M. Botvinnik - J.R. Capablanca
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One of the greatest games of chess ever played.
I have asked the question, "What is the best game of chess ever played?" ... many, many, times over the years. I have asked Masters, IM's and GM's galore. This game has been mentioned by top players probably more than any other game! Also, many editors and writers have ranked this game VERY highly.
It is played between two of the best players of all-time, in maybe the strongest chess tournament ever held. (Many consider the Champion of the Black pieces, Jose R. Capablanca; to be the greatest chess player who ever lived.)
I rank this as The Number Two (#2.) game of chess, all-time.
My annotations here are based primarily on those of GM Andy Soltis, in his book, "The 100 Best." ("The 100 Best Games of the 20th Century, Ranked.")
1. d4
Nf6; 2.
c4
e6; 3.
Nc3
Bb4; 4.
e3
d5!?;
Modern theory prefers ...0-0;
or ...c5.
[ 4...0-0, "="]
White's next move was a TN,
and refinement probably first
discovered by Botvinnik.
5. a3!
Bxc3+!?; 6.
bxc3
c5!?; The move, 6...0-0; might be preferable.
7. cxd5
exd5; 8.
Bd3
0-0; 9.
Ne2
b6; 10.
0-0, King safety.
Not a bad move. (Actually a pretty good move, and in keeping with opening principles.)
Later in his career, Botvinnik was to stop playing this move at this point, and start playing a4 here.
[
10.a4, !? ].
10...Ba6; 11.
Bxa6!?
Nxa6; 12.
Bb2!?, Simple development.
This is OK, but White actually
had a slightly better move here.
[
Probably better was: 12.Qd3!,
- GM M. Botvinnik. ].
12...Qd7!; Best.
Centralization and light-square control.
(Many different annotators have given this move an exclam, including Soltis.).
13. a4, This is best now.
[
Not 13.Qd3?!
Qa4!; Smothering
play on the Queen-side. ].
13...Rfe8!?; Placing a Rook on the half-open e-file, supporting the possible Knight outpost on e4 is not a bad idea.
[
Maybe better was: 13...cxd4!; 14.cxd4
Rfc8;
- Botvinnik, Flohr, and Fine. ]
14. Qd3
c4?!; (Maybe - '?')
Definitely not the best.
Many annotators have heartily condemned this move.
I think it is a VERY STRONG winning try by Capa. And it LOOKS like it is winning, and is even the first or second choice of many strong computer programs! So to give this move a question mark, is perhaps over-kill and being FAR too harsh!!
The move, 14...c4, is also the beginning of a very deep plan.
First, Black fixes White's pawns on the dark-squares, and appears to make White's QB a very bad piece indeed. Secondly, the move creates an outpost on b3. Black then maneuvers his Knight on a6 to that square, via b8-c6-a5. This knight deployment artificially isolates White's QRP, which Black then can win this unit. In order to survive, White must let the Pawn go, and place all his hopes in a strong central advance. It takes ultra-brilliance of the very first magnitude to refute Black's plan.
As Kasparov pointed out, Capa did greatly underestimate the potential and hidden dynamics of this position.
[ 14...Nc7; "=" ].
15. Qc2 Nb8; Necessary, but still loss of tempo.
16. Rae1!
Nc6; 17.
Ng3
Na5; 18.
f3!, Best.
Preparing to both sacrifice the a-pawn and the central advance of White's pawn majority in the middle of the board.
[
18.Ba3!? ]
18...Nb3; 19.
e4
Qxa4; "=/+"
Who is better here?
Most computers consider Black to be better here by nearly half a pawn. ('!')
20. e5 Nd7; 21. Qf2!, A nice move, anticipating and avoiding many of Black's threats.
Now White must open the game to continue his attack.
23. exf6
Nxf6; 24.
f5
Rxe1; 25.
Rxe1
Re8; Looks forced.
(In fact for nearly a dozen moves in this game, Black often plays the ONLY move to avoid an immediate disaster.)
[
Not 25...Kf7!?; 26.Re6!
Re8;
27.Rxf6+!!
Kxf6; 28.fxg6+
Kxg6;
Forced.
(28...Kg7; 29.Qf7+
Kh6;
30.Qxh7+!!
Kg5; 31.h4+!
Kf4;
32.Qh6+!
