On the internaional rating list the top players were: Fischer (2720), Spassky (2690), Korchnoi (2680), Botvinnik (2660), Petrosian (2650), Larsen (2630), Geller (2620), Portisch (2620), Keres (2610) and Polugaevsky (2610).
We had two new world champions. Challenger Boris Spassky defeated world champion Tigran Petrosian by the score of 12.5 to 10.5 in Moscow. The world's women championship was defending champion Nona Gaprindashvili when she defeated Alla Kushnir. This was the second of three consecutive title matches between the two.
Fischer's My 60 Memorable Games was published. I still have my copy. The first US High School championship was held in New York and the winner was John Watson of Omaha, Nebraska.
Andrew Soltis won the Intercollegiate championship and Kimbal Nedved won the US Amateur Championship. The US Junior Championship (closed) was won by Ken Rogoff and Larry Day won the US Junior Open.
The US Open ended in a tie between Pal Benko, Milan Vukcevich, and Arthur Bisguier while Samuel Reshevsky won the US Championship. Gisela Gresser won the women's championship for the 9th time. Ray Martin won the American Open, held in Santa Monica.
Internationally a very strong tournament was held in Belgrade, Yugoslavia in which Polugaevsky, Matulovic, Gligoric and Ivkov shared first place.
Botvinnik's result was a little surprising because earlier in the year he had shared first place with Geller at Wijk aan Zee ahead of Portisch and Keres. However, before the Belgrade tournament which was played in December, Botvinnik said he had decided to give up tournament play within a year. This decision should have made his final events more meaningful, but he was simply not motivated.
Belgrade produced several games of considerable interest to opening theorists. The Botvinnik-Geller game was one of them. Geller unleashed an ingenious counterattack against what at the time had been a recent innovation which had quickly gotten the
reputation of a powerful improvement to the Fianchetto Variation of the K-Indian.
Mikhail Botvinnik - Efim Geller
Result: 0-1
Site: Belgrade
Date: 1969.11
King's Indian: Fianchetto Variation
[...] 1.c4 g6 eller played this in order to retain the possibility of ...Ne7 in case Botvinnik decides on the English Opening as he very well might have. 2.d4 ♗g7 3.♘c3 d6 4.♘f3 ♘f6 While playable, 4...e5 would leave white with a small advantage after 5.dxe5 and the exchange of Qs. Besides, Geller had an innovation in mind. 5.g3 A little opening explanation from GM Robert Byrne here: The Bs fianchetto aims at overprotecting the e-Pawn that white will shortly play to e4 so that the dynamic tension in the center can be maintained. As a result the game acquires a more open character than in those systems where the center gets completely blocked. Also, hopefully the fianchettoed B will be better positioned to defend the K-side against any dangerous counterattacks. 5...O-O 6.♗g2 ♘bd7 This is a throwback to the days of yesteryear in the 1940s when it was the original idea of players like Bolesl3vsky and Bronstein when they brought the K-Indian out of obscurity. It looks passive but the plan is to aim for dynamic pressure by ...exd4, ...Nc5 and ...a5. If black is successful white will be tied down in an awkward position. If it doesn't then, assuming he doesn't run into any tactical surprises, white will stand better positionally. 7.O-O e5 8.e4 At the time 8.Qc2, which has been all but abandoned, was deemed to be an important alternative. The idea was to immediately bring the R to d1 to defend the d4 square. Botvinnik's move remains the most popular,but my Fritz opening book lists 18 (!) different moves that white has tried here. Apparently if it's a legal move you can at least try it.
13.♘c2 At the time it was believed that white had to play this move even though it allows black to centralize his Ns.
(15.♖b1!? is interesting 15...♘ed3 16.♗d2) 15...♗xh3 Winning a P and retaining his excellent position. Black now has a practically won game. 16.♗d2 This causes further problems for Botvinnik. (16.♗xh3 loses to 16...♘f3 17.♔g2 ♗xc3 18.♖b1 ♘d4)
8.♕c2 exd4 9.♘xd4 ♘b6 10.♖d1 ♘xc4 11.♘cb5 a6 12.♕xc4 axb5 13.♘xb5 From this position in Tal-Lehmann, Palma de Mallorca 1966 white went on to win, but in Lombardy. Saidy, US Championship, 1968 black drew without much difficulty.
8...c6 9.h3 ♕b6 The idea of this move originated with Boleslavsky. The object is to exert pressure on d4 at at the same time prevent Be3 because of the attack on the b-Pawn. 10.♖e1
10.c5 is an interesting alternative. 10...dxc5 11.dxe5 ♘e8 12.e6 fxe6 13.♘g5 ♘e5 14.f4 ♘f7 15.♘xf7 ♗d4 16.♔h2 ♖xf7 17.e5 and Shirov,A (2670)-Kasparov,G (2805)/Linares 1993 was eventually drawn.
