Botvinnik Semi-Slav, The (Pedersen)
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54 THE BOTVINNIK SEMI-SLAV<br />
25 f4 e3<br />
2S .. .'~c7!? deserves consideration.<br />
26 bxe3 bxe3<br />
After 26 ... c4? 27 cxb4 ~c7 28 g4<br />
White's initiative is clearly more important<br />
than Black's diminishing material<br />
advantage, Beliavsky-Shirov,<br />
Ljubljana 1995. It is a mystery why<br />
Shirov rejected the text-move even<br />
though he had seen ...<br />
27 .:tbl e21<br />
... when White can claim some compensation<br />
after 28 'iYxc2 'iYc6 29 .:tdl,<br />
but it is very far from certain that this<br />
is adequate.<br />
82)<br />
19 ~xf1 (D)<br />
B<br />
This simple capture has somewhat<br />
overtaken the seemingly impressive<br />
19 'ifdS. White has fared quite well<br />
with it, and the evidence is primarily<br />
based on the fact that Shirov has had<br />
big problems handling the black position.<br />
19 ... ~h61?<br />
When I had finished reviewing<br />
most of the available material after 19<br />
'it'xfl, it struck me that this typical<br />
move of the <strong>Botvinnik</strong> System had for<br />
some reason been totally ignored. My<br />
first thought was that there had to be<br />
an obvious refutation. How else could<br />
a move that is the main defence against<br />
19 'ifdS have been ignored like this?<br />
However, after spending some time on<br />
it, I am inclined to believe that it is<br />
Black's best move - perhaps due to<br />
current negative status of the alternatives.<br />
But first, here is what happens<br />
when Black respectively tries to win<br />
material, save material or seize control<br />
ofthe sensitive hl-a8 diagonal:<br />
a) 19 ... bxc3? is too greedy, and<br />
now White should continue with the<br />
amazingly cool 20 bxc3! rather than<br />
Uhlmann's 20 'ifdS, which permits<br />
Black to muddy the waters with the<br />
disruptive 20 ... ~xe7 21 fxe7 c2!, as in<br />
Uhlmann-Alexandria, Halle 1981.<br />
However, after 20 bxc3! Black is dead<br />
lost; e.g., 20 ... ~h6 21 ~xh6 tLlxf6<br />
(21.. . .:txh6 22 :b8+ +-) 22 exd8'iY+<br />
:xd8 23 :b8+ ~xb8 24li'xd8+ +-.<br />
b) 19 ... ~xe7?! 20 fxe7 :dg8 is an<br />
idea with which Kramnik has experimented.<br />
21 tLle4 li'c6 22 tLld6+ ~b8<br />
23 ~f4 :xh2 (if 23 ... ~a8, 24 h4<br />
keeps the h-pawn and avoids counterplay)<br />
24 ~e2! ~a8 2S 'iYc2!. After this<br />
very fine move, White's queen is about<br />
to take a powerful outpost on fS, and<br />
this gives him a more or less decisive<br />
advantage in most lines, as shown by<br />
Kramnik's analysis in In/armatar:
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