FOURTH CYCLE

22.Acl-e3 23.alxa6 24.d7-b7 25.�d4- 26.h2-h3

�e7-6 �6-e5 -c5 0-0

Back resigned. A theoretically valuable game but due to Euwe's weak defenc i unfortunately does not ve a correct icture of the strength o myslov's awn sacrice. But as the whole system of develo emloyed emloyed by Black is rather rath er dubious dubious on can scarcely exct ex ct that hi hi ne wil wil be utiized in ournament our nament ractice in h nar na r futur futur

44

Cycle4 Round 20 0 Euwe-Reshevs 1 1 Boinnik-Keres 0 Free: Smysov

n the game Euwe-Reshevsky, the ex-world chamion for the second time lost an aroimately equal endgame, as he also did in the 9th round against myslov. Black equalized without trouble in a Nimzo ndian game, and after White incorrectly offered some exchanges, Black even attained attain ed a slight slight initiative initiative.. Again Agai n Euwe did not n ot ay attention att ention in time to the dangers that were threatening his osition. He enabled Black to take comlete control over the -le and almost ended u in a stalemate osition. As is own, in such situations mistakes tend to come by themselves, and Euwe's resistance did not last for long; he resigned on the 42nd move when facing inevitable material losses. The game Botinnk-Keres develoed quietly, because owing to the tournament osition Whte had no need to lay hard for a win. After an original handling of the oening Black equalized without difculty, and even obtained a slight edge in develoment. However, he thereafter began to force matters on the queenside and as a result caused ermanent  ermanent weaes weaesse sess in his o osition. sition. After continuin continuingg to lay inaccurately, inaccurately, Black enabled his oone o onent nt to increase increa se his advantage advantage and transose into a knight endgame where White ractically ossessed an extra awn. Consolidating the advantage caused no difculties for Botvinnik, and on the 60th move Black had to take his fourth defeat from the leader of o f the tournament. Tournament osition after the 20th round: Bonnik 12, Reshevsky and myslov 8V2 Keres 71/2 and Euwe 3

FOURTH CYCLE

442

No 39 Nimzo-Indian Dfnc M Euw

S. Rshvs

Moscow, 4th May 1948 ld2-d4 Euwe had started almost every game so far in the tournament  laying laying 1 . e4. This had led to an unsucce unsu ccess s ful result res ult in many games, an for ths reason Euwe at the end of the tournament now returns to th closed clo sed oenings. oe nings. When takng Euwe's Euwe's bad form form in the tournament in consideration, esecially in tactical battles, the decision he made  be considered as fully justied.

1  2c2-c4 3�bl- 4dl-c2

�g8- 7-6 -b4

Euwe emloys an old and well-tried system of develoment, and ref re frai rai from the resently fasonable line 4.e3, against which Reshevsky ha achieved good success so far. On several occasions he has come out  thee oening with th with an a n edge against Botvinn Botvinnk, k, who is one o ne of o f the greae greae exerts on ths variation. The lines occurring after the text-move ha been extensively analysed, and often layed by Euwe himself, thus h lays relatively fast and saves energy for the later hases of the gae

4 

�b8-c6

Here Black has a choice choi ce between be tween a variety of adequate defen defensiv sivee syse sy se  besides bes ides the text-move the ones one s that are most worthy worthy of considerati considerati are are 4 . . . d5 and 4 . . 0-0. The text-move became very fashionable abo a decade deca de ago and is aarently also sufcient to yield yield Black Black a satis s atisffacto game. 

5�gl-

EUWE  RE REH HEV EVK KY Y

443

n order to disrut Black's lan of develoment, S.e3 comes into consideration, even though it enables Black to immediately execute hee S . . . eS advance; h advance; how howev ever er after 6.dxe5 6. dxe5  xe5 7 .d2 foll follow owed ed by 8.a3 8. a3 Whte attains a far from oor game. And if after S.e3 Black tries to transose to the game continuation by s . . . d6, then Whte Whte can roceed with the strong 6.e2 followed by 7.a3, and thus secure his knight's osition osition on c3.

5 ...

d7-d6

fte fterr S . . . dS White can lay either 6.e3 00 7.a3 xc3 8.xc3 followed by d3, or also 6.g5, in both cases with a slightly better osition. Theory Theory also als o considers the immediat immediatee 5 ... 0-0 to be weaker weaker on account of 6.g5 h6 7 .h4, .h4, since the awn grab 7 . . .g5 8.g 8.g3 g4 9h4 9 h4  xd xd44 1 0.d2 would yield White a strong attack.

6 . cl cl - Now however, after 6.g5 h6 7.h4 gS 8.g3 g4 Black could boldly have have taken the the awn by ... . .  xd4, because bec ause without without having having castled White's attack is not dangerous. nstead n stead of the text-move text-move the the immediate immediate 6.a3 6. a3 xc3 7 .xc3 came into consideraion, so as not to waste too much time on elimnating Black's bisho on o n b4. Black can then roceed roceed with either 7 . . .a5 and a later ...e7 ...e7 followed by ...e6e5 ...e6e5,, or sim simly ly 7 . . .00 8.b4 e8, rearing the

FOURTH CYCLE

444

...e6-e5 ... e6-e5 advance.  these thes e lines have have already already occurred in master ma ster gae several several times, and as a general general conclusion it can be said that Black  lay very careful carefuly y in order or der to gain gai n comlete equaty, equaty, as a s White's bish bis h air can often turn turn out to be a dangerous force. force.

6   

0-0

Natu Na tural rally ly the immediate 6 . . .e5 could also als o be layed, la yed, but it usuall us uallyy e e rise to aroximately the same sam e osition o sition as the game game continu con tinuation ation .

7a2-a3 8d2xc3

b4xc3 a7-a5

It seems that this advance is a loss of time; instead Black could wel have have layed 8 . . e7. e7 . I f then 9.b4, 9. b4, there woul wouldd follow ollow 9 . . . e5 and Blac has still acheved his aim.

92-3 9.e4 was an interesting continuation at this oint; m the gae Boleslavsky-imagn, Bol eslavsky-imagn, Parnu Parnu 1 94 7, Black answered ans wered this this by the aw sacrice sacrice 9 . . . e5 10.dxe5 dxeS 11.xe5 e8. White should thereafe have continued with the shar 12.f4 and thus have attained soe rosects of an advantage. After the quiet text-move the game retur to its normal aths. 9.. .

1 0 -d3

d8-7



Normal No rmaly y 10.e 1 0.e22 eS 1  .dxe5 .dxe 5 dxeS dxeS 1 2.0 2. 000 g4 g4 is laye layedd here, here, with a aroximately equal game. But the textmove is also quite good.

10  lld4x5 

6-5

Or there is also 1  .d5 .d 5 b8 b8 1 2. 2. d2, d2, altho althoug ughh the closing closing of the ositi ositi  is fully to Black's taste. The text-move is more aggressive.

EUWE EUWE - REHEV REHEVKY KY

1 1 ... 12.0-0

445

d6xe5

Instead of ths natural move, 12.g5! h6 13.e4 had to be laed if Whte wanted to secure s ecure even the sightest sightes t advantag advantagee in the middlegame. fter the textmove tex tmove Black equalizes equalize s easi eas iyy.

1 2 ...

-e8

Now 13... 13...e4 e4 is threatened, whch would also follow after 13.g5. Wte's osition is already becomng somewhat uncomfortable.

13.d3-? fter ts sally, Black transoses to an endgame where he obtains the somewhat better rosects owing to White's weak cawn. Hence Whte had to simly lay 13.e2, whch would give rise to a normal osition osi tion with with the extra temo . . . e8 for Black. This would however not not sturb s turb the balance of the osition o sition in any substantial subs tantial way way.

1 3 ... 14.c2

c8x

1 4...

e7-e6!

446

FOURTH CYCLE

Forcing an exchange of queens and going into an endgame where the black ieces exert markedly greater activity. Whte could of course have held the osition in the event of a good defence, but after the failure in the early ddlegame Euwe aarently lost interest in the further course of events, and he lays the following hase of the game markedly below his his normal nor mal strength.

15.xe6 16.b2-b4?  ositional o sitional blunder. It weakens White's queenside quee nside osition o sition even mor moree and thus increases Black's attacking chances; moreover the text-moe enables the black knight to take control over the strong suort oi e4, from where it cannot be chased away at once. I t was es e s sential se ntial for for White Whi te to at least lea st intiall intiallyy kee the black blac k knight knight aw awa from the e4-square. For this urose Konstantinoolsky's suggesti to lay 16.g5 �e7 17.f4 is not ery recommendable, since 17... 17...ex ex 18.exf4 e4 would yield Black an adantage. However, 16.d2! wa fuy satisfactory and would have ve White a teable game.

1 6 ... 17.c3-b2

-e4 -!

Now Black has assured himself of the suort oint on e4 for his knight, shut out White's bisho from the game, and is threatening 

EUWE EUWE - HEVK HEVKY Y

447 44 7

win the b4-awn It is difcult to demonstrate an adequate defence for White against this Black's osition can already be considered as ositionally winning

18.b4b5 19JHdl

�c6e7

his turns out to be just an unnecessary waste of time and increases White's difculties, since holding the -le is not ossible in any case due to the weaknes weaknesss of o f the t he c-awn Therefore Therefore better was the immediate 191 cS 202, with the intention of consoldating the osition by the the manoeu manoeuvre vre b2-c3-e1 b2-c3-e 1 and g1-f1 g1 -f1-e2 -e2 as the occasion aris arises; es; and hen roceeding ro ceeding with d2  d2 followed ollowed by f2f2-ff3 

1 9 ...

e6d6!

 very strong rely, with whch Black nay takes control over the  le The exch exchange ange 20Jd6 20J d6 cxd6 would would lead to a lost los t osition os ition owing owing to the weak weakness ness of th thee c-a c-awn wn,, for for exam examl le:e: 2 1 �d1 � d1 �c8 22 22  d2  xd xd2 2 23�xd2 23 �xd2 �xc4 and 24�xd6 fas to 24  �c2 Whte's osition now become bec omess more difcult difcult with every move

20. gl g l 

�e7c8!

White now lacks a satisfactory defence against the threat of 21b6 and and he is racti ractica callllyy forced forced to v ve u the -le - le The sacrice s acrice 21 2 1   xe5 fxeS 22xe5 2 2xe5 was os  ossible sible here, as well well as on the revious move, b ut it d not n ot of o ffer White White sufcient sufcient counter-chances for the iece

c7c5 Also very strong was 21c5 22�c2 b6 followed by �ad8,  �ad8, and Black conrols all the stratecally imortant oints But the text-move is also good

22 . b2c3 he exchange 22bxc6 �xc6 loses a awn after b6 b6 followed by

FOURTH CYCLE

448

...ac8, ... ac8, and otheise Black threatens to decisively strengthen his ressure by . . . b b66 foll follow owed ed by by ... . . ad8 a d8.. The text-move text-move however however enables Black to decisively enetrate with the rooks along the d-le.

22 

�e4xc3!

Otherwise Whte retreats the bisho to e from where it exerts award ressure against the aS-awn and ties down the black rook to its defence.

23clxc3 24�-gl

e5-e4

After 24. 24.  e 1 White's kight kight is even wors worsee laced than in the game, an Black Black would would also conti con tinue nue with with 24 . . .b6 followed by ...ad8. ...ad8.

24 24  25�gl-e2

�c8-b6 -

Deriving Whte of the rosect of gaining a temo by 26.g3.

26®-el 27c3-c2 28�e2-g3?

a8-d8 ®g8-

EU - HE HEV VKY

449

ore passiv pas sivee def de fence from White White is complete co mpletely ly hopeless, hopeles s, because bec ause Black can strengthen his osition even further and after some preparatory steps embark on a decisive attack on the ngsde. To prevent ths, White had to come up with a more active active pan that woud woud at least yield him some counter-play For instance 28.c3! came into consideration, so as to answ answer er 28 . . . xc4 by 29.xe4, and in the event of a passive reply, reply, threaten threate n to play 29.g4. 29 .g4.

28... 29.g3- 30.-g3

-e6 d6-d3 g7-g5

Now Back's awn attack on the kingsde starts, hch soone or late will lead to the opening of new les. Whte lacks even the sghtest rospect rosp ect of o f thwart thwartin ingg this attack.

31.g3-e2 32.e2-g3 33.g3- 34.-

b6-a4 e6-e5 h7-h5

Wite is red of waiting and is himself the one to open a le on the kingside, thus meeting Black's plan halay. But the positon as lost in any event.

FOURTH CYCLE

450

34...

d3-b3 xe4 �a4-b2

In this way Black rvnts his oonnt from using th on f- sinc aftr aftr 37 37 , , 37. 37 . d3  d3 fol follo low wdd by ..... .b2() wins.

37.-c2 38.el-e2

�b2-d3  d8-

As now bcoms clar, Wht ond th f-l for Black. Aftr  ntration of o f th scond rook, roo k, Whit could could wll rsign. rsign.

39.�-d2 40.e2-dl 41.c2xb2 42.dl-c2

  - -  b3-b2 �d3xb2  xg2

ite resied. This gam is an illustrativ xaml of how an almost-qual osition can b lost los t wihout wihout any hug hug mistaks.

BO BO INNIK NNIK - 

451

No 40 Queen's Pan pening M Boinnik Boinnik

P Keres

Moscow, 4 and 5 May 1948 ld2-d4

d7-d5

I sed se d to lay lay 1 .  f6 here, bt ths time I decided to emloy emloy a new tye of oening system, trying to lre my oonent into virn territory for theory right from the start. Botvinnk however refrains from all attemts to rete Black's oeng exeriment and chooses a quiet ethod of lay lay,, ths t hs enabng Black to eas e asy y eqaze the osi o sition tion .

c8- hs say, which has scarcely been tilzed in tornament ractice so far, seems to be flly layable for Black. At least White is not able to attain any advantage against it in the crrent game, and it also cannot be seen where he cold have layed dstincy better.

3.c2-c4

e7-e6

In the game chlechter chlechter-Perlis, -Perlis, Karlsbad Karlsbad 1 9 1 1 , Black Black layed layed the weaker  ...c6 ... c6 4.b b6? S.cxdS xb 6.axb xb1? and lost a awn after .dxc6, becase becase  . . .e4 fais to 8a a 9.c. he text-move is certainly stronger.

4c4xd5 om the oint of view view of oening theory ts exchange is ndo nd obb tedly nsatisfactory for Whte, becase Black now no longer has any fclties in eqalizing the osition. Perhas the qiet 4.c is the simlest way for Whte to ensre a good game. Instead in the game Alatortse Al atortsev-Holm v-Holmov ov,, osco os cow w 1 948, Wte Wte layed layed 4.b  c6 S.cS S. cS bt after after 5   c8 6 f4 f4  f6  .a4  d he did not obtain obtain any advan advantag tage.e. .

FOURTH CYCE

452

4... 5.d-b3

e6xd5

5...

b8-c6 b8-c6

Naturally the only answer that merits consideration for Black, whic would also have followed after 4.\b3. Wite cannot very well captur with 6.\xb7, because after 6.b4 7.a3 b8 8.\xa7 a8 Blac could already force a draw or else continue the attack at the cost of sacriced pawn.

a

6.c-g5 Botinnik contents hmself with equalty and therefore tries t simpi the position further. But in so doing he enables Black to gai a substantial lead in development. 6.d2 comes into consideratio threat threatenin eningg 7.\xb7 7 .\xb7..

6...

-e7

6 .. . f6 would of course be answered by 7.d2, and Black's weakene central position po sition would soon make itself itsel f unpleasantly apparent. If Blac Blac however rst plays 6 ...b4, ...b4, then 7.d2 would likewise foow, and i the event of an exchange on d2 White would have won a valuab tempo compared with the game continuation.

BOT BOTVINNIK   

7.g5xe7

453

�g8xe7

Here 7.cxe7 deserved serious consideration. It would remove the unfavou unfavourabl rablyy placed c6gh c6 ghtt and in addtion addtion enable enabl e the other kight to develop develop to the strong s trong f6square, 6 square, from from where where it controls the e4point. e4po int. However, Black also stands excelleny after the textmove, being well ahead of his adversary in development and rthermore having overcome all his opening problems.

8.e2-e3 9.�b-

Wd8-d6 0-0

The continuation  ...b4 ... b4 followed by . 000 was sufcient only for equality. With the textmove Black, considering is edge in development, is hoping for more. But when taking into account that Wte's position position has no weaesse weaesses,s, it is not an easy ea sy task to attain any any genuine genuin e advantage. 

a-c

10... 10...

a7-a5!

Black commences dangerous activity on the queenside, threatening to advance advance his pawn to a3, which would would secure s ecure the domnating b4square b4 square for his knight. Hence White's reply is more or less forced.

FOURTH CYCE

454

1.a2-

-c8

It was also pos p ossible sible to immediate immediately ly play play 1 1 . d8, d8, as later occurs in t t game, but te textmove is also benecial for Black, and suits well i rter plan of campaign.

12. 12.-d3 13.b3-c2 14.%c2xd

a5-a4 xd3 c6-d8

Black transfers is only unfavourablyplaced piece, te c6ig towards better squares and prepares te subsequent advance of t queenside pawns.

15.0-0 16.c-c3

d8-e6

16...

b7-b5?

