Lessons from Botvinnik

Odd, it took me a long while to write this page, but Botvinnik is the player from whose games I may have learned the most. Not just from his own notes: his game against Szilagyi has often been used as a model of dark-square play; the first chapter of Euwe's Strategy and Tactics is mostly a long annotation to a game with Botvinnik; "Silman's Thinking Technique" was expounded using a Botvinnik game. He took all aspects of chess to new levels, and wrote extensively about his play and research. Whatever point you want to make about how to play chess, there is a Botvinnik game to illustrate it.

Paul O'Neill has borrowed all my Botvinnik books, so these games have been scrabbled from the dusty corners of my memory...

Opening

"If you play Botvinnik, it is even alarming to see him write his move down. Slightly short-sighted, he stoops over his scoresheet and devotes his entire attention to recording the move in the most beautifully clear script; one feels that an explosion would not distract him and that examined through a microscope not an irregularity would appear. When he wrote down 1.c2-c4 against me, I felt like resigning."
-- Hugh ALEXANDER

At Moscow 1935, the wind from the East blew open the doors of chess. The new generation of Soviet masters could measure themselves against past Champions Lasker and Capablanca, and Flohr and Botvinnik, tying for first place, filled in their applications for a World Championship match. This is how Botvinnik dealt with Spielmann, who came fifth after the quartet of giants, in a game any junior could understand:

[Event "Moscow"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1935.02.15"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Botvinnik, Mikhail"]
[Black "Spielmann, Rudolf"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B13"]

1. c4 c6 2. e4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. d4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 Qb6 7. cxd5 Qxb2 8.
Rc1 Nb4 9. Na4 Qxa2 10. Bc4 Bg4 11. Nf3 Bxf3 12. gxf3 1-0

My adoption of the English Opening owed a lot to Botvinnik. I don't know if it did me much good in the long run, but Botvinnik's treatment was always something to aspire to. I often show this game to 1.e4 players, as you can get to an IQP position from many semi-open defences.

[Event "Nottingham"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1936.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Botvinnik, M."]
[Black "Vidmar, Milan Sr"]
[Result "*"]
[ECO "D60"]
[Annotator "IQPm: sacrifice on f7 by N"]
[PlyCount "47"]
[EventDate "1936.??.??"]

{[%mdl 32772]} 1. c4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 Nbd7 7.
Bd3 {[#]White does not try to save a move by delaying Bd3} c5 {With a B on d3,
d4 is a little less protected and d5 is a little less attacked, so this is
better than usual} (7... dxc4 8. Bxc4 c5 9. O-O cxd4 10. exd4) 8. O-O cxd4 9.
exd4 dxc4 10. Bxc4 {[#]The classic IQP position.} Nb6 11. Bb3 Bd7 12. Qd3 (12.
d5 {is a good idea when it doesn't lose a pawn} exd5 13. Nxd5 (13. Bxf6) 13...
Nfxd5 14. Bxd5) 12... Nbd5 (12... Nfd5 $1 {achieving exchanges}) 13. Ne5 {It's
nice to get into e5 without worrying about it being swapped off} Bc6 14. Rad1
Nb4 15. Qh3 $1 Bd5 (15... a6 16. Nxf7 $1) 16. Nxd5 {Now White has two Bishops
and will attack the weakened light squares.} Nbxd5 17. f4 $1 Rc8 18. f5 exf5
19. Rxf5 Qd6 $2 {[#]} 20. Nxf7 $1 Rxf7 21. Bxf6 Bxf6 22. Rxd5 $1 Qc6 {[#]Lots
of things now win} 23. Rd6 (23. Rc5) (23. Rd7) 23... Qe8 (23... Qxd6 24. Qxc8+
Qd8) 24. Rd7 {'1-0 (24) Botvinnik,M-Vidmar,M Nottingham 1936'} *


Middlegame

[Event "IBM"]
[Site "Amsterdam"]
[Date "1966.07.22"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Botvinnik, M."]
[Black "Szilagyi, Gyorgy"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A07"]
[Annotator "strategy and tactics"]
[PlyCount "72"]
[EventDate "1966.07.22"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "NED"]

