The Nimzo-Indian Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves:
84-511: E36 may refer to: Nimzo-Indian Defence , Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings code The BMW E36 automobile platform The European route E36 connecting Berlin to Bolesławiec The Federal Aviation Administration airport code of Georgetown Airport (California) Cryotech E36, a Potassium acetate based runway deicer Penang Bridge , route E36 in Malaysia [REDACTED] Topics referred to by
168-511: A pawn structure makes the Nimzo-Indian (sometimes colloquially referred to as the "Nimzo") a very flexible defence to 1.d4 . It can also transpose into lines of the Queen's Gambit or Queen's Indian Defence . The Nimzo-Indian is a highly respected defence to 1.d4, is played at all levels and has been played by every world champion since Capablanca . White often plays 3.g3 or 3.Nf3 to avoid
252-425: A Jew by blood, a Russian by culture, Soviet by upbringing."" On his religious views, he called himself an atheist. In 1920, his mother became ill and his father left the family, but maintained contact with the children, even after his second marriage to a Russian woman. At about the same time, Botvinnik started reading newspapers, and became a committed communist . In autumn 1923, at the age of twelve, Botvinnik
336-532: A World Championship tournament before the Groningen tournament began, and at this stage the Soviet Union was not a member and therefore took no part in framing that proposal. Since Keres lost his first four games against Botvinnik in the 1948 World Championship tournament , winning only in the final cycle after the outcome of the tournament had been decided, suspicions have sometimes been raised that Keres
420-485: A ballerina, told him that her colleagues at the Kirov Opera and Ballet Theatre were being evacuated to the city of Perm , then known as Molotov in honour of Vyacheslav Molotov . The family found an apartment there, and Botvinnik obtained a job with the local electricity supply organization – at the lowest pay rate and on condition that he did no research, as he had only a Candidate's degree. Botvinnik's only child,
504-440: A candidate member of his school's Komsomol branch. Around this time his mother became concerned about his poor physique, and as a result he started a programme of daily exercise, which he maintained for most of his life. When Botvinnik finished the school curriculum, he was below the minimum age for the entrance examinations for higher education. While waiting, he qualified for his first USSR Championship final stage in 1927 as
588-580: A club in the city's Palace of Labour. To test the strength of Soviet chess masters, Krylenko organized the Moscow 1925 chess tournament . On a rest day during the event, world champion José Raúl Capablanca gave a simultaneous exhibition in Leningrad . Botvinnik was selected as one of his opponents, and won his game. In 1926, he reached the final stage of the Leningrad championship. Later that year, he
672-648: A daughter named Olya, was born in Perm in April 1942. In the evenings, Botvinnik wrote a book in which he annotated all the games of the "Absolute Championship of the USSR", in order to maintain his analytic skills in readiness for a match with Alekhine. His work included wood-cutting for fuel, which left him with insufficient energy for chess analysis. Botvinnik obtained from Molotov an order that he should be given three days off normal work in order to study chess. In 1943, after
756-669: A definite plan of action. In reply, Black has three main moves to choose from: 4...0-0, 4...c5, and 4...b6. In addition, Black sometimes plays 4...d5 or 4...Nc6. The move 4...d5 can transpose to lines arising from 4...0-0, but White has the extra option of 5.a3 (known as the Botvinnik Variation ). This forces Black to retreat the bishop to e7 or capture on c3, which transposes to a line of the Sämisch Variation long considered good for White because they will undouble their pawns at some point by playing cxd5, eliminating
840-701: A double round-robin event featuring the top five Soviet players and the five strongest non-Soviet players available. Despite politicking over the Soviet choices, both Krylenko and the Central Committee of the Komsomol quickly authorised the tournament. This was played in Moscow in June 1936, and Botvinnik finished second, one point behind Capablanca and 2½ ahead of Flohr. However, he took consolation from
924-561: A local chess official, he was admitted in 1928 to Leningrad University's Mathematics Department. In January 1929, Botvinnik played for Leningrad in the student team chess championship against Moscow. Leningrad won and the team manager, who was also deputy chairman of the Proletstud , secured Botvinnik a transfer to the Polytechnic's Electromechanical Department, where he was one of only four students who entered straight from school. As
