Appreciation on The Blossoming Brilliance of Botvinnik
Botvinnik - Cabablanca, 1938 Amsterdam AVRO Grand Prix. Botvinnik's implementation of the center above all else, abandoning pawns in order to compete for the center space, coupled with the wonderful battle to attack the king in the middle game, made this game a classic chess game that all chess textbooks cannot avoid, which is shown in the game below:
Introducing the legend, Botvinnik:
It is rare in the history of chess that a world champion greatly surpasses all the grandmasters of his time. In another rare case, Botvinnik continued to advance in his own expertise as he continued to win at chess, becoming an electrical engineer in the early 1930s and later an alternate doctorate in technical sciences; After becoming a world champion, he became a doctor of technical sciences in the third year. One can imagine the arduous task of engaging in two majors at the same time. But perhaps it was his technical science major that gave him the analytic ability beyond ordinary people, which enabled him to achieve the expected success at chess.
Botvinnik also has a set of scientific methods for preparing for the game, which is worthy of every chess player's great attention.
Botvinnik also attaches great importance to improving chess analysis, because it has great significance in actual combat. He pays particular attention to improving the quality of the analysis, overcoming the subjectivity that may arise, and making the chess analysis stand up to the test of the reader, that is, to the level of publication.
After winning the highest title in 1948, Botvinnik successfully defended his title twice in 1951 and 1954. He lost the title to Smyslov and Tarr in 1957 and 1960, but both lost the title the following year. Among them, in the 1961 match against Tal, Botvinnik was 50 years old, and he was able to defeat his 26-year-old opponent in his prime. It was amazing. In this regard, he himself explained: "Tal is a very talented chess player. In sharp situations, when the outcome depends on complex moves, his power is best used. I succeeded. to control the battle on another track, so that he cannot get the situation he likes. . . "
In the 1963 title defense, Botvinnik lost to Petrosin and lost his 15-year world chess title (except for two small breaks in between). Due to the cancellation of the traditional retaliatory tournament by FIDE, Botvinnik refused to participate in the candidacy to recapture the title, although he continued to compete internationally until 1970.
Great ingenuity, ability to control the situation, profound and precise calculation, Botvinnik is almost unparalleled in these respects. After retiring from the chess world, he continued to work on electrical technology and computer chess programming. At the same time, he also wrote books and opened chess schools. Two of the world's two great chess kings, Karpov and Kasparov, both came from him. under the door. Botvinnik's masterpieces such as "My Chess Career" and "Half a Century of Chess" are treasures in the treasury of chess theory.
