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. White has a slight advantage thanks to the weakness of e5, but Black is very solid. 11 Qd3 g5 This is not quite the attacking gesture it looks. Black has a more subtle, positional idea in mind — he wants to play … g4, so as to secure control of the e4-square and stop White organising f3 and e4. 12 cxd5 exd5 13 f3 Nxc3 14 Bxc3 g4 15 fxg4 Nxg4 16 Bh3 Nh6 17 Nf4 Bd6 18 b4 (see diagram 1) White aims to play a minority attack with b5 and create a weakness in the black queenside. 18 … a6 19 a4 Qe7 20 Rab1 b5 This is one of the standard ways of meeting the minority attack. For this to work, he needs to be able to prevent White from playing e4.