1. g3 d5 2. Nf3 c6 3. Bg2 Bg4 4. d3 Nd7 5. h3 Bxf3 6. Bxf3 e5 7. Nd2 Ngf6 8. e4
dxe4 9. dxe4 Bc5 10. O-O Qe7 11. c3 O-O 12. b4 Bb6 13. a4 Rfd8 14. Qc2 Rac8 15.
Be2 {[#] Black's next turns a difficult game into a positionally lost one.
Perhaps only Botvinnik could show so clearly why it's lost.} c5 16. b5 Ne8 17.
Nc4 Nd6 {[#] White's next is a tactically sharp move designed to achieve a
positional end - the weakening of another white square (e6).} 18. Bg5 f6 19.
Be3 Nxc4 20. Bxc4+ Kh8 21. a5 Bc7 22. Rfd1 Nf8 23. Qa2 Rxd1+ 24. Rxd1 Rd8 25.
Rxd8 Bxd8 26. a6 b6 27. Kg2 Qd7 28. Qe2 Ng6 29. Bb3 Ne7 30. Qc4 h6 {[#]
White's bind is absolute.} 31. Qf7 Kh7 32. Bc4 Qd6 33. h4 Qd1 34. Qe8 f5 {<P>
Black's first bid for freedom...} 35. exf5 Nxf5 36. Bg8+ Kh8 1-0


No great discovery, but what a display of power chess.

[Event "URS-ch11 Final"]
[Site "Leningrad"]
[Date "1939.04.29"]
[Round "10"]
[White "Botvinnik, M."]
[Black "Kan, Ilia Abramovich"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E24"]
[Annotator "bishops: bad bishop?"]
[PlyCount "81"]
[EventDate "1939.04.16"]
[EventRounds "17"]
[EventCountry "URS"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 c5 5. a3 Bxc3+ 6. bxc3 Qa5 7. Bd2 Ne4 8.
Qc2 Nxd2 9. Nxd2 d6 10. e3 e5 11. dxe5 dxe5 {[#] White won a couple of games
with this pawn formation: the weakness of the c- pawns is less important than
the outpost on d5.} 12. Bd3 h6 13. O-O O-O 14. f4 Nd7 15. f5 Nf6 16. Ne4 Qd8
17. Nxf6+ Qxf6 18. Be4 Rb8 19. Rad1 b6 20. h3 Ba6 21. Bd5 b5 22. cxb5 Rxb5 23.
c4 Rb6 24. Rb1 Rd8 25. Rxb6 axb6 26. e4 Bc8 {[#] The Bd5 is not bad - rather,
it is the Bc8 that has no scope. Meanwhile, the b-pawn is a glaring weakness
on the half-open file. First, White whips the Queen to a7 before Black stops
it with ...Bd7.} 27. Qa4 Bd7 28. Qa7 Be8 29. Rb1 Rd6 30. a4 Kh7 31. a5 {
Undermining the pawns.} bxa5 32. Qxa5 Ra6 33. Qxc5 Ra2 34. Qe3 Qa6 35. Rb8 {
Great move} Qa4 36. Kh2 Ra3 37. Qc5 Ra2 38. Ra8 {[#] Black's Queen is
over-worked.} Qxa8 (38... Qc2 39. Rxa2 Qxa2 40. Qe7 {is hopeless: the Bishop,
e-pawn and f-pawn are all under attack.}) 39. Bxa8 Rxa8 40. Qxe5 Bc6 41. Qc7
1-0


Silman's long disquisition about planning based on White's choice of 27th move is worth seeking out.

Endgame

The same willingness to commit to hard work and deep analysis is shown throughout Botvinnik's endgames. We learned about how to play some endgames through Botvinnik's games! His game with Minev is always cited in the chapter on Queen endings. Now the computer has worked it all out and we can pinpoint some errors on both sides, but MMB had to do it all from scratch. The win comes through keeping the two Kings on the same rank or a near ranks, so that harassing checks from the Black Queen can be met by White blocking with the Queen and giving check in return -- a cross-check.

