Botvinnik at Fifteen

The game, move by move

A quiet Queen’s Gambit

1. 1. d4 Queen’s pawn
2. 1… Nf6 The knight out
3. 2. Nf3 The second knight
4. 2… d5 d5, the centre
5. 3. c4 c4 — the Queen’s Gambit
6. 3… c6 c6, declining solidly
7. 4. e3 e3, a small move
8. 4… e6 e6
9. 5. Nbd2 The knight to d2
10. 5… Ne4 Ne4 — into the middle
11. 6. Bd3 The bishop to d3, at the knight
12. 6… f5 f5 — the move that costs the game It props the knight up and it takes the pawn off f5, which is what lets a knight land on e5 and a queen check on h5. Everything after this is forced or nearly so.

The king loses castling

1. 7. Ne5 The knight to e5 It cannot be taken and it looks at g6 and f7. Two moves later it takes on g6.
2. 7… Nd7 The knight to d7, at it
3. 8. Qh5+ Check from h5 The queen comes out on move eight and the only reply that does not lose a piece blocks with a pawn.
4. 8… g6 g6, blocking
5. 9. Nxg6 The knight takes g6 A knight for a pawn, and what it buys is the rook on h8 and the king’s right to castle.
6. 9… Ndf6 The other knight to f6, declining
7. 10. Qh4 The queen to h4
8. 10… Rg8 The rook to g8, at the knight
9. 11. Nxf8 The knight takes the bishop on f8 Not the rook. Taking f8 forces the king onto the square rather than merely winning material, and a king on f8 is the whole rest of the game.
10. 11… Kxf8 Kxf8 — and no castling Eleven moves in, and this king spends the remaining eighteen walking.

Both queens on the g-file

1. 12. f3 f3, at the knight on e4
2. 12… Nxd2 The knights come off
3. 13. Bxd2 Recaptured
4. 13… Rxg2 The rook takes g2
5. 14. O-O-O White castles long Away from the rook that has just come to g2, and onto the file the game is decided on: the other rook comes to g1.
6. 14… Kf7 Kf7
7. 15. Rhg1 The second rook to g1, facing it
8. 15… Qg8 The queen to g8, defending
9. 16. Rxg2 The rooks come off on g2
10. 16… Qxg2 Recaptured by the queen
11. 17. e4 e4 — the centre opened With the king on f7 rather than g8, opening lines in the middle is worth a pawn and more.
12. 17… dxe4 Taken
13. 18. fxe4 And taken back
14. 18… Qg4 The queen to g4

The king walked to d7

1. 19. Qh6 The queen to h6
2. 19… Qg6 The queen to g6
3. 20. Qe3 The queen to e3
4. 20… Bd7 The bishop to d7 at last
5. 21. Rg1 The rook to g1 again
6. 21… Ng4 The knight to g4
7. 22. Qf4 The queen to f4
8. 22… Ne5 The knight to e5
9. 23. Rg3 The rook to g3
10. 23… Nxd3+ The knight takes the bishop, with check
11. 24. Rxd3 The rook recaptures on d3
12. 24… Ke7 Ke7 — walking
13. 25. Rg3 The rook back to g3
14. 25… Qf7 The queen to f7
15. 26. Qh4+ Check from h4
16. 26… Ke8 Ke8
17. 27. Bb4 The bishop to b4 — the diagonal It attacks nothing on b4. What it does is cover e7 and d6, and those are two of the four squares the king has left.
18. 27… Bc8 The bishop back to c8 Which fills c8 with one of Black’s own pieces, and c8 is a square his king is about to need.
19. 28. Rg8+ The rook to g8, with check Onto the back rank, where it holds d8 along the whole length of it.
20. 28… Kd7 Kd7 — the only square
21. 29. Qd8# Checkmate, on d8 The queen steps to d8, held by the rook on g8 four squares away. She covers c7, e8 and — with the bishop on b4 — e7 and d6; e6 and c6 are Black’s own pawns, and c8 his own bishop.