Black suddenly, for completely incompreensible reasons, refr from is stratec plan and instead with te textmove weaken  queenside dsastrously. As a consequence e subsequently en up in grea greatt difculties difculties due due to te weakne weakness ss of te cS cS  and b4square. b4square.  is true tat Black as compensation gains te c4pont for is g but controlling tis point will strequire muc effort, and moreo

BOINNI BOINNIK K -  

455

his single square alone is no adequate compensaion for the fresh weaknes weaknesse sess tha hav havee been bee n creaed on he h e queenside Whte Whte now atains a clearly beer position po sition The course cours e of o f he game so s o far far had ven ven Black no obj o bjec ecttive ive reason reas on o execue such a desperae thrus Because, as a mater of fac, he had a his disposal several favourable ways of continuing the game in a quiet way One of he bes coninuaions seems o be 16 16b6 b6 17fc1 cS, since afe aferr 1 8 dxc5 bxcS bxc S Black obains srong s rong pressure pres sure agains agains he xed pawn weakes weakesss on b2

17.d3-c2 aurally no 17�xb5 cb8 followed by xb2 xb2 Wih he ex-move Whe clears he d3-square for hs knight, from where i conrols he imporan imporan weaknesse weaknessess on cS c S and b4

17... 17... 18.-e1

c8-b8

Bu no 18e5 cS and Black suddenly frees himself from all difculies

18... 18...

�e7-c8

Beer prospecs were offered by 18 18b4 b4 19axb4 �xb4 20d3 �bS 21a1 c8 followed by b6,  b6, and Black proecs he a4-pawn sufcienly whle a he same ime retaining pressure agains he b2pawn Bu owing o he weaknesses Black has on he c-le, Whie woud in his case also sand slighly beer Wih he ex move Black ries o ransfer hs knigh o c4, bu he execution of hs plan is oo ime consumng and in the meantime enables e o considerab con siderably ly srenghen srenghen hs posiion po siion

d6-e7 Afer hs Whe laer wins a empo owing to the unproteced dS pawn pawn,, bu 19 �d7  �d7 20d3 b6 was also no horoughly acceptable

FOURTH CYCE

456

on account of the reply 21.b4 c4 22.f3. In tis way Black ha, it is true, brought s kight to c4, but Whte threatens to play th awkward 23.e5 followed by fS, and it is hard to nd an adequa def de fence agains againstt th ths. s . After After the the anti-positional anti-positional 1 6th mov movee and the the miss miss  opportunity on the 18th move, Black already stands clearly worse u to the weak weakne ness sses es on the queenside.

20.�e-d3 21.�d3-b4

�c8-b6 b8-d8

The dS-pawn needed protection and Black could not delay too long, due to the threat of 22.d3.

22.c2- 23.-c

23



Another inaccuracy by Black, whch enables White, almos by for, to gain a superior sup erior endgame. e ndgame. Here 23 .. . d8 d 8 would have have o fferd much much better bett er def de fensiv ens ivee chanc c hances, es, and if 24.  f3, then 24 . . . f6 . Whit Whit wo wou u in this vent have had substantial dfculties in strenghening his aa dcisiv d cisivy y,, whil Black on he oher ohe r hand would would in svra ns n s hran ... ...  c4 with good counter-pla counter- play. y. However, as a result res ult of the the difcult middlegame, middle game, Black had had already alrea dy run run

BOINNI BOINNIK K -  

457

ino sligh ime-rouble (!) whch causes him o play he subsequen par of o f he game very weakl weakly. y.

24J;cxc6

a8-d8

Black has no adequae defence of he dS-pawn, because for example afe aferr 24 .. .d7 here would would foow 25. 25 . d2f d2 f3-e5 3- e5..

n his way way Whe weakens he enemy pawn pawn sruc s rucure ure on he queensi que enside de even even more, and ranspose ranspo sess ino an endgame where he fat fat possesses an exra pawn. pawn. However, However, he reduced amoun of maerial enables enable s Black o spu up subborn s ubborn resisance.

25... 25... 26.�b4-c6 27.�c6xd8 28.-c2

c7xb6 e7-c7 c7xd8 d8-c7?

Afer hs msake he endgame becomes hopeless for Black. Whie is now able o easily creae a passed pawn in he cenre ha wl decide he oucome oucom e of o f he game in his his favour. vour. I I  was ess e ssenial enial o proceed proc eed wih wih 28 ...d ... d77 29. 29.  f3 f6, and if now now 30. 30.  e 1 , hen 30 . . . d8 31.d3 c6 and Whie has grea dfculies dfculies o overcome before he can pres pre s s home hom e s advan advanage age,, even if hs is i s possible po ssible a all.The foll ollow owin ingg endgame no longer off offers any greaer ineres inere s..

29.c2xc7 30.�d2-b 31.g- 32.-e2 33.e2-d3 34.�b-c3

�e6xc7 g- -e7 e7-d6 d6-c6 �c7-e8

The The pawn pawn sacrice 34 . . . b4 35.axb4 bS does no subsanially improve Black's posiion, since Whe can proceed wih 36.e4 dxe4 37.@xe4

FOURTH CYCE

458

followed by d5 and d4 with a winning position ubsequeny Blac tries to transfer s knight to c4, but this attempt fas here, as it als did in the ddlegame

35... 35...

-

In order orde r to obstruct ob struct the e3-e e 3-e44 advance, advance, 35    f5 also came int consideration, but this is answered by 36b4 d6 d 6 37 c3 followe by  d3, d3 , and and the weakne weakness ss of the b4b4- and e5-s e5 -squ quares ares wl wl decide the the outcome of the game The text-move is directed against White's ing coming to b4; in thi even eventt Black Bl ack would would def de fend the b5b 5-pa pawn wn by    c6 c6 and has then thwarte thwarte the check check e5 e 5

36.- 37.-4 38.e3-e4 39.xe4 40.@d3-e3 41.@e3-d3

e8-c7 @c6-d6 d5xe4 c7-e6 e6-c7 c7-e6

The last moves took place in severe time-trouble, which is also the reason for the repetition of moves With the text-move Black ve

BOIN BOINNIK NIK -  

459

away he dSd S-square square o he h e enemy kng kngh, h, bu bu  he poston p oston was wa s los lo s a he same even hough, hough, for for example, example, 41    e6 could have slghly prolonged he ressance

42.�b4-d5

d6-c6

Afe Aferr 42    f5 here would of course follow he smple 43exf5 Afer he ex-move Whie could, besides he exmove, also win wih 43xf6, for example: 43    f4 44e3 xg2 45 e1 46e2 c2 47dS followed by xh7

43.h2-h4

�e6-d8

Or 43   f8 44h5, hreaenng h5-h6 wih a simple wn Wh he ex move Black res res o preven he advance of he h-pa h-p awn and nends o answ answer er 44h5 44h 5 by 44   , bu now Whie wns n anoher way

.�d5-f4

c6-d6

Or 44 g6  g6 45d5 fS 46f6 fxe4 47xe4 wh a smple wn

45.�f4-h5 -e3 46. -e3 47.d4-d5 48.�h5xg7

�d8-e6 d6-e7 �e6-c5 e7-d6

460

FOURTH CYCE

49.g7-e6! 49.g7-e6! Depriving Back of he as prospec of counerpay, which consis of ang up a posiion on eS wih he king The pawn endgame af 49    xe6 50dxe6 50 dxe6 xe6 S 1 f4 f4 is hopeess Afe Aferr 49    e e S  bxcS 51g4 Whie aso easiy wins he resuing pawn endgam by playing e3-d3-c3 foowed by b2b3 and aer a3a4

49... 49... 50.®e3-d4 51.e6-g7 52.g7 52. g7- 53.d4-c3 54.g2-g4 55.g4-g5 56.h4xg5 57.®c3-b4 58.e4-e5 59.e5-e 6 6

lc5-d7

d7-e5 l e5e5-c4

6-c 7 'd 6-c 

®c7-d7 4-e 5 l c 4-e 

f  x g  g5  

e5- g5 l f  x g5

h7-h5

d7-d8 'd7-d8

Or 59    xe6 60dxe6 xe6 61g7 foowed by xhS

60.b4xb5 Black resigned.

46

CycleS Round21 0 Euwe-Keres 1  Smyslov-Reshevs  Free: Boinn

The las cycle of he ournamen again sared off wih ense games The game Euwe-Keres opened wih he Nimzo-Indian Defence and had ha d aken an origin original al pah already afer afer he rs  rs en moves move s when whe n Black sacriced a pawn o aain an aack The game held ou prospecs of ecoming very very ineres ineresiing ng as he players players casled ca sled on opposie oppo sie sides Bu hen Black proceeded o play weakly, enalng his opponen o hwar he aack and oain a clear advanage owing o hs exra pawn and ishop pair In a difcul posiion Black emarked upon a complicaed coninuaion y offering offering a doule piece pie ce sacrice sac rice in exchange for a rook, ro ok, which Euwe however did no accep There followed an endgame wih major pieces where he uncerain posiion of Whie's king was more elling han Black's pawn minus n he resuling imeroule Euwe made a ad misake and resigned jus efore he ineviale mae n he game myslov-Re myslov-Re shevsky shevs ky Black ried o improve improve on he mehod meho d of play uized in he games KeresReshevsky in he 18h round and myslovEuwe in Round 19 Bu his did no yield him he hoped-for resul myslov myslov again again oained o ained a posiional pos iional advanage, advanage, u hen he n failed o exploi i in in he es  es way and and enaled Black o ranspose ranspo se ino a draw drawish ish endgame Black's long-lasing winnng aemps naurally remained fruiless ruile ss and he draw was agreed on he 73rd 7 3rd move afer he game had een adjourned for he second ime The ournamen posiion afer he 21s round is he following: Bovinnik 12, Reshevsy and myslov 9, Keres 8/ and Euwe 3/

FFH CYCLE

462

No 41. Nimzo-Indian Defence M. Euwe Euwe

P Keres

Moscow, 6th May 1948 .d2-d4 As can be seen, un he end of he ournamen Euwe hangs   is closed opening sysems and hus avoids he complicaions ha  characerisic of he open games However, in he presen game  posiion speedily becomes much moe ense and complicaed h in many of he open defences

1... 2.c2-c4 3.�b1-c3 4.d1-c2

�g8- e7-e6 -b4

Again Euwe employs an old and widely recognized mehod of p and and abs a bsains ains from from he he Rubinsein coninuaion co ninuaion 4e3 4 e3,, wi wich ch has bec fashionable as hionable in recen rec en imes ime s and played ofen ofen by Bovinnik Wih his  move Black refrains from he coninuaions ha ae considered   he bes, and ries o ake he game ino pahs less we mapped o  heoy heo y n  n his wa way he ries o lure his opponen oppone n ino moe complic complic  variaions 4...

.c-g

0-0

The nor no r mal coninuai conin uaion on here is i s 5  f3 , wch Black can likewis likewisee answ by S    c S  A couple of rounds lae Reshevsky play played ed 5a3 5 a3 xc3 xc3 6 agains agains Keres, eres , bu afer afer 6    b6 he also als o did no gain any advanage advanage 5...

6.g5-h4

h7-h6 c7-c5

EUWE  KE E

463

fer he bishop has been driven away from he c1h6 diagonal, hs advance meris serious consideraion. Because in several lines afer ...aS, ...aS, Whte would now lack he defensive resource d2. Apparently 6 ..... . d6 followed by ...e6e5 ...e6e5 would have been weaker. Whe can for example example answer i by 7. 7.   and achieve achieve a posiion posi ion simlar simlar o he Zrich ariation, which heory considers o be favourable for Whie.

7.d4xc5 8.e2-e3

�b8-a6

okolsky recommends 8.a3 xcS 9.e3 followed by d1 wih pressure on he le le and considers con siders he coninuation coninuation 8 . . .aS 9 .xf6 xf6 gxf6 1 0.c1 0. c1 o be good for Whe; however, i cannot be seen why Black should sand sand worse worse afer afer 1 0 ...x ...xc3 c3 1 1 .xc3 .xc3 xc3 xc3 1 2.xc3  xcS.

8...

�a6xc5

hie ries o mainain mainain he srong s rong kigh kigh on c3 c 3 a a  any cos, cos , bu wih he exmove exmove he considerably restrics he developmen of his other pieces piece s and hus soon faces a srong aack. Beer was 9.a3 xc3 10.xc3, even hough i seems ha hen Black wih he move 10... 10...fe4! fe4! can force complicaions ha are no bad for him.

FIFH FIFH CYCL CYCLE E

464 9... ...

d7-d5!

Wih his hrus Black inends o offer a promising pawn sacrice a a he same ime preven Whie from playing 1 a3 owing o 1  dx dx Or 1 0cxd5 0 cxd5 xdS is also also no pleasan for for Whie; Whie; hence he nce he is forced  ake more resolue measures

10.0-0-0 In order o hwar hwar 1 dxc4  dxc4 he only oher move ha came i consideraion consideraion was 1 0Jd 0J d11 , bu bu never neverhel heles esss hs is foll follow owed ed by 1 0   11cxd5 Ek and Black gains a no less dangerous aack han in  game Afer having aken measures agains Whie's main hrea of a a3, Black now obains a menacing iniiaive

0... 0...

c8-d7!

This pawn sacrice consiues he only logical coninuaion of Bla' aack A laborious defence of he dSpawn would have gven Whi very very sron s rongg pres pressure sure

.c4xd5 1 1 a3 also also came ino ino consideraion; Bla Black ck would would ans answe werr i by 1 1   a hus mainainng he posiion of his bishop on b4 If Whe 

EUWE  KE E

465

proceeded wih 12.cxd5, Black can continue eiher 12... 12... Ek, as played in he game, or 12. 12. . . e5, and in eiher case oban an excellen excellen aack in exchange for he sacriced pawn. Afer he exmove Whie has problems compleing his developmen.

1 1...

a8-c8

If 1 2.dxe6, 2.dxe6 , hen hen sim simpl plyy 12 1 2 ...f ... fxe6 and among among oher hings hings Black Bla ck also has h as aack aackn ngg chances chances on he open fle. fle. For example 1 3. b 1 �b6 when one canno c anno see s ee how Wh Whte te could complete hs developmen.

12... 12...

c5-a4? c5-a4?

Wih his unduly hasy move Black ruins his aacking chances and now even has o overcome some unpleasan problems. The correc connu connua aon on was o play 1 2...e ... e 5 ! . In his h is way way Black would would hav havee hwared hwared a he hreas in he cenre whereupon he would have threaened o decisively srengthen hs aack on he queensde. Whe would have experienced grea ifculies wih he development of hs peces, and i is unlikely ha he would have been able o successlly ward off the concenraed aack aack of he black black pieces. Incdenally Lwensch's recommendation to play 12... 12...�a5 �a5 13.xf6 gxf6 was also very srong, o answer 14.a3 by 14... 14... xa3 1 5.bxa3 5.bxa3  a4.

FIH CYCLE

466

13.d5xe6! 14. 14.c2-b3

xe6

Wih he las moves Whie eliminaed he bgges hrea, and no sands well enough. Afer nishing developmen, he is hreaeng  ake aim a he weaknesses in Black's camp. However, owing o i beer developmen, Black reains enough of an aack o be able  balance he posiion.

14... 14...

b4xc3

1 4 ... a5  a5 was appare app arenl nlyy suf su fcien ci en o equaliz equa lizee he p o s on, on , sic si c 15.xf6 eS 16Jd7 xb3 17.g7 h8 leads only o perpeua check. On he oher hand i would be dangerous for Whie o diverg from hs line, because Black's aack hreaens o become very sro afer he liberaion of he f6knigh. Wih he exmove Black shows ha he wans o coninue playi for a win. However, hs is a very risky decision and in he case of ev he slighes inaccuracy would endanger his own posiion.

�a4xc3 An ineresing coninuaion a his poin is 15... 15... e8,  e8 , which howeve evenually urns ou o be favourable for Whe 16.xf6 xc3 ( 1 6 . . .f6 17. 17. e4) e4) 1 7 .xc3 .xc3 a4 a4 1 8. 8. xb7 xc3 (Or (Or 1 8 ...£ ... £ 19. xd1 20.d3) 19.bxc3 xd1 20.b5 g6 21.e4 Ad Whie has a exra pawn pawn and he beer posiion. po siion.

16.b2xc3 17d1-d4!

d8-e8 �-d5?

Afer he unforunae 12h move Black is playn somewha joylessy and afer he weak knigh move he becomes clearly worse. I a necessary o proceed wih 17... 17...h8!, h8!, hreaening 18... 18...e6e5. e6e5. In  way Black would win several empos for hs aack and, despie  pawn deci, i would yield him a reasonable game. The knigh mov lose lo sess ime for Black and and gv gve s his oppo o pponen nen he he chance c hance o complee comp lee 

EUWE  KE E

4 67

developmen, whereupon Whe's exra pawn and bishop pair assure him of a clear advanage.

18.c3-c4 19. 19.-d3

�d5-b6 �b6-a4

Thus Black Black a leas ges his knigh o o he srong s rong cSs cS square, quare, even hough hough Whe in he meanime was able o complee his developmen. Black is now faced wih he difcul asks of ghing agains Whe's srong bishop pair and rying o creae hreas in he direcion of he enemy king.

20. 20.d3-c2 2.b3-c3

�a4-c5 b7-b5

Afer 21... 21.. .a4 22. 22 .hd hd11 Black Black would would indeed eliminae Whie's bisho bi shopp pair, bu he would remain a pawn down in a posiion holding few prospec pros pecss of succes succ ess.s. Wih Wih he he exmov exmove Black commences comm ences a desperae desp erae aack and ries o open up he posiion of Whie's king a any cos, so as o exploi i in he muual imerouble ha is abou o arrive.

22.b-a

a7-a5

Now ...b5 ...b5b4 b4 is hrea hreaened, ened, and afer afer 23xaS 23 xaS he con co ninu inuaio aionn 23 . . . bxc4 24.xc4 24. xc4 �hS appears o be b e raher raher unpleasan.

23.c4xb5 24.c3-b2

d7xb5

The capure 24.�xa5 was no as harmless for We as i may appear a rs sigh. Black would answer i by 24 . . .�c6 and obain dangerous counerplay owing o ...�xg2, � xg2, ...b7, ...b7, ...a8 ... a8 and ...e6e5. ...e6e5. The ex move is safer.

24... 24...

e8-c6?