10...exd4 Giving up the center required Geller to make an accurate evaluation of his counterplay. 11.♘xd4 ♖e8 12.♖e2 This move has an interesting hsitory. Prior to this game, this innovation by Soviet player, trainer and author Vyacheslav Osnos was believed to be the answer to white's problems. The R defends b2 so white now threatens the very strong developing move Be3. As is usually the case, in the intervening years the line has been rehabilitated. 12...♘g4 An ingenious method of stepping up the pressure.
12...♕b4 13.♖c2 ♘c5
13...♕xc4 leaves black badly off after 14.♘cb5 ♕a4 15.b3 ♕a5 16.♘xd6
14.a3 ♕b6 15.♗e3 ♕d8 16.f3 a5 17.♖d2 with equality and the game was eventually drawn. Yu,Y (2736)-Amin,B (2707)/Changsha CHN 2019 13.♖d2 This is the move most often seen today. 13...♘ge5 14.b3 ♘c5 15.♖c2 is about even. Borovikov,V (2595)-Schaefer,M (2372)/ Senden 2005
13.♘b3 ♘ge5 14.♗e3 ♕c7 15.♘d2 ♘b6 16.♖c1 ♘d3 and black is slightly better. Okkes,M (2332)-Henseler,J (2026)/ Hoogeveen 2017.
13.hxg4 is obviously not good. 13...♕xd4 Now white's best continuation is 14.♕xd4 ♗xd4 15.♖d2 ♗g7 and blackis better.
13...♘ge5 14.♘e3 ♘c5 Black now established a positional advantage. 15.b3 This is an outright blunder, but white is already at a loss for a good move.
15.♖d2 ♗e6 16.♔h2
16.b3 was best 16...♘xc4 17.♘xc4 ♗xc4 18.♕c2 ♗e6 19.♖xd6 and black is only slightly better.
16...♘xc4 17.♘xc4 ♗xc4 18.♖xd6 ♘e6 19.f4 ♖ad8 20.♖xd8 ♖xd8 21.♕e1 ♗d4 22.♘d1 ♘c5 23.♗f1 ♗xf1 24.♕xf1 ♘xe4 White resigned. Spielmann,A (2235) -Lamoureux,C (2370)/Strasbourg FRA 1997 16.♘cd5 This surprising move was worth a try. 16...♕d8 (16...cxd5 17.♘xd5 ♕d8 18.♗xh3 ♘f3 19.♔g2 ♗xa1 20.♔xf3 is a transposition.) 17.♗xh3 ♘f3 18.♔g2 cxd5 19.♘xd5 ♗xa1 20.♔xf3 and black, being the exchange up, is better.
16...♗xg2 17.♔xg2 h5 With this move Geller prepares an instructive K-side attack. 18.♖b1 ♕d8 19.b4 ♘e6 20.f4 This does nothing more than drive the N to where it wants to go, but at this stage white is already strategically lost.. 20...♘d3 A move with a couple of threats. One, to play ...Nd4 snagging the R on e2 and two, threatening ...Ndxf4+ gaining a R+2Ps for the two Ns and at the same time exposing white's K. 21.♘f1 adding a piece to the defense of the f-Pawn. 21...a5 Why this move? Because now the other R can join in the action. Black could also have captured on f4. The fact that he has two really dood continuations shows just how good his position really is.
21...♘dxf4 is still possible. 22.gxf4 ♗xc3 23.♗xc3 ♘xf4 24.♔f3 ♘xe2 25.♕xe2 d5 and here, too black is winning.
22.a3
looks nice, but it doesn't lead to anything. 22.f5 ♘d4 23.♖e3 ♘e5 24.fxg6 fxg6 25.♘e2 ♘xc4
22...axb4 23.axb4 ♗xc3 24.♗xc3 ♘dxf4 The final nail in the coffin. Botvinnik resigned. A brillaint game by Geller!
24...♘dxf4 25.gxf4 ♘xf4 26.♔f3 ♘xe2 27.♕xe2 ♖a3 As mentioned, the R joins in the action. 28.♕d3 ♕h4 29.♘g3 ♕g4 30.♔f2 h4 winning easily.
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Everyone who was alive and following chess back then was aware of Geller, a very strong grandmaster and influential theoretician. Interestingly, Botvinnik and Geller were among the few top Soviet grandmasters who were communist "true believers." Both of them grew up admiring Stalin and were very hostile towards the West. There's a great article on Geller in Sosonko's "Russian Silhouettes"
ReplyDeleteSosonko's portraits of many of the great Soviet players of yesteryear is an engrossing read.
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