SC Week 2/3: Botvinnik - Donner, Amsterdam 1963 (Outposts)
"In most cases outposts, or potential outposts, are clearly apparent from the pawn structure, but occasionally a keen strategical eye is needed to realise the importance of a certain square. The Lord gave Botvinnik two very keen strategical eyes."
Michael Stean
Notes and Observations
The weak square in Donner’s position is also where the Bg2’s diagonal meets the c-file. Botvinnik can contest both.
The pawn advance b3-b4-b5 helps secure control of the outpost. Stean: "To be useful an outpost must be firmly under control and so should ideally be protected by a pawn."
Like Petrosian - Portisch (SC: Introduction/03), Botvinnik is both prepared to trade a fianchettoed bishop to extend his control over light squares and also to trade queens. Unlike his game with Szilagyi (SC: Introduction/02), Botvinnik wants to keep one pair of rooks on. Why? Because the a-file isn’t useful but the d-file can still be productive? Also the switchback 25 Ra1 when Black can no longer challenge on the file with 25 … Ra8?
The octopus knight-fields d3 and d6 are problaby the most famous outposts, besides the other quite common ones on f4 and f5. In this game Botwinnik showed that the one on c6/c3 could also be a big one. By supporting the c6-sqaure with the pawn on b5 and aiming with both his queen and his rook at the square he ultimately gets control over c6 and is able to put a knight there.
ReplyDeleteFrom here on he finishes it off with pushing his pawn to e5 to open the h1-a8 diagnoal for his queen and infiltrating with his rook on a7 (supported by the c6-knight!) on the 7th rank. In the end it is just too much activity and too many threats.
It's interesting to see that the occupation of this one square by his knight was more or less decisive. 20.. Ne5 is given as an attempt for black to trade all the rooks and with that easen the defence.
I am also wondering if in the far beginning after 12. a3 12... a5 is maybe a move to consider. It does create a weakness on b5, but it does stop b4 and with that the creation of an outpost on c6. After 13. e5 black could play.. Nc7.
Would this have been an improvement?
PS. This game also made me realize that fianchettoing this strategy of exhcanging fianchetod bishops is really interesting, since you can argue that the square on c6 is much more prone to become a weakness than f3, since in many cases there is no support with a pawn on d7 neither a king.
Hello Maxim, I think I'm right in saying that Botvinnik suggests ... a5 as better move in his annotations.
DeleteThat's another interesting observation about why c6 may be more of a problem than f3.