Black fails o nd he correc plan in imerouble, and wih he ex

FIFTH CYCLE

468

move enables Whte to brng hs bshop nto play wth gan of temp Thus the outcome of the game should be practcally decded. Muc better was, for example, 24. 24. . Jb8, so as after 25.g4 to have the ep 25 ...e5. ... e5.

25Jd4-g4 26.h4- .h4- 27Jh-d

c8-c7

27... 27...

b5-d3!

-f

Ths move s consdered to be a mstake by a the commentators, bu none of them show s how how how Black should have have played played nstead. nste ad. As a matte matte of fact, Black's Black's stuaton stuaton was desp de sperate, erate, for nstance ns tance 27 . . . cd7 28.x 28 .x xd7 29.d4 would have been completely hopeless, and otheie Whte threatens to play the devastatng 28.d8. In ths situaton the complcated textmove consttuted the bes savng chance, especally when also takng the annoyng tmetroube nto consderaton. It s ndeed not very easy for Whte to nd te wnnng lne here, and t s therefore not a surprse that Euwe faled t mmedately come up wth the best contnuaton. Among Among other other optons, optons, 27 . . . d3 was no better, snce then afte 2 8 .xd3 . xd3!! xd3 29 xd3 Whte could reach reach the lne lne that was was pos p ossble sble in the game; an attempt to sdestep ths by playing 28 ...xc2 ...xc2 would afte 29.d8 h7 30.xg7! end n catastrophe for Black.

EU WE    

4 69

28.c2xd3? .c2xd3? I would be oo much o claim ha wih his inaenive move Whe is hrowing away al his advanage. Bu afer hs move i is dfcul o demonsrae a clearcu winning coninuaion for him. ronger, alhoug alhoughh more complicaed complicaed,, was was 28.d3 28. d3!!  xd3 29.xd3, 29 .xd3, whereupon whereupon Black's direc aacking aemps would be fruiless, for example 29 .. .f . f6 30.xf 30 .xf66   31 3 1 .b1 b7 32.xe6 and Whie is rs rs o deliver mae. Nor can Black proceed quiely, since Whie would hen win easily owing o his maerial plus. omewha beer prospec pro specss for Black Blac k were of offfered by 29 . . .  b 7 30.c3 30.c3 dS, so as o answer answer 3 1 .e4 by by 31 3 1 . . .d7 32.e5 c7; howe howeve ver,r, Wh Whee has he sronger coninuaion 31.d4! xg2 32.d8  33.xf8 x 34.c8  3S.b2 a hs disposal, and Black's couneraack is no sufcien. Hence he bes pracical prospecs for Black were offered by he simple simple 29 . ..c .. c . If now 30.b1 , hen hen 30... 30...x xb2 b2 31 .xb .xb22 x and and he he iedup posiion of he whie bishops yields Black raher roublesome counerplay; if Whie however plays 30.xc xc 31.b2, hen here here would foll follow ow 31 . . .g1 32.c3 hS!, hS !, and in he resulin resulingg endgame endgame Black also gains some counerplay. Alhough in hese lines Whe shoud, wih careful play, evenually win a he same, he would sill have many pracical difculies o overcome.

28... 28... 29.dxd3?

c5xd3

A msake ha surrenders all Whie's remng advanage. Here 29.xg7! had o be played, since Black canno capure he queen owin ow ingg o he hreaened mae. Hence he ne 29 . . . xg7 30.xg7 xg7 31.xd3 xg2 is more or less forced, whereupon We obains some winnin winningg chances, chances , bu even even so Black Bla ck has excellen draw drawing ing prospec pros pecs. s.

29... Now Whie naurally canno capure on f6 on accoun of he mae

470

FIF FIFH CYCL CYCLE E

on c, and a he same ime he has o hwar he hrea of ...xf ... xf Alhough Whie has sl reaned he exra pawn in he followi endgame, Black's posiion neverheless has o be considered as bee. Because in he ensuing endgame wih major pieces, a wellproece king posiion po siion is of more imporance i mporance han a sligh sligh maerial maerial edge, an i is aspec as pec he advanag advanagee is on Black's Black's side. si de.

30.- 31Jg4-d4

�U-f

I was cerainly sronger o play 31.d8 h7 32.c8. Black woul answer answer s s mos mos  simply simply by 32 3 2 . . . d7 33.xc7 xc7, and alhoug Wie Wie has been be en able o somewha s omewha simpli he posiion po siion by an exchang exchange, e, he has sl no been able o compleely free himself from all difculies. The exmove makes Whe's defence considerably more difcul.

31... 31. .. 32Jd4-d8 33Jd3-d

-c5 g8-h7 c5-c2

34.b2-d4? 34.b2-d4? A bad misake in imerouble ha loses on he spo. Eve ho Whie aleady has difcul problems o overcome, 34.a3! would sll

EUWE  KE E

47

have assured hm of subsanial defensive chances. Black would hen procee proceedd wih wih 34 . . . g2 g2 35.8d2 35. 8d2 xf3 xf3 or 35 .\d3 .\d3 g6 g6 or ... . .g7g6 and sil have he beer be er posiion pos iion owing o he airy posiion po siion of Whie's king. king. Bu i is no cerain i would would have have been suf su fcien cie n for a win.

34... 34... 3.a-b2 ite resied.

c2-c c6-c2

FIFTH FI FTH CYCLE CYCLE

472

No 42. Te Ruy Lp  Smyslov

S. Reshevs Reshevs

Moscow, 6th and 7th May 1948 .e2-e4 2g- 3.-b5 4.b5-a4 5.0-0

e7-e5 �b8-c6 a7-a6 �g8- �xe4

The Open Ope n variaion of of he panish panis h Def De fence became be came popular a he he e of he tournamen, even though Black had no achieved any success wih it in the previous games. Apparenly Reshevsky had made e improvemens for Black in his home analysis, compared wih  games KeresEuwe, KeresReshevsky and myslovEuwe ha  been played so far.

6.d2-d4 7.a4-b3 8.d4xe5 9.d-e2!

b7-b5 d7-d5 c8-e6

This This coninuaion co ninuaion is, in comparison compa rison o he previousy almo almos s exclusie exclusie employed employed 9.c3, 9. c3, on he he way way o beconghe beconghema main inlin linee of he he Open Op en pais pais Because Bec ause so far Black Bla ck has in no game been be en able o saisf sais facory solve solve  opening problems. In he presen game Black makes a new ae in his drecion, bu again he is unable o achieve a convincing resu 9...

J-d

�e4-c5 b5-b4

In he games menon me noned ed aboe, aboe, where where a coser cos er explaaion of e w wee opening line can also be found, 10... 10...xb3 xb3 11.axb3 c8 was payed  wo occasion occas ions,s, bu bu urned urn ed ou o be very dangerous for Back Wi Wi  exmove Reshevsky ries o hwar he c2c4 advace ad for e ie

MYL MYLOV OV  REHEVKY

473

being refrain refrainss from from he exchange on b3, b3 , so as a s in many lines no o clear he very very sro s rong ng cenral cenral e4square e4 square for he whe whe queen. Bu as he curren game shows, his variaion also fails o solve he main drawback of Black's posiion pos iion he posiion po siional al weakess weakesses es on he queenside and in he cenre, which Whie can uilize uil ize o commence commenc e a dangerous iniia iniiaiv ive.e.

. .c-e3 This simple developing move is good enough, and assures Whie of a pleasan posiion. Bu Whie has a rich variey of oher more complicaed lines lines a his dspos dsp osal al ha should also be b e invesigae invesigaedd more closely. In he rs insance he "sandard move of his openng 11.c4 is wor wo rhy hy of consideraion consideraion,, so as o answer answer 1 1 . . .bxc3 by 12 .xd5! xdS 1 3. xc3  e7 14 .e3  e6 1 5. xd5  xdS 1 6.c4 wih wih a win winni ning ng posiion fo forr Whi Whie.e. Hence, afe aferr 1 1 .c4 he coninu coninuaio aionn 1 1 ...d4, ... d4, as advocaed by Kmoch, is almos forced, and he posiion ha has now occurred is of crucial imporance for for he asse as sess ssmen men of he mo move ve 1 1 . c4. According o Kmoch 12. 12.e3 g4 g4 1 3 .h3 .h 3 yields Black Bla ck an advan advanage age afer 15... 15...d3!, d3!, bu Whie can naurally play much more srongly han 1 2 .e3. For ins insan ance ce 1 2. bd2 bd2 e7 e7 1 3.e4 3. e4  xb3 1 4.axb3 4.axb3 comes ino ino considera con sideraion, ion, and We has good good aackin aackingg prospecs prospe cs agains agains Black' Black'ss pawns weak weakes esse sess ha compensae compens ae for for he bishop bisho p pair. The oher oher con con inuaion inuaion ha comes ino serious s erious consideraion co nsideraion a his poin is he piece sacrice 11. 11.xd5 xdS 1 2.c4, 2. c4, as found by Byrne,

474

FIFTH FI FTH CYCLE CYCLE

which afer 12... 12...bxc3 bxc3 13.xc3 gves Whe he favourable posiio menioned above. However, insead Black has o ways o make a queen sacrice ha gves rise o very unpredicable consequences, for insance insance 12 1 2 ...xc ...xc44 1 3.xd8 3. xd8 xd8 1 4.e 4.e 1 and i is pos po s sible ha Whie's Whie's maerial edge wil prove o be sufcien; or 12... 12...xf3 xf3 13.xd8 xd8 14.x d4 15.d1 db3 16.xd8 xd8 17.axb3 xb3 18.S e7 e7 1 9 .xa6 .x a6 and i is again again very very difc difcul ul o o gv gvee a na asses ass essme sme o he he gven gven line. line . I is in any any even clear ha afe aferr he he sacri sa crice ce 1 1 .xd xdS 12.c4 such complicaed variaions could occur ha an anays of hem wih a imied amoun of ime on he clock woud have bee almos impossible. Bu a leas i is cerain ha Black did no need  fear eiher of he o lines menioned above paricularly more ha he quie exmove, whch hreaens 12.xc5 foowed by a4, ad lkewise poses Black some difcul defensive problems.

11... 11 ... 12.a2xb3

�c5xb3 d8-c8

Being unable o hwar hwar he c2c4 c2c 4 hrus, hrus , Black a leas lea s ries o moderae is effec. so in his posiion, Black's weakened queenside assures Whie of some posiional superioriy.

13.c2-c4! Here his aack, as a s in many lines of his opening op ening sysem, sysem , yields yields e e a clear iniiaiv iniiaive.e. Black now ges ino ino raher unpleasan unpleas an difcul difculie ies.s.

MY MYLO LOV V  REHEVKY

13... 13...

475

d5xc4

Afer 13... 13...bxc3 bxc3 he continuation 14.xc3 b4 15.a4 secures Whie conrol over he cSsquare, and hence a clear posiional advanage. The exmove is sronger, alhough Whie now ges rid of he doubled pawn on he ble and subsequenly akes conrol of he cSsquare a he same.

14.b3xc4

h7-h6!

Many players would perhaps consider hs move, whose chief aim is afer 14. 14. . . e7 o cu cu ou he he sally sally 1 5 . g5, o be an unnecessary unneces sary loss los s of ime. Beca B ecause use afer a fe few moves Whie akes conrol co nrol over over he cSs cS square quare all all he same, and exchanges exchanges off he darks darksquar quaree bshops. bsho ps. Neverheless, Neverheless , i is no so s o simple, simple, since afe aferr 14 . .  e7  . e 7 1 5 . g5 Whe is no no  merely mer ely hreaening hreaening o o exchange exchange bishops, bis hops, bu also o gan gan srong s rong pressure pres sure over he whole cenre. cenre. For example 1 5 ...00 ... 00 1 6.e4 6.e4 d7 1 7 .  bd2 and Black has grea difculies obaining any nd of counerplay. Hence Black decdes o spend anoher empo in order o ward off all he hreas linked o he gSsquare.

15.b-d2 16.d2-b3

-e7

16.e4 was also possible, bu myslov wans o keep hs square open for he queen. We now akes conrol over he imporan cSsquare and hus also eliminaes Black's bishop pair.

16... 16... 17. 17.e3-c5

0-0 e6-g4

Black is forced o rapidly generae some counerplay, because in he even of quie play, for insance afer 17... 17...d8, d8, Whie would srenghen his pressure decisively by he move 18.e4. I is rue ha Black is able o ease his posiion somewha by he subsequen exchanges, bu i noneheles nonehel esss fails o yield him complee compl ee equaliy. equaliy.

18.e2-e4

FIFTH CYCLE

476

Whe could have assured hmself of a very good game by playi 1 8 . xe xe 7  xe7 1 9 .h3, .h 3, no n o maer wheher Black Black exchanges exchanges o  or o. Wh he exmove Whe does ndeed pu hs quee o a excelle cenral square, bu n so dong he weakens hs pawn srucure o h ngside, and hus allows Black o gain various kinds of coune chances.

18... 18... 19.g2

 g4x c8-e6

 c5xe7? 20.  Wih s exchage Whie surreders all his advaage, which cey cosised of he badlyplaced kgh on c6. Because, as a resul of Whe's 18h move, he weaknesses on he queenside are compesa by he oes o he ngsde. Wh he exmove Whie helps h black knigh o a excelle posiio, ad hus equalizes he posiio compleely. If Whe waed o reain ay kid of advaage he had o simply proec proec  he epa ep aw by playing playing 20.f 20 .f4. 4. If hereafer hereafer 20 . . .xc5 21.xc5 g6 g6,, he 22.�g2; ad if i f 20 . . .�g6, he 2 1 .�xg6 fxg6 22 .x7  xe7 23. 2 3. d7, in boh cases ca ses wih a edge edge for Whie. Whie. Also ceraily beer ha he exmove was 20.d5.

MY MYLO LOV V  HEVKY HEVKY

20... 20... 2.b3-c5 22. 22.e4xg6

477

c6xe7 e6-g6 e7xg6

The endgame en dgame is now compleely equal and any winnng winnng aemps from eiher eih er side are fruiles ruiless.s. I is hard o believe ha he game wi las las  for for anoher 50 mov moves! es !

23.c5xa6 If Whie had defended defended his epawn, Black would ge ime o play play ... . . a6a5 and hus proec hs pawn srucure on he queenside. The foowing alosforced exchanges speedly make he game clearly drawn.

23... 23... 24.b2-b3

g6xe5 a8-a7!

Wih his good move, whch whch among oher hings hings also als o hreaens hrea ens 25 . , Black ensures himself of a sligh iniiaive. However, his of course no longer has any pracical imporance for he oucome of he game.

25.a6xb4 26.dxa 27.b4-d5

a7xa -b8

478

FIFTH CYCLE

Afer 27. 27 . 4 here here could could foow 27 . . . xf x f3 28.g2 28 .g2 d2, d2, or also 2 .   cS follo ollowed wed by . . .b . b3, 3, in i n boh cases cas es wih a clearly clearly dra drawn wn posiion po siion  he exmove als alsoo ves ves he same sam e resul.

27... 27... 28.-f4 29Ja-c 30Jxc7 31.®g-g2 32.®g2-

b8xb3 e5xc4 c4-d2 d2- -h4 b3-b2

Or 32.b1 33.e2 h 34.c8 h7 35.c7 and lack eiher ha o ve up he fpawn for he hpawn, or accep a draw afer 35 ...g ...g 36. 36 . e7  f6 37.g 37 .g8 8 g6 38. 38 . e7

33.d5-e3 In his way Whie emporarily shus ou lack's kngh from he ga and deprive deprivess Black of his las las  winn winnin ingg chances.

33... 33... 34.£4- 35.c7-c5 36.e3-d5 e3-d5 37.d5-e7

b2-b4 - g8-h7 b4-d4

The subsequen pawn sacrice forces he exchange of knighs  ransforms he game ino a drawish rook endgame. u here was  fac no need for his. Afer he quie 37 . e3 here also were were no geu geu wining chances o be seen for lack

37... 37... 38.e7-g 39.xg6

d4-e4 h4xg6 ®h7xg6

Despie lack's exra pawn he rook endgame is clearly draw a is no longer of any ineres. We herefore ve he remining mo

MY MYLO LOV V  REHEVKY REHEVKY

479

here Reshevsky makes desperae nnng aemps, wihou any onger onger commens

40.-g2 40.-g2

h6-h5

Here he game as adjourned and Whe sealed hs move

4.h2-h3 42Jc5-c6 43J6-c7 44Jc7-c6 45Jc6-a6 46Ja6-b6 47Jb6-a6 48Ja6-a8 49Ja8-h8 50.- 5.-g2 52.g2- 53Jh8-  54J-a8 55.-g2

 -f

g6-g5 7-g 6 g 7-g 

e4-d4 h5-h4 d4-d3 ®g5-h5 d3-d6 h5-g5 d6-d3 d3-d4 ®g5- ®-g7 d4-d3 g 6-g 5

I is rue ha Black has advanced his pawns a lie, bu hs is no

FIFTH CYCLE

480

dangerous a all for Whe. The draw is held wihou any kin of effor.

56J8-6 57.6-b6 58.b6-6 59.6-h6 60.h6-h8 61.h8-h5 62.h5-h8 63.h8-g8 64.g8- 65.-g8 66.g8-h8 67.h8-h5 68.h5-h8 69.h8-h7 70.h7-h8 71.h8- 72.-h8

d3-d7 d7-e7 g7- e7-e6 -g7 g7-g6 e6-c6 g6- -e5 e5-f4 c6-c5 c5-c6 c6-g6 f4-e5 e5- -e6 e6-

A his poin he game was adjourned for a second ime. myslo  again he one o seal he moe.

