Opening: D44: Queen's Gambit Declined semi-Slav, Botvinnik system (anti-Meran)
Player(s): Martinez, Shirov
The storied history of the Botvinnik Variation of the Semi-Slav is well-documented in chess literature. From the early experimental works of Klaus Junge to Botvinnik's post-WWII famous victories that earned him the right to have his name attached to this opening line, and then off to the glory days of the 1980-90's, when Kasparov seemingly refuted it from the White side, only to play it himself much later on against his young rival, Kramnik - all those are the golden pages forever engraved in the annals of our game. The question is, where does the Botvinnik stand now, in the age of the merciless computer dissection of the entire opening theory? The fact is, the Botvinnik isn't played very often nowadays, having been largely replaced by the Moscow Variation, where 5.Bg5 is answered with 5...h6. There's only one man standing tall to fearlessly defend the black colors in the Botvinnik, and his name is Alexei Shirov. As a young disciple of the great Tal, Alexei learned to play this crazy line by heart through his own experiences, and that to this day enables him to go on and meet the challenge against a new generation of players, armed to the teeth with computer preparation. I witnessed Shirov's latest effort in the Botvinnik with my own eyes just a few weeks ago at the Chihuahua Open, and what a game it was - watch Video #1.
This is a 5 minute preview.
Log in to watch the full show or click one of the links below.
Page 1 of 89 pages 1 2 3 > Last ›
Added on 06.01.2023
A37, B76, A10, B30, B22, B27 GM Yermolinsky - Life after Astana - Part 4
Added on 05.29.2023
C12, A13 Ronen’s Chess week - Episode 4
Added on 05.22.2023
E60, D10, A40 Ronen’s Chess week - Episode 3
Added on 05.21.2023
C65, C54 GM Yermolinsky - Life after Astana - Part 3
Added on 05.15.2023
Ronen’s Chess week - Espisode 2
Added on 05.14.2023
A15, A04 GM Yermolinsky - Life after Astana - Part 2
Added on 05.08.2023
Ronen’s Chess week - Espisode 1
Added on 05.07.2023
D43, E04 GM Yermolinsky - Life after Astana - Part 1
Added on 05.01.2023
B90, A62, C88, B31 GM Yermolinsky - Women Chess 2023 - Part 5
Added on 04.30.2023
E46, D02, C84, A07 GM Miguel Illescas analyzes Games 14 and the Tiebreaks of the 2023 World Chess Championship Match
Added on 04.27.2023
D04, C84 GM Miguel Illescas analyzes Games 12 and 13 of the 2023 World Chess Championship Match
Added on 04.24.2023
A28, C84 GM Miguel Illescas analyzes Games 10 and 11 of the 2023 World Chess Championship Match
Added on 04.23.2023
E48, B85, E91 GM Yermolinsky - Women Chess 2023 - Part 4
Added on 04.21.2023
E28, C65 GM Miguel Illescas analyzes Games 8 and 9 of the 2023 World Chess Championship Match
Added on 04.18.2023
C07 GM Miguel Illescas analyzes Game7 of the 2023 World Chess Championship Match
Added on 04.17.2023
C84, D02 GM Miguel Illescas recaps Games 5 and 6 of the 2023 World Chess Championship Match
Added on 04.16.2023
C67, D00, E11 GM Yermolinsky - Women Chess 2023 - Part 3
Added on 04.14.2023
D35, A28 GM Yermolinsky recaps Games 3 and 4 of the 2023 World Chess Championahip Match
Added on 04.11.2023
C85, E10 GM Yermolinsky recaps Games 1 and 2 of the 2023 World Chess Championahip Match
Added on 04.09.2023
A13, E76 GM Yermolinsky - Women Chess 2023 - Part 2
Added on 04.06.2023
Coach Dan Heisman: Don’t Acquiesce
Added on 04.04.2023
IM John Watson: Build your Opening Repertoire - Video 17
Added on 04.02.2023
A21, C28 GM Yermolinsky - Women Chess 2023 - Part 1
Added on 03.30.2023
Coach Dan Heisman: Interesting in every phase
Added on 03.28.2023
IM John Watson: Build your Opening Repertoire - Video 16
Added on 03.26.2023
D43, C11, D90 GM Yermolinsky - Pro League 2023 - Video 1
Added on 03.23.2023
Coach Dan Heisman: Break moves
Added on 03.21.2023
IM John Watson: Build your Opening Repertoire - Video 15
Added on 03.19.2023
D26, D37, E60 GM Yermolinsky - WR Masters 2023 - Video 3
Added on 03.16.2023
Coach Dan Heisman: A million ways to win
Added on 03.14.2023
IM John Watson: Build your Opening Repertoire - Video 14
Added on 03.12.2023
C54, B90, E11 GM Yermolinsky - WR Masters 2023 - Video 2
Added on 03.09.2023
Coach Dan Heisman: Too bad too fast
Added on 03.07.2023
IM John Watson: Build your Opening Repertoire - Video 13
Added on 03.05.2023
A20, B76, C67, E04 GM Yermolinsky - WR Masters 2023 - Video 1
Added on 03.02.2023
Coach Dan Heisman: Dance on the weak light squares
Added on 02.28.2023
IM John Watson: Build your Opening Repertoire - Video 12
Added on 02.26.2023
B48, B60 GM Yermolinsky - Tata Steel 2023 - Video 5
Added on 02.23.2023
Coach Dan Heisman: Opening Tabiyas: Sicilian, Yugoslav
Added on 02.21.2023
IM John Watson: Build your Opening Repertoire - Video 11
Added on 02.19.2023
A14, E44 GM Yermolinsky - Tata Steel 2023 - Video 4
Added on 02.16.2023
Coach Dan Heisman: Removal of the Guard
Added on 02.14.2023
IM John Watson: Build your Opening Repertoire - Video 10
Added on 02.12.2023
D38, E15 GM Yermolinsky - Tata Steel 2023 - Video 3
Added on 02.10.2023
Coach Dan Heisman: It helps to understand the opening
Added on 02.07.2023
IM John Watson: Build your Opening Repertoire - Video 9
Added on 02.05.2023
C43, A34 GM Yermolinsky - Tata Steel 2023 - Video 2
Added on 02.02.2023
Coach Dan Heisman: Playing a Sacrifice