ajedrez

85. B-N2; 21 R-NI? (21 BxB,QxB; 22 K-W,N-B&h; 23 RxN, QxR; 1
24 B-K7, H-EX;25 BxP with some chanres to hold), N-B6ch;
22 K-R1, RxU!; 23 RxQ, NxBch; 24 K-R2, N-B6~h;25 K-R3, i
RxR- 3,;26 QxP,B-K5; 27 P-R4, K-N2; 28 £2-Ql, t3-K4; 29 Q-
K7, K-Bt!; 30 P-R5, R-37;31 K-N2, N-QSch; 32 K-31,B-36;
33 R-NI, N-B3; Resigns (7herl.eis way to prevent u d~cisiveat-
$
tack against White%KB2 Hy . .. B-Q5 and/or . . . N-K4xP.)
I
Unperturbed, Botvinnik camc back to win the next two games, so
that after the sixteenth, Ire had a 9-7 lead. When the three Collawing
garnes were drawn, it lmkcd as if Botvinnik was finally going to
win his first match evcr. But Smydov cut the Iead to one point by
winning thc twentieth game, and after two more draws, puIIed
i
even again by wirinjllg 1hc twcnty-third: 1
K'ing's X~tdian,Reversed
White: Smyslov Black: Botvinnik 1 P-K4, P-K3; 2 P-03, P-UB4;
3 N 4 2 , N-QH3;4 P-KN3, P-KN3; 5 B-N2, B-P32; 6 KN-I33, KN-
K2; 7 O-E),0-0;8 P-B3, P-Q3; 9 P-QR4, P-TI$; 10Q-N3, PQ4; I1
PxQP, PxP;12 R-KI, P-Kl35; 13 N-131, B-N5; 14 PxP,BxN; 15
BxH, K-R1; 15 B-02, R-R3; 17 It-K6, BxP; 18 QR--K1,BxB; 19
WxB, N-B4; 20 B-N2, N-R5; 2t QxQP, NxB; 22 QxN/2, QxP;
23 N-K4, R-U4?; 24 PIT-Q6, R-36;25 NxP, QR-RBI; 26 KxP, Q-
B4; 27 R-Kg, K-N1;28 IhRch, Resigns (28 . .. KxK; 29 N-KAch,
K-NX;30 IV-NS', R-Q6; 31 Q x N , QxNch; 32 Q-N2 elc. or 28 . . .
QxR; 29 N-K6, Q-R3; 30 N-:YS, R-B4; 31 R-K&h, K-h'2; 32 A;-
K6ch and 33 QxN)
It, was obvious that Botvinnik was tiring rapidly, and if Smyslov
could win the twenty-fourth game hc would be the new world
champion. But Botvinnlk 1?ad thc White pieces, and he quickly
achieved a solid pasition that allowed Smysiov little opportunity
for counterplay. When, in the following position Smydov proposed
a draw and Botvinnik accepted, the champion had much the bctter
of it.
So ouce again Botvinnik had failed to win a match, and once
again hc bad remaincd his title. Cynical remarks to the effect that it
was all a Communist conspiracy to prove that thc Soviet Union had
a goodly supply of playcrs all of whom were entitled to be regarded
as world champion were made in some quarters in the West, but
were of course unpmvablc. At any ratc thc next match for thc
litre was to havc a clecisivc rcsult.
SmysXov promptly earned himself thc right to a rcmatch against
Botvinnik by winning the 1956 Candidates' tournament in Arnster-
dam. Because of a change in the rules only hc among the top
finishers at Zurich was seeded directly into the Amsterdam touma-
mmt;the rest necded to qualify froin thc Interzonal, held at Giite-
borg, Sweden, in 1955. There wcre also several new faces at the
Interzonal, among them eighteen-year-old Boris Spassky, who had
qualified by tying for third, behind Gellcr and Srnyslov, in the
XXlI Soviet Championship. At the time of the Goteborrg toma-
ment, Spassky had just won the world junior championship at
Amstcrdrtila. Samuel Reshevsky was the only one of the seeded
players who clwed not to participate.
Winner at Ciokbosg wick a 15-5 scor~was David BronsLin, who
scemed well prepared to have another go at the world champion-
ship, ahead of Keres ( 13%), Argentinian farmer world junior
champion Oscar Panrio (1 3), Fetroslan 112%), GdIcr and Sraba
(both 12), Argentinian Herman Pilnik, Czecbnsiovakian Miroslav
Filip, and Spassky (aU with 11j.
IM World Chess Championship