73.-f4 Drw. Black Black agreed o he draw wihou wihou furher furher play, play, since sin ce 73 . . .gxf4 74.f3 74.f3 followed by by xf4, xf4, as well as 73 7 3 . . . f6 74 74  f3 f3 g4 g4 75 7 5 . g2, boh  i i o clearly drawn drawn posiions posiio ns.. Howeer, Howeer, h players shoud sh oud ha haee agre o his resul res ul abou 30 moes ago.

48

Cycle 5 Round21 V Keres-Smyslo   Bonn-Euwe l

Free: Reshs

Even houg houghh he rs place in he ournamen, ournam en, and hus also als o he ile of World Champion, Champio n, had pracically been decided dec ided long ago, he 22nd round ro und gave he nal answer regarding his quesion In he game Bovinnik Euwe Euwe Whie chose chos e he quie Exchange Variaion in he Queen's Que en's Gambi Gamb i He wen on o also exchange off a couple of pieces and hereafer offered off ered his opponen opponen  a draw draw on he 1 4h move, which Euwe acceped acceped  Wih Wih his half poin poin  Bovin Bovinnik nik increased incr eased he gap bew be ween een himself and his closes adversary o 3/ poins, which would no even have been heoreically heoreically possible pos sible o overh overhaul aul in he remainin remainingg hree rounds Keres and myslov again again played played he Grnf Grn feld Def De fence, ence , and hs h s ime Whie also emerged from he opening wih an edge His aack on he queenside caused Black much rouble, and i was only by very accurae defece ha myslov, afer some inaccuracies from his opponen, managed o equalize he posiion However, in he resuling equal endgame Whie was compleely unjusied in coninuing o play for a win, and hus even go ino difculies, alhough he was evenually able o aain equai equaiyy The game was adjourned adj ourned and on o n he resumpion res umpion quicy ended in a draw By he 22nd round Bo Bo innik innik had assured as sured himsel hims elff of o f rs rs  place wih wih 1 2/ 2/ poins poin s Bu a hard compeiion compe iion si s illll coninued abou a bou he following ollowing places, since myslov on 9, Res Reshevsky hevsky and and Keres boh b oh on 9, were were all wihin passing pa ssing sance s ance of each each oher Euwe Euwe had 4 poins poin s and long ago ago had sopped compeing wih he oher paricipans

FIFTH CYCLE

482

No 43. Enish Opening P Keres

 Smyslov

Moscow, 9th and th May 1948 .c2-c4 2.�b-c3

�g8- d7-d5

myslov's aachm a achmen en o defences defenc es similar similar o he Grnfeld is e kno, kno, and for his sake he ofen even employs dubious opening variaios The exmove is essenial in order o seer he game ino he Grnfe Def De fence, enc e, becaus bec ausee afer for for example examp le 2   g6 We We could play 3 3  e4 a hus ranspose he game ino a ing's Indian Defence myslov also also used he same sysem of o f developme developmen n agains Reshevs Reshevsk k in he second cycle Reshevsky hoever refraned from any aep to refue Black's no compleely riskfree advance 

3.c4xd5 4.e2-e4

�xd5

Afer 4d4 4 d4 g6 a sandard san dard posi po siion ion in he Grnf Grn feld Def De fence ould occur, occur, or more pruden as cerainly 4 The exmove could have v rise o ineresing complicaions

4...

�d5xc3

The complicaed compl icaed reply reply 4    b4 as orhy of consideraion, so as to anser anser 5 c4 by 5    e6, exering srong pressure agains he cenr gh squares square s Hoever, ins in sead ead of 5 c4 Whie could also play  quieer 5d3 folloed by e3, and reach a similar posiion o a line i he icilian icilian Def De fence bu ih colours reversed

5.b2xc3 6.c-a3

g7-g6

Whie could ranspose o a normal Grnfeld Defence by he ov

   L LOV OV

48 3

6.d4, 6. d4, and afe aferr 6 . . . c5 7.c4 followed by g1e2 also gain a good game. However How ever,, he exmov e xmovee is even sronger because bec ause now in order o execue he imporan imporan ... . . c7c5 hrus, Black has o develop hs kngh o d7, and his weakens he pressure agains he imporan cenral square d4.

6... 7.�g- 8.-e2

�b8-d7  -g7

Aackng aemps ae mps by, for for insance ins ance,, moves such as 8 . h4 would no offer offer Whe any prospecs of an advanage in he even of correc play. He herefore decides o rs complee his developmen and only afer ha ake acion o execue his plans in he cenre and on he queenside. Here Black has greaer difculies in creaing counerplay han in he normal norm al Grnf Grn feld Def De fence, where he pres pre s sure agains agains he d4pa d4p awn can be accenuaed by he moves ... . . c6 and ...g4. ...g4.

8... 9.0-0 10.-d4

c7-c5 0-0 c5xd4

Wih he exmove Black does admiedly open up he srong a3 diagonal for Whie's bishop, bu in so doing he also frees his knigh from he roublesome defence of he cSpawn and is able o quickly develop hs pieces. Bu Black is neverheless unable o equalize he

484

FIFTH CYCLE

posiion compleely, since he lacks compensaion for Whie's sro pawn pawn cenre and open les on o n he queenside I is clear ha ha Whie Whie has has emerged eme rged from from he opening op ening wih an advanage omewha o mewha saf sa fer, bu b u likewis likewisee insu i nsuffcien for equali equaliyy, was he aem 1 0 b6,  b6, so as o keep he posiion as closed as possible Whie woul simply simply answer hs hs by by 1 1 e5, e 5, hreae hreaeng ng e5e6, e5 e6, ad ad if if 1 1 e6,  e6, he here wold follow 12d2 b7 13f4 wih srong pressure I seems he openin op enin sysem sy sem chose cho senn by Black is no fully adequae for obaini obaini equaliy

.c3xd4

d7-b6

12.d-b3! Black's chief posiional hrea in hs posiion was o play 12 12e6, e6, aacking he pawn on a2 and inending o nally ake conrol oe he c4square afer ... Ek. The exmove is very srong and reveals he aw in Black's plan, because 12 12e6 e6 would now be answered b 1 3  d 5 ! xa 1 1 4dxe6 4 dxe6 wi wih h a ver veryy srong s rong aack for for he he exchange s 1 2 xd4 xd4 also does no meri consideraion on accoun of 13a1, Black is now faced wih he difcul problem of how o creae some nd of counerplay counerpla y for himself himse lf

12... 12... 13Jad

c8-g4 g4d7

   L LOV OV

485

Black's only counerplay consiss of a few acical hreas, bu hey are easy o ward off and can in no way compensae for Whie's posiional advanage. If for example 13... 13... Ek, hen here could follow 14.d5 or also 14. 14.b4, besides 1 5.�a3 also hreaen hreaening ing o play play 1 5 .a5 or 1 5.a4 5. a4..

14Jd1-c The rook is subsequenly no opimally placed on he ce, and only offers Black he opporuniy o relieve his posiion by exchanges. Hence Lili Lilien enh hal al is correc when he sugg suggess ess 1 4.b 1 ! here, wih wih an aack aack agains agains he b7poin. b7 poin. If I f in reply 14 . . .a4, hen simply 15.�e3 wih he awkward hrea of 16. 16. c5. Howeve How ever,r, he exmove exmove is also als o far from from poor, po or, and does do es no surrender Whie's advanage.

14... 14... 15.b3-b4

d7-a4

15.�e3 looks more naural, even hough he exmove also has is advanages. As a resul of he following exchange of bishops, Whte gains a very dangerous aack on he queenside.

15... 15... 16. 16.e2-b5!

e7-e6

An imporan gain of empo, which signicanly increases Whie's pressure on he queenside. A he same ime Black now loses he opportu oppo rtuniy niy for a roubleso roublesome me counera couneraack ack by he move move . . .c6.

16... 16... 17.bb5 18JU-d1

 ab5 -e8

ronger was he immediae 18. 18. c5 followed ollowed by b 1 , when Whie brings he main poin of he aack over o he ble. However, he exmove is also fair fairly ly good. goo d.

18... 18...

a8-c8

FIH FIH CYCLE

486

19.-c5 urprisingly enough, his exchangeavoiding coninuaion urns ou o be insufcien o secure Whe's advanage. The opporuniy o appears appe ars for Black Black o uiize a hdden defens defensiv ivee resource res ource in he posiio pos iio and almo almos s reach equal equaliiy. y. Therefore Therefore sronger was 1 9 .c8 . c8 xc8 20. 1  ying Black's queen o he defence of he rook on e8 and in so doig winning winning a couple of empo  emposs for he aack on he ble. b le. Afer 20 . . .d8 Whe Whe should no no conin coninue ue 27 2 7 on accoun of 21 2 1 . . .f8 f8 ! , bu insea insea should play he he simple simple 21 2 1 .c5 foowed oowed by b b 1 , whc whchh woul wouldd also be he repl replyy o 20 . . .b8.

19... 19...

d8-c7!

Cerainly weaker was 19... 19...d7 d7 20.xd7 xd7 21.xa7, and afer 21...a8 Whe has he srong reply 22.c7!. The chief idea bou up wih he exmove is he acical opporuy 20.d5 exdS 21.exd xdS! 22.xd5 b6 23.d7 f4 and Black wns he piece back wih a enable game, whle he inermedae moves 21.e3 d7 also do o gve Whe anyhng in paricular.

20.c-b 21.c5xb6

c7-c6

If 21.e5 immediaely, hen 21...a4! could become award.

   L LOV OV

21... 21... 22.e4-e5

487

a7xb6

Whie sands well, bu i is very difcul o nd a coninuaion ha srenghens his posiion furher. furher. For example 22.�xb6 22.�x b6 �xe4 23.�xb7 23 .�xb7 �xb7 24.b7 2 yields nohng, as he acive posiion of Black's pieces piece s compens co mpensaes aes for he sacr sac riced ice d pawn. Also insufcien insufcien o gain gain a signica signican n adv advan ana age ge is 22.d5 22 .d5 exdS exdS 23.exd5 23 .exd5 �xbS 24.b5 24 .b5 ed8!. ed8! . The exmove likewis likewisee fas fas o  o ve ve Whe Whe anyhng anyhng special; sp ecial; i i  should sh ould herefore be assumed ha he simple rerea 22.�d3 would have kep he bes chances, mainainng he hreas on he ble as well as in he cenre.

22... 22... 23Jbxb5 24.g2-g3?

c6xb5 c8-c6

Afer hs move, Black Black no longer longer experienc ex periences es any problems prob lems whaso wh asoever ever.. Much Much mo more re roublesome roublesome was 24.d 24. dbb 1 ec8 he line 24. . . a8 25. 25 . xb6  xb6  xb 6 26. 26 . xb6 xb 6 xa2 27.g3 27 .g3 a7 a 7 2 8 .  gS is fav favourabl our ablee fo forr Wh W he.) e.) 2 5 .g4  c1  c 1  26. 26 . xc1 xc 1 xc1 xc 1  27. 27 . g2 c6 2 8 .g5 .g 5 And Black Bla ck has s ill no freed re ed himself from a s difcul difculies. ies.

24... 24... 25.d-d2 26.d2-b2 27Jb2-b

e8-a8 g7-h6  h6-c

There is nohing nohing beer be er for for Whe, Whe, since si nce for example afer 27. 27 . e2 here would foow 27 . . . a5 wih adequae counerp coune rplay lay for Black. Black . N ow an endgame wih approximaely equal chances occurs.

Naur Naural ally ly no 28 . .. cc2 cc2 29.e 29. e 1 .

488

FIH CYCLE

With this good move Black equalizes the position completely. In the ensuing endgame the bpawn turns out to be very strong; ths would also be true if White refrained from the rook exchange by playing 30.d6.

30;b6xb2 31.g- 32.-e2 33.e2-

 cxb2 g8- -e8 b7-b5

ome o me commen com mentators tators were of the opinion that the the endgame endgame that occurs after the exchange of rooks is favourable for Black, and that Whie subsequently has to ght for a dra But in actual fac ts is no the case; the position is completely equal and White ends up in difculies only as a result r esult of his later later unjustied unju stied winnin winningg attemps. attemps. The textmove textmove is i s nece n ecess ssar aryy, since the immedate immedate 33 3 3 . . . d7 will will not d due to to 34.g5, 34 .g5, and upon 33 ...c ...c11 there could could foll follow ow 34. c4 d7 d7 35.d 35 .d or 3 S . b S and Whit Whitee obtains obtains a better position position than in the game. game.

34.-g5 35.h2-h3?

h7-h5

Only as a result of this thoughtless move does White get into cerain difculties difculties,, since si nce now Black's bpawn becom bec omes es very very strong s trong.. The simple

   L LOV OV

489

3 5   e4 d7 o howeve howeverr 3S   a3 36 3 6  c3! c3 ! b4 37 3 7  b5 wi wih h an edge edge forr Whie) 3 6  d6 had to be played, and now 36    f6 37 fo 37  xb5 fxeS 38 dxe5 xeS as well well as 36   c6 37 37  x dS 38 38  h8 boh ve ve rise o drawish endgames

35... 35... 36.- 37.�g5-e4 38g3g4

b2-a3 a3e7 ®e8-d7 ®d7c6

I was was beer be er o rs make the exchang exchangee 38   hxg4, hxg4, becase bec ase Whe co c old ld now immediaely force force a draw by he conination co nination 39gxh5 39 gxh5 gxhS gxh S 40 40   g3 h4 41  e4 B he game game continaio continaionn is also als o no bad bad 

39.�e4-g3 404

h5xg4

I was ndobedly simpler o play 40hxg4, even thogh Whie in hs way gves p he hrea of creaing a passed pawn on the hle However, afer 40hxg4 he pawn on  wold remain in place and be defendi defending ng he h e importan e4sqar e4s qare, e, and hs h s deprive deprive Black of any an y nd of winnn winnngg aemps bond p wih his king peneraing peneraing via dS dS 

40... 40...

b5-b4

A commial decision decisio n Black Black clears he imporan impor an c4sqare c4s qare for for he enemy king, and in so doing hopes o ge he chance o decisively penerae wih his own king ino Whie's camp hrogh dS B as he frher course of he game game sho sh ows, We We has sfcien sfci en defensiv defensivee resorces res orces o ward off hs opponen's hreas Thus wih he exconination Black only gains gains some pracical winn winning ing chances chances B i is nlikely ha Black could have achieved more wih oher conina coninaion ionss a his poin poin  For insance 40    dS 41  e2 yields yields nohn nohngg as Black's king is forced o rerea already on he following move, also 40   b6 41 4 1  c3 aS 42 b3 b4 43 43  e4 bS 44g5 or o r 43   g5 44 d2 followed ollowed by   allows We an adequa ad equaee def de fence enc e The T he las l as line co co ld incidenally also laer occr in he game

FFT CYCLE

490

41.d3-c4

g 6-g 5

The game was adorned afer Black's 40h move and hs move as made by Black afer afer horogh horogh home analyss Ths Ths advance s necess nece ssar ar sooner or laer n any case n order o end he possby of h3h4

42.�g3-e4 Narally Whe cold also transfer hs kngh o f3 va  and d2, u he sbseqen wnnng aemp nderaken by Black n he game is compleely co mpleely harless, harles s, and only only hasen has enss he draw draw

42... 42...

b4-b3

The poson is drawsh, so Black res one las rap The aem 42    b6 43 43  d2 a 44b3 44 b3 b 45 45  f3 wold wold enab enable le Whe Whe  nally nally proec his poson, p oson, for example 45    c6 46 46  c4 b3 47 4 7 x3 x3  d 4 8  c3 c 3 e4 4 9   d2 f4 S   c4 followed by  d6, d6 , or 45    46e 46 exf xf66 xf  xf66 47 h4 h 4 gxh4 gxh4 48g 48 g5, 5, n boh bo h cas c ases es wh wh a sre draw draw

Naray no 43xb3 d and Black gans good wnnng prospes afer he fall fall of he cenral cenra l pawns

   L LOV OV

43 43 c4-3 453xb2

49

3-2 -

ter 45ex6? x6 46
45 45 46d4xe5 472-c2 3-5 48c 3-5 2-d3 49c 2-d3

xe5 c6-c5 c5-d4 dxe5

Draw. ter ter 49    <4 there there would would ollow S S  c7, c7 , and a nd otherwise o therwise ite can bring brin g his ing ing to to 3, sacrice sac rice the nght nght on e6, e 6, and a nd then play h3-h4 h3-h 4 with with a simple draw

FIFTH CYCLE

492

No . Queen's Gambit M. Boinnik

M. Euwe

Moscow, 9th May 948 .d2-d4 2.�g-

d7-d5

Botinnk almost exclusively chooses ths knight move beore paying c2-c4. In this way he avoids all nds o complicated openings,  example exampl e the the Albin Counter-Ga C ounter-Gambit mbit with with 2 . . . e5 This is especiay understandable in the present game where Botinnik only neede  hal point to assure hmsel o the tie o World Champion.

2... 3.c2-c4 4.c4xd5

�g8- e7-e6

The simplication tactics continue. With the text-move White cuts  the possible complcations that can arise ater 4.g5 h6 or 4.c3 c, and assures ass ures hmsel hms el o a good game withou withoutt any risk risk..

4...

e6xd5 c7-c6

Black intends to develop hs bishop to 5, which immediately w have been bad on account o 6.b3 The ollowing moves are ae with the aim o either carrying out or preventing this move.

g7-g6 An orinal idea, whch however is not especially recommend, a the the bisho bi shopp is subs su bsequeny equeny not particularly particularly we we placed on g7 6   g seems to oer better prospects, so as to answer 7.e5 by paying 7 ..h5 .. h5 ollowed by ...bd7. ...bd7.

