Botvinnik Semi-Slav, The (Pedersen)

128 THE BOTVINNIK SEMI-SLAV
13 ... lth7
Alternatively, Black can try 13 ... hxg2
14 ltgl lth7 15 .1f3 'ike7 16 ltxg2
l:.g7 (White often wins a tempo on this
rook as it is unprotected on h7 and
ltgS is sometimes also an option for
White, so Black reacts by moving the
rook again to neutralize the g-file) 17
ltJe4 a6 (Black has serious difficulties
completing his development; 17 ... ltJd7
is met by IS ltJxd7 ~xd7 19 ltJc5+
~cS 20 axb5) IS ltJc5 lhg2 19 j.xg2
.1g7 20 'ii'g4 ~f8 (20 ... j.xe5 21 'ikgS+
'ii'fS 22 'ii'xfS+ c;f;;>xfS 23 dxe5 would
leave Black's remaining pieces struggling
for air) 210-0-0 j.cS 22 f4 with
a terrific position for White, Wells­
Shabalov, London Lloyds Bank 1994.
14 g3ltJd7 IS 0-0 0-0-0 16 'ii'c2
White attempts to gain a tempo on
the rook and is now ready to meet
16 ... ltg7 by 17ltJxd71::txd7 IS axb5.
16 ... ltJxeS 17 dxeS 'ii'fS 18 'ii'xfS
exfS 19 axbS .tcS
Black has reasonable counterplay
but he must continue playing very energetically
to compensate for his horrible
pawns.
Challenging eS with ... ltJd7
White's e5-knight is an important
piece, and having to defend f7 often
causes Black inconvenience, so the
best defensive plan for Black is as
soon as possible to challenge the knight
by playing ... ltJd7. However, this may
not look that easy, as playing ... ltJd7
leaves the c6-pawn en prise unless
Black has defended it with ... j.b7.
Here are a few examples:
B
Kravtsov - Se. Ivanov
Russian Cht (St Petersburg) 1999
Here Black decided that even though
the c6-pawn is only defended by the
bS-knight, he could still afford to remove
the defence in order to challenge
the e5-knight instead:
1l ... ltJd7! 12lLlxc6
This is the only critical move.
12 ... j.b7 13 j.f3 a6!
This is the key move that makes
11...ltJd7 playable. White's knight
cannot be allowed to b5, and now White
also problems retreating the c6-knight
without making major concessions.
14 0-0 j.g7 IS a4 b4 16 ltJe4 'ii'f4
17 'iVc1 'iVc7 18 'iVxc4 j.xc6 19 l:.acl
l:.c8 20 'ii'xb4 .1f8 21 'ii'c3
For analysis of the alternative 21
'ikel see the theory section (Line B).
21...j.xe4! 22 'ii'xc7 ltxc7 23 l:.xc7
j.xf3 24 gxf3 ltg8+ 2S ~hl ltgS!
The ending is advantageous for
Black.