Botvinnik and AlphaZero

Botvinnik's name is usually not associated with dynamic play, but in fact he was the first player who discovered the dynamic possibilities in the positions with an isolated queen's pawn (IQP).

The following position is from a little-known game where we can see Botvinnik's aggressive treatment in a relatively simple position.

The position on the diagram is from game 6 of the match Botvinnik- Levenfish in 1937. Black's last move was 15...Qe5, recapturing White's knight on that square.

Black is one move from finishing development with ...Bb7 so White strikes with 16.d4 sacrificing a pawn for initiative.

After 16...cxd4 17.exd4 Levenfish didn't want to take the pawn, which was possible though it would give White compensation after 17...Qxd4 18.Rfd1 followed by Rc7.

He also didn't want to exchange queens as after 17...Qxe2 18.Bxe2 White's initiative looks unpleasant as Rc7 comes next.

Levenfish played 17...Qd6 and Botvinnik continued pursuit with 18.Qe5, again looking to exchange Black's only active piece. Black escaped and played 18...Qa3.

In this position the natural move is 19.Rc7, but Botvinnik, as any other great player of the past, was ahead of his time. He went for 19.h4, followed by 20.h5 and a swing of the rook to g3 via c3. A truly AlphaZero-esque treatment of the position!

In his own words, Botvinnik didn't play that match very well. Even in this game he couldn't maintain the high level of his moves and several moves later he missed something and the initiative evaporated. He was lost but somehow won the game in a double-rook endgame.

Great players are capable of transcending time and coming up with ideas that only catch up many decades later. The Patriarch was no exception.

P.S. In today’s video I take a look at possibly the wildest game I’ve played in the Sicilian Defence. It took place in 2000, in the last round of one of the strongest open tournaments in Europe at the time, St. Vincent in Italy. I played a legendary player, two-time World Championship contender, Nana Ioseliani of Georgia. At the time she was rated almost 2500 and had excellent results. The opening went well for me and I developed a winning attack, but I missed the pretty combination to wrap up the game quickly. Then the adventures started, with both kings marching from g1 and g8 respectively, all the way to the queenside. A spoiler: Black’s king got mated on a4 while my king was on c2 threatening to go to b2… Take a look at the game here and enjoy the show!