BO BOI IK K - EUWE

7.c1-g5

493

-g7

gai gainn 7   f5 f5 was was bad on account of of 8b3 8 b3

8.e2-e3

c8-

ow however this move is necessary; otheise White would play 9d3 and thus cut out the possibility of developing the bishop to fS fter the exchange of bishops the position quicy equalizes

9.-d3 10.c2xd3 11.0-0 12.-e5

xd3 0-0 b8-d7

It was simpler si mpler to utilize utilize the placement placem ent of the bisho bi shopp in g7 by playing 12b4 and commencing an attack on the queenside But in order to secure a draw, the text-move is naturay better

12... 12... 13.e5xd7 14.b2-b4

d8-e8 e8xd7 -e8

Draw. On account of the threat of 15 15 e4, e 4, Whte has to play 1 5 xf x f6 xf6 xf6 and then try to generate an attack on the queenside Black's defensive chances are fairly good, owing to the reduced material, and it is unlikely unlikely that White's attack would would be succe succ e s s ful in the th e event of correct co rrect defence

494

FIFTH CYCLE

Cye 5 Round23 ¥ Smyslov-Boinnik   Reshevs-Keres 

Free: Ewe

The games of this round proceeded peacelly, since none of the participants wanted to tae any particular riss at the end of te tournament and thus jeopardize their nal positions The Queen's Gambit ccepted played between myslov and Botvinni ended in a quic draw, as could have been expected beforehand The player needed 17 moves to create a position suitable for general exchanges and then agreed to a draw The game Reshevs Resh evsyKeres yKeres o ffered a bit more of a ght Blac quic equalized in a imzo-Indian, and later even had the somewhat more active active pos p osition ition by utizing utizing Whte's lagng lagng developmen developmentt But instead  creating dangerous threats in the centre cen tre Blac enabled his opponent opp onent t create a symmetrical pawn position posi tion which which,, after after some som e exchanges, excha nges, gav gavee rise to an equa endgame In a position po sition hopelessly hopeless ly empty of pos p ossibi sibilitie litie the players agreed to a draw on the 26th move Ts round d not change the reative positions of the tournament' participants: Botvinni 13, myslov 10, Reshevsy /z Keres z and Euwe 4

L LOV OV - BOTIK BOTIK

495

N o 45 Quees Quees Gambit Gambit Accepted Accepted  Smlov

M Botinnik

Moscow, 11th Ma 1948 d2-d4 2c2-c4

d7-d5 d5xc4

Botvi Bo tvinn nn usually plays 2    e6 3c3 c6 4f3 f6 But the present game taes place pla ce under the special circumstance that Blac Blac  has already secured rst place, and hence he refrains from any ind of unnecessary ristaing

a7-a6 n idea of leine, whch seems to yield Blac a satisfactory game It is i s true that the normal nor mal continuatio continuationn 3    f6 4e3 e6 Sxc4 cS is more investigated, but it is in no way better for Blac than the game continuaton

4e2-e3 5xc4

c8-g4 e7-e6

Blac has now been able to develop hs light-squared bishop, whch usually constitutes a troublesome problem in the Queen's Gambit But in so doing, he has also left left his his queenside somewhat s omewhat undefended undefended The question is now whether Whte Whte is able ab le to quic quicly ly mae use of ths fact, or if Blac B lac wi wi be able to complete his development and equalze the game

61-2 This mode mo dest st move move does not no t cause Blac any problems probl ems and depriv dep rives es the game of all its theoretical importance The continuation 6d5 exdS 7xd5, as suggested by latortsev, liewise seems to be insufcient to ve Whte an advantage on account account of 7  e7! e7 !  This move, sugested by Flohr, Flohr, defends defends both the

FIFH FIFH CYCL CYCLE E

496

attaced attaced points po ints on  and b 7, and steers ste ers the position pos ition towards urter urter simplications Most Mos t dangerous dangerous or Blac, in my opinion, is the t he continuation continuation 6.'b3 x3 7gx 7 gx3; 3; thus thu s Whte Whte assures as sures himse hims e o the bishop pair and create create a tense tens e position po sition that holds holds out prospect pros pectss o an interesting interesting battle T T line has stl not been tested enough in practice or a nal assessmen to be given given about it it 

6... 7.0-0 8.h2-h3 9.b2-b3

b8-d7 g8-  g4-h5 c7-c5

Blac now gains complete equality and, ater the exchange of the la central pawns, a speedy draw can be expected

10.c4-e2 11.xd4 12.dxe2 13.c-b2 14Ja-c 15JU-d 16.d4- 17Jcxc8 Draw.

c5xd4 h5xe2 -c5 0-0 a8-c8 d8-e7  c5-b4 xc8

HEV HEVKY KY  KE KE

497

N o 46. 46 . Nimzo-Indian Defence Defence S Reshs

P

Keres

Moscow, 11th May 1948 .d2-d4 2.c2-c4 3.b1-c3 4.d1-c2

g8- e7-e6 -b4 0-0

The tournament position po sition forced forced Blac to play for for a win at a cost co sts;s; he theref there fore without further further consi co nsideration deration ref re frained from the normal nor mal lines 4 d5  d5 or 4   c6 c6  The text-move normay give ive s rise to an interes inte resting ting and tense game where it is the better strategist who gains the upper hand

5.a2-a3 In the game Euwe-Keres from the fth cycle, White continued SgS h6 6 h4, but after after 6    c5 got into some difculties Besides the text move, move, a common contin c ontinuat uation ion is 5 5   f3 , which which Blac answers answers by S    c S 6dxc5 a6 with easy equality

5... 6.c2xc3

b4xc3 b7-b6

Also pos p ossible sible was 6    d6, which in several several lines line s can ve rise ris e to a position po sition from the Zrich Zrich defence 4    c6 However, the text-move loos simpler, since subsequently White has great difculties in taing contro con tro over over the the important central square e4 e 4

7.c-g5 This mechanical bishop development is certainly not the best continuation for White and quicy gives Blac an excellent position I f White White did di d not want want to choose ch oose the t he somewhat somewhat risy continu continuatio ationn 7  f3, which which Blac would would answer by either 7   d5 or 7   c5, c5 , it was wa s better b etter to play 7 b7 8g3 followed by g2, with a position similar to a Queen's Indian Def De fence

FIFTH CYCLE

498 ... 7 ...

8.g- 9.e2-e3 10.c3-c2

c8b7 d7-d6 b8d7

In the game Locvenc-Keres played a ew years ago, White proceeded with 1 .e2, but ater 1 . .e . e88 1 1 .c2 c2 eS 1 2.d5 2. d5 h6 1 3 .h4 .h4 aS, ol ollo lowe wedd by ...8, ... 8, he also only obtained an equal game. With the textmve White, or saety's sae, thwarts the possibility o playing ...e4, ...e4, and plans plan s to mae mae an eventual bishop development to d3, d3 , but in so doing he does not aceve anything better than ater 10.e2. t loos as thoug Blac can easily overcome a his opening problems ater 7.g5.

10... 10...

d8-e8!

A good move; Blac supports a possible advance o the e-pawn and at the same time unpins the ight so it can get to e4, ollowed by ... -5 Whte Whte must mus t now play well well in order to avoi avoidd pos p ossible sible culties. culties.

.-d2 Ate Aterr 1 1 .e2  e4 1 2.h4 S or 1 1 .d3 eS eS Blac Blac wo wouuld gain gain a dang danger eru uss intiative. It is true that with the text-move White does protect the e4square, but now he alls considerably behind in development, and late he has to contend with certain diculties.

REHEVKY REHEVKY - KERE KERE

1 1...

499

c7-c5

A very very nter nteres estting ing contnu contnuat aton on was was       hS, hS , plannn plannngg to contnue contnue wth 2 2f5 f5 Whte should answer ths wth very actve play n order to avod becomng clearly worse; n ths aspect the possbty 12f3 fS 130-0-0, followed by d3, comes nto consderaton It s very dfcult to evaluate the resultng poston, as both sdes have good prospe pro spects cts fo forr an attack aganst aganst the oppon o pponent's ent's kng, kng, and t s practcally practcally mpossble to decde whch sde wl be the rst to break through the enemy lnes The text-move is certainy quieter, but it offers Black consderably fewer ewer wnnin wnningg chances chances than the the double-ed double-edged ged      hS hS 

12.d4xc5! Very well payed ormaly this exchange s considered unfavourable for White in this type of position, as Blac now gains an advantage in the centre and attacng attacng prospects prosp ects along along the open b-le b -le But Reshevsky Reshev sky made made a deeper asse as sess sment sme nt of the position, po sition, and reveals reveals that this this exchange s the est e st contnua co ntnuaton ton for Whte at ths pont t is difcult to demonstrate another completely satsfactory contnuaton for Whte, because 00-0 does not come into practical consideration owing to the open cle, the bishop on  cannot very we move due to the unprotected g-pawn, and after nfferent further pay by White, Back could accentuate the pressure on the c-le by the ...k. moves  cxd4 and ...k.

12... 12... 13.b2-b4!

b6xc5

The logca continuation of White's positional plan This advance has to be played immedia immediately tely,, because beca use otherwse otherwse Black can play 1 3 a5  a5 and obtain unpleasant pressure on the b-le Black now has to reckon with the possibty po ssibty of b4-b5 b4- b5 followed ollowed by a3-a4a3 -a4-a5 a5,, which which woud woud yield yield White White a dangerous itiative itiative on the queenside queensi de

13... 13...

e6-e5?

500

FIFTH CYCLE

With this move Blac surrenders his last prospects o an advantag and the game quicly taes on a drawish character omewhat better than the text-mov text-move was was 1 3  h6, so as ater the retreat retreat 1 4h4 to depri dep rive ve White o the opportunity opp ortunity or a later later development o the 1bishop without the loss o tempo by - But this would as not have gven Blac prosp pr ospect ectss o o  obtaining any signicant signicant edge However, However, the continu c ontinuation ation 1 3   h 5 ! oowed by  £-S would ha hav held out better prospects, and would have set Whte various dcut problems to solve As 0-0-0 is now no longer possible owing to th weaened queensi que enside, de, and also the the manoeuvre b4-b5 b4-b 5 ollowed ollowed by a3-a4 a5 is too slow on account o Blac's rapid counter-play in the centr then White scarcely has anything better than 14e4 to prevent t threat o 14 145 5 This is however answered by 14 14 b8, b8 , and n Whte, with his undeveloped ingside, could quicly ace a devastating attac In any event Blac would in ths case have attained very go prospects, whe ater the text-move Whte equazes the positio without any greater diculty

14.b4xc5 15. 15.-e2

d6xc5 h7-h6

The continuation 1S 1Sxg2 xg2 16g1 c6 17h6 would have lost an exchange; here it also becomes apparent why Blac on the 13th move should have inserted the moves h7-h6 h7-h6 and h4 With the text-move

REHEV REHEVKY KY  KERE KERE

50 1

Blac orces is opponent to exchange on 6, since ater the retreat 1 6 h4 Blac can saey saey play play the capture 1 6 xg2 xg2 17g1 c6

16g5x 170-0

�d7x e8-c6

ome prospects o a slight intiative would perhaps still have been preserved preserved by 17 1 7 e4  e4 ter the text-move the draw is inevitable

18-

-e8

ow however 18 18e4 e4 wou would ld simply be answered by 1 9  4, with with a good game

19e2-d3 20JU-d1 21�d2-e4

a8-d8 c6-c7

Exchann Exchanngg o the last minor pieces, pieces , ater which the draw draw is appare a pparent nt Blac could sl have have tried 2 1   xe4 22 xe4 e6, e 6, but ths could or instance have been b een ol ollow lowed ed by 23 2 3 dS ed6 24e4, 24 e4, and the white bishop is by no means worse than the blac ght

21 21

e8-e6

The The last trap trap in the position position I now now 22 22  c3, then then 22    e4! e4! 23 23  xe4 xe4 24xe4 xe4 xe4 and Blac later wins bac bac  the e-pa e-p awn with a better endgame Reshevsky however correctly rerains rom any ind o complcations, and secures himsel complete equalty with quiet urther urth er play

22�e4x 23d3-h7 24dxd8 25a1-d1 26Jd1xd6 Draw

e6x g8-h8 c7xd8 -d6 d8xd6

502

CycleS Round24 1 Boinnik-Reshvs 0 0 Ewe-Smyslov 1 Free: Keres

The penulimate round nally gave the answer regardng the seco place In the game Euwe-myslov Whte again chose the sa unfavourable continuation as in their game in the third cycle But ti time myslov had prepared pre pared a better b etter defence defence at home h ome After the exchag exchag of queens he commenced a dangerous attac on the queenside, an equalized without dfculty Euwe then sacriced a pawn, wch gave him adequate counter-pla counte r-play, y, but only prospect prosp ectss of o f equali e quality ty However, However, as on several occas oc casion ionss bef be fore Euwe, then started to play the secon se condd hal hal of the game very wealy, and enabled Blac to hang on to his extr pawn and moreover gain a strong s trong attac attac With a beautiul beautiul combinao combina o Blac nally forced his pawn through to the rst ran, and force Wte to resign With With this this win win myslov myslov had obtained obtained 1 1 points, points, an thus assured hmself of second place The game Bovinn-Reshevsy also developed interestingly Blac tried to stir up compcations in a Four ights Game, but ths only caused him to end up in dfculties Reshevsy went on to sacrice a pawn, but without obtaining sufcient compensation in return Whe Reshevsy also dd not continue in the strongest way, he enabled th enemy bishop pair to tae action, whch rapily decided the outcom of the game Reshevsy resigned on the 41st move in a hopele position Tournament position before the last round: Botvinni 14, myslo 1 1 , Keres Keres and and Reshevsy Reshevsy z and Euwe 4

BOTV BOTVIIK II K - HEVK HEVKY Y

503

No 47. Fo Knits Game M. Boinnik

S. Reshs

Moscow, 13th May 1948 .e2-e4 fter already having assured himself of rst place, Botvinnik plays e2-e4 e2-e 4 for for the rst time in the tournament tournament s soon soo n becomes becom es apparent, he has specia spe ciall reasons reason s for this

1... 2.g- 3.b-c3

e7-e5 b8-c6

s Botvinni B otvinni pointed out after the game, he had no intention intent ion of playing playing especially hard for a win in this game, but instead he tried to gure out the intention of hs adversary right from the start Ths explains the restrained handling of the openg If Black is content with a draw, he has several quite favourable options for this purpose in the Four Knights Opening

3... 4.-b5

g8- -b4

In order or der to mae a draw, draw, 4     d4 is dentely the simplest simples t continuation, continuation, because the ine Sa4 cS 6xe5 00 is scarcey anytng Bac has to fear nd it is moreover unliely to appear in the present game, as White had no reason to pay hard for a win The continuation 5xd4 exd4 6e5 quicy ves rise to a dead dra s Reshevsy let this chance pass by, Botvinnik expected winning attempts from Black, and so now he continues the battle with his full strength

5.0-0 6.d2-

0-0 4xc3

FIFTH CYCLE

504

There was as a s yet no need need or this this exchange, exchange, because becau se 6    d6 is ull acceptable or Black However, the move order chosen by Black is  f little practical importance at ths point

7.b2xc3

d7d6

The The continuation continuation recommended recommende d by venonius, venonius, 7    d5 8xc6 bx6 9   xe5 d6 d6 1 04 e8, e8 , ves ves ris risee to a very very tense game, game, wch wch theor theor considers avourable or Whte

8.cg5

d8e7

The continuation advocated by Metger, whch is most requentl employed in ths position p osition Weaker is 8    e7 due to 9h4; the sa goes goes or 8    h6 9h4 g4 g4 1 0h3 0 h3 But the the smpl smplee 8   d7, so as to pla 9   e7 ater, would yeld Black a satisactory game

9JUe ow Botnnik rerains rom the drawng continuation 9xc6 an contnues the game in normal ashion

9...

�c6d8

For the purpose purpo se o mang a draw draw, 9    a6 is perhaps simpler, becaus the loss los s o tempo in the the line line 1 xc6 xc6 bxc6 is o no importance But t t text-move is more requently used

10.d3d4

�d8e6

I Black intended to play or a win in ths game, then the sharp line 10 10g4 g4 11h3 hS 12g4 g6 13h4 h6, as recommende by Capablanca, oered the best chances to do so The textmov s common com mon,, but itit does doe s not oer Black any special spe cial prospe pro spects cts o an initiative

.g5c

BOTIK BOTIK - HEV HEVKY

1 1...

505

-d8

Here Here the normal conti continua nuatio tionn 1 1 ...c5, ... c5, planning to generate counter play on the c-le, is certainly more energetic, and offers Black better prospects than the preparatory textmove. Whte now obtains a slight slight advantage.

12. 12.b5-! White's only task at the moment is to prevent the ...d6-d5 ...d6-d5 advance, which could become very troublesome after for example 12.g3 or 12.h4 g6 13.g3. ow however 12... 12...d5 d5 would would simply be answered by 1 3 .exd5 .e xd5  xdS 1 4.b2, foll ollowe owedd by openng openng the the positi pos ition, on, which which woul wouldd turn White's two bishops into a dangerous attacking force.

12... 12...

�e6?

This retreat enables White to strengthen his position even further, and makes makes Black's defence defence very very difcult. difcult. 1 2 ...c5 ... c5 had to be played, with approximately approximately the same intentions as on the 1 1 th move, move, even even though White would stand somewhat better bet ter owing to the extra tempo. temp o.

FIFTH CYCLE

506

An important move, move, whc whchh prevents prevents the continuation continuation 1 3    g6 due t 1 4 4 f5 xf x fS 1 5  exf ex f5 followed ollowed by 1 6 d3, d 3, with with an advanta advantage ge for Whit Whit  Blac now has great dfculty coming up with a satisfactory defenc and the sally now undertaen by hm on the ngside only weaens s position further

13... 13...

-g4?

