Solution to the historical riddle Botvinnik vs Bronstein 1951: Bronstein could have drawn

by Karsten Müller
7/7/2020 – One draw in a crucial game and David Bronstein would have been World Champion. After losing a difficult ending in the crucial 23rd game Bronstein drew the World Championship Match 1951 against Mikhail Botvinnik which allowed Botvinnik to keep the title. Now Karsten Müller wanted to know whether this ending was indeed lost or whether Bronstein had a draw. Karsten Müller asked the ChessBase readers for help to solve this historical riddle, and now, after long and difficult analyses and a debate about the 50-move-rule he has an answer: Bronstein indeed missed a draw in this historically important game!
Our experts show, using the games of Botvinnik, how to employ specific openings successfully, which model strategies are present in specific structures, how to find tactical solutions and rules for how to bring endings to a successful conclusion

Bronstein could have drawn

This was  a very complicated riddle that also touched the rules of chess. Charles Sullivan had immediately pointed out White has many ways to reach a won position but in many lines he fails to mate the enemy king in 50 moves or less which means that Black can draw according to the 50-move-rule.

But what was Bronstein's last and decisive mistake? Was it 52...Nc8?, a move that loses with and without the 50-move- rule, whereas 52...Ne7 draws as Jan Timman had shown earlier.

Many lines in the analysis of this endgame lead to endgames with two bishops against knight, which are theoretically won but not with 50-move-rule.

This leads to a question related to chess history: which version of the 50-move-rule was used in 1951? Nowadays, FIDE decrees that the 50-move-rule always applies, with no exception and no matter whether certain positions will lead to mate in a given number of moves. However, in the past the rule was applied differently. Fortunately, Harold van der Heijden was able to shed some light on this issue. He writes:

"The ending was considered a draw from 1851 (Horwitz & Kling fortress) until the 1980’s when Thompson and Comay independently used a computer to prove that the ending is a general win.

Then about the rules.

In a book that is pretty close to the 1951 date of the game, André Chéron (Lille, 1952): Nouveau Traité Complet D’Échecs – La Fin de Partie, dedicates a chapter (page 741) to 50 move plus endings ("Les Finales Exigeant Plus de 50 Coups"). He mentions BR vs R, 2N vs P and R + Pa2 vs B (black squares) + Pa3. Of course, he does NOT mention 2B vs. N but for a certain limited and clearly defined number of positions, he proposes to change the 50-move-rule, and to allow the side which makes winning attempts 100 moves in which no pawn is moved and no piece or pawn is taken before the game is declared drawn.

So it seems that Chéron PROPOSES a new rule in 1952 …. which indicates that such exceptions did not exist?"

Thus, Charles Sullivan and Zoran Petronijevic had to work very hard to prove not only that White could win but also to prove that White can win within the limits of the 50-move-rule.

After burning a lot of midnight oil Zoran Petronijevic reached the following conclusions:

  • The adjourned position after 41...Kg6 is won for White. White wins with 42.Bb1, which was analyzed by Flohr and Botvinnik, or with 42.Bc2.
  • 42.Bd6?, the move White sealed, is a clear mistake and leads to draw.
  • 43…Kf6 is not a mistake but 43…Na7 leads to an easy draw. We should notice that Bronstein in his notes to the game claims that he looked at this move during his analysis of the adjourned position but after the resumption of the game got confused and did not play it.
  • 44.Bg3 by White is a normal move.
  • 44…fxe4 by Black is not a mistake. Apart from the move he played in the game, Bronstein had other moves to draw the game. For instance, 44…Ne7 (though Kasparov thought that this move loses). 44….h5 and 44…h6 lead to theoretically lost positions though in practice White would not have won these positions because of the 50-move-rule which was valid in 1951. We can thus conclude that these moves might also have led to a draw.
  • 45…h6 is a mistake and leads to a theoretically lost position. After 45…h5 the position is even.
  • 46.Bf4 is a mistake but 45.exd5 leads to a win. White must be careful to avoid positions that allow Black to draw because of the 50-move-rule. Charles Sullivan helped a lot to find proper winning lines but it is hard to say whether the position is definitely winning.
  • 46…h5 is the best move, but 46…dxe4 also draws because of the 50-moves-rule.
  • 48…Nab8 leads to even play. Kasparov erred when he gave 48..Ne7 as losing.
  • 50.Bf5 is a normal move and does not deserve the exclamation Kasparov gave the move.
  • 50…Ne7 draws – contrary to Kasparov’s opinion.
  • 52…Nc8 is a decisive mistake. After 52…Ne7 (which as far as I know was found by Timman) the position is even.

Here's the complete analysis of this difficult and historically important ending.

