Botvinnik Semi-Slav, The (Pedersen)

130 THE BOTVINNIK SEMI-SLA V
although Black should often enter this
kind of transaction) but it is also ideally
placed for attacking purposes
against the sensitive f7 -square.
lO ..:iVxf6
There are various other moves to
consider but this is the most trustworthy.
Black collects a second pawn and
simultaneously gets rid of the annoying
f6-pawn, which makes normal development
hard for Black. For instance,
1O ... ttJd7? (and some of the other alternatives)
runs into 11 ttJxf7!. Of the
more reliable alternatives, 10 ....:gS!?
is worth looking at: 11 ~e2 (perhaps
11 g3 ttJd7 12 ~g2 ~b7 13 0-0 ttJxe5
14 dxe5 'fIc7 15 .:tel is more accurate)
11...ttJd7 (the point; Black has ruled
out the sacrifice on f7, so he can immediately
begin the attack on the e5-
knight) 12 ~f3 (12 ttJxc6 'tib6 13 ~f3
~b7 14 d5 ttJxf6 looks good for
Black) 12 ... ~b7 (12... ttJxe5!? 13 dxe5
'tic7 14 0-0 ~b7 15 .:tel gives White
good compensation but might be even
better with the pawn on g3 and bishop
on g2, cf. 11 g3) 13 ~xc6 (13 O-O!?)
13 ... ~xc6 14 ttJxc6 'fIc7 15 d5 ttJc5
(15 ... ttJxf6 is worth considering) 16
0-0 'fIf4 17 ~h 1 ttJd3 IS dxe6. Both
sides are walking on a tightrope, and
now, rather than lS ... ~c5?, as in Ikonnikov-Stojanovski,
Plovdiv 1990, Ikonnikov
suggests that Black can play
"IS....:txg2!! 19 exf7+ ~xf7! 20 ~xg2
~d6 21 'ii'h5+ ~e6! 22 'fId5+ ~d7 23
ttJe5+ 'fIxe5! 24 'fIxe5 ~xe5 with
compensation" - perhaps true in the
final position but 24 'fIxb5+! is more
accurate, when White has an advantage.
Returning to the position after
1O ... 'fIxf6 (D):
w
White has the following options:
A: 11 g3 130
B: 11 ~e2 132
C: 11 a4 134
A)
11 g3
White intends to deploy his bishop
on the hI-aS diagonal. While the
bishop would be safest on g2, White
could also adopt the same plan with 11
~e2 (Line B), intending to put the
bishop on f3. This has a further advantage
compared to 11 g3, namely that
sometimes White can begin an attack
against f7 by playing ~h5.
11 ... ttJd7!?
Challenging the e5-knight has been
the most common defence for Black.
Incidentally, in Line B, 11 ~e2 ttJd7:
White can capture on c6, whereas this
would be an error in this particular