This loses at least a couple of tempos for Blac, if not even mr The combinative line 13 13 xe4 xe4 1 4e4 fS fS 1 S c4 c4 @h8 was also also ver ver dangerous; White can answer it by 16\hS fxe4 17g5 d7 18 and it is clear that Blac should be happy if he can somehow emerg with with a satisf s atisfactory actory position 1 3   e8 e8 1 4g3 g6 seem se emss to of offe ferr Blac the comparativ comparativel elyy best defensive prospects, even though in this case White also retains a clear initiative

14.g2-g3 15.- 16.c-e3!

e7- g4-h6

After 16xh6 Blac naturay could not play te capture 16 16  xh6 n account of 17dxe5 winning a pawn, but 16 16gxh6 gxh6 would have give him him an acceptable acc eptable position, po sition, despite de spite the the doubled pawns Hence He nce the the pla that White initiated with the text-move is much stronger; it threatens the very unpleasant gS and at the same time leaves Blac's night  h6 in a very bad position Here we can observe the result of Blac's faulty plan of commncing counter-play on the ngside which  began on the 13th move

16... 16... 17.d1-d2

d8-e8 -g6

The unfavourable placement of Blac's night on h6 forces him t solv solvee his problems by articia articiall means, because 1 8gS  e6 1 9 dS winning a pawn was threatened With the text-move Blac hopes f 18g5 xh4! but White has a stronger continuation at his disposal

BOT BOTVIIK - REHE REHEVK VKY Y

507

18.h4-g2! ow 19g5, wnning a pawn, s agan threatened, and ths tme Black has consderably more dfculty ndng an adequate defence In ths position po sition Reshevsky Reshe vsky of o ffered a draw draw, whch Botv Bo tvnk nk naturally naturally refus refused ed,, as Whte has ha s a clearly better postion p ostion 

18... 18...

c8-h3

It isis true true that ths ths move move defends agains againstt the threat of of 1 9 g5 on account accoun t of 1 9 xf  xf33 20e2?? xg2 mate, but it does do es not free Black from hs fcultes so unfavourable for Black was the ne 18 18xf3 xf3 19e2 xe4 20xh6 20xh6 gxh6 gxh6 21 b5) b5) 20c4 20 c4 e7 21 2 1 xh6 gxh6 gxh6 f6 (Or 1 9 xe4 22xh6 and Whte's attack on the open f-le would sooner or later decide the outcome of the game

19. 19.-e2 Again Again Whte Whte refrains refrains from from the lne lne 1 9 xh6 x h6 gxh6 20 20   e3, e3 , whch would would be answered answered by 20    e6 wth some defensve chances for Black ow 20g5 s again a threat

19... 19...

h3xg2

508

FIH FI H CYCLE CYCLE

20.®g2

d6-d5!

This This pawn sacrice con c onstitutes stitutes Blac's Blac's best bes t pracical pracical chance, since 21 2 1 . .g g W e6 22.d5 followed by xh6 winnng a pawn, was again threatene, as well as a pawn attac on the ngside after due preparation. If fr example example 20 . . .  , then th en there could follo ollow w 21 .g4 with with the strong thre thre of 22.g5.

21.e4xd5

e5xd4

Bad Bad is 21 . . .   22.g5 22.g5 d d6 23.b5! 2 3.b5! c6 (Or 23 . . .  24.dxe5 xe 2S. 2S .ff4) 24.dx 24 .dxc6 c6 bxc6 25 2 5 .d3 when White White has a good position a  extra pawn.

22.c3xd4 22.xd4 d6 23.c4 fS 24. was very good. However, in any evet ite has an excellent position with hs bishop pair and extra pawn

22... 22... 23.e3- 24.c2-c4

h6- e8-d8 h7-h5

t ths point both players were already in mared timepressure

BOTV BOTVIIK - REHEV EHEVKY KY

509

Botvinni had approximately 10 minutes left for the next 16 moves, while while Res Reshevsy hevsy had had 25 minutes at his dsposal. dspo sal. Des D espite pite this, this, Reshevsy Resh evsy played the following moves almost without thinng, in the hope o utilizing his opponent's time-trouble. Perhaps this constituted the best practical savin savingg chance for for Blac, since his h is position would would be lost l ost if i f the game continues normally. Here the the immediate immediate 24. . . b5 would have offered somewhat better chances objectively. It would have demolished White's strong pawn centre and thus retained some prospects of saving the game. In this case White could, for example, continue with 25.cxb5 dS 26.ad1 ad 27.c4 27 .c4 d7  d7 28.d 2 8.d55 with with an extra pawn pawn..

25h2-h4 An instincti ins tinctivve reply, reply, but certainly weaer than than the simple 2 5 .ab . ab 1 , which would have deprived Blac of the chance to gain counter-play with with the move 25 . . . b5. Blac now once more has some chances of saving saving the game. game .

25 25 26Y-g5

b7-b5!

aturally White could also proceed along the lines described in the above above note by playi playing ng 26.cx 26 .cxb5 b5 xdS x dS 27. 2 7.ad ad11 , follo followed wed by c4. c4. But the text-move forces the exchange of queens, and is thus even simpler.

26 26 27h4xg5

Yxg5 h5-h4?

It is true that with this advance Blac nally wins bac the pawn, but in so s o doing he immediate immediately ly ends up in a hopeles s position. po sition. Much better be tter was was 27 . . . bxc4 28.xc4 28 .xc4 fe7, e7 , when Blac Blac also wins the pawn bac, but under much more favourable conditions co nditions than th an in the game. Whte could for instance continue with 29.ac1 xdS 30.b3, foowed by c. The bishop pair in an open position would then still yield hm a clear advantage, advantage, but it would have have been be en signicantly more difcult difcu lt to exploit expl oit than in the game.

50

FIFTH CYCLE

28.e2-d3 29.xg3

h4xg3 xd4?

This loses on the spot, because Black's ight becomes trappe Howeve How ever,r, the best be st continua continuation tion 29     xg3 xg3 30@ 30 @xg xg33 bxc4 bxc4 31 xc4 xc4 a was also al so scarcely s carcely sucient to create any genuine genuine chances chance s o saving saving t tee game But even so, at least Black would have gained some counter-p whereas now all urther resistance is over

30Ja-d!  very strong move It mainly threatens 31xg6 winning a piece, a over the oong moves it orces Black to open up the position ee urther Black's position is hopeless

30... 3.d5xc6 32.d3-e4

c7-c5 d4xc6 a8-c8

32  d1 d 1 33 33 xd1 xd1 c8 c 8 34cxb 34 cxb55 would would also also not not chan change ge matters, matters,  Whte's passed pawns on the queenside would quicy decide t outcome o the game

33.dxd8

c6xd8

BOTV BOTV K K  HEVK HEVKY Y

34.e4-! 35Je-e8 36.c4xb5

51 1

c8-a8 g8-h7

Blac no longer has any satis factory moves at hs dispos disp osal al  trag tragico icomic mic position!

36... 37.g3-c7 38.e8xa8

- d8-e6

The continuation 38Je6 would also have won easily, but White had no time to asse as sess ss all all the possibil pos sibilities ities in time-trouble time-trouble

38... 38... 39.a8xa7 40.a7-d7

e6xc7 c7xb5

More beautiful would have been 40gxf6 xa7 41

40... 40... 41.a2-a4 Black resigned.

xg5

5 12

FIFTH CYCLE

No 48. 48. Grnfeld Grnfeld Defence Defence M. Ewe

 Smyslov

Moscow, 13 May 1948 .d2-d4 2.c2-c4 3.�b1-c3 4.�g1- 5.d1-b3 6. 6.b3xc4 7.e2-e4 8.c-e3 9.c4-b3 10.a2-a4

�g8- g7-g6 d7-d5 -g7 d5xc4 0-0 c8-g4 �-d7 �d7-b6

o ar the game has proceeded in the same way as the games ere myslov and Euwe-myslov rom the third cycle, where more detaile explanations about the opening moves made so ar have been give The text-move was also employed by Euwe in the game mentione above, and it brought him a posiive result evertheless, this advance should be considered as unavourable or White, since the weaenig o the b4-square is a more important actor at this point than e undermining o the blac night on b6 The Th e correct continua continuatio tionn is 1 1 d 1, as was playe playedd in the game game eres eres myslo In that game Blac Bla c only obtained equaty equaty due to inaccurae inaccurae later play rom Whte

10... 10... 11.d4-d5

a7-a5

The same move as in the game mentioned mentio ned above, but this time myslov myslov is able to come up with with the the correct reply reply Certainly Certainly better was 1 1 d 1 , although the weaening o the queenside only constitutes a proble or White

EUWE UWE - LOV

1 1 12g2x

53

g  d8-d6!

In the thrd-cycle game, myslov refrained from the exchange on f3 and instead played 11...a6, however ths only turned out to be a loss of tim time, e, and enabled enabled Whit Whitee to t o consoli cons olidat datee his hi s posit po sition. ion. The T he manoeuvre manoeuvre played played in the present game game is very strong, strong, and mainly threatens 1 3 ...b4, ... b4, thus revealing the weanesses in ite's position caused by his 1th move. s White lacs a satisfactory defence against this, the sharp line chosen by him in the game perhaps constitutes the best practical continuation

133-b5 Even though White does not gain any advantage by this sally, it is difcult to suggest anything better instead, because Blac's threat to play 13... 13...b4 b4 is very troublesome. It is clear that Whte's idea to play 1 .a4 and 1 1 .d5 .d 5 was not not particu particular larly ly succes succ essf sful. ul.

13 13 14b3xb4 15�b5xc7

d6-b4 a5xb4

FIFTH CYCLE

54

Whte has no time to play 15.a5, because it could be answered  1 5 ...xb2 ...xb2 16.b1 a4.

a8xa4 ter 16.xa4 xa4 17.b3 c3 the black knight would take up a r strong post on c3, and Whte would experence trouble brinng hi ight on c7 into play. The text-moe wins an important tempo, a i certainly better.

16... 16... 17c7-b5 18. 18.-e2

�b6-d7 -c

Here White could take the chance to simpli the position by the  18.d4, and then threaten to quietly complete his deelopment. Bla can can answer answer th thss by 1 8 ...b3 ... b3 1 9.xb3 9. xb3 b4, b4, bu but tthe henn 20.d2 20. d2 xb xb22 21 .xb .xb xb2 22. 22 .e2 e2 would only only lead lead to equality. equality. myslov's myslov's attempt attem pt to play 19 1 9 ... e6 20.dxe6 20 .dxe6 xe6 21 .h3    scarcely deserves des erves any any serious considerati considerati ,, since ater 22.0-0 Black can at best hope to wn back the pawn with a equal game.

18... 18...

b4-b3!

Ths move xes Whte's pawn on b2 and threatens to inade on  second rank with a rook. White must now play very accurately in ordr to equalize the position again.

Euwe assesses the position accurately when he makes this temporar pawn pawn sacrce s acrce,, and thus rees himsel himse l rom Black's troubleso troublesome me pressr pres sr But in actual act White did did not hae hae much o o a choice choic e here, since sinc e 1 9 .00 .0 0 c2 20.d1 xb2 simply loses a pawn, and 19.d1 also does  threaten anythi anything. ng. Black can or or example continue continue wih 1 9 ... ...  a6, a it is impos imp ossible sible to see how White would be able to ree himsel.

EUWE UWE - LOV

19... 19...

55

g7xb2

Blac has nothng better than to accept the sacrice; White was simply threatenng threatenng to play 20d 20 d22 follo ollowed wed by by hc1 hc 1  and in addtion the threat of d 1 also had to be taen into consideration Blac cannot yet develop develop the night night on b8 on account account of the reply reply bS bS  and also also 1 9 e6  e6 20dxe6 fxe6 2100 scarcely offers Blac any prospects of an advantage

20Jbxb2 21.®e1-d2

a4x

This move is adequate for White but 21d1 loos simpler and does not allow allow Blac Blac the chance chance to protect the position pos ition of the cSc S-night night f thereafter 21c3 then 22d2; if however 21c5 then 22xc5 xcS 23xb3 xb3 24xb3 and it cannot be seen how Bac would be able to create an attac that hods out prospects of success Finally 21e5 22xb3 x 23e2 xb3 24xb3 eS 25b1 ves rise to a position where White's attacng chances and bishop pair more than compensate compens ate for for the sacriced sa criced pawn fter the text-move Bac is able to secure the important support point on cS for his night and thus mae Whte's defence somewhat more difcult

FIFTH CYCLE

56

2 1 22h-b 23e3-d4

�b8-a6 �a6-c5

Again White White choos cho oses es a mor moree fcul fcultt defence than neces nec essary; sary; one whic offers off ers  more m ore chance cha ncess to mae a mistae mista e Here He re 23 d1 d 1 a2 24x 24 xa2 a2 bxa2 2a1 a8 26  c3 loos simpler, and White would sooner or later win the dangerous pawn on a2 Furthermore, White also had another defensive possibility at his disposal which seems to offer hm sufcient counterplay, namely 23 b b  If now 23    e as intended by myslov myslov, then 24xc5 xcS 25xb3 x 26  e3 and and now 26    xb5 27xa3 xb1 28  x as well well as 26    c3 27xc3 xc3 28 28  d3! d3 ! both bo th giv givee rise to endgames where White should s hould be able to draw by careful careful defenc defencee

23 23

e7-e5

Blac must react quicly quicly,, since sinc e 24 b b  was threatened threatened 

24d5xe6? With this exchange White voluntarily gives up his strong passed pawn on dS and again maes the defence much more difcult But it sll

EU - LOV

57

does not place White in a clearly lost position. At this point 24.xc5  xcS 2S.d1 2S .d1 a2 a2 26.xa2 26. xa2 bxa bxa22 27. 27 .a1 a1 a8 28. 28 .c3 c3 was was unfav unfavou oura rabl blee for White, since the resulting endgame yields Black excellent winnng chances. However, White had two continuations at hs dsposal that would have offered hm an adequate defence, namely retreating the bishop to either e3 or c3 The move 24.e3 renews the threat of 2S.b5 as now the th e eSs eS squa quare re is not avai available lable for Black's Black's knight knight,, and if 24 . . . f5, as ven by myslov, then 25.exf5 gxfS 26.d6! and now White's two bishops are suddenly exerting extremely dangerous activity. Besides c4, dangerous attacks by for for example g1  g1  are also als o threatene threa tened. d. It is unlikely that Black in this event would be able to make use of his worthle worthless ss extra pawn. pawn. 24.c3 also loo looks ks possible pos sible,, so as to answer answer 24 . . . a4 by 2S.b4. myslov myslov had intended to reply 24. . .  b6, thre threat aten enin ingg 25 . . . ba4, but also here Whte seems to have a satisfactory defence by 2S.b4 a2 26. 26 .ee 1 ! , and and it cannot be seen how Black could be able to success fully ully strengthen strengthen his attack attack rther. rther. If 26 . . . ba4, then 27.xa2 bxa2 28.a1 and the apawn falls; falls; if i f however however 26 . . . xb2 x b2 27 .xb2  ba4, then then 28.b 28. b 1 and it is again difcult to see how Black could be able to strengthen hs position further.

24 24 25d4-e3 26e3xc5?

c5xe6 d7-c5

In this position the pair pair of bishop bi shopss constitutes co nstitutes Wte's Wte's only only compensation compe nsation for the sacriced pawn, and only with thei help can Wite hope to restore the material balance. Hence the text move, voluntarily giving up the bishop pair, is the decisive mistake. It yields Black an easily won position, because White does not gain any compensation in return. Black' Black'ss weak extra pawn pawn on b3 now decides the outcome outco me of o f the game. Although, according to several commentators, Whte's position was lost los t all the same, thing thingss were not no t really really that simple. simpl e. pecicall pec ically, y, Wht Whtee could have continued very strongly by 26.c4! and threatened to play 27.xe6 27 .xe6 or 27.xb3. 27 .xb3. For For Black Black neither neither 26 . . .  a4 27.xe6 27 .xe6 nor 26 26 . . . d8 27 .dS off offered ered an attack attacking ing continuation with prospec pros pects ts of succe suc cess s,

58

FIFTH CYCLE

so the only only thng thng that that comes com es into considera cons ideration tion is 26 2 6    xe4 27xe4 xc4 However, there then ollows 28@d3 b4 29 and it is very liely that the threat o 30@c3 bS 31@c4 will oer White adequate deensive chances Ater Whte ails to tae this last chance, myslov wins the game aulessly

26... 26... 27.d2-c3

e6xc5

Ate Aterr 27c4, 27 c4, then then 27    a4 28xb3 a2 would have won most simply, simply, and also als o 27 d 1 d8 d 8 gves gves Blac a winnng winnng position positio n With With the text-move text-move White intends to answer 27    a4 a4 or 27    xe4 xe4 by 28@b4, but Blac's simple reply just turns it into a loss o tie It was better to immediately play 27@e3, which would save White at least a couple o tempos Blac would then continue similarly to te game game wi with th 27    d8 28c4 @g7, and White is unable to strengthen his position, since 29@ 29 @e2 e2 woul wouldd be answered answered by by 29    a4

27... 27... 28.c3-d2

a3-a4 g8-g7

Blac is not in a hurry to orce matters on the queenside, since in an case White cannot generate a successul attac against the b3-pawn With the text-mov text-m ovee Blac threatens, threaten s, in the event o urther passiv pas sivee pla pla by Whte, to increase his positional advantage even more by xng te weaesse weaes sess on 4 and e5 e5  This orces White White to become active active

29.d2-e3 30.b-c

c8-d8

30d 30 d 1 would would simply be answered by 30    a3, and 30d 30 d 1 xd 1 3 1 xd xd 1 @6 would also leave Wte in a helpless position, since 32@d2 wi not do do because o 32    a2

30... 30... 31.e2-c4

b7-b6 d8-a8

EUWE EUWE - LOV

59

31...g5 followed by ...@f6 ...@f6 ould also have won White no longer has any defence.

32 32c4-d5 aturay not 32.xb3 b4 33.c3 a3 winning a piece.

32 32 33Jc-b 34®e3-d2

a4-a2 a-a4

This move enables Black to win by force, but the somewhat better 34.f4 would also not have prolonged the game much longer. ow a pretty nale occurs.