 
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 Literature: 1. Kasparov: Moi velikie predsestveniki, tom 2. Moscow 2003.2. Botvinnik: Analiticeskie i kriticeskie raboti 1942-1956, Moscow 1985.3. Timman: Timman's titans, New in chess 2016.4. Vainstein, Bronstein, Improvizacija v sakhmatnom iskusstve, Moscow 1976.5. Match Botvinnik-Bronstein 1951, Moscow 2001 (comments to our game are by Botvinnik). 6. Mueller Karsten Endgame corner 91. I should also mention that I had invaluable help of Charles Sullivan - his analyzes are marked in the text. The position is winning for White. 42.Bd6? Sealed move. It is a clear mistake after which the position is even. 42.Bb1! And after fxe4 42...Nc6 43.exd5 exd5 44.Ba2 Ne7 or 44...Nab4 45.Bb3+- Kasparov. If we continue Kf6 46.Bd6 Na6 47.Bxd5 Na5 48.Bg8 Kg6 48...h6 49.h4 h5 50.Bd5 Kg7 51.Be6 Kf6 52.Bc8 f4 53.Bxf4 Ke7 54.Bf5 Nc6 55.Bg6 Kf6 56.Bxh5+- 49.Be6 Kg5 50.Bd7 Kf6 51.Bc8 Kg6 52.Bg3 Kg5 53.Be5 f4 54.Bd6 Kg6 55.Bxf4 Kf6 56.Bd6 Kg6 57.f4 Kf7 58.Bf5 Kg7 59.Be5+ Kg8 60.Be4 h5 61.Bd5+ Kf8 62.f5 Nc6 63.f6 Nd8 64.h4 Ke8 65.Bf4 Kf8 66.Kc4 Nf7 67.Bxb7+- 45.Bh4+- Black loses a pawn. Kasparov. He is right: Kf7 46.Bxe7 Kxe7 47.Bxd5 Kd8 48.Bxb7 Nc7 49.Kd3 h6 50.Ke3 Ne6 51.Bd5 Nc7 52.Bb3 Ke7 53.Kf4 Kf6 54.Bc4 Ne8 55.d5 Nd6 56.Bd3 Nb7 57.Bxf5 Nc5 58.Bc2 Nb7 59.Ke4 Nc5+ 60.Kd4 Nb7 61.Be4 Nd6 62.Bd3 h5 63.h4 Ne8 64.Be4 Nd6 65.f4 Ne8 66.Bf3 Nd6 67.Bxh5+- In case of 42...Nc4 white has 43.Bf4 43.exf5+ also wins exf5 44.Bf4 Na5 45.Ba2 Kf6 46.Bxd5 Nc6 46...Ke7 47.Bg8 h5 48.h4 Nc6 49.Kc4 Na7 50.Bh7 Kf6 51.Be5+ Ke6 52.Bg6 Nc8 53.Bxh5+- 47.Bd6 Na5 48.h4 Kg6 49.Be6 Kf6 49...Kh5 50.Bxf5 50.Bc8 h6 51.Bf4 Kg6 52.Bd7 Kh5 53.Bg3 53.Bxf5 53...Kg6 54.Bd6 Kf6 54...Kh5 55.Bxf5+- 55.Be5+ Kf7 56.Bxf5+- 43...Kf6 44.Ba2+- Kasparov. Let's continue Na5 45.exd5 exd5 46.Bxd5 Ke7 47.Bg8 h5 48.h4 Nc6 49.Kc4 Ke8 50.Be6+- 42...dxe4 43.fxe4 Kg5 43...Kf6 44.Be5+ Kg5 45.exf5 exf5 46.d5 Nc5 47.Bc2 Nd7 48.Bc7 Nf6 49.Kd4 Nd7 50.Bd8+ Kg6 51.h3 Kf7 52.Bxf5 Nb3+ 53.Kc4 Nbc5 54.Kb5 h5 55.h4 Ke8 56.Bg5 Kf7 57.Bc2 Kf8 58.Bd8 Na6 59.d6 Kf7 60.Bb3+ Ke8 61.Bc7 Nac5 62.Bc2 Ne5 63.Kxb6+- 44.exf5 exf5 45.Bd6 h6 46.Bd3 f4 47.Be4 Kg4 48.Kd3 h5 49.Bg2 Kf5 50.Bf3 Ke6 51.Bxf4 Nb4+ 52.Ke4 Nd5 53.Bg3 Nc3+ 54.Kd3 Nxa4 55.d5+ Kf5 56.Bxh5+- 43.fxe4 dxe4 44.Bxe4+ Kg7 , an interesting variation was pointed out by Flohr: 45.Bxb7! There are a lot of wins here. For instance 45.Be5+ Kh6 45...Kg8 46.h4 Nc6 47.Bd6 h6 48.d5 Nd8 49.dxe6 Nxe6 50.Bxb7 Nac5 51.Bc6 Kf7 52.Kb4 Kf6 53.Kb5 Nxa4 54.Kxa4+- 46.Bb1 Nc6 47.Bd6 Na5 48.Ba2 Kg6 49.Bxe6 Kg5 50.Bd7 Kf6 51.Bc8 Kg6 52.h4 Kf6 53.Bf4 Kg6 54.Bg4 Kf6 55.Bg5+ Kg6 56.Bd8 Nc6 57.Bxb6+- 45...Nxb7 46.Kc4 Kf7 47.Kb5 Nac5 48.dxc5 Nxc5 49.a5+- White can also win by playing 42.Bc2 Kg5 43.h4+ Kg6 44.exd5 exd5 45.Be5 Nc6 46.Bb3 Ne7 47.Bd6 Kf7 48.Bxe7 Kxe7 49.Bxd5 Nc7 50.Bxb7+- Petronijevic 42...Nc6 43.Bb1 Kasparov thought that this was "the culminating point of the entire match." In my opinion it is exaggerated - the culmination was later on. move 43.Bg3 also leads to even position Kg5 44.h4+ Kf6 45.Bb1 h5 46.Bf4 fxe4 47.fxe4 dxe4 48.Bxe4 e5 49.dxe5+ Ke6 50.Kc4 Nc7 51.Bg3 Na5+ 52.Kc3 Nc6 53.Bd3 Nxe5 54.Be2 Nd5+ 55.Kb3 Nf6= Another attempt is 43.Bf4 Kf6 44.Bb1 h5 45.h4 dxe4 46.fxe4 fxe4 47.Bxe4 e5 48.dxe5+ Ke6 and we have the same position as in 43. Bg3 line. 43...Kf6 Kasparov evaluates this move as a clear mistake (Kasparov "?"). This isnt true, however. 'Had Bronstein suspected that an unpleasant surprise had been prepared for him, he would possibly have found 43...Na7! (in my analysis I underestimated the strength of this move) This move is really the best." Botvinnik (2). In his comments to his game Bronstein wrote that he had seen this move and whole line which leads to draw. However, he was sure that Botvinnik would seal 42.Bb1 and whe he had seen 42.Bd6 he was astonished and had remembered someones advice "enough with Knights, use your King" - Bronstein (4). 