The World Chess Championship 1963:Review

The World Chess Championship 1963,
M.M. Botvinnik v.Tigran Petrosian
by R.G.Wade

Paperback, 228 pages

Descriptive Notation 

Hardinge Simpole Chess Classics.2002

http://www.hardingesimpole.co.uk/

Mikhail Botvinnik and veteran grandmaster Salo Flohr were once walking together on the bank of the river  Moskva.

"Do you know what a world championship match entails?'' he asked.

"Unfortunately, I've never had to play one, but I have a rough idea."

"I don't have a rough idea, but an accurate one.It means terrific tension, it takes a year off  your life."

"A serious consideration" wrote Flohr, "But   surely any  chess player would willingly give a year of his life just to play for such a title? And yet Mikhail Botvinnik has already played 8 times for the world championship!"

Flohr’s admiration was not shared by Botvinnik’s rivals.Twice he had managed to wrest his title after claiming the right to return match.He had been the world champion for more than a decade.Chess fans also wondered how long he would  wear the crown.

In 1963 Botvinnik faced a new challenger, Tigran Petrosian.The wily Armenian found himself in an unenviable situation. After the Return Match with Tal Botvinnik had said, he might refrain from defending his title if a Soviet player won the Candidates’ cycle.This put the USSR Chess Federation in a fix.After the Candidates’ Tournament in Curacao they hurriedly organized a match between Geller and Keres who had shared the second place behind Petrosian. If Botvinnik was going to retire from the cycle, a match had to take place between Petrosian and Keres.But the champion kept every one in a state of suspense. It was a tense situation for Petrosian because he did not know whether Botvinnik was going to play or not. Matters were not made easy even after Petrosian received confirmation that the world champion was going to defend his title.There was endless wrangling over dates, with Petrosian determined to assert his rights as the challenger unlike Smyslov and Tal who had been more accommodating. Golombek, a referee of the match told Leonard Barden, there was interminable argument over the conditions of the match. It took an hour to settle where the toilet should be located in the playing hall! But the rehearsal for the ceremony was not without its hilarious moments. Botvinnik had a bad cold, and in consequence refused to shake hands with anybody for the fear of spreading the infection-an attitude that the rather stately president of the USSR Chess Federation found difficult to understand until the reason was explained to him.

Any way, when the match began on 23^rd March, 1963 there was a needle atmosphere between the rivals.

Petrosian was a bundle of nerves in the first game and lost with White!The result had a sensational effect on chess public. “If there happened to be a chess stock exchange, panic would have set in by now,” wrote Panov, “The bulls would have thrown themselves at Botvinnik’s shares. The bears would be trying to jettison Petrosian’s shares at any cost.” The challenger, though upset by the defeat, showed commendable restraint and patience. The next three games were tough draws. It was in the fifth game that Petrosian struck and won a difficult ending. Now the score was level.The sixth game was drawn. In the seventh game Petrosian took lead by beating Botvinnik  in a complex middle game arising out of the Grünfeld.Although the game was adjourned, Black did not last more than 12 moves. So it was a wounded Botvinnik that confronted Petrosian in the 8^th game. The challenger had been facing problems with Queen’s Gambit accepted as Black in this match.He had narrowly escaped defeat in the previous games with this opening.But now Botvinnik struck with a powerful innovation to send Petrosian reeling under his blows.Here is what happened.Before we see the game I should remind new readers that they should check the Move List for analysis.They would find some wonderful lines discovered by grandmasters, Bronstein and Smyslov.

 

 

 Botvinnik was disappointed, but not disheartened by the result of this game. He put enormous pressure on Petrosian in the ensuing games. Finally, Petrosian cracked in the 14^th game.It was adjourned in a superior position for Botvinnik, but there were drawing chances for Petrosian. He and his second Boleslavsky analyzed it until three 0’clock in the morning. He came to the hall tired and started making mistakes.Soon the game was lost.The score was level once again. Sadly, it proved to be a pyrrhic victory for Botvinnik. Exhausted by the labours of the previous game he did not have the strength and energy to play the next. His collapse in the fifteenth game saw Petrosian taking lead once again the match.But Botvinnik was not to be denied.He made a determined bid in the next game:

 

The setback in this game had an adverse effect on Botvinnik's mind. He was on the receiving end in the 17th game, and barely managed to survive.In the 18th game he obtained a promising position, but could not bring himself to push forward. The result was a debacle. Petrosian was now two points ahead.But inwardly Botvinnik had not accepted defeat. In the 19th Game he fought back like a lion.It was now that Petrosian showed his class as world champion. He subdued Botvinnik's desperate attempts at counterplay with a unique blend of strategy and tactics. Here is the game with annotations by Wade. I have added a few analytical updates from the book, Petrosian Vs The Elite by Keene and Simpole (Batsford.2006).

 

After this defeat Botvinnik accepted the inevitable.On 20^th May, 1963 the Match concluded with the players agreeing to a draw in the 22nd game.Petrosian won the Match (+5 -2 =15).At last the Botvinnik Era came to an end.

I have a lot of respect for this book.Wade has done considerable research and culled notes from various sources to provide authentic annotations for the games. There  are essays on the careers of both the players followed by illustrative games.From the point of theory only the Queen’s Gambit Accepted with accent  on the IQP is discussed at the end of the book.Wade wrote this book when it was not possible to know everything that was happening behind the iron curtain.So I have provided some background at the beginning of this article.There has been some reassessment of  the games of this match. The ending of the fifth game, for example, has been analyzed by Jonathan Speelman and Garry Kasparov among  others. Otherwise the analysis of the games in this book has stood the test of time.What is more, it gives an insight into Petrosian’s play, weaving  subtle positional ideas and little tactical nuances together to form a harmonious whole.

 

Recommended

 

Link:http://www.chess.com/article/view/soviet-chessbook-review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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