CHESS
Fifty years back
Raymond Keene
THIS WEEK I celebrate the achievement of the Soviet grandmaster Mikhail Botvin- nik in winning the world championship half a century ago. In fact, Botvinnik played the final round of the tournament which made him world champion on 17 May 1948. The match tournament, which included the five best players in the world at that time, and the final scores of which I give below, was felt to be the best solution to the interreg- num caused by the death of the incumbent champion Alexander Alekhine in 1946. Indeed, the match tournament would be a format well worth resurrecting to solve the current world championship crisis. An extended tournament involving Kasparov, Karpov, Anand, Kramnik, Shirov and Deep Blue, unlikely though it is to come to pass, would be an excellent way of restoring order where there is now chaos.
Botvinnik dominated in 1948 but, inter- estingly, his style continued to become deeper and richer even after he finally lost the championship to Petrosian in 1963. Twenty years after he became world cham- pion, at the age of nearly 60, he was still able to produce sublime masterpieces, as the following game shows.
Botvinnik—Portisch: Monte Carlo 1968; English Opening.
1 c4 In the first part of his career, up to and including the world championship tournament of 1948, Botvinnik was a dedicated d4 man. However, in the 1950s the English Opening, 1 c4, became a particular favourite with him, and remained so until the end of his active tourna- ment life. The lines are less well mapped than the Queen's Gambit, Nimzo-Indian Defence or King's Indian Defence and gave free scope to Botvinnik's particular creative genius. 1 ...e5 2 Nc3 Nf6 3 g3 d5 The Hungarian grandmaster decides to play a Sicilian Defence with reversed colours. 4 cxd5 NxdS 5 Bg2 Be6 6 Nf3 Nc6 7 0-0
Nb6 A standard retreat, designed to hinder White from playing d4 in one go. 8 d3 Be7 9 a3 a5 It is important to prevent White from playing b4 followed by Bbl and Rcl, with a dangerous expansion on the queen's flank. 10 Be3 0-0 11 Na4 Nxa4 Black's first inaccuracy of the game. It would have been better to play 11 ...Nd4 when 12 Nxe5 fails horribly to 12 ...Bb3. That way, Black would have maintained a foothold in the centre. As played, White builds up dangerous pressure on the queenside. 12 Qxa4 Bd5 13 Rfcl Re8 14 Rc2 Inexorably increasing the tension in the half open c-file. If now 14 ... b5 15 Qxb5 Rb8 16 Qa4 Bb3 17 Qxc6 and White wins material. Instead of falling for this trap, Portisch conceives a complicated manoeuvre to eradicate his weak- ness in the c-file and to drive back White's major pieces. 14 ...BI 8 15 Racl Nb8 The culmination of Portisch's plan. His intention, if left unmolest- ed, is to continue with ... c6 and ... b5 when White is repulsed all along the line. As it turns out, this project is too ambitious, though it takes play of genius on Botvinnik's part to refute it. With hindsight the simple 15 e4 16 dxe4 Bxe4 would have been an improvement for Black. 16 Rxc7 Botvinnik falls into Black's trap and snatches the pawn before Black has a chance to play ... c6. However, it seems that Black's next move must trap White's rook. 16 ...Bc6 17 Rlxc6 This must have come as a terrible shock to Portisch. He was probably expecting White to sacrifice his stranded rook, rather than the safe one, with 17 R7xc6 when White has some com- pensation for the lost exchange. 17 ... bxc6 In fact it would be stronger to play 17 ... Nxc6 even though 18 Rxb7 gives White a clear advantage. After the text White can strike with an utterly unexpected thunderbolt. 18 Rxf7 (Diagram) Hacking out the linchpin of Black's defences. After 18 ...K.xf7 19 Qc4+ Kg6 20 Qg4+ Kf7 21 Ng5+ Kg8 22 Qc4+ Kh8 23 Nf7+ White forces mate. Therefore Black is reduced to ignoring this incursion utterly and hoping that White can-
Position after 1812#7
not inflict further depredations. 18 ...h6 19 Rb7 Qc8 20 Qc4+ Kh8 If 20 ... Qe6 then 21 Nxe5 wins for White, but after the text Botvinnik can, amazingly, sacrifice his second rook. 21 Nb4 Qxb7 Finally Black captures White's roving rook, but now the vultures gather around the black king. 22 Ng6+ Kh7 23 Be4 Bd6 Otherwise there would come 24 Ne7+ and 25 Qg8 mate. 24 Nxe5 + g6 25 Bxg6+ Kg7 26 Bxh6+ (Diagram)
Position after 26 Bxh6+
A final shattering blow. Black resigns In view of the forced continuation 26 ... Kxh6 27 Qh4 + Kg7 28 Qh7+ Kf6 29 Ng4+ Ke6 30 Qxb7.
The final scores at the 1948 world cham- pionship were: Botvinnik 14 out of 20, Smyslov 11, Reshevsky 101/2, Keres 101/2, Euwe 4.
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