44.exd5 44.Bd3 also gives even play: Nc6 45.Bg3 Kg5 46.h4+ Kf6 47.Bb1 h5 48.Bf4 fxe4 49.fxe4 dxe4 50.Bxe4 e5 51.dxe5+ Ke6 We have seen this position already. 51...Nxe5 also leads to even play 52.Kd4 Nd7 53.Kc4 Nac5 54.Bc2 Ne6 55.Be3 Nc7 56.Be4 Ne8 57.Kd5 57.Kb4 Nd6 58.Bf3 Ne5 59.Be2 Nc6+ 60.Kb3 Ke5 61.Bxb6 Nd4+ 62.Bxd4+ Kxd4 63.Kb4 63.Bxh5 b5= 63...b6 64.Bxh5 Ke4= Lomonosov 57...Ke7 58.Bg5+ Nef6+ 59.Kc4 Nc5 60.Bd5 60.Bc2 Ke6 61.Kd4 Ncd7 62.Bb3+ Kf5 63.Bd1 Ne5= 60...Nxa4 61.Kd4 Nc5 62.Ke5 Ncd7+ 63.Kf5 Kd6 64.Bf7 Nd5 65.Bc1 65.Bxh5 Ne7+= 65...Nc5 66.Bxh5 Ne7+ 67.Kg5 Ne6+ 68.Kg4 Nc6 69.Kg3 Ned4 70.Bd1 Ke5 71.Kg4 Kf6 72.Bb2 b5 73.Kf4 Kg6 74.h5+ Kh7 75.Ke4 b4 76.Bxd4 Nxd4 77.Kxd4= 52.Kc4 Nc7 53.Bg3 Na5+ 54.Kc3 Nc6 55.Bd3 Nd5+ 56.Kb3 Nxe5 57.Be2 Nf6 58.Kb4 Nc6+ 59.Kc4 Ne7 60.Kb5 Ne4 61.Be1 Nd5= 44...exd5 45.Ba2 In case of 45.Be5 Black has an equal play after b5 46.axb5 Nxb5+ 47.Kb3 Na7 48.Ka4 Nc6 49.Kb5 Nxe5 50.dxe5 Kg5 51.Kb6 d4 52.h4+ Kxh4 53.e6 Nb4 54.Kxb7 Nd5 55.Kc6 Nf6 56.Kd6 Kg5 57.Ke5 f4 58.Bd3 h5 59.Kxd4 Ng8 60.Ke5 Ne7 61.Kd6 Kf6= 45...b5 Bronstein in his comments wrote that he had seen this line (4). 46.a5 46.Bxd5 bxa4 47.Bc4 Kf6= Kasparov 46...b4+ Kasparov evaluated this move "!". Black can also make a draw after 46...Nc6 47.Bxd5 Nxa5 48.h4 h6 49.Bg8 Nc4 50.Be7 50.Bxc4 bxc4 51.Kxc4 h5 52.Kb5 Kf7= 50...h5 51.Bd8 Nd6 52.Ba2 Kg7 53.Be7 Nc4 54.d5 Kf7 55.Bg5 Ke8 56.Bxc4 bxc4 57.Kxc4 Kd7 58.Bd2 Kd6 59.Bf4+ Ke7 60.Kb5 Kd7 61.Bg3 Nc7+= Petronijevic 47.Kd3 47.Kb2 Nb5 48.Be5 Nc3 49.Bb3 Kf7 50.Bc2 Ke6 51.Kb3 Nb5 52.h4 Na7 53.Ka4 b3 54.Bxb3 Nc5+ 55.dxc5 Kxe5 56.a6 bxa6 57.Ka5 Nc6+ 58.Kxa6 Ne7 59.Kb6 d4 60.Bc4 h5 61.Kc7 Nd5+ 62.Kd7 Nb4 63.c6 Nxc6 64.Kxc6 Kf4 65.Be2 d3 66.Bxd3 66.Bd1 Kg3= 66...Kxf3= 47...Nb5 48.Be5 Nac7 48...Nc3 49.Bb3 Kf7 50.Bf4 Ke7 51.Bd2 Ke6 52.Bxc3 bxc3 53.Kxc3 f4 54.h4 h6= 49.Kc2 Kf7 "True 50 Kb3? is a rather absurd move and obviously stronger is" 50.Bxc7!? Kasparov: "!" 50.Kb3 Na6 "and could then have gained a draw and, in all probability, become the seventh world champion." Botvinnik (2). 50...Nxc7 51.Kb3 . and there only remains Ke6 51...Na6? Kasparov "?!" 52.Ka4 Ke6 53.Kb5 Nb8 53...Kd6 54.Kb6+- 54.Kb6 Nc6 55.a6+- Kasparov (1). 52.Kxb4 Kd6 53.Bb1 f4 53...Ne6 Kasparov evaluates this move "?!" 54.Bxf5 Nxd4 55.Bxh7 55.Bc8 also leads to an even play Kc7 56.Bg4 Nc6+ 57.Kc5 Nxa5 58.Kxd5 Kd8 59.Bf5 h6 60.Ke6 Ke8 61.Kf6 Kf8 62.Bd3 Nc6 63.f4 Nd4= Petronijevic 55...Nxf3 56.h3 According to Kasparov (MGP) this line "is inferior". In fact, it is a deadly draw Ne5 57.h4 d4 58.h5 d3 59.Kc3 d2 60.Kc2 d1Q+ 61.Kxd1 Ke7= 53...Ne6 Is also enough for salvation. 54.Bxf5 Nxd4 55.Bc8 Kc7 56.Bg4 Nc6+ 57.Kc5 Nxa5 58.Kxd5 Kd8 59.Bf5 h6 60.Ke6 Ke8 61.Kf6 Kf8 62.Bd3 Nc6 63.f4 Nd4 64.h3 b6 65.f5 Nxf5= Petronijevic 54.Bxh7 54.h4 Ne6 55.Kc3 h6 56.Bf5 Nd8 with a draw, Kasparov, (1) 54...Ne6 55.Kb5 Kasparov is right when he says that "Black still has some work to do" Nxd4+! Kasparov didn't like 55...Kc7? Although he has evaluated this move as a dubious. 56.h3? Kasparov's suggestion in MGP which leads to a draw. Petronijevic: Kasparov's move is bad. After the best 56.h4 White is winning: Nxd4+ 57.Kc5 Nxf3 58.h5 Ne5 59.Bf5 f3 60.h6 f2 61.Bh3 Nd7+ 62.Kxd5 Nf8 63.Bg2 Nh7 64.Ke5 b5 65.Kd4 65.axb6+? Kxb6= 65...b4 66.Kc4 Kc8 67.Kxb4+- Lomonosov 56...Nxd4+ 57.Kc5 Nxf3 58.Kxd5 Ng5 59.Bf5 f3 60.h4 f2 61.Bd3 Nf3? Fatal mistake in Kasparov's analyze. After 61...Nf7 the position is even: 62.Ke6 Nd8+ 63.Kf6 Nc6 64.h5 Kd6 65.Bb5 Ne5 66.h6 Ng4+ 67.Kg7 Nxh6 68.Kxh6 Kc5= Petronijevic 62.h5 Nh2 63.Ke6! Ng4 64.Kf5 Nh6+ 65.Kf4+- Kasparov MGP (1). 56.Kb6 Nxf3 57.Kxb7 Ne5 58.a6 f3 58...Nc6? 59.Bd3 f3 60.h4+- Kasparov (1). 59.a7 f2 60.a8Q f1Q 61.Qb8+ Ke6 62.Bg8+ Nf7! 63.Qe8+ Kd6 64.Bxf7 Qb1+= Lomonosov, Kasparov (1). "Yes, Bronstein lacked competitive fortune... Had Caissa been more kindly disposed to him in this endgame, chess development would possibly have gone in a somewhat different direction. As David Ionovich himself later joked: 'If I had won against Botvinnik, they would all have listened to me with their mouths agape!" (1). 