What to Do When Botvinnik Sacrifices a Piece (Hint: Resign)
This week I'm going to show you one of the strongest world champions (in my opinion, a bit underrated nowadays) – Botvinnik. He lost the world title 3 times, and 3 times he won it back. There was a saying: if you play against Tal and he sacrifices a piece, just take it and keep playing. But if you play against Botvinnik and he sacrifices a piece, no need to calculate anything – just resign.
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The position comes from the game Botvinnik–Portisch (1968). How should White continue?
21. Nh4
White sacrifices the rook and wants to bring more pieces to the king’s position.
21... Qxb7
Portisch had never heard the saying I mentioned earlier (or maybe wanted to test it), so he accepted the rook sacrifice.
22. Ng6+ Kh7
23. Be4
Bringing more pieces into the attack!
23... Bd6
24. Nxe5+
A discovered attack.
24... g6
25. Bxg6+ Kg7
26. Bxh6+
And Black resigned. After 26... Kxh6 27. Qh4+ Kg7 28. Qh7+ comes a skewer - and Black loses the queen
- Weak squares are squares your pawns can’t control anymore — and your pieces can’t easily defend either.
- Your weak square is a strong square for your opponent (and the other way around).
- When you see weak squares in your opponent’s position, try to place your pieces there - or use them as entry points.
- Queen and knight is the best attacking pair (also called the devil’s pair).
- Every extra piece in the attack doubles its power. For example, if you’re attacking with 2 pieces and bring 2 more - the attack becomes 4 times stronger.
