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Here's a very modern game (NED championship 2005) in the botvinnik. This is a completely wild line, and Van Wely made a nice find in it, though it's quite a subtle move. This game is significantly more complicated than the previous two games I showed in the botvinnik. |
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1. d4
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Here's a very modern game (NED championship 2005) in the botvinnik. This is a completely wild line, and Van Wely made a nice find in it, though it's quite a subtle move. This game is significantly more complicated than the previous two games I showed in the botvinnik. |
 
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1... d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 5. Bg5
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And we enter the amazing world of the botvinnik. White has a very powerful pin on the f6 knight. |
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5... dxc4 6. e4
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Black grabs a pawn and white grabs the lion's share of the center as well as preparing to add pressure to f6 with a later e5. |
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6... b5
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Black holds his pawn. |
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7. e5
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White adds pressure, this is the natural move to make, but 7.a4 also deserves attention (my first annotated game in the botvinnik followed this move). |
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7... h6
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This is the best move to save the double attacked knight on f6. 7... b4 is easily met by 8.Ne4 adding even more pressure to the pinned knight on f6. |
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8. Bh4
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White's key point is his pressure on f6, this move retains that. |
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8... g5
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Black must shut down the pressure on f6. |
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9. Nxg5
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White is willing to give up a piece to keep the pressure on f6. While he will lose his f3 knight, his pin will win the knight on f6. |
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9... hxg5
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My last game (botvinnik #2) showed 9... Nd5 but this move has more top level advocates. |
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10. Bxg5 Nbd7
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This move stops 11.Bxf6 which would give white a superpowerful bishop on f6. White won't play Bxf6 because the g5 bishop is more important than either of the knights, black is covered with dark squared holes (notice how all his pawns but one are on light squares). White should keep his dark squared bishop to attack the undefended dark squares, thus he can't exchange it for a white if he wants an advantage. Black can also play 10... Be7 to cover f6, but 10... Nbd7 beginning black's queenside development is more popular. |
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11. exf6
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While this move looks the obvious way to regain material (and even be a pawn up) there is an alternative in 11.g3- the knight is pinned and white doesn't have to take immediately. Both moves have merits, and they can easily transpose. |
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11... Bb7
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Taking back on f6 with the d7 knight giving white another nasty pin on f6. Black would equalize material, but he can do that almost anytime, and there's no need to give white a pin. Also for the moment the pawn on f6 gets in the way of white's bishop and black should be in no hurry to take such a helpful pawn. |
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12. g3
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e2 is an inactive square for the bishop, g2 actively targets black's weak queenside. This move prepares to put the bishop on it's ideal square. |
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12... c5
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But it also opens up black's diagonal, he now threatens Bxh1. |
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13. d5
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White blocks the diagonal, and he attempts to blast open the position. Notice that black can't take on d5 for example: 13... exd5 14.Qe2 Be7 15.fxe7. Note that if black allows the position to open, the pawn on f6 suddenly becomes a huge help for white. |
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13... Qb6
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Black has to cover e6 as after an eventual dxe6 fxe6 white's pawn on f6 becomes a monster of a protected, passed pawn. It can get in white's way but black has to be INCREDIBLY careful about it. There are two alternatives to 13... Qb6 though neither are are common. 13... Bh6 trades off white's valuable dark squared bishop. The second alternative, 13... Qc7 threatens the dangerous 14... Qe5 . |
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14. Bg2
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White finishes his pieces development and and covers d5. |
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14... O-O-O 15. O-O
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Opposite side castling frequently leads to EXPLOSIVE attacks. Black has open files to work with against white's king, and white tries to exploit the overly advanced queenside pawns for black. |
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15... b4
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This is the generally recognized way for black to play, he tries for activity on BOTH sides. While white tends to be the attacker, black can strike on both sides. |
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