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#17327838754241008-403: A losing champion the automatic right to a rematch. He remained involved with competitive chess, appearing in several highly rated tournaments and continuing to produce memorable games. Botvinnik retired from competitive play in 1970, aged 59, preferring instead to occupy himself with the development of computer chess programs and to assist with the training of younger Soviet players, earning him
1092-471: A match with Samuel Reshevsky in order to strengthen his claim for a title match with Alekhine, but this received no political support. In December 1943, he won the Moscow Championship, ahead of Smyslov. At the same time, opposition to his plan for a match with Alekhine re-surfaced, on the grounds that Alekhine was a political enemy and the only proper course was to demand that he be stripped of
1176-552: A medal for the only time at an Olympiad. His final Olympiad was Tel Aviv 1964 , where he won the bronze with 9/12, playing board 2 as he had lost his title to Petrosian. Overall, in six Olympiads, he scored 54½/73 for an outstanding 74.6 percent. Botvinnik also played twice for the USSR in the European Team Championship. At Oberhausen 1961, he scored 6/9 for the gold medal on board one. But at Hamburg 1965, he struggled on board two with only 3½/8. Both times
1260-589: A member of the Petrograd Chess Assembly – to which its president turned a blind eye. Botvinnik won his first two tournaments organized by the Assembly. Shortly afterwards, Nikolai Krylenko , a devoted chess player and leading member of the Soviet legal system who later organized Joseph Stalin 's show trials , began building a huge nationwide chess organization, and the Assembly was replaced by
1344-438: A quadruple round-robin . Botvinnik's preparation with his second, Viacheslav Ragozin , included training matches in noisy, smoky rooms and he slept in the playing room, without opening the window. He won the tournament, 2½ points ahead of Keres and three ahead of Smyslov; moreover, with plus scores in the "mini-matches" against all his rivals. In June 1941, Nazi Germany invaded the Soviet Union . Botvinnik's wife Gayane,
1428-585: A reconciliation with the Soviet authorities, so that he could again visit his homeland. The match, including funding, was authorised at the highest Soviet political level in January 1939; however, a letter of confirmation was only sent two months later – in Botvinnik's opinion, because of opposition by his Soviet rivals, especially those who had become prominent before the Russian Revolution – and
1512-540: A result, he had to do a whole year's work in five months, and failed one of the examinations. Early in the same year he placed joint third in the semi-final stage of the USSR Championship, and thus failed to reach the final stage. His early progress was fairly rapid, mostly under the training of Soviet Master and coach Abram Model , in Leningrad ; Model taught Botvinnik the Winawer Variation of
1596-531: A significant contribution to the design of the World Chess Championship system after World War II and becoming a leading member of the coaching system that enabled the Soviet Union to dominate top-class chess during that time. His pupils include World Champions Anatoly Karpov , Garry Kasparov and Vladimir Kramnik . He is often described as the patriarch of the Soviet chess school and is revered for his analytical approach to chess. Botvinnik
1680-411: A strong international opponent. In spite of this attempt to dissuade him, Krylenko insisted on staging the match, saying that "We have to know our real strength." Botvinnik used what he regarded as the first version of his method of preparing for a contest, but fell two games behind by the end of the first six, played in Moscow. However, aided by his old friend Ragozin and coach Abram Model, he leveled
1764-399: A symbol of Communist superiority, and hence the Soviet chess world was extremely politicized. As Botvinnik was the first world-class player produced by the Soviet Union, everything he said or did (or did not say or do) had political repercussions, and there were rumors that Soviet opponents were given hints that they should not beat him. David Bronstein wrote that Boris Verlinsky had won
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#17327838754241848-552: A tournament for the title of "Absolute Champion of the USSR", whose official aim was to identify a Soviet challenger for Alekhine's title. The contestants were the top six finishers in the Soviet Championship – Bondarevsky, Lilienthal, Paul Keres (whose home country, Estonia, had recently been annexed by the Soviet Union), future World Champion Vasily Smyslov , Isaac Boleslavsky and Botvinnik – who were to play