44.Bg3!? Kasparov has evaluated this move very high "!!". 44.Bf4? Ne7= Kasparov 44...fxe4 Kasparov evaluated this move as a mistake which loses the game. This isn't true, however. After 44...Nab4? Black really loses 45.Be5+! Kg6 45...Ke7 46.exf5 exf5 47.Bxf5 h6 48.Bb1 Na6 49.f4 Kd7 50.Bf5+ Ke8 51.Bc8 Nd8 52.h4 h5 53.Bh3 Ke7 54.Bg2 Ke6 55.Bf3 Kd7 56.Bxh5+- 46.Bd6 Na6 46...dxe4 Also loses 47.Bxb4 exf3 48.Bd3+- 47.exd5 exd5 48.Ba2+- Kasparov 44...Kg5? Kasparov evaluates "?!". 45.exd5 exd5 46.Ba2 Nab4 46...f4 47.h4+ Kf5 48.Bb1++- Kasparov (1). 47.Bb3 f4 48.Be1 Kf5 49.Bd2 Kg5 50.Bc1! h5 51.Ba3 White is winning Kasparov (1). According to Kasparov this move is "Black's best chance" 44...h6 (?) Kasparov (!). After 45.Bh4+ White is theoretically winning, although not easy at all. Practically, after reaching winning position, white cannot win due to "50 moves rule" which was valid at that time. 45.Bf4 h5 46.h4 46.exd5 exd5 47.h4 Ke6= Kasparov In case of 46.Bg3 Black can play Ne7 47.Bc2 Ng6 Knight on g6 is much more active than on a5 which alows him to make a draw. Possible line is: 48.Bd6 h4 49.Kd3 Ne7 50.Bb3 dxe4+ 50...Nc8 is also enough for making a draw. 51.fxe4 Nc6 52.Ke3 52.exf5 Kxf5 53.Kc3 Ke4 54.Bxe6 Nxd4 55.Bh3 Kd5 56.Be7 Ne2+ 57.Kd2 Nf4 58.Bg4 Nc5 59.Bxh4 Nxa4= 52...Nab4 53.h3 fxe4 54.Kxe4 Na6 55.Bf4 Nd8 56.Bd2 Nc7 57.Be1 Kg5 58.d5 exd5+ 59.Bxd5 Nde6 60.Bc4 Nc5+ 61.Ke5 Nxa4 62.Bf7 Kh6 63.Bxh4 Nc5 64.Be7 Kg7 65.Ba2 Nb5 66.Bc4 Na3 67.Be2 Nc2 68.Bg5 Nd4!= 46...fxe4 47.fxe4 e5 Easier seems 47...dxe4 48.Bxe4 e5 49.dxe5+ Ke6= this position is already analyzed above. 48.dxe5+ Ke6 49.exd5+ In case of 49.Ba2 Black can equalise Nc7 50.Bg3 Mueller, Karsten (Endgame corner 91): 50.Kd2 b5! 50...Nxe5? Mueller, Karsten 51.Ke3 b5 52.axb5 52.a5+- leads to winning position (Petronijevic). 52...Ng4+ 53.Kd2 Nxb5 54.Bxd5+ Kf6 55.Bxb7 "is also not completely clear to me." - Mueller K. My hypotesis is: White is winning. Proof: Ne5 56.Bg3 Nd4 57.Ba6 Ng6 58.Ke3 Nc2+ 59.Kf2 Nd4 60.Bf1 Ne5 61.Ke3 Ne6 62.Be2 Ng4+ 63.Kd3 Ne5+ 64.Kd2 Ng4 65.Kc3 Ke7 66.Kc4 Ng7 67.Kd5 Nf6+ 68.Ke5 Nd7+ 69.Kd4 Nf6 70.Bc4 Ne6+ 71.Bxe6 Kxe6 72.Ke3+- Lomonosov 51.axb5 Nb4 52.exd5+ Nbxd5 53.Bh2 Nxb5 54.Kd3 Nbc3 55.Bb3 b6 56.Bg3 b5 57.Bh2 Kf5 58.Kd4 b4 59.Bc2+ Ke6 60.Kc5 Ne2 or 60...Kd7 61.Bb3 Ke7 62.Bg1 Ne2 63.Bf2 Ndf4 64.Be3 Kd7 65.Bd2 Ke7 66.Bc4 Ne6+ 67.Kb6 N2f4 68.Bxb4+ Kd7 69.Bc3 Nc7 70.Bb2 Nce6 71.Bb5+ Ke7 72.Ba4 Nd3 73.Bc3 Nef4 74.Kc6 Ng6 75.Kd5 Ndxe5 76.Bxe5 Nxe5= 61.Bb3 Nec3 62.Kc6 Kf5 63.Kd7 Nb6+ 64.Kc7 Nbd5+ 65.Kc6 Nf4 66.Bxf4 Kxf4 67.e6 Ne4 68.e7 Nf6 69.Kd6 Ne8+ 70.Ke6 Ng7+ 71.Kf6 Ne8+ 72.Kg6 Kg4 73.Bf7 Nc7 74.Kf6 Kxh4= Lomonosov 50...b5 51.axb5 Nxb5+ 52.Kd2 Nb4 53.exd5+ Nxd5 54.Kd3 Nbc3 55.Bb3 b6 56.Bf4 Kf5 57.Bh2 Ke6 58.Bc2 Nb5 59.Bd1 Kf5 60.Bxh5 Nf4+ 61.Bxf4 Kxf4 62.e6 Ke5 63.e7 Nc7= Lomonosov 49...Kxd5 50.e6 Kxe6 51.Kc4 Nc5= Kasparov 45...Kg6 46.exf5+ exf5 47.Ba2 Nab4 48.Bb3 Kf7 49.Bg3 Ke6 50.Bf4 h5 51.Bc7 Na6 52.Bxb6 Ne7 53.Bd8 Nc8 53...Nc6 loses theoretically: 54.Bg5 Nc7 55.Bf4 Na8 56.Bc2 Nb6 57.h4 Nc8 58.Bd3 N8a7 59.Bc7 59.Bf1 Nc8 60.Be2 N8e7 61.Bg5 Nc8 62.f4 Nd6 63.Bxh5 b5 64.axb5 Nxb5+ 65.Kd3 Ncxd4 66.Bd1 Nc6 67.h5 Kf7 68.Ba4 Nb4+ 69.Kd2 Nd6 70.Ke3 Na6 71.Kd4 Nc7 72.Bh4 Nc4 73.Bf2 Kg7 74.Bd7 Kh6 75.Bxf5 Kxh5 76.Kc5 Ne8 77.Kxd5+- White can win theoretically, however, he cannot mate in 50 moves (after taking last piece) and according rules which were valid at that time, it is a draw. 59...Nc8 60.Be2 N8e7 61.Bf4 Nc8 62.Bd3 N8e7 63.Bb5 Kd7 64.Be2 Ke6 65.Bg5 Nc8 66.f4 Nd6 67.Bxh5 b5 68.axb5 Nxb5+ 69.Kd3 Ncxd4 70.Bd1 Nc6 71.h5 Nb4+ 72.Kd2 Kf7 73.Ba4 Nd6 74.Kc3 Na6 75.Kd4 Nc7 76.Bh4 Nc4 77.Bf2 Kg7 78.Bd7 Kh6 79.Bxf5 Kxh5 80.Kc5 Nd2 81.Kc6 Ne8 82.Kxd5+- Lomonosov. We already know this position in which although White is winning, he cannot win it due to "rule of 50 moves" which was valid in 1951. 