Botvinnik, Mikhail – Capablanca, Jose Raul (Holland, 1938)
White to move. What is the best continuation for White?
8/p3q1kp/1p2Pnp1/3pQ3/2pP4/1nP3N1/1B4PP/6K1 w – – 0 30
Chess Daily News from Susan Polgar
World Champions’ Tactic
ba3
This is too famous. Probably one of the most well known positions there is.
1. Nh5+ gxh5
2. Qg5+ Kh8
3. Ba3 Qxa3
4. Qxf6+ Kg8
5. Qf7++
or
2. Qg5+ Kf8
3. Ba3 Qxa3
4. Qxf6+ Ke8
5. Qf7+ Kd8
6. Qd7++
Black can opt to not play 1. … gxh5 but this line also loses after Nxf6 and Nxd5.
i’ll go for
1.Ne4
if black captures the knight, black would have a hard time defending against the two connected passed pawns and the bishop
if black refuses to capture then
2.Ba3
The first line can continue like this (after 5. Qf7):
5. … Kh8
6. h3 Qc1+
7. Kh2 and the e pawn is unstoppable.
If 1. Ne4 then
1. … dxe4
2. d5? Qc5+
3. Kh1 Qxd5
Of course, white shouldn’t play 2. d5 right away, but I don’t see anything decisive for white …
1. ba3 is more accurate than 1. nh5+
because, in kibiltzer’s line, after 3. ba3, black has …Qg7.
With 1. ba3, there is no such option, so it will transpose to the line given by kibitzer.
I’ll just offer draw and be done with it. If Black declined, I’ll play something.
The guy who plays chess only on Sunday mornings.
Ba3 is the classic move
Anonymous 2:29, to offer draw you normally need to play a move first, and then you can offer draw, not without move… 🙂
You this position is too well known….Actually..Botvinnik only saw a sure draw when he went into it…a draw without risk..he figured the rest out at the board while working through it.
Sorry, I didn’t say it was easy, just that most of us probably know the answer.
well I saw bishop A3 and the knight h5+, though I saw the knight check first.
Although I was not familiar with this position it is the bishop move I would play.
FICS grade blitz 1500ish