1932-610: A two-year lay-off from competitive chess, Botvinnik won a tournament in Sverdlovsk , scoring 1½ out of 2 against each of his seven competitors – who included Smyslov, Vladimir Makogonov , Boleslavsky, and Ragozin. Chessbase regards this as one of the fifty strongest tournaments between 1851 and 1986. Shortly afterwards, Botvinnik was urged to return to Moscow by the People's Commissar for Power Stations, an admirer and subsequent good friend. On his return, Botvinnik suggested
2016-467: Is a rarer fifth option). 4.Nf3 is known as the Kasparov Variation , since Garry Kasparov used it to great effect against Anatoly Karpov in their 1985 World Championship match. Kasparov played 4.Nf3 six times, scoring three wins and three draws. Today as White, this is a favourite weapon of GM Alexei Barsov and former Women's Champion Nona Gaprindashvili . It is also sometimes known as
2100-416: Is able to recapture with a piece after ...Bxc3. By pinning the knight to the king, black indirectly controls the center by preventing the move e4. Black will aim to close the position to reduce the scope of White's bishops. To this end, Black must blockade the white pawn centre from advancing and neutralise White's attacking chances on the kingside . An example of Black's strategy carried out successfully
2184-463: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Nimzo-Indian Defence Other move orders, such as 1.c4 e6 2.Nc3 Nf6 3.d4 Bb4, are also feasible. In the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings , the Nimzo-Indian is classified as E20–E59. This hypermodern opening was developed by Aron Nimzowitsch who introduced it to master-level chess in
2268-456: Is strategically hopeless, and Black ultimately exchanged queens and won the endgame . The Rubinstein System (named after Akiba Rubinstein ) is White's most common method of combating the Nimzo-Indian. Svetozar Gligorić and Lajos Portisch made great contributions to the theory and practice of this line at top level during their careers. White continues their development before committing to
2352-709: Is the Smyslov Variation , invented by former world champion Vasily Smyslov , and 8...Bd7 followed by ...Bc6 is the Bronstein Variation , the brainchild of the former world championship finalist David Bronstein . In general, the main line of the Rubinstein has held up very well for Black, so since the 1980s White has begun to look elsewhere for chances of obtaining an advantage. In the Rubinstein, White has often resorted to playing Ne2 rather than Nf3 at some point to be able to recapture on c3 with
2436-461: Is the game Mikhail Botvinnik – Samuel Reshevsky from the 1948 World Chess Championship , which reached the position in the diagram after White's 24th move. Earlier in the game, Reshevsky was able to block White's kingside attack by playing ...Nf6–e8 and ...f7–f5. Now, both White's bishops are reduced to defence, and White's queen is reduced to passivity at the a2-square to defend the pawns on a3 and c4. Without prospects for counterplay, White's game
2520-583: The French Defence , which was then regarded as inferior for Black, but Botvinnik analysed it more deeply and played this variation with great success. Botvinnik won the Leningrad Masters' tournament in 1930 with a score of 6½/8, following this up the next year by winning the championship of Leningrad by 2½ points over former Soviet champion Peter Romanovsky . In 1935, Botvinnik married Gayane Davidovna Ananova, of Armenian descent, who
2604-550: The Russian Empire were restricted at the time. As a result, Botvinnik grew up in Saint Petersburg's Nevsky Prospect . His father forbade speaking Yiddish at home, and Mikhail and his older brother Isaak "Issy" attended Soviet schools. Botvinnik later recounted, "I was asked once, "What do you consider yourself to be from the point of view of nationality?" My reply was, "Yes, my position is 'complicated'. I am
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2688-423: The 1929 Soviet Championship and was granted the first Soviet Grandmaster title for this achievement, yet he was later stripped of it, when it was thought more politically correct to make Botvinnik the first official Soviet GM (as distinct from the then-nonexistent FIDE grandmaster title). Botvinnik wrote that before the last round of the 1935 Moscow tournament, Soviet Commissar of Justice Nikolai Krylenko , who
