Botvinnik Semi-Slav, The (Pedersen)
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THE MAIN LINE: 17 a3 25<br />
<strong>The</strong>re are now two main continuations<br />
for Black. <strong>The</strong> first used to be the<br />
• automatic' repl y, but realizing White's<br />
firm control of d4, attention has now<br />
been drawn towards the interesting<br />
pawn sacrifice 18 ... d4. Black then<br />
achieves his principal aim in the main<br />
line of the <strong>Botvinnik</strong> System, namely<br />
to get his d-pawn rolling.<br />
Cl: 18 ... cxb4 25<br />
C2: 18 ... d4!? 29<br />
el)<br />
18 ... cxb4 (D)<br />
w<br />
Black has re-established the material<br />
balance, resulting in a lopsided<br />
pawn-structure where White has a<br />
great majority on the kingside, but only<br />
has 1 vs 4 on the queenside. Black's<br />
main trump is his passed d-pawn but<br />
his lack of control over the d4-square<br />
makes its advance far from easy.<br />
Moreover, as long as it remains on d5,<br />
the light-squared bishop is hemmed<br />
in. Hence White should seek to blockade<br />
the d-pawn, and this can be done<br />
with moves like ~d4 and/or 3t.e3, simultaneously<br />
creating a threat against<br />
the shy but very important a-pawn .<br />
This pawn plays a major role in the<br />
defence of Black's king, and therefore<br />
needs coverage. This makes me<br />
think of another, very important, factor,<br />
namely the safety ofthe two kings.<br />
While White's monarch enjoys an almost<br />
unspoiled shelter, Black's king<br />
is much more vulnerable to attacks<br />
with, for example, a queen on g4 and<br />
bishop on f4. Furthermore, White can<br />
try to open the queenside with ~(t)cl<br />
and b3.<br />
19 i.e3<br />
This retreat serves several functions.<br />
First, it is a strong positional move,<br />
taking further control of the d4-square<br />
and attacking the a7-pawn. Second,<br />
White walks out of possible tricks involving<br />
attacks against the unprotected<br />
bishop on g5. While this is in<br />
my opinion the most logical move,<br />
White has also tried other moves:<br />
a) 191i'd4?! occupies d4 with the<br />
wrong piece. <strong>The</strong> only game I know of<br />
with this continuation is Nikolac<br />
Kishnev, Munich 1993, and although<br />
the experiment went well for White, it<br />
is not worth repeating. Black has very<br />
easy play after 19 .. . ltJc5 20 b3 tiJxb3<br />
211i'xa7 (the ·point'). Now, rather than<br />
21...tiJxal?, as in the game, Black can<br />
play Beliavsky's suggestion 21...3t.c5<br />
22 tiJxc5 ~xc5, or Fritz's even stronger<br />
2l...~d6 22 i.f4 ~a6!'<br />
b) 19 .l:tel i.h6!? 20 i.xh6 ~xh6<br />
21 ~d4 ~xf6 22 i.h3 ~d6 (22 ... .l:tc6
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