Kxg3; 33.Qg5#)
29.Qf5+
Kg7;
(29...Kh6??; 30.Qf6#)
30.Nh5+
Kh6;
(30...Kg8?; 31.Qg5+
Kf7;
32.Qf6+
Kg8; 33.Qg7#
) 31.h4!!,
The best. (Most annotators give:
31.g4, "+/-"
and say White wins.)
31...Rg8; Threat = Qg5# 32.g4!
Qc6; 33.Ba3!!,
"+/-"
with a winning attack.
Or
25...Rf8; 26.fxg6!,
{26.Qf4!!
Qa2; 27.fxg6!
Qxb2; 28.g7!,
"+/-" - GM Kasparov.
(White has a killer attack.)}
26...hxg6; 27.Re6!,
"+/=" ].
26. Re6!
Rxe6; 27.
fxe6
Kg7; 28.Qf4!,
(A very good move.)
White threatens Nf5+!,
with a winning attack.
(Many annotators have given
this move an exclam.)
[ 28.Qe2!? ].
28...Qe8; Forced.
(Everything else loses very quickly.).
29. Qe5!, The best.
(Many computers want to play the
Queen to c7 - with check, or to d6.)
(Most annotators do NOT give
this move an exclam. But it certainly
deserves one.)
[
29.Qc7+
].
29...Qe7; Probably forced.
[
29...h6!?; Maybe - '!'
Many sources consider this to be a better defense, although that was
never proven. (Beyond all shadow of a doubt.)
My analysis includes much or
all of the analysis given previously
in this
position, plus many
improvements. I cannot safely say
that Black saves his
game with
29...h6; or even that it is clearly
an improvement over 29...Qe7. ].
30. Ba3!!, (Maybe - '!!!')
A shocking and a surprise move.
Definitely one of the most beautiful moves in all of chess praxis.
[
30.h4 ].
30...Qxa3; Acceptance is forced.
31. Nh5+!, (Maybe - '!!')
One more sacrifice.
It also looks like Botvinnik
has lost his mind! (He is playing "give-away.")
[
31.e7 ].
31...gxh5; (Forced.)
A very, very amazing ...................
and unique concept.
In a GREATLY SIMPLIFIED SETTING, ... Botvinnik has given away ... TWO (2!) Minor Pieces!!!
[
31...Kh6?; 32.Nxf6
Qc1+;
33.Kf2
Qd2+; 34.Kg3
Qg5+?;
(34...g5;
35.e7, "+/-")
35.Ng4+
Kh5; 36.Qxg5+
Kxg5;
37.e7, "+/-"
Or 31...Kf8??; 32.Qxf6+ Ke8; 33.Ng7#.
Or 31...Kg8?!; ('?') 32.Nxf6+ Kf8; 33.Nxd5, "+/-" White has a winning attack. ].
32. Qg5+
Kf8; 33.
Qxf6+
Kg8; 34.
e7!, (Maybe - '!!') Wow!
The most precise. (A quiet move to win the game.)
[ Very interesting is: 34.Qf7+!?, (Maybe - '!') which may also win. ].
34...Qc1+; Check, check.
(Or, "Always check, it might be mate.")
Many Masters who were watching this game, felt quite confident that Black could get at least a perpetual check in this position.
35. Kf2 Qc2+; 36. Kg3 Qd3+; 37. Kh4! Qe4+; 38. Kxh5 Qe2+; 39. Kh4 Qe4+; 40. g4! Qe1+; 41. Kh5, Black Resigns, 1 - 0.
(Black has run out of checks, and his game has run out on him, also.)
Easily one of the greatest games of chess ever played.
1 - 0
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(But there are NO diagrams, so you have to use a chess board & set!)
This
is a MUCH shortened copy of the game than the version that exits in my database.
(I had to shorten it for publication. The other version was simply
too difficult to convert to an HTML document.)
The
original "ChessBase" file contains a fair look at the opening of this
game,
"The Nimzo-Indian Defense."
This includes a quite a few lines that are in MCO.
This would be a great asset to have, if you wanted to study this
opening.
If you would like a copy of this game, please contact me.
Copyright, (©) A.J. Goldsby I.
© A.J. Goldsby; 2001 - 2008 & © 2009.
Copyright (©) A.J. Goldsby, 2009. All rights reserved.
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