2772-493: The 1940 USSR Championship, but faded badly in the later stages, eventually sharing fifth place. He attributed this to the unaccustomed difficulty of concentrating in a party-like atmosphere filled with noise and tobacco smoke. Botvinnik wrote to a friendly official, commenting that the champion was to be the winner of a match between Igor Bondarevsky and Andor Lilienthal , who had tied for first place, but had no achievements in international competition. The official's efforts led to
2856-600: The 1951 Soviet Championship, and tied for third in the 1952 Géza Maróczy Memorial tournament in Budapest ; and he had also performed poorly in Soviet training contests. However, he lost only five of over thirty games in the two tournaments; three of the four who finished ahead of him in the 1951 championship were future world champions Smyslov and Petrosian and a leading world championship contender (and winner in both tournaments) Paul Keres; and he finished ahead of Petrosian and even with Smyslov in 1952. Botvinnik did not play in
2940-509: The 1952 Soviet team members in his book Botvinnik's Best Games 1947–1970 , writing "these games had a definite significance for me". In 1956, he tied for first place with Smyslov in the 1956 Alexander Alekhine Memorial in Moscow, despite a last-round loss to Keres. Botvinnik was selected for the Soviet Olympiad team from 1954 to 1964 inclusively, and helped his team to gold medal finishes each of those six times. At Amsterdam 1954 he
3024-466: The 1980s, Botvinnik proposed a computer program to manage the Soviet economy. However, his proposals did not receive significant attention from the Soviet government. During the last few years of his life, Botvinnik personally financed his economic computer project that he hoped would be used to manage the Russian economy. He kept actively working on the program until his death and financing the work from
3108-475: The Nimzo-Indian, allowing them to meet 3.Nf3 Bb4+ (the Bogo-Indian Defence ) with 4.Bd2 or 4.Nbd2, rather than 4.Nc3. In the Nimzo-Indian, Black is generally prepared to concede the bishop pair by playing Bxc3. As dynamic compensation, they often double White's c-pawns, which represent a static weakness, and gains play against the central light squares d5 and e4, even in those instances where White
3192-617: The Soviet Union won the team gold medals. Botvinnik played one of the final events of his career at the Russia (USSR) vs Rest of the World match in Belgrade 1970, scoring 2½/4 against Milan Matulović , as the USSR narrowly triumphed. After losing the world title for the final time, to Tigran Petrosian in Moscow in 1963, Botvinnik withdrew from the following World Championship cycle after FIDE declined, at its annual congress in 1965, to grant
3276-504: The Soviet team that won the 1952 Chess Olympiad in Helsinki: the players voted for the line-up and placed Botvinnik on second board, with Keres on top board; Botvinnik protested and refused to play. Keres' playing record from 1950 to early 1952 had been outstanding. Botvinnik won the 1952 Soviet Championship (joint first with Mark Taimanov in the tournament, won the play-off match). He included several wins from that tournament over
3360-440: The USSR's top player. Bronstein claimed that at the end of the 1946 Groningen tournament, a few months after the death of reigning world champion Alexander Alekhine , Botvinnik personally invited Samuel Reshevsky , Reuben Fine , Max Euwe , Vasily Smyslov , and Paul Keres to join him in a tournament to decide the new world champion, but other evidence suggests that FIDE (the " governing body " of chess), had already proposed
3444-596: The check with 4.Nc3. In the Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings , the Nimzo-Indian Defence has codes E20 to E59. All codes begin with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4, excluding E20, which also includes alternatives to 3...Bb4 apart from 3...d5 (which would be the Queen's Gambit Declined ). Mikhail Botvinnik Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik (Russian: Михаи́л Моисе́евич Ботви́нник , romanized : Mikhaíl Moiseyevich Botvínnik ) (August 17 [ O.S. August 4] 1911 – May 5, 1995)
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3528-530: The dissertation as "short and good", and the first work in its field. As a result of his efforts, he missed the 1937 Soviet championship, won by Grigory Levenfish , who was then nearly fifty. Later in 1937, Botvinnik drew a match of thirteen games against Levenfish. Botvinnik challenged Levenfish, writing that Krylenko, angered by Botvinnik's absence from the tournament, ordered the match. Botvinnik won further Soviet Championship titles in 1939, 1944, 1945, and 1952, bringing his total to six. In 1945, he dominated
