Botvinnik and the Pirc/Modern

5/24/2017 – Continuing his look at how champions began to include new openings later in their careers, the tireless student of the game, GM Alex Yermolinsky, looks at Mikhail Botvinnik, 'The Patriarch', and his employment of the Pirc-Modern defense. He also shares his first encounter with the great player as a junior, speculates on what a Botvinnik-Fischer match would have looked like, and even mentions his secret match with Gata Kamsky when he was 14. Enjoy this great article!