<this draw can be understood in the context of the tournament. It was round 22 and Botvinnik needed only a half-point to obtain the championship. <<<Euwe, already last beyond doubt, had no objection>>>.>

Yes and no, at least according to Botvinnik's recollection.

Euwe refused the 1st draw offer, and then Botvinnik said "All right, let us carry on." After he said this, Botvinnik reports that "Euwe resigned on the spot."

At any rate, unless the translation is actually dead wrong, then the point still holds. Euwe didn't accept the first draw offer, at least according to Botvinnik.

In this case the only thing at issue is the reliability of Botvinnik as narrator and also the reliability of his memory.

Euwe wrote that 11.0-0-0 was broadcasted from Moscow ...

<In this case the only thing at issue is the reliability of Botvinnik as narrator and also the reliability of his memory>

Excellent research, thanks for doing it and posting it.

It appears that <Botvinnik> may be guilty of "misremembering," or worse, of embellishing the details of this affair.

That said, we don't actually know. All we know for sure is that both masters give different versions of the same event.

Nonetheless, I find your analysis persuasive:

<Nothing special, and why should he be surprised by the draw offer and "lost nerves" as the German edtion of Botvinnik's book claims. The only one who could have lost nerves - in a positive sense - was the new champion, I think.>

11.0-0 Nb8-d7
12.Nf3-e5 (...) Qd8-e8
13.Ne5xd7 Qe8xd7
14.b2-b4 Rf8-e8

click for larger view

At this moment I feel, that I simply can't continue to play anymore, and offer my partner a draw. (...) To my astonishment, Euwe answers that he would like to play on for a while.

Mich packt eine richtige Wut; im Nu empfand ich wieder Kampfeslust. (Translation: B. gets mad and regains his fighting spirit).

"Gut", sagte ich, "spielen wir weiter". Euwe, ein feiner Psychologe, spürt sofort die plötzliche Verwandlung meiner Stimmung und reicht mir die Hand, zum Sieg im Turnier gratulierend. (Translation: you don't fool around with The Mighty Mike). Remis!

Now I'm really interested in the Russian original that became in the German translation: ">>Gut, wir werden weiterspielen!<< Euwes Nerven versagten, und sofort war er mit einem unentschiedenen Ausgang einverstanden." (Okay, let's continue. Euwe's nerves failed, and at once he was satisfied with the draw.)

That's quite the opposite than calling him a 'feiner Psycholge'.

<thomastonk> it turns out you were right about the potential problem with the English translation.

The Cafferty English translation is indeed poor enough so that it seems as if it was <Botvinnik>, rather than <Euwe>, who said "All right, let us carry on."

Just to clarify better what <Botvinnik> claims he actually said, here is a much clearer English translation by Jim Marfia of the incident- as reported again by <Botvinnik> but this time in his book "15 Games and their Stories":

<Botvinnik>:

<"Here I felt that I simply could not play any longer, and offered my opponent a draw. Since Euwe, the former World Champion, had a decidedly unhappy tourament score at this point, I had no doubt that he would accept the offer. But to my surprise, Euwe unexpectedly said that he would like to play a little longer. I was angered; my fighting spirit immediately returned.

<<<'Fine,' I said, 'let's play on, then.'>>>

Euwe felt the change in the atmosphere, and extended his hand to congratulate me on winning the tournament.">

Mikhail Botvinnik
"15 Games and Their Stories"
Jim Marfia, transl.
(Chess Enterprises Inc. 1982), p.49

###################################

Eye witness account of the moment from <Harry Golombek>:

<"Botwinnik was taking no chances, and Dr. Euwe, last beyond a shadow of doubt, had little incentive to play for a win... Botwinnik exchanged off the gambit Pawn on the fourth move, made as if to embark on a minority attack on the Q side, and then proposed a draw, which Dr. Euwe <<<readily>>> accepted.">

Harry Golombek, "The World Chess Championship 1948" (Harding Simpole 1949), p.204

###################################

Two more eye witness accounts:

<D.A. Yanofsky and H.J. Slavekoorde>:

<"With a draw sufficient to win... Botvinnik went directly to his task in the twenty-second round... When <<<his offer of a draw was accepted,>>> the partisan audience burst into enthusiastic cheers at this triumph of Soviet chess.">

==========

<Hans Kmoch>:

<"14... KR-K1. At this point, <<<Botvinnik offered a draw>>> and Euwe accepted.">

Both of these accounts appear in

Studies in Obsessiveness? I clicked on this CK Trademark guy, and found that he wrote 5 posts in total, ever...

all on the same day...

all in different forums...

all on the subject of how much he disliked Kramnik...

all with specious claims, like that Kramnik invented GM draws...

He is far from alone.

<....all with specious claims, like that Kramnik invented GM draws...>

The above claim is comical, really.

<....Then he got bored and left, never to be seen again.>

He was ahead of his time! He'd find a lot more takers now that Kramnik has gone mad.