Botvinnik Semi-Slav, The (Pedersen)

166 THE BOTVINNIK SEMI-SLAV
b) 12 'ii'c2 f5 13 .ixc4 g4 14 .!L)d2
.!L)f6 15 .!L)c5 .!L)d5 16 h3!? gxh3 17
gxh3 with excellent compensation.
White is ready to redeploy the bishop
via e2 to h5, Timoshchenko-Antoshin,
Tashkent 1982.
w
12.!L)c5!
This was probably well-known to
Sakaev a long time before he got the
chance to play it. This was initially an
idea of Kramnik's, and virtually refutes
Black's opening. The only justification
of Black's idea is the hope of
being able to eliminate White's bishop
on e5. There is no real rush to collect
the c4-pawn and hence 12 .!L)c5! prevents
Black's only idea.
Previously, White used to play 12
0-0 (or first 12 .ixc4) 12 ... .!L)bd7 13
.ixc4, when Black has the following
possibilities:
a) 13 ... .ig7 14 'ii'e2 .!L)b6 15 .ib3
0-0 16.!L)c5 appeared very pleasant for
White in the game Relange-G.Georgadze,
Ubeda 1997.
b) 13 ... g4 and now:
b1) 14 .ixf6!? 'ii'xf6 15 .!L)e5 .!L)xe5
(15 ... h5? 16 f4! .!L)xe5 17 fxe5 ± Lputian-Smagin,
USSR Ch (Riga) 1985)
16 dxe5 'ii'xe5 17 'ii'xg4 .td618 g3. I
must say that I am rather suspicious
about this idea, but in Gormally-Ippolito,
Hampstead 1998, White was able
to launch a devastating attack after
18 ... .id7 19ltadl .ie7 20 ltfe1 'ii'a5?
(20 ... 'ii'f6) 21ltxd7! ~xd7 22.ixe6+
~c7 23 'ii'f4+ .id6 24 'ii'xf7+ ~b8 25
.tb3 'ii'c7 26 'ii'c4 ±, but Black can improve
with 18 ... .ib7!; e.g., 19 ltad1
h5 20 'fif3 ltd8 21 lHel 'ii'g5, and although
Black still needs to tread carefully,
he should be able to defend.
b2) 14 .!L)d2 .!L)xe5 15 dxe5 .!L)d7
and now White has a number of continuations,
all of them very dangerous-looking
but none decisive:
b21) 16 f4!? gxf3 17 'ii'xf3 .!L)xe5
18 'ii'a (18 'ii'e4!?) 18 ... .ig7 19 .!L)e4
0-020 ltadl 'ii'e7 21 .ie2 .id7 22 .!L)ac5
.ie8 and Black defends, Neurohr-Beikert,
2nd Bundesliga 1992.
b22) 16 'ii'xg4 .!L)xe5 17 'ii'e4 .!L)xc4
18 .!L)xc4 'ii'd5 19 'fif4?! (19 'ii'c2 is a
better idea, intending, after 19 ... .ia6,
to reply 20 b3 .ixc4 21 l:.ad1 with
compensation - Galliamova) 19 ... .ia6
20 .!L)e5 (here Black is able to meet 20
b3 with 20 ... lId8!) 20 ... 0-0-0 21.!L)xc6
.id6 22 'ii'cl ~d7! 23 .!L)xd8 .ixfl 24
'ii'xflltxd8 and Black is slightly better,
Chiburdanidze-Galliamova, Groningen
worn Ct 1997.
b23) 16 l:.el h5 (16 ... 'ii'a5!?) 17 f4
.!L)b6?! (Lutz suggests 17 ... gxf3 18
.!L)xf3 .ib7 followed by either ... 'ii'a5