54.Bc2 Nb8 55.Bd3 Nc6 56.Bg5 N6a7 57.Bf4 Nc6 58.h4 N8e7 59.Bb5 Kd7 60.Be2 Ke6 61.Bg5 Nc8 62.f4 Nd6 63.Bxh5 b5 64.axb5 Nxb5+ 65.Kd3 Ncxd4 66.Bd1 Nc6 67.h5 Nb4+ 68.Kd2 Kf7 69.Ba4 Nd6 70.Kc3 Na6 71.Kd4 Nc7 72.Bh4 Nc4 73.Bf2 Kg7 74.Bd7 Kh6 75.Kc5 Kxh5 76.Bxf5 Ne8 77.Kxd5+- Lomonosov. In the game White wouldnt win it due to at that time valid "rule of 50 moves". Now Let's see 44...h5 (?) Kasparov evaluates this move as "!?" In fact this move loses theoretically. Practicaly Black had good chances to make a draw due to at that time valid "50 moves rule." 45.Bh4+ but not 45.h4 Ne7! Kasparov. He is right, this move leads to a draw: 46.Be5+ Kf7 47.Bc2 Ke8 48.Bd6 Nc8 49.Bf4 Ne7 50.Bg5 dxe4 51.fxe4 Nc7 52.Kc4 fxe4 53.Bxe4 Nf5 54.Bf3 b5+ 55.axb5 Nd6+ 56.Kb4 Ncxb5 57.Bxh5+ Kd7 58.d5 Nc7 59.dxe6+ Nxe6 60.Bg4 Ne4 61.Bc1 Nf6 62.Bd1 Ng7 63.Kc4 Ke6 64.Kd3 b5 65.Ke3 Nd5+ 66.Kf2 Nc3= According Kasparov the best is 45.h3? ("!" Kasparov's evaluation) "and Black is again in zugzwang" Kasparov. Here any zugzwang isn't vissible: Ne7 and this position is holdable. Possible line is 46.Bh4+ Kf7 47.Bxe7 Kxe7 48.exd5 exd5 49.Bxf5 Kf6 50.Bc8 Kg5 51.Kd3 Kf4 52.Bxb7 Nc7 53.Ke2 Ne6 54.Bxd5 Nxd4+ 55.Kd3 Nf5 56.Be4 Ne3 57.Kd4 h4 58.Bc6 Nf5+ 59.Kd5 Ne3+ 60.Kd6 Kg3 61.Bd7 Nd1 62.Kc6 Nc3 63.f4 Kxf4 64.Kxb6 Nxa4+= Lomonosov Petronijevic 45...Kg6 46.exd5 exd5 47.Ba2 Nab4 48.Bb3 Kf7 49.Bg3 Ke6 50.Bc7 Na6 51.Bxb6 Ne7 51...Nab8 52.Bc7 Nd7 53.h4 Nf6 54.Bf4 Nd7 55.Bd1 Nb6 56.Bg5 Nc4 56...Nc8 57.f4 Nd6 58.Bxh5 b5 59.axb5 Nxb5+ 60.Kd3 Ncxd4 61.Bd1 Nc6 62.h5 Kf7 63.Ba4 Nb4+ 64.Kd2 Nd6 65.Kc3 Na6 66.Kd4 Nc7 67.Bh4 Nc4 68.Bf2 Kg7 69.Bd7 Kh6 70.Kc5 Kxh5 71.Bxf5 Nd2 72.Kc6 Ne8 73.Kxd5+- Lomonosov White is wining theoretically, however, he cannot do that in 50 moves after taking last pawn. It means that he can make a draw due to "50 moves rule" which was valid at that time. 57.f4 Nd6 58.Bxh5 b5 59.axb5 Nxb5+ 60.Kd3 Ncxd4 61.Bd1 Nc6 62.h5 Kf7 63.Ba4 Nb4+ 64.Kd2 Nd6 65.Kc3 Na6 66.Kd4 Nc7 67.Bh4 Nc4 68.Bf2 Kg7 69.Bd7 Kh6 70.Bxf5 Kxh5 71.Kc5 Nd2 72.Kd6 Ne8+ 73.Kxd5+- Lomonosov. This is theoretical win, however, in their match he wouldnt win due to valid "rule of 50 moves". 52.Bd8 Nc8 53.Bc2 Nb8 54.Bg5 Nc6 55.Bd3 N8a7 56.h4 Nc8 57.Be2 57.f4? Nd6= 57...Nd6 58.Bf4 Nc8 59.Bb5 N8a7 60.Bf1 Nc8 61.Be2 N8a7 62.Bc7 Kd7 63.Bh2 Ke7 64.Bd3 Ke6 65.Bc7 Nc8 66.Bb5 Kd7 67.Bf4 N8a7 68.Bd3 Ke6 69.Bf1 Nc8 70.Be2 N8e7 71.Bg5 Nc8 72.f4 Nd6 73.Bxh5 b5 74.axb5 Nxb5+ 75.Kd3 Ncxd4 76.Bd1 Nc6 77.h5 Kf7 78.Ba4 Nb4+ 79.Kd2 Nd6 80.Kc3 Na6 81.Kd4 Nc7 82.Bh4 Nc4 83.Bf2 Kg7 84.Bd7 Kh6 85.Bxf5 Kxh5 86.Kc5 Ne8 87.Kxd5 We arleard know this position. White is wininig theoretically, however, he cannot do that in 50 moves (Black will sacrifice his Knight for a pawn), so it was a good practical chance to make a draw. According Kasparov 44...Ne7 is bad and loses. Lets check 45.Bh4+ Kf7 46.Bxe7 Kxe7 47.exd5 for Kasparov (1) this position is lost. Lets see Nc7! 48.dxe6 Kxe6 49.Ba2+ Kf6 50.Bg8 h6 51.Kd3 Ke7 52.Bc4 Ne8 53.Bb5 Nc7 53...Nf6 54.Kd2 f4 55.Kd3 Kd6 56.Kc4 Ke7 57.Kd3 Kd6 58.Bc4 Kc7 59.h4 Kc6 win isn't visible. 60.Kc3 60.Ba2 b5 60...Kd6 61.Bd3 Nd5+ 62.Kc4 Ne3+ 63.Kb5 Nd5 64.Bg6 Nc3+ 65.Kb4 Nd5+ 66.Kc4 Ne3+ 67.Kb5 Nd5 68.Bd3 Kc7 69.Bc2 Nf6= 54.Kd2 Ke6 55.Bc4+ Kf6 56.Ke3 Ne8 57.Kf4 Nd6 58.Bb5 Ke6 59.Bd3 Kd5 60.Bxf5 b5 61.axb5 Nxb5 62.Be4+ Ke6 63.Ke3 Nd6 64.f4 b6 65.Kd3 Kf6 66.Bd5 Kf5 67.Ke3 Kf6 68.Bb3 Kf5 69.Bc2+ Kf6 70.Kd2 Ke6 71.Bb3+ Kf5 72.Ke3 Nb5 73.Bc2+ Ke6= and win isn't visible (Petronijevic). 45.fxe4 h6?
