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Mikhail Botvinnik vs Vasily Smyslov
Botvinnik - Smyslov World Championship Match (1957), Moscow URS, rd 5, Mar-16
English Opening: Anglo-Indian Defense. Queen's Knight Variation (A16)  ·  1-0

8
7
6
5
4
3
2
a
1
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
White to move.
ANALYSIS [x]
Notes by Stockfish 9 v010218 (minimum 6s/ply) 13...Nf6 14.Bg5 Qe8 15.Qd3 a6 16.O-O Qf7 17.Rac1 fxe4 = +0.34 (24 ply)better is 14.h5 h6 15.hxg6 a5 16.Bd2 Nc5 17.Qf3 Rf6 18.Bh3 Rxg6 ⩲ +1.16 (25 ply) 14...h6 15.h5 g5 16.b3 c6 17.O-O Kh8 18.Bb2 cxd5 19.exd5 = +0.44 (24 ply)better is 15.h5 h6 16.hxg6 Nxg6 17.Qf3 a5 18.Bd2 Nc5 19.O-O-O Qf8 ± +1.63 (22 ply) 15...Kh8 16.h5 gxh5 17.Bd2 Nc5 18.b4 Nd7 19.Bxd7 Qxd7 ⩲ +0.89 (23 ply) 16.h5 g5 17.Bd2 Kh8 18.O-O-O Bg7 19.Kb1 h6 20.Be1 a5 ± +1.70 (27 ply) ⩲ +0.78 (26 ply)better is 19...Nd7 20.h5 g5 21.a3 h6 22.Qd3 Rf8 23.Be6+ Kg7 24.Kc2 ⩲ +0.77 (28 ply) ⩲ +1.29 (26 ply) after 20.h5 g5 21.a3 h6 22.Kc2 Kg7 23.Qd3 Nb8 24.Rhd1 Rf8 25.c5 22...h5 23.Kc2 Kg7 24.Rhd1 a5 25.b5 cxb5 26.cxb5 Ng8 ⩲ +0.92 (24 ply) 23.h5 gxh5 24.Qe3 Kh8 25.Bf1 Ne8 26.Rxh5 Rf8 27.Bd3 Nf6 ± +1.73 (25 ply) 23...Kg7 24.Bg4 h5 25.Bxf3 a6 26.Be2 b5 27.cxb5 axb5 ⩲ +0.74 (24 ply) ± +1.84 (27 ply)better is 25.Qe3 Nc8 26.Na4 Ne8 27.Be6+ Kh8 28.Rh1 Ng7 29.Bg4 h5 ± +2.02 (27 ply) ⩲ +1.36 (28 ply)better is 26...a4 27.Be6+ Kh8 28.Bg4 Rf7 29.h5 g5 30.Be6 Rf8 31.h6 ⩲ +1.50 (25 ply) ± +2.02 (31 ply)better is 29...h6 30.Qc3 Kh7 31.Rxa5 Ng8 32.Ra7 Rb8 33.Kc1 Rf7 ± +1.74 (27 ply) ± +2.40 (26 ply) 34.Nd1 Nh6 35.a4 Ng4 36.Rd3 Qf8 37.Kc1 Ne8 38.Ra7 Rf7 +- +2.58 (31 ply) ± +1.64 (29 ply)better is 35.a4 Ng4 36.Bxg4 hxg4 37.Ra7 Qf8 38.Kc2 Nh5 39.Re1 Qh6 ± +2.01 (28 ply) ⩲ +1.37 (27 ply) after 35...Qe7 36.Qa4 Qf8 37.Kc2 Qd8 38.Qb5 Rf7 39.Rh1 Ne8 38...Rf7 39.Qa5 Qd8 40.a4 Ne8 41.Qb5 Nef6 42.a5 Kg7 ⩲ +1.33 (29 ply) ± +2.20 (28 ply)better is 40.Nb2 g5 41.hxg5 Kg6 42.Nd1 Kxg5 43.Qb3 Rh8 44.Kb2 Rh2 ± +2.10 (29 ply)better is 40...Kh6 41.a4 g5 42.Rh1 Nf6 43.Qa5 Kg6 44.Qd2 gxh4 ⩲ +1.46 (26 ply) 41.Nb2 Kh6 42.Nd1 Rh8 43.Qb3 Kh5 44.a4 g5 45.hxg5 Kxg5 ± +2.19 (28 ply) ⩲ +1.39 (27 ply) 52...R4f7 53.Kc2 Qg6 54.Rh1 Rb8 55.Kb3 Rbf8 56.a6 bxa6 +- +4.71 (27 ply)+- +9.54 (27 ply)54...Rb8 55.Nb5 Qh5 56.Nxd6 Rbf8 57.Nxb7 R4f7 58.Nd6 +- +9.71 (25 ply)1-0

rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1
FEN COPIED

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Given 20 times; par: 88 [what's this?]

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Kibitzer's Corner
Mar-09-06
Premium Chessgames Member
  Honza Cervenka: 23...a5 doesn't look like the best idea as the Pawn became a target of white's attack and was lost a few moves later. But it is difficult to say whether doing nothing on the Queenside would have been significantly better.
Aug-13-06  meloncio: According to Botvinnik, 54.♕e1 stops the last trick: 54... ♕xg3 55.fxg3 f2. Anyway it looks threatening.
Mar-20-08  Knight13: I thought Black's instant king side attack when White hasn't even castled it a bit immature. But then I realized White's got the queen side so if he doesn't attack he'd be out of play sitting there doing nothing.

16...Nc5 is too fast. 16...a5 first would've slowed White's queeen side storm. 16...c5 isn't that bad either.

May-05-08  Vollmer: Seems to me that Smyslov sets up a "Champaign bottle attack" with f4 as the cork but he needs the Queen on f8 at least , if not on f7 with the Q-Rook on f8 . The cork fizzed at f3 (no pop at g3) and Black gets mashed like a potato on the a and b files .
Sep-03-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  sackman: A powerful positional game from Botvinnik - I liked 13 h4! Black's 23 ..a5 and 24 ..c5 look wrong as they take away any opportunity for counterplay on the q side without locking it up, so that white can infiltrate there winning the a pawn.
Feb-15-11  Everett: Exchanging off black's LSB early in the KID structure is not to be recommended.
Apr-24-11  bronkenstein: <Exchanging off black's LSB early in the KID structure is not to be recommended.>

Indeed , but it takes deep strategy ( with few Smyslov`s inaccuracies on Qflank later on) to proove that .

Sep-15-13  zydeco: Lots of room for improvement in black's play! I like 13....Nf6 instead of overcommitting with .....f4; and 20.....Qf8 intending 21....Qh6+ (20....c6 makes sense only if black is really able to open a file on the queenside). 35....Ng4 plays out as the losing move; maybe black should reorganize to connect rooks on the eighth rank and attack the b6 pawn: ....Rff8 ....Qe7-d8 and ....Nf6-d7.
Jan-24-15  Conrad93: It looks more like a King's Indian by the middle game.

With Botvinnik's favorite move g3.

Nov-16-19  ewan14: Petrosian - esque ?!

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