[Event "Amsterdam ol (Men) fin-A"]
[Site "Amsterdam"]
[Date "1954.09.17"]
[Round "5"]
[White "Botvinnik, Mikhail"]
[Black "Minev, Nikolay N"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "D47"]
[PlyCount "181"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 c6 3. d4 d5 4. Nc3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 dxc4 7. Bxc4 b5 8. Bd3
b4 9. Ne4 Bb7 10. Nxf6+ gxf6 11. e4 Bd6 12. O-O Rg8 13. Qe2 Qa5 14. Nd2 O-O-O
15. Nc4 Qc7 16. f4 c5 17. a3 f5 18. axb4 Nf6 19. Na5 c4 20. Nxb7 cxd3 21. Nxd6+
Rxd6 22. Qxd3 fxe4 23. Qe2 Qb7 24. f5 Nd5 25. Qxe4 Nxb4 26. Qxb7+ Kxb7 27. fxe6
fxe6 28. Rf7+ Kc6 29. Be3 Kd5 30. Rxh7 Nc6 31. Bf4 Rdd8 32. Bc7 Rh8 33. Rg7
Rhg8 34. Rh7 Rh8 35. Rg7 Rhg8 36. Rf7 Rgf8 37. Raf1 Rxf7 38. Rxf7 Rc8 39. Be5
Nxd4 40. Bxd4 Kxd4 41. Kf2 a5 42. g4 Rc2+ 43. Kg3 Rxb2 44. g5 a4 45. g6 Rb1 46.
Kh4 Rg1 47. Kh5 Kc4 48. Rf4+ Kb5 49. Rf3 Kb4 50. Rf4+ Kb5 51. Rf3 Kb4 52. Rg3
Rxg3 53. hxg3 a3 54. g7 a2 55. g8=Q a1=Q {# And we're off...} 56. Qg4+ Ka5 57. Qxe6 Qh8+ 58. Kg6 Qc3
59. g4 Qd2 60. g5 Qd4 61. Qf5+ Ka4 62. Kh5 Qh8+ 63. Kg4 Qh1 64. Qf4+ Ka5 65.
Qe5+ Ka4 66. g6 Qd1+ 67. Kg5 Qd8+ 68. Kf5 Qc8+ 69. Kf4 Qc1+ 70. Qe3 Qc7+ 71.
Qe5 Qc1+ 72. Kf5 Qc8+ 73. Kg5 Qd8+ 74. Qf6 Qd5+ 75. Qf5 Qd8+ 76. Kh5 Qe8 77.
Qf4+ Ka5 78. Qd2+ Ka4 79. Qd4+ Ka5 80. Kg5 Qe7+ 81. Kf5 Qf8+ 82. Ke4 Qh6 83.
Qe5+ Ka4 84. g7 Qh1+ 85. Kd4 Qd1+ 86. Kc5 Qc1+ 87. Kd6 Qd2+ 88. Ke6 Qa2+ 89.
Qd5 Qe2+ 90. Kd6 Qh2+ 91. Kc5 1-0


And this thriller against Kotov is a marvel of precision. The outstanding manoeuvre is retreating the Bishop from e4 to e6, recognising the importance of b3 and g8. Why is g8 important? Watch and see! It takes some errors from Kotov to lose this one, but very understandable.

[Event "URS-ch22"]
[Site "Moscow"]
[Date "1955.02.19"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Kotov, Alexander"]
[Black "Botvinnik, Mikhail"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D45"]
[Annotator "Lessons from Botvinnik"]
[PlyCount "130"]