3612-491: The early 20th century. Unlike most Indian openings , the Nimzo-Indian does not involve an immediate fianchetto , although Black often follows up with ...b6 and ...Bb7. By pinning White's knight , Black prevents the threatened 4.e4 and seeks to inflict doubled pawns on White. White will attempt to create a pawn centre and develop their pieces to prepare for an assault on the Black position. Black's delay in committing to
3696-765: The fact the Soviet Union's best had held their own against top-class competition. In early winter, 1936, Botvinnik was invited to play in a tournament at Nottingham , England. Krylenko authorised his participation and, to help Botvinnik play at his best, allowed Botvinnik's wife to accompany him – a privilege rarely extended to chess players at any time in Soviet history. Taking Lasker's advice, Botvinnik arrived ten days before play started. Although his Soviet rivals forecast disaster for him, he scored an undefeated shared first place (+6=8) with Capablanca, ½ point ahead of current World Champion Max Euwe and rising American stars Reuben Fine and Samuel Reshevsky , and 1 point ahead of ex-champion Alexander Alekhine . This
3780-434: The first round began was a serious mistake and that he should have allowed ten days for acclimatization. Botvinnik wrote that he did not make this mistake again. Botvinnik placed first equal with Flohr, ½ point ahead of Lasker and one point ahead of José Raúl Capablanca , in Moscow's second International Tournament , held in 1935. After consulting Capablanca and Lasker, Krylenko proposed to award Botvinnik
3864-423: The knight, thus avoiding the doubled pawns. Two lines where White does this (following 4.e3 0-0) are: Black puts pressure on d4 and leaves open the option of playing ...d5, or ...d6 and ...e5. The game can still transpose to the main line mentioned above after moves such as 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 0-0 7.0-0, but there are two major variations particular to 4...c5: Favoured by Nimzowitsch, 4...b6 is a move in accordance with
3948-600: The last few rounds, and Botvinnik had a narrow escape against Euwe, who he acknowledged had always been a difficult opponent for him. This was Botvinnik's first outright victory in a tournament outside the Soviet Union. Botvinnik also won the very strong Mikhail Chigorin Memorial tournament held at Moscow 1947. Botvinnik strongly influenced the design of the system which would be used for World Championship competition from 1948 to 1963. Viktor Baturinsky wrote: "Now came Botvinnik's turn to defend his title in accordance with
4032-480: The main move is 5.g3, which leads to a position that also arises from the Fianchetto Variation. 5.g3 cxd4 6.Nxd4 0-0 7.Bg2 d5 8.cxd5 Nxd5 can be considered the main line. Black has dissolved White's centre, but the bishop on g2 exerts pressure on the black queenside, which White may augment with 9.Qb3. This line can also arise from the Bogo-Indian Defence (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 Bb4+) if White blocks
4116-635: The match in the USSR. Botvinnik opened negotiations with the British Chess Federation to host the match in England, but these were cut short by Alekhine's death in 1946. When the Second World War ended, Botvinnik won the first high-level post-war tournament, at Groningen in 1946 , with 14½ points from nineteen games, ½ point ahead of former World Champion Max Euwe and two ahead of Smyslov. He and Euwe both struggled in
4200-451: The money he made for the lectures and seminars he attended, despite prominent health problems. Botvinnik died of pancreatic cancer in May 1995. According to his daughter, Botvinnik remained active until the last few months of his life, and continued to go to work until March 1995 despite blindness in one of his eyes (and extremely poor vision in the other). The Soviet Union regarded chess as
4284-415: The new qualifying system which he himself had outlined in 1946." (This statement referred to Botvinnik's 1951 title defence.) On the basis of his strong results during and just after World War II, Botvinnik was one of five players to contest the 1948 World Chess Championship , which was held at The Hague and Moscow. He won the 1948 tournament convincingly—with a score of 14/20, three points clear—becoming
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#17327838754244368-647: The nickname of "Patriarch of the Soviet Chess School" (see below). Botvinnik's autobiography, K Dostizheniyu Tseli , was published in Russian in 1978, and in English translation as Achieving the Aim ( ISBN 0-08-024120-4 ) in 1981. A staunch Communist, he was noticeably shaken by the collapse of the Soviet Union and lost some of his standing in Russian chess during the Boris Yeltsin era. In
