Botvinnik Semi-Slav, The (Pedersen)

12 THE BOTVINNIK SEMI-SLAV
in the form of a very dangerous pawn
on g7 and superior minor pieces. Sadler
is of the opinion that Black should
now play 23 .. J:txg7! 24 ~d4! f5 25
tDxd7!? (25 ~h3 was tried in B.Lalic­
Wilson, London 1996 but is not very
convincing) 25 .. .lhd7 26 l:txa7, when
the position is rather unclear, but
probably slightly easier for White to
play.
then his attack is often successful, as
Black's king is left almost naked.
White frequently sacrifices a piece to
bring this about. An example:
w
A more common queen sacrifice
arises (after the 17 moves that characterise
this chapter) in the line 17 ... tDe5
(or 17 ... tDb8) 18 axb4 cxb4 19 'iid4
tDc6 20 dxc6! 1:txd4 21 cxb7+ (D).
B
Once more, in return for a queen
White only has two pieces plus a strong
passed pawn, this time on b7. However,
here theory is more established,
and in White's favour.
The sensitive c-file
Black's main worry is usually White's
attacking chances in the middlegame.
If White manages to open the c-file,
Maksimenko - Scherbakov
Aalborg 1993
Black is very close to consolidating,
so drastic measures are required for
White. In this theoretically important
position, White now played 21 ~xd5
l:txd5 22l:txc4, which is the only way
to justify White's set-up. Then Black's
best is the probably slightly inferior
ending following 22 ... .:.xg5 23 'iid4
'ifi>b8 24 lhc6 lhg3+ 25 fxg3 'ii'xc6
26 l:td 1 ~h6 but instead Black went
for the rather provocative 22 ... ~d7?!
and was duly punished: 23 l:tacl (23
l:tdl!? has also been suggested but I
find the game continuation convincing
enough) 23 .. J:txg5 24 'ii'e4 tDd8!?
(this is the most consistent, but objectively
Black should prefer 24 ... .:.d5 25
l:txc6 'iixc6 26 l:txc6 ~xc6 27 b3,
when White is only slightly better) 25