Botvinnik Semi-Slav, The (Pedersen)

9 Alatortsev's 9 ... ctJdS?!
1 d4 d5 2 c4 c6 3 lbf3lbf6 4lbc3 e6 5
i.g5 dxc4 6 e4 b5 7 e5 h6 8 i.h4 g5 9
lbxg5lbd5?! (D)
w
1 have for a long time felt that theory
was too pessimistic of 9 ... lbd5,
and this is one of those quite rare lines
that 1 have truly wanted to work for
Black. It is one of those fascinating,
romantic, sacrificial options that 1 tend
to get a special feeling for. 1 hope that
it has not affected my objectivity, but 1
must admit that the number of pages is
quite large in relation to its popularity.
White basically has two options.
He can either retreat the knight to f3,
or he can jump right into it and accept
the sacrifice by 10 lbxf7 'ii'xh4 11
lbxh8. While in the first case 1 believe
Black has already won a moral victory
(and 1 believe that there is nothing
special to fear here), 10 lbxf7 seems to
cause a much greater threat to the entire
system, and to be honest 1 feel that
Black may simply be lost in this line!
White does not accept the sacrifice
1 admit White has succeeded in damaging
Black's kingside substantially
when he decides simply to come back
with the knight to f3, but it has given
Black great activity, and the only (I
have to agree, it is quite a big one)
problem is that it is not possible to castle
queenside. However, it is possible
to generate short-term pressure without
the rook on a8, and in my opinion,
with correct play, it is enough to disturb
White in building up an attack.
w
Campos Moreno - Vera
Hospitalet 1988