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Mikhail Botvinnik vs Vasily Smyslov
Smyslov - Botvinnik World Championship Rematch (1958), Moscow URS, rd 2, Mar-06
King's Indian Defense: Saemisch Variation. Normal Defense (E81)  ·  1-0

ANALYSIS [x]

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Kibitzer's Corner
Mar-18-08  Knight13: <32. Nc6> and <41. Ne4> is crazy.
Mar-25-12  notyetagm: pgn

[Event "Russia"]
[Site "Match, Moscow"]
[Date "1958.01.03"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "?"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Mikhail Botvinnik"]
[Black "Vasily Smyslov"]
[ECO "E81"]
[WhiteElo "?"]
[BlackElo "?"]
[PlyCount "81"]

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Be3 a6 7.Bd3 Nc6 8.Nge2 Rb8 9.a3 Nd7 10.Bb1 Na5 11.Ba2 b5 12.cxb5 axb5 13.b4 Nc4 14.Bxc4 bxc4 15.O-O c6 16.Qd2 Nb6 17.Bh6 Bxh6 18.Qxh6 f6 19.a4 Na8 20.Rfb1 f5 21.Qe3 fxe4 22.fxe4 Nc7 23.d5 cxd5 24.exd5 Bb7 25.Rf1 Qd7 26.Qd4 e6 27.dxe6 Nxe6 28.Qg4 Rfe8 29.Nd4 Qg7 30.Rad1 Nc7 31.Qf4 Re5 32.Nc6 Bxc6 33.Qxc4+ d5 34.Qxc6 Rd8 35.Qb6 Qe7 36.Qd4 Qd6 37.Rfe1 Rde8 38.Rxe5 Rxe5 39.b5 Ne6 40.Qa7 d4 41.Ne4 1-0

Mar-25-12  notyetagm: Game Collection: MAKE A THREAT: ++; BOGO: BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE
Mar-25-12  notyetagm: Game Collection: MAKE A THREAT: ++; BOGO: BUY ONE, GET ONE FREE

Botvinnik vs Smyslov, 1958 32 Nd4-c6!, 41 Nc3-e4! 1-0

Mar-07-17  Toribio3: The rook, knight and queen of Botvinnik are strategically posted at their killing zones directed at the hostile king.
Jan-09-25  jphamlore: Botvinnik (re)annotated this game for the book that would eventually be translated into English as Half a Century of Chess. Botvinnik observes that Smyslov would not have liked the following position after a variation 30 ... ♘xd4 31. ♕xd4 ♕xd4 32. ♖xd4 d5, possibly with 33. b5 to come. Should Smyslov have feared the following position? He would have had ♖e3 as a resource, with various threats to follow to White's Queenside pawns.


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We are not given the players' time situation, but it must have been short. Nevertheless, both of these great players must have judged that the above position would have been near hopeless for Black, especially given the looming adjournment.

But suppose Botvinnik had decided Black had good chances. Then he would have had to have been more committal at move 30. Botvinnik in his annotations gives a rejected line 30. ♘xe6 ♕xc3, leading to the position


click for larger view

no doubt to be followed by 31. ♕f4

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