The game move is a mistake which leads to losing position. Better is 45...h5 after which Black can make a draw. Let's see possible line: 46.h4 46.h3 dxe4 47.Bxe4 e5 48.dxe5+ Ke6 49.Bc2 Nxe5 50.Bb3+ Kf6 51.Bd1 Nc5 52.Kb4 52.Kd4 Ned7 53.Kc4 Ne4 54.Bh4+ Ke5 55.Bxh5 Ndc5 56.Bd1 56.Kb4 Nd3+ 57.Kb5 Nb2 58.Bd8 Nc3+ 59.Kb4 Ncxa4 60.Ka3 b5 61.h4 Nc4+ 62.Kb4 Kf5 63.Kxb5 Nab2 64.Be2 Ne5 65.h5 Nbd3 66.Bd1 Nf7 67.Be7 Kf4 68.Kb6 Nde5 69.Kxb7 Ng4= Lomonosov 56...Nd6+ 57.Kb4 Nd3+ 58.Kc3 Nf4 59.Bg4 Ne4+ 60.Kb3 Nd5 61.Bd8 Nd2+ 62.Kc2 Nc4 63.Bd7 Kd6 64.Bc8 b5 65.axb5 Na3+ 66.Kb2 Nxb5 67.h4 Nf4 68.Bg4 Nd3+ 69.Ka1 Ne5 70.Bd1 Kd7 71.Bf6 Ke6 72.Bg7 Nd4 73.h5 Nef3 74.Kb2 Kf7 75.Bh6 b5 76.Kc3 Nf5 77.Bf4 N3d4 78.Kb4 Kg7 79.Bc1 Kf6 80.Bd2 Kf7 81.Kc3 Kf6 82.Kd3 Nc6 83.Bc3+ Nfd4 84.Ke4 Kg5 85.Bxd4 Nxd4 86.Kxd4= 52...Ne4 53.Bh4+ Kf5 54.Bxh5 Nc6+ 55.Ka3 Nd4 56.Bd8 Nd6 57.Be7 Ke5 58.Bxd6+ 58.Bh4 b5 59.Bg3+ Ke6 60.Bg4+ Ke7 61.Bf2 bxa4 62.Kxa4 N4f5= 58...Kxd6 59.Kb4 b5 60.a5 Nc6+ 61.Kxb5 Ke7 62.Bg6 Kf6= 46...dxe4 47.Bxe4 Nab4 48.Be5+ Kf7 48...Ke7 also leads to draw 49.Kc4 Nxe5+ 50.Kxb4 Nd7 51.Bxb7 Kd6 52.Bf3 e5 53.dxe5+ Kxe5 54.Bxh5 Kf6= Lomonosov 49.Bf3 Nd5+ 50.Kc4 Kg6= Petronijevic 46.Bf4? This move is a mistake. After 46.exd5! White has winning position fixing the pawn structure. Although the position is winning, White should play a lot of precise moves in order to avoid positions in which he cannot win due to "50 moves rule" which was valid at that time. exd5 47.Bc2 Kg5 48.Bd1 Kf5 49.Bf3 Nab4 50.Bg2 Na2+ 51.Kb2 Nab4 52.Kb3 Ke6 after 53.Bc7 white should win keeping in mind problem of "50 moves rule". 53.h4 leads to theoretically winning but practically draw position. h5 54.Bh3+ Ke7 55.Bf4 Nd3 55...Na6 This move also has good chances to make a draw due to "50 moves rule. Possible line is 56.Kc3 Nab4 57.Bg2 Kd7 58.Bg5 Na2+ 59.Kb3 Nab4 60.Be3 Na6 61.Bxd5 Nc7 62.Bf7 b5 63.Bf2 Na5+ 64.Kb4 Nc6+ 65.Ka3 bxa4 66.Kxa4 Kd6 67.Bxh5 Ne6 68.Bg3+ Kd5 69.Bf3+ Kxd4 70.h5 Ne5 71.h6 Nf8 72.Bd1 Ned7 73.Bc2 b6 74.h7 Nxh7 75.Bxh7+- Tablebase After Nf6 According Tablebase he loses in 76 moves. 76.Bg6 Ne4 77.Bh2 Nc3+ 78.Kb4 Nd5+ 79.Kb5 Nf6 80.Bg1+ Kd5 81.Bxb6 This position is winning in 70 moves according Tablebase. It means that Botvinnik wouldn't win it due to rule of 50 moves. Charles Sullivan: 55...Ke8 Charles is right - Black has great chances for salvation in this line. 56.Bg2 Ke7 57.Be3 Kf6 58.Bf3 Na6 59.Bxd5 59.Bxh5 is Charles' analyze Nc7 60.Be2 Ne8 61.h5 Nd6 62.h6 Nc4 63.Bg5+ Kxg5 64.h7 Nxd4+ 65.Kb4 Nxe2 66.h8Q Nf4 67.Qg7+ Kf5 68.Qxb7 Kf6 probably draw. I agree. 59...Nc7 60.Bf3 b5 60...Kg6 61.d5+- 61.Bxh5 Na5+ 61...bxa4+ 62.Kxa4 Nd5 63.Bg1 Nc3+ 64.Kb3 Ne4 65.d5 Ne7 66.Bd4+ Kf5 67.Bf7 Kf4 68.Kb4 Kg4 69.Bb6 Nf6 70.Be6+ Kh5 70...Kxh4 71.Bd8 Nexd5+ 72.Bxd5 Kg5+- 71.d6 Ned5+ 72.Bxd5 Nxd5+ 73.Kc5+- 62.Kb4 Nc6+ 63.Ka3 bxa4 64.Kxa4 b5+ 65.Ka3 Ne6 66.d5 Ne5 67.Kb3 Nc4 68.Bh6 Nd4+ 68...Nc7? 69.Bf3 Ke5 70.h5 Nxd5 71.Bc1 Nf6 71...Na5+ 72.Kc2 Nc4 73.h6 Nf6 74.Kb3 Nd6 75.Bd1 Nh7 76.Kb4 Kf5 77.Bc2+ Ne4 78.Kxb5+- White can win in less than 50 moves: Ke5 79.Kb6 Neg5 80.Kc6 Ke6 81.Kc5 Ke5 82.Kc4 Ke6 83.Kd4 Kf6 84.Ke3 Nf8 85.Bb2+ Kf7 86.Bb1 Ngh7 87.Kf4 Nf6 88.Kf5 N8h7 89.Ba2+ Ke7 90.Bb3 Nh5 91.Bg7 Ng3+ 92.Kg6 Nf1 93.Kxh7 72.h6 Kd4 73.Kb4 Nh7 73...Nd6 74.Bd1 Nd5+ 74...Kd5 75.Bc2 Nc4 76.h7 Nxh7 77.Bxh7+- Lomonosov. After Ne5 78.Kxb5 White wins in135 moves. It means that at that time the position would be draw due to "50 moves rule". 78.Bb2 is better and wins in "only" 102 moves. 75.Kb3 Ke5 76.Bb2+ Kf5 77.h7 Nf7 78.Bh5 Nf6 79.Bxf7 Nxh7+- This position is possible to win in less than "50 moves rule." 74.Bd1 Ke5 75.Bb3 Kd4 76.Bc2 Nf6 77.h7 Nxh7 78.Bxh7+- Lomonosov This position is winning in 70 moves - at that time was valid rule of 50 moves - so it was impossible to win. 69.Kb4 Ke5 70.Kc5 Nb3+ 71.Kxb5 Nd6+ 72.Kb4 Nd4 73.Bg6 Kxd5 74.h5+- White wins in 109 moves.. At that time was valid 50 moves rule, so it wasn't possible for Botvinnik to win. 56.Be3 Ndb4 57.Bg2 Kf6 58.Bf3 Na6 59.Bxd5 Nc7 60.Bf3 b5 61.Bxh5 bxa4+ 62.Kxa4 b5+ 63.Kb3 Nd5 64.Bg1 Na5+ 65.Kc2 Nb4+ 66.Kb2 Nc4+ 67.Kb3 Nd5 68.Be2 Nd2+ 68...Nce3 69.Bf3 Ke6 70.h5 Nf5 71.Kc2 71.Ka3 Nh6 72.Bh2 Nf5 73.Be5 Nde3 74.Be2 Nxd4 75.h6 75.Bxd4 Nc2+= 75...Nxe2 76.h7 Nc4+ 77.Kb4 Nxe5 78.h8Q Nd4= Tablebase 71...Nfe7 72.Kd3 Nf4+ 73.Kd2 Nfd5 74.h6 Nf6 75.Bd1 Kf7 76.Be3 Ne4+ 77.Kd3 Nf6 78.Bb3+ Kg6 79.Bc2 Kf7 80.Kd2 Nc6 81.Bf5 Kg8 