4452-456: The older Soviet masters and a member of the Soviet embassy in Prague , had arranged a match between Botvinnik and Salo Flohr , a Czech grandmaster who was then regarded as one of the most credible contenders for Alexander Alekhine 's World Chess Championship title. The highest-level chess officials in the Soviet Union opposed this on the grounds that Botvinnik stood little chance against such
4536-482: The outbreak of World War II prevented a World Championship match. In spring 1939, Botvinnik won the USSR Championship, and his book on the tournament described the approach to preparation which he had been developing since 1933. One striking feature of this was emphasis on opening preparation in order to gain a permanent positional advantage in the middlegame , rather than seeking immediate tactical surprises that could only be used once. Botvinnik took an early lead in
4620-621: The pre- Revolution masters were absent. In late summer 1931, he graduated with a degree in electrical engineering , after completing a practical assignment on temporary transmission lines at the Dnieper Hydroelectric Station . He stayed on at the Leningrad Polytechnical Institute to study for a Candidate of Sciences degree. In 1933, Botvinnik repeated his Soviet Championship win, in his home city of Leningrad, with 14/19, describing
4704-645: The purely descriptive Three Knights Variation . White develops the knight to a natural square and waits to see Black's reply. 4...d5 transposes to the Ragozin Defence of the Queen's Gambit Declined and 4...b6 5.Bg5 Bb7 transposes to the Nimzo/Queen's Indian hybrid line, so 4...c5 is the most common move that stays within Nimzo-Indian territory. Now 5.e3 transposes to the Rubinstein System, but
4788-431: The results as evidence that Krylenko 's plan to develop a new generation of Soviet masters had borne fruit. He and other young masters successfully requested the support of a senior Leningrad Communist Party official in arranging contests involving both Soviet and foreign players, as there had been none since the Moscow 1925 chess tournament . Soon afterwards, Botvinnik was informed that Alexander Ilyin-Genevsky , one of
4872-442: The rules, and he was not allowed a rematch. The rematch rule had been nicknamed the "Botvinnik rule" because he twice benefited from it. Though ranking as formal World Champion, Botvinnik had a relatively poor playing record in the early 1950s: he played no formal competitive games after winning the 1948 match tournament until he defended his title, then struggled to draw his 1951 championship match with Bronstein, placed only fifth in
4956-447: The same term This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title formed as a letter–number combination. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=E36&oldid=897081740 " Category : Letter–number combination disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description
5040-527: The score in Leningrad and the match was drawn. When describing the post-match party, Botvinnik wrote that at the time he danced the foxtrot and Charleston to a professional standard. In his first tournament outside the USSR, the Hastings 1934–35, Botvinnik achieved only a tie for 5th–6th places, with 5/9. He wrote that, in London after the tournament, Emanuel Lasker said his arrival only two hours before
5124-419: The situation". This wound up being the 1941 Absolute Championship of the USSR, which featured the top six finishers from the 1940 event, playing each other four times. After a personal appeal to the defence minister, Vyacheslav Molotov , Botvinnik was exempted from war work for three days a week in order to concentrate on chess preparations. He won this tournament convincingly, and thus reclaimed his position as
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#17327838754245208-482: The sixth World Champion. While he was on vacation in Riga after the tournament, an eleven-year-old boy called Mikhail Tal paid a visit, hoping to play a game against the new champion. Tal was met by Botvinnik's wife, who said the champion was asleep, and that she had made him take a rest from chess. In 1950, Botvinnik was one of the inaugural recipients of the international grandmaster title from FIDE. Botvinnik held
5292-510: The spirit of the Nimzo-Indian: Black fianchettoes their light-squared bishop to increase their control over e4. White usually continues 5.Ne2, avoiding the doubled pawns, or 5.Bd3, continuing their development (5.Nf3 usually transposes to 5.Bd3). The main variations emerging from these moves are: The Classical or Capablanca Variation was popular in the early days of the Nimzo-Indian, and though eventually superseded by 4.e3 it
