MARK RUBERY CHESS
During the AVRO tournament of 1938, Mikhail Botvinnik unleashed one of the most famous combinations in chess history. The position before White’s 30th move became a benchmark for the early computer programs (‘could a computer ever play this well?’-alas yes!) along with being a very stern test of one’s calculating abilities. As Botvinnik himself candidly pointed out later, the position taxed him to the limit of his abilities-and then some. In the book, ‘The Mammoth Book of the World’s Greatest Chess Games’, the authors, GM John Nunn, GM John Emms, and Graham Burgess, give this game a perfect score. Botvinnik,Mikhail - Capablanca,Jose Raul [E49] AVRO Holland, 1938
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bd3 0–0 9.Ne2 b6 10.0–0 Ba6 11.Bxa6 Nxa6
12.Bb2 Qd7 13.a4 Rfe8 14.Qd3 c4 (14… Qb7! “inhibits e4, supports the Knight at a6 so that he can control c5, and it does not interfere with the move …Rc8-J Watson)
15.Qc2 Nb8 (15...Nh5 16.Bc1 g6 17.Qb1 Rad8 18.Re1 Nc7 19.Qb2 Ne6 20.Qb5 f5 21.Qb1 Nf6 22.f3 Nc7 is an improvement from Rybka) 16.Rae1 Nc6 17.Ng3 Na5 18.f3 Nb3 19.e4 Qxa4 20.e5 Nd7 21.Qf2 g6 22.f4 f5 23.exf6 Nxf6 24.f5 Rxe1 25.Rxe1 Re8 26.Re6 Rxe6 27.fxe6 Kg7 28.Qf4 Qe8 29.Qe5 Qe7 30.Ba3!! (The beginning of a 12-move combination, including the following winning manoeuvre. I must admit I could not calculate it right to the end and operated in two stages. First I evaluated the position after six moves and convinced myself I had a draw by perpetual check. Then after six moves I calculated the rest to the end. A chess player’s resources, particularly at the end of the game, are limited-M Botvinnik)
… Qxa3 (The computer seeing what lies ahead with a dispassionate eye prefers 30… Qe8 but after 31 Qc7+ Kh8 32 Be7! Ng4 33 h3 the game is over in less spectacular fashion) 31.Nh5+! (The sacrifice of a second piece is key in exposing the black king) … gxh5 32.Qg5+ Kf8 33.Qxf6+ Kg8 34.e7 (White is still a piece down, but this pawn is now unstoppable. Capablanca tries for a perpetual check which is not quite there) Qc1+ 35.Kf2 Qc2+ 36.Kg3 Qd3+ 37.Kh4 Qe4+ 38.Kxh5 Qe2+ 39.Kh4 Qe4+ 40.g4 Qe1+ 41.Kh5 (Capablanca’s resignation symbolized the end of an heroic era of chess titans, dominating the field with their natural genius. Since this historic moment the professional touch has played a more and more important role as an integral part of chess, the path to ultimate successChessbase) 1–0 When a chess player looks at the board, he does not see a static mosaic, a ‘still life’, but a magnetic field of forces charged with energy - as Faraday saw the stresses surrounding magnets and currents as curves in space; or as Van Gogh saw vortices in the skies of Provence. - Arthur Koestler