1. d4 d5 2. c4 c6 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Nf3 e6 5. e3 Nbd7 6. Bd3 Bb4 7. O-O O-O 8. Bd2
Bd6 9. b3 Qe7 10. Qc2 e5 11. cxd5 cxd5 12. dxe5 Nxe5 13. Nd4 Nxd3 14. Qxd3 Qe5
15. f4 Qe7 16. Rac1 Rd8 17. Rc2 Bc5 18. Na4 Bxd4 19. Qxd4 Bf5 20. Bb4 Qd7 21.
Rc3 Ne4 22. Rcc1 b6 23. Rfd1 f6 24. Nc3 Nxc3 25. Rxc3 Be4 26. Qd2 Qg4 27. h3
Qg6 28. Qf2 h5 29. Kh2 a5 30. Ba3 b5 31. Bc5 b4 32. Rcc1 Rdc8 33. Bd4 Bc2 34.
Rd2 Be4 35. Rdd1 Qf5 36. Qe2 Qg6 37. Qf2 a4 38. Rxc8+ Rxc8 39. bxa4 Qe8 40. Rd2
Qxa4 41. Qh4 Rc2 42. Rxc2 Qxc2 43. Qg3 Qxa2 44. Bxf6 Qxg2+ 45. Qxg2 Bxg2 {[#] Opposite-coloured Bishops are notorious for producing endgame draws.  Botvinnik has to show great technique to win this one.}
46. Bd4 Be4 47. Kg3 Kf7 48. h4 g6 49. Kf2 Ke6 50. Ke2 Kf5 51. Kd2 Kg4 52. Bf6
Kg3 53. Be7 Kh3 54. Bf6 Kg4 55. Be7 Bf5! 56. Bf6 Kf3 57. Be7 b3 58. Kc3 Be6! 59.
Bc5? g5!! 60. fxg5 d4+ 61. exd4 Kg3 62. Ba3 Kxh4 63. Kd3 Kxg5 64. Ke4 h4 65. Kf3
Bd5+ 0-1


And a last game showing his fighting spirit and pragmatism:

[Event "Leningrad Masters 1932/33"]
[Site "Leningrad"]
[Date "1932.11.24"]
[Round "3"]
[White "Alatortsev, Vladimir"]
[Black "Botvinnik, M."]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "E52"]
[Annotator "How Good Is Your Swindling?"]
[PlyCount "86"]
[EventDate "1932.11.16"]
[EventRounds "10"]
[EventCountry "URS"]

1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nc3 Bb4 4. Nf3 b6 5. e3 Bb7 6. Bd3 O-O 7. O-O d5 8. cxd5
exd5 9. a3 Bd6 10. b4 Nbd7 11. Nb5 Be7 12. Ne5 a6 13. Nc3 c5 14. bxc5 bxc5 15.
Rb1 {[#]} Qc7 {'??'} 16. Nxd7 Nxd7 17. Qb3 Rab8 18. Nxd5 Bxd5 19. Qxd5 Rxb1 20.
Bxb1 {[#] How Good is Your Swindling?} c4 {'!' White has (1) an important
decision to make, which is taxing anyhow...} (20... cxd4 21. exd4 Nf6 22. Qf5
Rd8) 21. Bxh7+ {'?'} (21. Qe4 $1 Nf6 22. Qc2 {with the advance of the central
Pawns. Black's position here is worse than if he had chosen 20...cxd4.}) 21...
Kxh7 22. Qe4+ Kg8 23. Qxe7 {[#] with two Pawns, but...} c3 {(2) Black has
counterplay.} 24. e4 (24. a4 c2 25. Ba3 Rb8 26. Rc1 Qc6 27. h3 Qxa4 {which is
comfortable for Black}) 24... c2 25. d5 {'?'} Rb8 26. g3 Qc8 {[#] Not over yet,
but Black's practical decision has transformed his chances.} 27. Qg5 Qc4 28. f3
Rb3 29. Qd2 Rd3 30. Qe2 Ne5 31. Kg2 Rd1 32. Qxc4 Nxc4 33. d6 Kf8 34. a4 Ke8 35.
Kf2 Nd2 36. Re1 Nxf3 37. Rf1 Nxh2 38. Re1 Nf3 39. Rf1 Nd2 40. Re1 Nb3 41. Ba3
c1=Q 42. Bxc1 Rxc1 43. Rxc1 Nxc1 0-1