Study in obsession

Genna Sosonko is a writer and grandmaster who straddles two great chess cultures, Holland and the USSR, his chosen and native lands. His latest book, The Rise and Fall of David Bronstein (Elk and Ruby Publishing House), does not contain any actual chess analysis but instead focuses on Bronstein’s decade-long obsession with his narrow failure to become world champion in his 1951 match with Botvinnik. Bronstein was one of the most creative players in the history of the game, yet his inability to unseat Botvinnik gnawed at his soul and acted as a block on any future attempt to seize the supreme title, or even to win a major tournament.
 
A good counterpart to Sosonko’s book is Bronstein Move by Move (Everyman Chess), by the reliable Steve Giddins, upon which the notes to this week’s game are based.
 
Bronstein-Botvinnik: World Championship Moscow (Game 22) 1951; Dutch Defence
 
1 d4 e6 2 c4 f5 3 g3 Nf6 4 Bg2 Be7 5 Nc3 0-0 6 e3 d5 7 Nge2 c6 8 b3 Ne4 9 0-0 Nd7 10 Bb2 Ndf6 A typical Stonewall.