5376-486: The title Grandmaster , but Botvinnik objected that "titles were not the point." However, he accepted a free car and a 67% increase in his postgraduate study grant , both provided by the People's Commissariat of Heavy Industry . He later reported to Krylenko that the 1935 tournament made it difficult to judge the strength of the top Soviet players, as it included a mixture of top-class and weaker players. Botvinnik advocated
5460-538: The title. In 1957, he lost to Smyslov by 9½–12½ in Moscow, but the rules then in force allowed him a rematch without having to go through the Candidates' Tournament , and in 1958 he won the rematch in Moscow; Smyslov said his health was poor during the return match. In 1960, Botvinnik was convincingly beaten 8½–12½ at Moscow by Tal, now 23 years old, but again exercised his right to a rematch in 1961, and won by 13–8 in Moscow. Commentators agreed that Tal's play
5544-534: The title. The dispute ended in Botvinnik's favor, and in the dismissal of a senior chess official, one of those to have opposed Botvinnik's plan, who was also a KGB colonel. After Botvinnik won the 1944 and 1945 Soviet championships, most top Soviet players supported his desire for a World Championship match with Alekhine. However, the allegations that Alekhine had written anti-Semitic articles while in Nazi-occupied France made it difficult to host
5628-573: The tournament, scoring 15/17; however, in 1952 he tied with Mark Taimanov and won the play-off match. In 1938, the world's top eight players met in the Netherlands to compete in the AVRO tournament , whose winner was supposed to get a title match with the World Champion, Alexander Alekhine . Botvinnik placed third, behind Paul Keres and Reuben Fine . According to Botvinnik, Alekhine
5712-407: The very strong 1940 Soviet Championship, finishing in a tie for fifth/sixth places, with 11½/19, two full points behind Igor Bondarevsky and Andor Lilienthal . With World War II under way by this time, and the strong possibility of little or no chess practice for some time in the future, Botvinnik seems to have prevailed upon the Soviet chess leadership to hold another tournament "in order to clarify
5796-483: The weak pawn on c4, then prepare the e4 pawn break, backed by the bishop pair (and in some cases with f3, since they haven't committed the knight to that square yet), which will gain force in the more open type of position which will ensue. 4...Nc6 is the Taimanov Variation , named after Russian GM Mark Taimanov . Black prepares to play ...e5, which may be preceded by...d5 and ...dxc4, or ...d6. The variation
5880-431: The world title, with two brief interruptions, for the next fifteen years, during which he played seven world championship matches. In 1951, he drew with David Bronstein over 24 games in Moscow, +5−5=14, keeping the world title, but it was a struggle for Botvinnik, who won the second-last game and drew the last in order to tie the match. In 1954, he drew with Vasily Smyslov over 24 games in Moscow, +7−7=10, again retaining
5964-444: The youngest player ever at that time, tied for fifth and sixth places and gained the title of master. He wanted to study Electrical Technology at the Leningrad Polytechnical Institute and passed the entrance examination; however, there was a persistent excess of applications for this course and the Proletstud , which controlled admissions, had a policy of admitting only children of engineers and industrial workers. After an appeal by
6048-432: Was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster who held five world titles in three different reigns. The sixth World Chess Champion , he also worked as an electrical engineer and computer scientist and was a pioneer in computer chess . He also had a mathematics degree (honorary). Botvinnik was the first world-class player to develop within the Soviet Union. He also played a major role in the organization of chess , making
6132-538: Was also in charge of Soviet chess, proposed that Ilya Rabinovich should deliberately lose to Botvinnik, to ensure that Botvinnik took first place. Botvinnik refused, saying "... then I will myself put a piece en prise and resign". The game was drawn, and Botvinnik shared first place with Salo Flohr . Botvinnik sent an effusive telegram of thanks to Joseph Stalin after his victory at the great tournament in Nottingham in 1936. Botvinnik played relatively poorly in
6216-538: Was born on August 17, 1911, in what was then Kuokkala , Vyborg Governorate , Grand Duchy of Finland , now the district of Repino in Saint Petersburg . His parents were Russian Jews ; his father, Moisei Botvinnik (1878–1931), was a dental technician and his mother, Shifra (Serafima) Rabinovich (1876–1952), a dentist, which allowed the family to live outside the Pale of Settlement , to which most Jews in
