Botvinnik Semi-Slav, The (Pedersen)

DEVIATIONS FROM THE MAIN LINE 215
Black does not have the possibility of
... 'fid8 due to the annoying tiJd6+)
11...'fie7 12 c5 0-0 and then:
b41) 13 -tc4 b6 (Lutz suggests
13 ... e5!? 14 tiJd6 'fif6 15 dxe5 tiJxe5
16 tiJxe5 'fixe5 17 0-0 b5!?) 14 l:tdl as
150-0 -ta6 16 -txa6 :'xa6 is roughly
equal, Liogky-Bacrot, Corsica rpd 1997.
b42) 13 :'dl e5 14 tiJd6 'fif6 15
dxe5 tiJxe5 16 tiJxe5 'fixe5 17 -tc4 and
now 17 ... 'fixe3+ 112-112 was Babula­
Votava, Olomouc 1997, but 17 ... b5
looks interesting; Black's problems
are solved if the bishop has to retreat
and if 18 cxb6 axb6 19 tiJxf7 'fixe3+
20 fxe3 -ta6 21 tiJxh6+ ~h7 22 -txa6
:lxa6 23 tiJg4 :lxa2 Black is better.
S e3 bS 9 a4
9 tiJxb5!? is surely critical but has
for unknown reasons been largely neglected.
Wells mentions 9 ... cxb5 10
'fie4 -tb4+ 11 ~dl 0-0 12 'fixa8 -td7!
with compensation, and this does look
like Black's best try.
9 ... -tb7! 10 axbS cxbS 11 tiJxbS
-tb4+ 12 ttJc3 0-013 -te2 tiJd714 0·0
(D)
B
14 ...l::tfcS
After a series of more or less forced
moves we have come to a crossroads.
The text-move is Kramnik's preference
and this is enough to persuade me to
choose it as the main line. Black has
some minor, though probably not very
serious, problems with his c-pawn, but
the bishop-pair and altogether active
position compensate for this.
Other moves have fared reasonably
well in practice but there may be a reason
for Kramnik avoiding them. The
question is: had he noted a problem
with the main lines or did he just want
to win?
a) 14 .. J:t£d8 15 tiJd2 (15 tiJe4 'ii'g6
16 'fixc4!?) 15 ... e5 16 -tf3! -txf3 17
tiJxf3 'iWe6 (Stohl-Sveshnikov, Leningrad
1984) and now White can keep
an edge with 18 :'fdl according to
Sveshnikov.
b) 14 ... e5Iooks very drawish based
on practical examples, but I think
White may have an improvement here:
bl) 15 dxe5 tiJxe5 16 tiJxe5 'ii'xe5
17 -txc4 :'ac8 (17... aS 18 :'fdl :'ac8
19 'fib3 -txc3 20 bxc3 -txg2 21 ~xg2
'fie4+ 22 f3 'fixc4 23 'ii'xc4 :'xc4 24
:'xaS :'xc3 25 e4 112-1/2 Gustafsson­
Pavasovic, Bled 1999) 18 'ii'b3 (18
-te2 -txc3 19 bxc3 :'xc3 20 'ii'b2
:'xe3 21 'ii'xb7 :'xe2 22 'ii'xa7 liz-liz
Guseinov-Sveshnikov, Volgodonsk
1983) 18 ...-txg2! (this crafty move just
seems to force a draw) 19 -txf7+! (19
~xg2 -txc3 20 bxc3 'ii'e4+ is similar
to the Gustafsson-Pavasovic liquidation
above, while 19 'ii'xb4 'ii'g5 20 f4