Botvinnik Semi-Slav, The (Pedersen)

98 THE BOTVlNNIK SEMI-SLAV
mentioned 16 'ii'c2 c3! 17 bxc3 'ii'c7!
18 ttJg3 cxd4 19 c4 ttJcS +) 16 ... 'ii'c7
17 ttJg3 cxd4 18 .ltxc4 'ii'c6 19 f3 d3
+.
22 ... ttJbdS?! is imprecise due to 23
~f2! ttJb4 24 a3! ttJd3+ 2S .ltxd3
cxd3 26 ltdl ± Shirov-Morovic, Las
Palmas 1994.
23~e2!
White's king would stand better on
f2, as in the Shirov game above. However,
with Black's move-order this
square is off-limits since 23 ~f2 allows
23 ....ltxe4, when White cannot
take with pawn, thus giving Black
what he wants.
23 ....ltg7 24 lth7 ttJbd5 25 ltahl
White is slightly better according to
Shirov.
B)
11 exf6 .ltb712 g3 (D)
12 .lte2 has been regarded as not a
very serious attempt for an advantage
ever since the famous game Denker­
Botvinnik, USA-USSR radio match
1945, which continued 12 ... 'ii'b6 13
0-0 0-0-0 14 a4 (14 .ltf3 is probably
better, when the position should be
compared closely with Line B2) 14 ... b4
IS ttJe4 cS 16 'ii'bl (Botvinnik also
Now we analyse three paths for
Black:
Bl: 12 .. JWc7 98
B2: 12 .. :ii'b6 99
B3: 12 ... c5 103
Bl}
12 .. :ii'c7
Most lines involve Black advancing
... cS and the same applies to 12 .. .'it'c7
but, while the queen is usually better
placed on b6 in this respect (defending
the bS-pawn), Black here aims to deliver
a disruptive check on eS after
... cS is met by dS.
13 .ltg2 c5 14 d5
While not exactly forced, this still
looks the best for White. Other options
are:
a) 14 .ltf4 eS (14 .. .'iWb6 is also possible;
then it is not quite clear what the
slight change of location of White's