34 34 35®d2-e2

a4-d4

Or 3S.@c3 xdS 36.exd5  a4 with a won pawn endgame, and after 3 S .@e3 .@ e3 d3 36.@e 36 .@e22 xb2 37.xb2 37. xb2 gS Blac Blackk wins wins easil e asilyy by mar marc cng ng his king through f6-e5-d4.

35 35

�c5-a4!

FIFTH FI FTH CYCLE CYCLE

520

36b2xa2 37b-a

b3x

Or 37xa2 c3 38e3 a4 39b3 a3 and Bac wns a pece

37... 37... 38.e2-e3

�a4-c3

38e1 b4 39xa2 a4, wnning a pece, woud no hep Whe  save the game ether

38... 38... ite resied.

d4-d

52

Cycle 5 Round25 1 Reshevs-Euwe 0 1 Keres-Boinnik Keres- Boinnik 0 Free: Smyslov hough he rs wo paces n he ournament had aready been decded, he na  na round, o decde he hrd hrd and fourh fourh paces pa ces,, became very neresng n he game Reshevsy-Euwe Whie empoyed a very modes ne n he Queen's Gamb Reshevsy dd no gan any advanage ou of he openng, bu n he mddegame he was abe o ae he nave and pose hs opponen ceran dfcues Euwe was abe o sove he probems sasfacory, bu on he 19h move he commenced a compeey unjused aac, and as a resu ended up n a ceary os poson  seres of muua naccuraces foowed unt Bac nay os o pawns, pawns, bu n reurn had a mo mos s dangerous dangerou s aac gong Bu once agan Euwe suffered from a crss durng he second haf of he game; nsead of connung he aac vgorousy, he os a coupe of vauabe empos, and was hen himsef he one o come under unde r aac aac Euwe Euwe resgned resgned bef be fore he adjournmen adjournme n he second s econd game, KeresBo Keres Bovnn vnn,, was no ess  ess excn excng g Whe chose a very sharp s harp ne n he French Fr ench Def D efence ence where wher e he o ffered a doube pawn sacrce Bac refused o accep he sacrces, bu, despe hs, he poson remaned ense n order o open nes and eep Bac's ng suc n he cenre, Whe sacrced a cenra pawn for a dangerous aac o as o hwar he aac, Bac had o gve bac he pawn  poson hen occurred where Bac coud aos secure a draw by force; nsead he chose a rser ne by advancng hs epawn far no he enemy camp How However ever,, his pawn became bec ame jus j us anoher headache heada che for Bac Whe aaced his pawn and forced Bac o mae a desperae exchange sacrce n order o defend  However, hs dd no ease Bac's suaon: Whe oo he exchange and hen aso won he e pawn, as we as he game he na poson of he ourn ournamen: amen: Bovnn Bovnn  1 4, mysov mysov 1 1 , Keres and Reshevsy 10/, and Euwe 4

FFH CYCLE

522

No 49 Queen's Gambit S. Resh Reshs s 

M Euwe

Moscow, 16th May 1948 d2-d4 2c2-c4 3b-c3 4e2-e3

d7-d5 e7-e6 g8-

Reshevsy had o wn s game a al coss o eep prospecs of hrd pace n he norma nes afer 4g5 Bac has severa ways a hs dsposa o smp he poson, where a draw s he mos ey oucome; oucom e; for nsance ns ance Laser's defence defence 4    e7 Se 0-0 6f h6 7h4 e4 Hence Reshevsy, aready from eary on, chooses a e-known mehod meh od of pay, even hough hough  s by no means obje ob jecv cvey ey sronger han 4g5 4g5 or 4 f

4 g-

c7-c5 b8-c6

We have now reached a we nown poson n he Queen's Pawn openg ha arrasch n hs me consdered as he "norma poson of hs openng he symmerca poson offers neher sde any parcuar chances, and he rs of a draw s even hgher here han n he norma nor ma nes nes ha Res Reshevsy hevsy avoded avoded

6d4xc5 he wang move 6a s more promsng, so as o capure on cS ony afer he deveop deveopmen men of he f8-bshop f8-bsh op Bac Bac can, for exampe, answer hs hs by 6    dxc4 7xc4 a6, wh a ransposon o a Queen's Gamb Acceped Acce ped Afer he ex-mov ex -movee Bac obans an exceen game 

6 7-a3

xc5 a7-a5

REHEVK REHEVKY - EUWE EUWE

523

t s true that ths advance thwarts b2-b4, but t consderaby weaens Bac's queensde, especay the bS-square, wich ater becomes unpeasanty apparent ncdentay, the poston s very sar to a poston n the Queen's Gambt Accepted but wth reversed coours and wth the extra tempo c3  c3 for Whte As the a2-a4 advance s not consde co nsdered red to be b e partcuary partcuary good for for Whte Whte n ths ne, then t is even ess es s tenabe tenabe for Bac n n the current poston he h e smpe smpe 7   00 8b4 8b 4 d6 was much bette b etterr n addt addton on 7   a6 aso merts merts consderaton, consderaton, so as to t o answer 8b4 8b 4 by retrea retreattng ng the th e bshop to a7 s.-e2

9.0-0

0-0 d5xc4

his exchange, whch gves up the centre, s aso not the best, and enabes Whte to gan a sght ntatve he norma contnuaton here was was 9   b6 foowed by b7, b7, wth the pan to ater pay  e7 and   8

10.d-c2 An exchange of queens woud qucy gve rise to a drawsh poston; now on the other hand Bac experences some probems on account of the weaened queensde Nevertheess, the baance of the poston does no change n any es e s senta wa way

FIFTH FI FTH CYCLE CYCLE

524

10... 10... 11.e2xc4 12.-g5

e6-e5 c8-g4 g4-h5

In order to thw thwar artt the threat threat of 1 3d 3 d5, 5, 1 2 h6  h6 13ge4 he sacrce 13x s ncorrect) 13 13f5 f5 aso came nto consderaton, whch White woud probaby answer by 14 d3 But the textmove s aso good

13. 13.c4-d3 Now however 13d5 woud smpy be answered by 13 13 g6, g6, whch after other moves would aso be awward for Whte

13... 13...

h7-h6

Bac mixes up two defensve systems and now gets nto dfcutes, because beca use his bshop bsho p on hS h S become be comess very unfav unfavou ourab raby y paced paced If Bac wanted wanted to to pay pay   h 7 -h6, -h 6, then he had to do ths on o n the 1 2th move At ths pont 13 13g6 g6 had to be b e payed, wth wth a competey satsf sats factory game

14.g5-e4 15.d3xe4

xe4

After 15xe4 there coud foow 15 15a7, a7, and Bac's other bshop gets bac nto pay agan ether va g4 or g6 The text-move s more troublesome for Bac

15... 15...

c5-a7

Here 15 158 8 was wea owng to 16f5, snce 16 16 77 w w not not do due to the oss of an exchange after 17b5 But the text-move s aso scarcey the strongest Brngng the bshop on hS bac nto py by 1 5 g  g4 4 oos oo s very very good, snce accept acce ptng ng the the pawn pawn sacrce by 1 6   a4 a7 17xc6 bxc6 18xc6 e2 19e1 c8 20b7 c7 woud yed Bac Bac a very strong attac attac,, and aso 1 6xc6 6 xc6 bxc6 bxc6 1 7   e4 e7 1 8xc6 8 xc6 e2 19e1 c8 20b7 b8 secures Bac a dra

REHE EHEVKY  EUWE

525

16.c-d2 Ths Ths quet quet pece pec e deveopment does doe s not cause Bac any probems prob ems,, snce snc e now he brngs hs hS-b h S-bshop shop bac nto pay and and ony gets a somewhat so mewhat unfavourabe poston due to hs weaened queensde. For ths reason 1 6.h3 6. h3 oos stro stronge nger,r, whc whchh thwar thwarts ts 1 6 ...ig4 and n n some so me nes threatens to wn a pawn by the move g2-g4. Bac woud then have to contend wth much greater dfcu dfcutes, tes, and t s not certan c ertan that he woud be abe a be to escape e scape from them wthout mang serous posto pos tona na conces con cessons sons..

16... 16...

 h5-g4

Bac has now avoded the worst consequences, and the game agan proceeds proce eds aong norma norma paths.

17.h2-h3 1.c3-b5

g4-e6

Now the weaenng of the queensde created on the seventh move s mang tsef fet. Whte's ght s exceenty paced on bS and threaten threate n s a ater a ter say to d6, attacng the wea b 7 -pawn. Bac has to proceed wth great care to avod qucy endng up ceary worse.

18... 18... 19JU-d1

a7-b6 Vd8-g5?

FIFH CYCLE

526

Bac had obtaned a qute satsfactory poston, but the compcaed attac on the ngsde commenced by the texmove agan runs everythng White now obtans a decsve advantage on the queensde, and Bac's attacing prospects on the ngsde are nsufcent o compensate comp ensate for the the damage damage caused on o n the other an Bac had no reason reas on for such a desperate attac, attac, snce after after 1 9 e7!  e7! he woud have had qute a good poston, and n some nes even be threatenng threatenng to pay pay      f5  he contnu con tnuaton aton 20xc6 20 xc6 s nothing to fe fe due to 20  Jc J c8, 8, and aso as o 20c3  fd8 woud yed Bac a fu fuyy tenabe tenabe game game Afte Afterr 1 9 e7  e7 there appea ap pears rs to be b e no way way for Whte to attan an sgnicant sgnican t advantage advantage

20.�b5d6! After Whte has taen contro over the d6square, the defence of the b 7 pawn pawn beco be come mess hope ho pee ess s for Bac, Bac , and thus thus his whoe def de fensve en sve wa on the queensde coapses he wn of the h3pawn on the ngsde does do es not of o ffer suf su fcent cen t attacng attacng chances chanc es n return return 

20... 20... 21.c2b3!

e6xh3 b6a7

Afte Afterr 21    c7 22xb7 xd6 23xc6 Whte stands ceary better B apparenty ths contnuaton constuted Bac's comparatvey bes def de fence enc e After After the textmove tex tmove Whte obans ob ans a decs de csve advantage advantage

22.b3xb7 23. 23.e4!

�c6-e7

Naturay Bac does doe s not have have to be esp e specay ecay afra afradd of the contn con tnuaon uaon 23xa8 23 xa8 xa8 xa8 24xa8, because afte afterr for nstance 24    g6 he woud obtan strong counterpay on the ngsde Bu the textmove smp threatens 24e4 wnnng a pece, and sets Bac much more grave probems

23... 23...

-

REHEVK REHEVKY  EUWE EUWE

527

Noth No thng ng better can be seen, seen , since after after 23   b8 24�c7 b6 there foo oows ws 2S 2S e4, e4, and and 23    f5 fais to 24x But the textmove is aso insufcient As a resu of the risky 19th move, Back's position has been aid competey bare

24.g-? With this move White mght somehow retain the better position, but it enabes Back to get some dangerous counter-chances nstead White coud comparativey simpy have assured himsef of a ceary winning position by paying 24�b3 h7, and now not 2Sxa8? xa8 26g3 �hS with a strong strong attack attack for the sacriced exchange, exchange, but simpy simpy 25 25    f now now 25 25 �g6, �g6, then there there foow oowss 26 26 xe5; xe5; i f howeve howeverr 2255   f6, f6, then simpy simpy 26xa8; 26 xa8; there there ony ony remains 25    x 26�x e4, but then 27 �hS �h S yieds yieds Wte a ceary winn winnng ng position po sition Besides the continuation ven above, Whte aso had another winnin winningg possibi poss ibiit ityy at his disposa, dispo sa, namey 24�d7 f now 24   e4, then simpy simpy 2Sxe4; 2S xe4; and if 24   ad8 25 �e6 �e 6 @h7, @h 7, then aong the nes nes of the previ previous ous vari variat atio ionn 26 26    x 27�x 27 �x e4 28�h5 28 �h5 with with an easiy easiy winng winng posit po sition ion After After the textmove textmove the position po sition becomes becom es so compicated that neither side is abe to fu fuy y orientate himse himseff in the mes me s s of o f combinations c ombinations that ars e

24

•

e5-e4

tronger tronger than than 24   g4 25�b3 @h7 26xa8 xd 27xd1 xa8 28�b 28 �b 7 w when hen Back canno ca nno avoi avoidd materi materia a osses osse s

25.g23

a8-b8?

An interesting piece sacrice, which unfortunatey seems to be incorrect Back Back had to proceed with with 25    exf3 exf3 26�xf 26 �xf33  g6 or 26    f4, and attain decen attacking chances in return for the pawn Weak on the other hand hand was was 25 2 5    8  8 on accoun accountt of 26 26 xe4 xe4 �h4 27�d7 fxe4 28�e 2 8�e6 6

528

FIH CYCLE CYCLE

26.�d6xe4? This move yields White nothing, because now Black gets a overhelmng attack as compensation for the lost pawns, which sees to be at least sufcient to level the the position. po sition. The correct continuation was to play 26.xa7 ex and now  2 7 .a6 a6 xb2 with sufcien counter-pla counter-p lay, y, bu the simple 27. 2 7.c c33 an  cannot be seen how Black can contiue hs attack. If for instance 27 . . .g2 28. 28 .e1 e1 g g  29. 29 .d2 d2 x x 30. 30 .cc 1 , Bl Bl no longer has a good defence against the threat of 31.xe7, si 3 0 ..h4 ..h4 wou would ld be answer answered ed by 31 3 1 .g1 . And if Black play playss 27    f, then there follows 28.a6, and although Black subsequently re certain cer tain threats, they are nevertheles neverthele s s not enough to to compen com pensate sate fr  sacriced piece Ths suggests that 26.xa7 would have offered White good wiig chances, although only after lengthy accurate further play The te move should, sho uld, on the other hand, gve gve Black excellent attacking attacking ch in the event event of o f the correc co rrectt reply reply

26... 27.b7xe4

xe4 -?

A bad mistake, mis take, whch whch gv gves es Whte an important tempo temp o and the chance  bud up an ef e fcient cie nt def d efenc encee for his ng. ng. Back had a very strong atta atta  going, and had the choice beteen several promising continuatins, some so me of which woud woud have have placed Whte Whte in some s ome difculties.

REHEV REHEVK KY Y - EUWE EUWE

529

In the rst instance instance the move move 27 . . .f6 is striking; it threatens threaten s to capture on f3 and leaves White with a rather restricted choice of defensive possibilities. If 28.@e2 then Black, besides the drawing continuation 28 ...a6 ... a6 29.@ 29 .@e1 e1 f6, f6, can also play play 28... 28 ...xb2 xb2 with with a strong s trong attack. And if 28.@g2, 28 .@g2, Black can likew likewise ise play 28 . . .xb2 or also 28... 28 ...f5 f5 and no good defence defence can be seen against against the threat of 29 . . .  h4. h4. Thus it seems White White should answer 27 . . . f f66 by pla plang ng 28.ac 1 , so as afte afterr 28 . . .x 29.xf 29 .xf33 xf3 xf3 to w win in back the piece by 30.c 3 0.c7; 7; in this event event Black can, if nothng nothng better can be found, play 30... 30 ...b b with a drawish endgame. From the note ven above, it becomes clear that Black could have ensured hmsel hmselff of at least equality equality by by the move move 27 . . .f6. However, he also has other tools to continue the attack in reserve. For example 27 ... ...  f5 is i s a very troublesome troublesome move for for White, White, as a s well as 27 . . . b6. As can be seen, Black had a variety of good attacng continuations at his dsposal that were markedly stronger than the slow text-move. However, Black's position is so rich rich in pos p ossibil sibilties ties that even after after the inert text-move he retains substantial chances to save the game.

28.-g4!

g5-h4?

It is ony this move, whch whch enables Whte to protect pro tect hs ngside, n gside, whch nally nally ruins Black's position. po sition. Here Here 28 . . . f5 had to be played, with the threat threat of 29 . . . g3, wch White has no easy task to prevent in a good good way way.. If fo forr instance ins tance 29.@ 29 .@e2, e2, then then 29 . . . g3; and if 29.f4, then

FIFTH CYCLE

5 30

29 . . .xg4; .xg4; if i f White White plays his king to the g-le then then there there follows 29 . . . , and an d aft after er 29.@ 29. @ e 1  bf8 Black has ha s a strong attack. Hence He nce White apparentl apparently has nothng better than to answer 28 ...f5 ... f5 with 29.xf5 xfS 30.f. But also in ths case White's open kingside offers Black far from poor prospect pros pectss of saving saving the game, for for instance after 30 . . .\hS.

29.-f4! Wte's Wte's ng is now adequately protected, protected , and soon soo n Black Black nds nds himself under the attack of White's strong bishop pair. The further part of t game is no longer very interesting.

29... 29...

@g8-h8

29 .. . xf x f4 30.xf 30 .xf44 f8 f8 wil willl not do because of 3 1 .e6.

30. 30.d2-e 3.e-c3 32.g4-e2 .g4-e2 33. 33.e2-g4

Wh4- W-a6 Wa6-c8

Both players were already in timetrouble; Wte therefore tries to wi some time by repeating moves.

33... 33... 34.@-g2

Wc8-a6 e7-

Ths move move loses lose s on o n the spot, spot , but Black Black was lost in any any case.

35. 35.g4 36Jd-d7!

�

Black resigned.

White naturally could not immediately play the capture 36.\xfS o account of 36 . . .e2 with a perpetual check. ow however Black is defenceless defenceless ; afte afterr 36 . . . \e2 37.@h1 Black has no more checks, and he is unable to simultaneously protect both g7 g 7 and a 7, and after 36 . . . g8 then 37. 37 .xa7 xa7 is sufcient for a win. Full of errors, erro rs, but but a very interesting intere sting ghtin ghtingg game.

