Botvinnik Semi-Slav, The (Pedersen)

ALATORTSEV'S 9 . ..lijd5?! 117
Black has just played 14 ... c6-cS,
opening up the position for his bishop
on b7. White also has some problems
due to the pinned knight on c3. In the
game, White decided to solve this immediately
with a pawn sacrifice ...
15 a3 .ixe3 16 bxe3 'iixa3 17 dxe5
White establishes a strong square
for the knight on d4.
17 ... 'iixe5
17 ... ttJxcS!? is also possible and
might even be stronger.
18 ttJd4 ttJxe5 19 .ih5 l:.g8! 20
l:.fel!
Now 20 ttJxe6? fails in view of
20 ... l:.xg2+!.
20 ... ttJe7!? 21.ig3 'iid5 22 f3
Black should now have played
22 ... ttJSg6! with a very unclear position.
White accepts the sacrifice
I think that White should generally be
trying to castle kingside, but it depends
on which of the 12th move options
he chooses (after 10 ttJxf7 'ti'xh4
11 ttJxh8 .ib4). A rule of thumb is that
if White plays 12 'ti'd2, he should be
castling queenside, while if White
plays 12 l:.cl it is self-evident that
White must castle kingside, or even
leave the king in the centre. The following
diagram is an example of what
White should not do:
White should now take the opportunity
to castle queens ide but instead
played 14 .ie2?! with the intention of
hiding the monarch on the kingside.
There followed 14 ... ttJxe5 150-0 (IS
w
S. Gillam - Botterill
England 1979
0-0-0 would still be better) 15 ... .ib7
16 a3 .ixe3 17 bxe3 and now Black
could have obtained a menacing attack
with 17 ... ttJf4; e.g., 18 l:.fel 'ii'gS
19 .ihS+ ~f8 20 'ii'd6+? ~g8 and
Black wins - Botterill.
B
P.H. Nielsen - Sveshnikov
Kemerovo 1995
White has just castled kingside, and
although his king does not look totally