82.Kc1 Kf7 83.Kb2 Nd5 84.Bg1 Nce7 85.Bc2 Nf6 86.Be3 Ned5 87.Bg5 Ne8 88.Be4 Nef6 89.Bf5 Kg8 90.Bd3 Nh7 91.Bd2 Nhf6 92.Bxb5+- 69.Kc2 Nc4 70.Bf3 Ke6 71.h5 Nf6 72.Bf2 Kf5 73.Bh4 Ne3+ 74.Kb3 Ned5 75.Bd1 Ng8 76.Be1 Ke4 77.Bd2 Kxd4 78.h6 Nxh6 78...Ngf6 79.Bc2 Ke5 80.h7 Nxh7 81.Bxh7+- Tablebase After Ne7 White wins in less than "50 moves rule." 79.Bxh6+- Tablebase. White can win according Tablebase but in more than 50 moves. So, after 50 moves Bronstein would claim draw. 53...Nd3 53...Na6 54.Bh3+ Ke7 55.Bxb6 Kd6 56.Bc8 Nab8 57.Bxb7+- Nd7 58.Bxc6 Kxc6 59.Bd8 Nf8 60.Kb4 Ne6 61.Bf6 h5 62.a5 Nc7 63.Be5 Nb5 64.h4 Na7 65.Bf6 Nb5 66.a6 Na7 67.Ka5 Nb5 68.Be5 Na7 69.Bb8 Nc8 70.a7 Kb7 71.Kb4 Ne7 72.Be5 Nf5 73.Bf6 Nd6 74.Bg5 Ne4 75.Kb5 Nc3+ 76.Kc5 Kxa7 77.Kc6 Ka6 78.Bf4 Ne2 79.Be3 Nc3 80.Bg5 Ka7 81.Bd2 Na4 82.Kxd5+- 54.Bh3+ Ke7 55.Bxb6 Nc1+ 56.Kb2 Ne2 57.Bc8 Kd6 58.Bxb7 Nexd4 59.a5 Nb5 59...Nf3 60.a6 Nxh2 61.a7 Nxa7 62.Bxa7+- Lomonosov Nf3 63.Bb8+ Kc5 64.Kc3 Ng5 65.Kd3 Nf3 66.Bc8 Ng5 67.Bf4 Kc6 68.Kd4 Nf3+ 69.Kc3 Ng5 70.Kb4 Ne4 71.Be6 Nc5 72.Bf5 Na6+ 73.Kc3 Nb4 74.Kxb4 59...h5 60.a6 Nb5 61.h4 Kd7 62.Bc5 Kc7 63.Kb3 Nbd4+ 64.Ka4 Ne2 65.Ba8 Nc3+ 66.Kb3 Nb5 67.Kc2 Nba7 68.Kd3 Nc8 69.Bf2 Nb4+ 70.Kd4 Nxa6 71.Bxd5 Kd7 72.Bf3 Nb4 73.Bxh5+- Lomonosov White wins in "only" 74 moves after the best play. Nd6 74.Bd1 Nc6+ 75.Ke3 Ne5 76.Be1 Ke6 77.Bc2 Nef7 78.Kf4 Nh6 79.Bb3+ Kf6 80.Bc3+ Kg6 81.Bd1 Nhf7 82.Bd4 Nb5 83.Bb2 Nbd6 84.Bc1 Kg7 85.Bc2 Nb5 86.Bb2+ Kh6 87.Bd3 Nbd6 88.Kg4 Nd8 89.Bd4 N6f7 90.Bc3 Nd6 91.Bd2+ Kg7 92.Kh5 Ne6 93.Bc3+ Kf7 94.Bg6+ Ke7 95.Kg4 Nd8 96.Bb1 Nb5 97.Ba1 Nd6 98.Bb2 N8f7 99.Ba2 Kf8 100.Kh5 Nf5 101.Bf6 Nxh4 102.Bxh4! Ke8 103.Bb3 White should win this position in 36 moves according Tablebase, so his position is winning. 60.a6 Kd7 61.Bc5 Charles Sullivan 61.Kb3 h5 61...Nd6 62.Ba8 Nb5 63.h4 h5 64.Bc5 Kc7 65.Kc2 Nba7 66.Kd3 Nc8 67.Bg1 Nb4+ 68.Kd4 Nxa6 69.Bxd5 Nb4 70.Bf3 Kd6 71.Bxh5+- Lomonosov 62.Bc5 Kc7 63.h4 Nbd4+ 64.Ka4 Ne2 65.Ba8 Nc3+ 66.Kb3 Nb5 67.Kc2 Nba7 68.Kd3 Nc8 69.Bg1 Nb4+ 70.Kd4 Nxa6 71.Bxd5 Nd6 Also possible is 71...Nb4 72.Bf3 Nd6 73.Ke5 Nd3+ 74.Ke6 Nf4+ 75.Kf6 Kd7 76.Be3 Ne8+ 77.Kg5 Ne6+ 78.Kg6 Ke7 79.Bxh5 Although White can win, he needs more than 50 moves which means that the position is a draw (according rules which were valid at that time). 72.Ke5 Kd7 73.Kf6 Nc7 74.Bf3 Nde8+ 75.Kg6 Ne6 76.Be3 Nd6 77.Bxh5 The position is winning, however, white cannot win practically due to 50 moves rule: 61...Kc7 62.Ba8 h5 62...Kd7 Black also loses (Petronijevic) 63.h4 h5 64.Kc1 Kc7 64...Nc7 65.Bb7 Nb5 66.Kd2 Kc7 67.Ke3 67.Kd3 Ne5+ 68.Ke3 Nd7 69.Be7 d4+ 70.Kf4 d3 71.Bf3 Nb8 72.Bxh5 Kd7 73.Bg5 Nxa6 74.Ke5 Nb8 75.Kf6 Nc6 76.Bg4+ Ke8 77.Bf5 Kf8 78.Bxd3+- 67...Nd6 68.Ba8 Nf5+ 69.Kf4 Nxh4 70.a7 Nxa7 71.Bxd5+- 65.Kd2 Nd6 66.Kd3 Nc8 67.Bg1 Nb4+ 68.Kd4 Nxa6 69.Bxd5 Nb4 70.Bf3 Nc6+ 71.Kd5 Kd7 72.Bxh5+- White wins 63.Kc1 Ne5 64.Kc2 Nd7 64...Nc6 65.h3! Nb8 Petronijevic 65...Nba7 66.Kd2 66.Bb7 Nc8 67.Bf2 N8a7 68.Kd3 Nb5 69.Bc5 Ne5+ 70.Ke3 Nd7 71.Be7 d4+ 72.Kd3 Kb6 73.Kc4 Nc7 74.Kxd4 Nxa6 75.Bf3 Ndb8 76.Bd8+ Nc7 77.Ke4 Nc6 78.Bg5 Ne6 79.Be3+ Kc7 80.Bxh5 According Lomonosov base White cannot win due to "50 moves rule". 66...Nc8 67.Bf2 Nb6 68.Bg3+ Kd7 69.Bb7 Nc4+ 70.Kc3 N4a5 71.Bf4 71.Ba8 d4+ 72.Kd3 Nb4+ 73.Kxd4 Nxa6 74.Bf3 Nc6+ 75.Kc4 Nc7 76.Bxh5+- The position is wining however, White cannot win due to 50 moves rule. 71...Nc4 72.Kb3 Nb6 73.Bg3 Nc8 74.Ka4 N8a7 75.h4 d4 76.Bh2 d3 77.Bf4 Nc8 78.Kb3 Nb6 79.Bd2 Kd6 80.Kc3 Na4+ 81.Kxd3 Nc5+ 82.Kc3+- 66.Bb7 Nd7 67.Bg1 d4 68.Bf3 Kb6 69.Bxh5 Kxa6 70.Kd3 Kb7 71.Kc4! Nc7 72.h4 Kc8 73.Kxd4+- WHITE WINS (EGTB) 65.Bf2! d4 65...Kd6 66.Bg3+ Kc5 67.Kd3 Kb6 68.Bxd5 Kxa6 69.h4 Kb6 70.Bf3 Kc5 71.Bxh5+- 66.Bf3 Kb6 67.Be2 Kxa6 68.Bxd4 Ka5 69.Bf2 Ne5 70.Bxh5+- White wins (EGTB) Main line - Charles Sullivan. 