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Mikhail Botvinnik

1930s – 1960sWorld Champion 1948 – 1957; 1958 – 1960; 1961 – 1963Peak rating 2660203 games

A three-time World Champion and central figure of the Soviet chess school, noted for rigorous preparation, strategic planning and systematic analysis.

Mikhail Botvinnik
Photo: Harry Pot for Anefo (Nationaal Archief), CC BY-SA 3.0 nl, via Wikimedia Commons

How Botvinnik plays

Botvinnik was the father of the Soviet school: scientific preparation, deep study of pawn structures and a rigorous approach to every phase of the game. He was World Champion three times between 1948 and 1963 and later trained Karpov, Kasparov and Kramnik.

What to learn from Botvinnik

Botvinnik's games teach planning: he decided what the position needed and carried it out. Study his handling of the French Defence and the Queen's Gambit, and his famous game against Capablanca below.

A game to play through

Botvinnik,M vs Capablanca,J - AVRO 1938 1-0 — the position after move 30. Botvinnik vs Capablanca, AVRO 1938. The diagram shows 30.Ba3!!, the bishop sacrifice that deflects the queen and opens the way for the attack; the finish is one of the most famous combinations ever played.

Mikhail Botvinnik: after 59 half-moves
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 d5 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.cxd5 exd5 8.Bd3 O-O 9.Ne2 b6 10.O-O Ba6 11.Bxa6 Nxa6 12.Bb2 Qd7 13.a4 Rfe8 14.Qd3 c4 15.Qc2 Nb8 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 rest of the game is on FoxyChess.

Play through 203 Mikhail Botvinnik games

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Mikhail Botvinnik games on FoxyChess

Watch each game move by move, or play the winner's moves yourself and see how close you get.

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