Botvinnik's Panov Attack

Mikhail Botvinnik (1911-1995) was the Soviet Champion many times between 1931 and 1952. He held the World Championship in the years 1948-1957, 1958-1960, and 1961-1963. Playing against the Caro-Kann Defense in this game, Botvinnik used the Panov Attack or Variation. Due to his development of this variation, it is often called the Panov-Botvinnik Attack. Vasil Panov worked on the system in 1929-1930 and his name is still listed first or alone. The idea was tried earlier by the Dane, Orland Krause in 1911. Positions in this system resemble the Queen's Gambit Accepted and Declined and the Nimzo-Indian Defense. Sometimes they are identical with the difference of one or two tempoes or the other player on the move. Notice that positions in the Queen's Gambit Declined and Nimzo with Black playing c5 and cxd4 followed by White playing e3xd4 reach the same pawn structure as after move four in the game. In the Queen's Gambit Accepted, Black would already have played dxc4, which can occur later in the Panov. If Black has time for b6, the position may suggest the Queen's Indian Defense. Nikolai (Nicholas) Riumin (1908-1942) was the source for some of the notes. He was Moscow Champion three times in the thirties and placed second to Botvinnik in the latter's first Soviet Championship.