 - BOT BOTVIIK II K

53 

N o 50. rench Def D efence ence P Keres

M. Botnn

Moscow, 16th May 1948 .e2-e4 2.d2-d4 3.b-c3

e7-e6 d7-d5

White had to win this game at all costs if he wanted to take part in the struggle for third place. For this reason White refrains from the more restrained continuation 3.d2, which was utized between the same players in the third cycle, and after 3 . . . c5 ves rise to quiet positional play.

3... 4.c-d2

-b4

eine's clever innovation; the position immeately becomes very complicated compli cated and thus cons co nstiutes tiutes a very very good method me thod of play for for White. With the text-move White offers two temporary pawn sacrices, the correctness of wch can only be decided through further practicl experience. exp erience. What speak sp eakss in fa favour of of the pawn pawn sacric sac rices es is the fact fact that in the games game s played so s o far they have give givenn Wte excellent exce llent results. re sults.

4...

d5xe4

The only reply that can challenge the value of 4.d2.

5.d-g4 The move 4.d2 was used for the rst time in the important game AleneFlohr, AleneFlohr, ottingh ottingham am 1 936. 93 6. White White continued continued with with 5.  xe4 xd4 6.d3 xd2 7.xd2 and also offered the pawn on b2 to be taken Flohr d not capure it, later lost the pawn back, and nally also the gme. gme . How Howeve ever,r, subse su bsequent quent analysis showed that Blac Bl ackk coud co ud well well have have

FIFTH FI FTH CYCLE

5 32

play played ed 7   �xb2, because White's attack is not sufcient to compensae for to sacriced pawns With the text-move te xt-move White White is also o ffering another pawn sacrice, sac rice, b in the event of its acceptance Black is forced to weaken s positio, and thus ve Wte more favourable attacking chances Moreover, afte afterr the game against Flohr, Alekhine himself himse lf considered con sidered S �g4 �g4 to be be the most promising attacking continuation

5

�g8-

Black declines the second pawn sacrice and even decides to give back the extra pawn However, ts ts is scarcely sc arcely sufcient sufcie nt to solve the problems probl ems set by 4  d2 Certainly Certainly more m ore interest interes ting is the capture S   �xd4, which which leaves White with the task of justifying the correctness of the paw sacrices The natural reply 6f3 yields White nothing, since Black would answer answer it by 6    h6 7�f4 eS and achieve at least equality Hence White White must proceed proceed with 60 6 0-0-0 -0-0,, which afte afterr 6    f5 7 �g3 d6 8 f4 f4 xf4 9�xf4 �cS ves rise to a debatable position, ad it is exactly this debate that decides dec ides the the value value of 4 d2 It is naturally too early to ve a nal assessment regarding hi position without further practical experience, but it can at least be said that White's attacking chances appear to be worth to paws  the game Keres-Lwensch, Moscow 1948, there foowed 10f3 e7

  BONNIK BONNIK

533

11fxe4 00 12f3 d7, when instead of 13 13 d3 Whte could have have played the more interestng 13exf5, with excellent attacking chances

6.g4xg7 7 g7-h6 g7-h6 .

h8-g8 b8-c6

Afte Afterr 7    g6 there s no need for Whte to play 8e3, and he can proceed with 8h4, 8 h4, as also occurred later in the game How Howeve ever,r, very dangerou dangerouss for Black is 7   xd4 on account of the reply 80 8 00 00, 0, wich wich opens ope ns up too many attacking attacking les for Whte

8.0-0-0!

�g 8-g 6

Afte Afterr 8    xd4 Whte can either play 9b5 or the simple 9xe4, winng the pawn back with a good game

9.h6-h4

9...

b4xc3

Black has no adeqate defence against the threat of 10xe4, and for this this reason reaso n this exchan exchange ge is fully ully justi ju stied ed The continuation c ontinuation 9    g4 1 0h3 0 h3 does do es not n ot reall reallyy ease Black's position, and after after 9     xd4 Whte Whte gets an edge by 10xe4

FIFTH CYCLE

534

10xc3

d8-d5

An important impor tant gain of tempo. With ths move move Black develops his quee attacks the pawn on a2, and at the same time thwarts the attacng continuation continuation d4d5, d4d5 , which which is possible po ssible in some variat variations. ions.

b2-b3

c6-e7

The exchange of queens by ... ...gS would here h ere,, as well as a s during the the course of the following moves, only be favourable for White. Whte would thereafter exchange off Black's e4pawn and gain a clea advantage owing to his bishop pair.

12-! A doubleedged move, but apparently the only continuation that ws in accordance with the needs of the position. Whte eliminates the troubles troublesome ome pawn on e4, and thus thus opens up the scope sc ope for his bishops But in the meantime Black is able to complete his development an gain dangerous attackng chances. Hence the subsequent part of the game holds out prospects of being very interesting. A quieter continuation at this point was 12.e2 and it would als have given Whte a good game, game , even though Black's defence after ths is considerably simpler than in the game.

12... 12...

c8-7

In ths positio Botvinnik offered a draw, which White refused t accept. Firstly the position does ot promise a drawish outcome seco se condly ndly the tournament tourna ment pos p osition ition required White to play for for a win, and and thirdly White had no peaceful intetions whatsoeve after such a sharp open ope ning choice. The textmove seem to be Black's best choice, since the exchange on  would only develop Whte's game and the continuation 12... 12...f5 f5 1 3 .e1 . e1 would would make make Black's Black's pieces piece s mo more re unfavo unfavour urab abyy placed. placed.

13.c3-b2?

 BONNIK 

535

A los lo s s ooff time, whc whchh giv gives Black the poss po ssibi ibit tyy to strengthen strengthen his centre and thus forces orc es Whte to continue the attack in a very risk riskyy way way.. Here 1 3. fxe4 had to to be play played, ed, so as to answer answer 1 3 ... ...  xe4 by 1 4.b2 foll ollowe owedd by f3; and if Black plays 13... 13...�xe4, �xe4, then 14.f3, and despite the possibity to exchange queens, White has an excellent game and nce attackin attackingg chances. chances .

13... 13... 14.c2-c4

d7-c6

Now 14.fxe4 would no longer have been valid due to the reply 1 4 ...�xe4, ...�xe4, for example: 15. f5 16.�xe4 xe4, or 16.�e1 �e3 17.b1 e4 with strong pressure. If Whte instead of 15.f3 plays 15.�f2, then there could follow 15... 15...g4 g4 16.�d2 e3 17.d3 �xg2. Fina Finay y 1 5.�xe4 xe4 xe4 1 6. 6.   g4 or 1 6 .d2  fS also yields yields a position where Whte has fculties to overcome. With the textmove White commences a very risky attack, and sacrices a pawn in order to open up lines. Even though Black seems to have a satisfactory defence against ths attack, it is not an easy task to nd  nd the right right continuation over over the th e board.

14... 14...

d5-!

Black chooses the strongest continuation, which forces Whte to make the follo ollowin wingg pawn sarice sa rice.. Natura Naturallllyy 1 4 ...�g ... �g5 5?? was weak due due to 1 5 .�xg5 .�xg5 xg  xgSS 1 6.d5 6. d5 winni winning ng a piece, but besides the text-move 14... 14...�a5 �a5 also came into consideration, so as to answer 15.d5 by the piece sacrice 15... 15...exd5! exd5! 1 6.xf6 6.xf6  fS . If If now 1 7.�xh7 7.�xh7 xf6 xf6 1 8.�h8 8.�h8 e7 1 9.�xa8, 9.�xa8, the thenn 19 .. .  e3; if i f howeve howeverr 1 7 .�f4 .�f4 xf6 xf6 1 8.�e5 e6 e6 1 9 .�xf5, .�xf5, the thenn 1 9 ...�xa2 ...�xa2 with a strong s trong attack, even though White in the last line peraps an still old the position po sition by the move 20.cxd5. But Bu t as a matte matterr of fact 14 ...� ... �aS was weaker than the game con c ontinu tinuation, ation, because after after 1 5.d5 5. d5 exd5 1 6.xf6 6.xf6  fS Wh Whte te simp simply ly play playss 1 7 .�e1 ! �xe �xe  18.xe1 xf6 19.cxd5 xdS 20.fxe4 e6 21.f3!, and after 21...xe4 (21...xe4 22.g5) 22.d3 xe 23.xe1 e7 24.xh7 he would obtain the sghtly better endgame.

5 36

FIFTH CYCLE

5.d4-d5! An interesting pawn sarie that yields Whie a dangerous intiatie The idea behnd the sarie is not o obtain the adantage through faralulated tatial lines, but through strong positinal pressure by opening up lines for the bishop pair and keeping Blak's king in the entre

5... 5... 16.xe4

e6xd5 d5xe4

It was pratially ery iful for Blak o nd he strongest defene here Beause Whie is in fa no threaening a dangerous aang ontinuaion o ntinuaion in any any line, and the hoie between one or anoher meth of play had to be made on the the basis of general general posional asses ass essmens smens Howeer, as a onsequene of the speial harater of the position his task was was so ompated tha een een in subsequen subs equen analysis analysis i is ery ery difult to laim wih absolue ertainty whih method of defene would hae assured Blak of the most faourable prospets Naur Naura ayy bad was 1 6  xe4  7 xf6 xf6 e3 e3 1 8 8 11  fS on aoun aoun of 1 9 %e % e 1 , but but the other other defene defene tha mainly mainly omes ino onsideraon at this point was 16 16xe4 xe4 White had intended to answer his y 17, whh an be followed by 17 17 J%g4 J%g4 1 8e1 8e 1 0-0-0. Perhap Perhapss his his ontinuation would hae offered Blak beter prospes than he ex moe, although here White also als o has s rong play for for the the pawn afer 1 9   d4

 - BOTV BOTVINNIK

537

17.g-h3! Thwarting the exchange of queens on gS in some ines, protecting the f2-point, and threatening 18.e2 folowed by hf with a decisive attack. Back must quicky generate counter-pay to avoid fang under a decisive attack.

17... 17... 18.h4-g3

-g4

With this move Whte wins back the pawn, since 18... 18...c8 c8 would yied Whte a erce attack after 19.e2. But as compensation, Back is abe to exchange queens and reach a tenabe endgame. For this reason the compicated attacng continuation 18.e2 e3 19.g4 aso came into consideration. White White considered this th is pos p ossibi sibity ty for for a ong  ong time during during the game, game , but he coud not nd a satisf satis factory continuat continuation ion of the atack afte afterr 1 9 .. .aS 20.d2 20. d2 xa2; this aso cannot be seen se en in a subsequen anaysis, anaysis, because Back is simpy hreatening to pay 21...xb3, and after 21.f4 there foows oows 21 . . .d6 . d6.. The exchang exchangee sacrice sacri ce on the 20th move ikewise ikewise fa fails to offer sufcient attacking chances, for instance: 20.a3 xd 21.b4 a4 22.xd 22.xd a6 23.b xbS 24.cxb xb and now now a the th e attackin attackingg chances are suddenly on Back's side. When takng this into consideration, and that both payers were aready in timetroube, he textmove shoud be considered as the strongest, since Whte is, among other things, aso protecting himsef agains agains he h e risk of o f osing. osing.

18...

-5!

A strong repy, which threatens ...e3 ...e3 and thus breaks the back of White's White's attack. Now N ow White White has ha s no no  much much of o f a choice.

a8-8 It woud have been weaker here, or on the next move, to pay 19... 19 ...e3 e3 20.d2 20. d2 xf x f 2 1 .xf .x f1 e3 22.e2 22.e 2 c8 23.f 23. f44 and and Back cannot capture capture on g2 due o the hreat of 24.x.

FIFTH CYCLE

538

20c7f4 2dd2

c5e3

21 21

e3xf4?

Black is apparen plaing for a win, but with the text-move he gts into a worse endgame. Here 2...\e had to be plaed, again forin White to pla 22.d \e3, because 22.@c2? loses the queen ft 22.. . e3 23.@c3 dS (either ight to dS works). f White there t hereaf after ter would have have wanted wanted to make an winning attempts, then he had to tr 23.@b, since the exchange 23.\xe3 xe3 24.  x f follo ollowed wed b . . . e3 or 24.e 24. e  x folo olowed wed b . . . xg2 x g2 is favour for Black. Black. After After 23.@ 23 .@bb  Black proceeds with with 23 . . . \xf4 24.xf4 l  25.xg6 hxg6 26.e2 xh1 27.xh fS and reaches an endg where White, despite de spite the bishop bis hop pair, scarcel sc arcel hs an genuine genuine win winni nin n chances. This show s howss that aft after er 2 ... . . \ e   the game gam e would would mos m ostt likel likel hav en en  in a dra d raw w, but after after the text-move te xt-move an interesting intere sting bate ba te continues.

22�h3xf4 23d2c2!

e4e3

Apparen Black dd not pa ttention to ths good move whn  exchanged queens, and onl considered the possibilit 23.e2 6

 - BOTNNIK BOTNNIK

539

with strong counter-play counter-play on the -le. - le. With the text-move text -move Whte Whte keeps kee ps the e2-squar e 2-squaree open op en for the bishop, and is thus thu s able to speedily speedily mobize mobize hs pieces piece s on the ngside. ngside. The weak weak pawn pawn on e3 now n ow places places Black B lack in dfculties.

23...

g6g5

The rook subsequently stands unfavourably at ths post, but no sigcantly better continuation can be seen for Black. If for example 23 .. . d6, d6, then then 24.e2 e2   25. 2 5.e1 e1 and and now now 25 .. . e4 26.c3 26. c3 d2 woul wouldd simply be answered answered by 27 2 7 .  ! with a clear edge for Whte; Whte; otheise otheis e 26. 26 .c3 c3 is threaened, winnn winnngg a pawn. pawn. Also not signca signcantl ntlyy stronger was 23 . . . h6, whch is likewise answer answered ed by 24.e2. If now now 24 ... xh2, then 25.xh2 25 .xh2  xh2 26.c3 26. c3;; and an d if i f 24 ..... .  xh2, then then 25. 25 .ee 1 , threate threateng ng 26.c 26 .c33 or 26 .g7. g7. Final Finallly, 24 . . . f2 25.e1 xh2 would also yield Whte a clear advantage after 26.c3.

24.e2 .e2 25.he Natur Naturall allyy not not 25 . . .xg2 xg2 26J 2 6Jg1 g1 winnn winnngg a piece, but 25 . . .e4 26.c3 fS would also not have been an adequate defence on account of 27.g4! xg4 28.g1. The text-move likewise fails to save Black from the loss los s of o f materi material. al.

26.g2g3? In mutual me-trouble there now follow some inaccuracies hat could have had crucial mportance for the outcome of the game. Instead of he exmove, White mmediately had o play 26 .f1 !, preventi preventing ng 26 ...e4 ... e4 as wel wel as 26 . . . f5 owing to the reply 27.xf2. In addtion, Whie would be threatenng 27 .f6 followed ollowed by xe7 xe 7 and xe3. In ths event Black Black wold wold quickly quickly lose the e3e 3-pawn pawn without obtaining the same dangerous cnter-play he had the chance to seize in the game.

26...

540

FIFH FI FH CYCLE CYCLE

Black immedately makes up or Wite's inaccuracy and now quickly ends up in a lost posit po sition. ion. Much Much more more stubborn stubborn was was:: 26 . . . e4 27.3  S (At (Ater er 27 . . . d2, then th en 28. 28 .33 ! is i s very very strong, strong, or or example: example: 28 . . .x 29.cxe3 29.cxe3 d d  30.xd1 xd1 3 1 .x3, .x3, or 30 .. .xd1 31.6.). This would still have set White various problems to overcome. 28.d5 xdS 29.cxd5 xdS 30.c4 loos like a good continuation, becas the black rook lacks a avourable retreat square. Also 28.1 comes into consideration, consideration, so as only ate aterr 28 . . . d2 to play 29.d5. It is, in any event, event , clear that Black could still still have have put up stubborn resistance re sistance ate aterr 26 . . . e4, whereas now the pawn pawn on e3 is lost, los t, and with with itit also the game.

27.e2-

4

A desperate sacrice, which does not do anything to improve the situation. It was no longer possible to hold the pawn on e3, since ater 27 .. . e4 there wou would ld ollow ollow 28. 28 .x x,, and in the case ca se o pas p assiv sivee urther urther play, 28.a3 is threatened. The end is no longer o any particular interest.

28.g34 29. 29.xd3 30.c2-c3!

 BONNK -

5 1

hs means he oss of he pawn on e3: Bac's as hope of ressance

30 3 1.b2xc3 32.c3-d2 .c3-d2 33.d2xe3 .d2xe3 34. 34.e3- 35.c-d2 36.d2-d3 37. 37.-h4 38  e-e7 39.h2-h3 •••

Blac resied.

 d3xc3 �e7- e8-d7 b7-b6 -f 

h7-h5

�-h6 - d7-d6

542

Opening index The Ruy Lopez: 40, 54, 111, 144, 209, 229, 242, 262, 269, 361, 411 436, 436, 472 Four Knghts game: 47 Frenc Frenchh Defence: Defence: 1 78, 78 , 340, 389, 389 , 424, 424, 50 icili icilian an Defence: Defence: 291 29 1 Queen's Queen's Gambit Declned: Declned: 379 3 79,, 492, 522 Queen's Queen's Gambit Gambi t Accepted: 495 The The la lavv Defence: Defence: 66, 1 24, 24, 1 54, 299, 370 The emlav emlav Defence: Defence: 75, 283 The Queen's Pawn Opening: 451 The The imzoIndi imzoI ndian an Def De fence: 1 04, 254, 31 3 1 7, 442, 442, 462, 497 The Catalan opening: 164 The Grnf Grnfeld eld Defence: Defence: 86, 1 88, 276 328, 395, 51 512 The King's Indian Defence: 94 The Dutch Defence: 219 The English Opening: 482 Irreglar opening: 132, 335