Botvinnik Semi-Slav, The (Pedersen)

174 THE BOTVINNIK SEMI-SLAV
into consideration to sacrifice a piece
either on e6 or on f7. With Black's
bishop on b7 the centre is much more
vulnerable to such actions.
10 ... g4
1O ... b4 is perhaps worth investigating.
To my knowledge it has not been
tried in practice but it is not entirely
clear how White should proceed. 11
tDa4 tDxe4 12 ~e5l:tg8 13 ~xc4 g4
14 tDd2 tDxd2 15 'i'xd2 tDd7 looks
comfortable enough for Black, even if
White interpolates an exchange of the
h-pawns on move 13. White probably
has to venture into 11 hxg5 bxc3 12
gxf6 cxb2 13l:tb1 'i'a5+ 14 ~f1 'i'xa2
15 tDe5, which, though dangerous,
does not look very clear.
11 tDe5 (D)
B
11 ... h5
11...b4? is as usual very risky. 12
tDa4 tDxe4 13 ~xc4 tDxg3 (Black realizes
that he cannot afford to waste
any more moves on non-developing
moves, so he immediately exchanges
White's bishop; he could also have
chosen to defend the g-pawn with
13 ... h5, but 14 'tie2 tDxg3 15 fxg3 is at
any rate extremely dangerous since
White is already threatening to sacrifice
on f7) 14 fxg3 tDd7 15 tDxf7!
(anyway) 15 ... ~xf7 16 'tixg4 'tie7 17
0-0+ ~e8 18 ~xe6 ~c8 19 l:tae1 ~d8,
Khalifman-Dreev, Elista 1998, and
now the simplest is 20 ~f7! 'tid6 21
l:f.e6 'tib8 22 :t.e8+ ~c7 23 ~e6 with a
winning attack. This is one example
confirming my initial remark on 10
h4!? It turned out that the bishop was
prematurely developed to b7 and Black
even had to return the bishop in order
to avoid immediate disaster.
120-0
This is the most common move, and
is often played with the hope of opening
the f-file. Hence the immediate 12
f3!? should not go unnoticed. Black
can react in several ways but only one
(maybe two) looks worth trying:
a) 12 ... b4?! 13 tDa4 gxf3 14 gxf3
is very good for White. The c-pawn
drops and Black lacks counterplay.
b) 12 ... ~b4?! 13 0-0 is also promising
for White since the f-file will be
opened next.
c) 12 ... gxf3 led to a quick victory
for White in Gormally-McDonald,
Hampstead 1998 and was a nice display
of the importance of rapid development:
13 ~xf3 c5?! (Black is
desperate to create counterplay but
this is too weakening) 14 O-O! 'i'xd4+
15 'tixd4 cxd4 16 tDxb5 tDa6 17 tDxc4
:g8 18 ~e5 tDd7 19 ~xd4 ~c6 20
tDxa7 1-0.