6300-639: Was forced to "throw" games to allow Botvinnik to win the Championship. Chess historian Taylor Kingston investigated all the available evidence and arguments, and concluded that: Soviet chess officials gave Keres strong hints that he should not hinder Botvinnik's attempt to win the World Championship; Botvinnik only discovered this about half-way through the tournament and protested so strongly that he angered Soviet officials; Keres probably did not deliberately lose games to Botvinnik or anyone else in
6384-466: Was most interested in playing an opponent who could raise the funds. After consulting the nearest available Soviet officials, Botvinnik discreetly challenged Alekhine, who promptly accepted, subject to conditions that would enable him to acclimatize in Russia and get some high-quality competitive practice a few months before the match. In Botvinnik's opinion, Alekhine was partly motivated by the desire for
6468-443: Was on board one and won the gold medal with 8½/11. Then at home for Moscow 1956, he was again board one, and scored 9½/13 for the bronze medal. For Munich 1958 , he scored 9/12 for the silver medal on board one. At Leipzig 1960 , he played board two behind Mikhail Tal, having lost his title to Tal earlier that year, but he won the board two gold medal with 10½/13. He was back on board one for Varna 1962 , scored 8/12, but failed to win
6552-558: Was revived in the 1990s; it is now just as popular as the Rubinstein. White aims to acquire the two bishops without compromising their pawn structure. The drawback is that the queen will move at least twice within the opening moves and that White's kingside development is delayed. Thus, even though White possesses the bishop pair, it is usually advisable for Black to open the game quickly to exploit their lead in development. Black has four common replies to 4.Qc2. These include 4...0-0, 4...c5, 4...d5, and 4...Nc6 (4...d6 intending ...Nbd7 and ...e5
6636-496: Was selected for Leningrad's team in a match against Stockholm , held in Sweden, and scored +1=1 against the future grandmaster Gösta Stoltz . On his return, he entertained his schoolmates with a vivid account of the rough sea journey back to Russia. Botvinnik was commissioned to annotate two games from the match, and the fact that his analyses were to be published made him aware of the need for objectivity. In December 1926, he became
6720-521: Was taught chess by a school friend of his older brother, using a home-made set, and instantly fell in love with the game. He finished in mid-table in the school championship, sought advice from another of his brother's friends, and concluded that for him it was better to think out "concrete concepts" and then derive general principles from these – and went on to beat his brother's friend quite easily. In winter 1924, Botvinnik won his school's championship, and exaggerated his age by three years in order to become
6804-539: Was the daughter of his algebra and geometry teacher. She was a student at the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet in Leningrad and, later, a ballerina in the Bolshoi Theatre . They had one daughter, named Olga, who was born in 1942. In 1931, at the age of 20, Botvinnik won his first Soviet Championship in Moscow, scoring 13½ out of 17. He commented that the field was not very strong, as some of
6888-474: Was the first tournament victory by a Soviet master outside his own country. When the result reached Russia, Krylenko drafted a letter to be sent in Botvinnik's name to Stalin. On returning to Russia, Botvinnik discovered he had been awarded the "Mark of Honour". Three weeks later, Botvinnik began work on his dissertation for the Candidate's degree, obtaining this in June 1937, after his supervisor described
6972-542: Was tried several times by the young Bobby Fischer , and has long been favoured by GM Nukhim Rashkovsky . Black's most flexible and frequently played response is 4...0-0. The main line continues 5.Bd3 d5 6.Nf3 c5 7.0-0, reaching the position in the diagram. White has completed their kingside development, while Black has claimed their share of the centre. At this point, the most important continuations are: After 7...dxc4 8.Bxc4, Black also has two rare alternatives on their eighth move worth mentioning: 8...Qe7 intending ...Rd8
7056-458: Was weaker in the rematch, probably due to his health, but also that Botvinnik's play was better than in the 1960 match, largely due to thorough preparation. Botvinnik changed his style in the rematch, avoiding the tactical complications in which Tal excelled and aiming for closed positions and endgames, where Tal's technique was not outstanding. Finally, in 1963, he lost the title to Tigran Petrosian , by 9½–12½ in Moscow. FIDE had by then altered
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