46...h5! The best move. If Black tries 46...dxe4 (?) his position is theoretically lost. However, he can make a draw due to "50 moves rule" which was valid at that time. 47.Bxe4 h5 Let's see possible line: 48.Kc4 e5 49.dxe5+ Nxe5+ 50.Kb5 Nc5 51.Bc2 Ncd7 52.Bg3 Nf3 In case of 52...Nc6 White can continue 53.Bf2 Na7+ 54.Kc4 Nc8 55.Bd1 Kg6 56.Bg3 Ne7 57.Bh4 Ne5+ 57...Nc6 also loses: 58.Bf2 Ne7 59.h4 Nc8 60.Bd4 Ne7 61.Kb5 Nc8 62.Kc4 Ne7 63.Ba1 Nc5 64.Kb5 Nc8 65.Be5 Nd7 66.Bh2 Na7+ 67.Kc4 Nf6 68.Be5 Nd7 69.Ba1 Nc8 70.Kd5 Nc5 71.Ke5 Nd7+ 72.Ke6 Nc5+ 73.Kd5 Ne7+ 74.Ke5 Nc8 75.Bc2+ Kf7 76.Bb2 Ke7 77.Bc1 Kf7 78.Ba3 Ke7 79.Kf5 Nd6+ 80.Kg5 Ke6 81.Bb2 Nc4 82.Bc1 Nd6 83.Be3 Nd7 84.Bb3+ Ke7 85.Kxh5 b5 86.axb5 Nxb5 87.Kg5 Nd6 88.h5 Nf7+ 89.Kg6 Nf8+ 90.Kf5 Nd6+ 91.Kg4 Nd7 92.h6 Nf7 93.Kf5 Nxh6+ 94.Bxh6+- Lomonosov 58.Kb5 Nc8 59.Bc2+ Kg7 60.Bg3 Nc6 61.Be4 61.Bd1 N6a7+ 61...Kh6 62.Kc4 N6e7 63.Bf3 Nf5 64.Bf4+ Kg6 65.Be5 Kf7 66.Bxh5+ Ke6 67.Bc7 Ncd6+ 68.Kb4 b5 69.axb5 Nd4 70.b6 Nc6+ 71.Ka4 Ne5 72.h4 Nc8 73.Kb5 Nd6+ 74.Kb4 Nc8 75.Bd1 Nd7 76.h5 Ncxb6 77.Kb5 Kf7 78.Bb3+ Kg7 79.Bf4 Nc8 80.h6+ Kh8 81.Bc2 Nf8 82.Bc1 Ne7 83.Kc5 Neg6 84.Kb6 Kh7 85.Bf5 Kg8 86.Kxb7+- 62.Kb4 Kg6 63.Bf3 Nc6+ 64.Kc3 N8a7 65.Bf2 Nc8 66.h3 Kg5 67.h4+ Kh6 68.Bg1 Kg6 69.Be3 b5 70.axb5 N6e7 71.Bxb7 Nd6 72.Bc5 Nef5 72...Nxb5+ 73.Kc4 Nf5 74.Kxb5 Nxh4+- 73.Bc6 Nxb5+ 74.Bxb5 Nxh4+- 61...h4 62.Bc7 Nd4+ 63.Kc4 Nc6 64.Bf5 N6a7 65.Bd7 Kf6 66.Bxc8 66.Kd5 also wins Ke7 67.Bh3 b5 68.a5 b4 69.Kc4 b3 70.Kxb3 Nd6 71.Kb4 Nc6+ 72.Kc5 Ne8 73.Bb6 Nd6 74.Bg2 Ne5 75.Bc7 Nd7+ 76.Kb4 Nf6 77.Bxd6+ Kxd6 78.Bxb7+- Lomonosov 66...b5+ 67.axb5 Nxc8 68.Bd8+ Kf5 69.Bxh4+- 53.Bd1 Nd4+ 54.Kb4 Nf5 55.Bf2 Kg5 56.Be2 Ne7 57.h4+ Kg6 58.Kb5 Nc8 59.Bd4 Na7+ 60.Kc4 Nc6 61.Ba1 Nc5 61...Ne7 62.Bf3 Nc6 63.Kd5 Nc5 64.Bd1 Ne7+ 65.Ke5 Nc8 66.Bc2+ Kf7 67.Bb2 Ke7 68.Bc1 Kf7 68...Nd7+ 69.Kf4 Nd6 70.Ba3 Nc5 71.Kg5 Nc4 72.Bc1 Ne6+ 73.Kxh5 Kf6 74.Kh6 Nd6 75.Bb2+ Kf7 76.Ba3 Nc4 77.Bc1 Nd6 78.Bd3 Nc5 79.Bg6+ Kf8 80.Ba3 Kg8 81.Bh7+ Kf7 82.h5 Nc4 83.Bg6+ Kg8 84.Bb4 Ne5 85.Bb1 Ned3 86.Bd2 Kf7 87.Ba2+ Kf8 88.Kg6 Ne4 89.Bh6+ Ke7 90.Bg5+ Kd6 91.Bh4 Nc3 92.h6 Nxa2 93.h7+- 69.Ba3 Ke7 70.Kf5 Nd6+ 71.Kg5 Ke6 72.Bb2 Nc4 73.Bc1 Nd6 74.Be3 Nc4 75.Bf2 Nd2 76.Kxh5 Nf3 77.Bd1 Nxh4 78.Bxh4 Kd5 79.Kg6 Nd3 80.Kf5 Nc5 81.Bd8 Kc6 82.Ke5 Nd3+ 83.Kd4 Nb2 84.Bc2 b5 85.a5 Nc4 86.Bf5 Kd6 87.Kc3 Kd5 88.Kb4 Ne3 89.Bg6 Ng2 90.Kxb5+- 62.Kb5 Nd7 63.Bd1 Na7+ 64.Kc4 Nc8 65.Kd5 Nc5 66.Bc2+ Kf7 67.Ke5 Ke7 68.Kf5 b5 69.axb5 Nd6+ 70.Kg5 Nxb5 71.Kxh5 Nd6 71...Ne6 72.Kg4 Nd6 73.h5 Nf7 74.Bc3 Nh6+ 75.Kh4 Nf7 76.Be4 b5 77.Bd3 Kf8 78.Bxb5 The position is theoretically winning, practically draw due to "50 moves rule." 72.Kg4 Ne6 73.h5 Nf7 74.Bc3 Nh6+ 75.Kh4 Nf7 76.Be4 b5 77.Bd3 Kf8 78.Bxb5+- The position is theoretically winning. However, white cannot win it due to 50 moves rule. Ng7 79.Bb4+ Kg8 80.Bd7 Ne5 81.Bc8 Nf7 82.Bh3 Ne8 83.Bd7 Ng7 84.Bc3 Kh7 85.Bd4 Kg8 86.Bb2 Kf8 87.Bc1 Ke7 88.Bh3 Ne6 89.h6 Kf6 90.h7 Nf8 91.Bb2+ Ke7 92.Ba3+ Ke8 93.Bf5 Nxh7 94.Bxh7 Kd7 95.Kg3 Ne5 96.Kf4 Nc4 97.Bb4 Kc6 98.Bg8 Nd6 99.Be1 Nb7 100.Ke5 Kb5 101.Bf2 Kc6 102.Bd5+ Kc7 103.Bg3 Na5 104.Be4 Nb7 105.Ke6+ Kb6 106.Bf2+ Kc7 107.Ke7 Na5 108.Bg3+ Kb6 109.Kd7 Kc5 110.Bf2+ Kc4 111.Bg6 Nb3 112.Bf7+ Kc3 113.Be1+ Kc2 114.Kd6 Nd2 115.Bg6+ Kd1 116.Bf2 Ke2 117.Bc5 Kf3 118.Ke5 Ke2 119.Ba7 Nc4+ 120.Kd4 Ne3 121.Bb6 Kf3 122.Be4+ Ke2 123.Bc6 Ng4 124.Ba5 Nf2 125.Bc7 Ng4 126.Be8 Kf2 127.Kd3 Nf6 128.Bc6 Nh7 129.Bd8 Kg3 130.Ke3 Nf8 131.Bd5 Kg4 132.Ke4 Ng6 133.Be6+ Kh5 134.Bf7 Kh6 135.Bf6 Nf8 136.Kf5 Nd7 137.Bd4 Nb8 138.Bc4 Nc6 139.Bf6 Nb4 140.Bc3 Nc6 141.Ke6 Nd8+ 142.Kd7 Nb7 143.Bb4 Kg5 144.Bd5 Draw in last moment! Still, much easier was to make a draw after the game move. 47.exd5 White can try 47.Bg3 but after precise play Black can make a draw: Nab4 48.Bd6 Na6 49.h4 dxe4 50.Bxe4 e5 51.d5 Nd4 52.Kc4 Nf5 53.Ba3 Nc5 53...Nb8 also leads to draw 54.d6 Ke6 55.Bd5+ Kd7 56.Kb5 Nxd6+ 57.Kxb6 e4 58.Bxd6 Kxd6 59.Bxe4 Nd7+ 60.Kb5 Nc5 61.Bf3 Nxa4= 54.Bxc5 bxc5 55.Kxc5 Ng3 56.Bg2 e4 57.Kd4 Ne2+ 58.Kxe4 Nc3+ 59.Kd4 Nxa4 60.Bf3 Nb6 61.Bd1 Nxd5 62.Kxd5 47.h4 dxe4 48.Bxe4 e5 49.dxe5+ Ke6 50.Bg3 Nc7 51.Bf3 b5 52.Bxh5 Kf5 53.a5 b4+ 54.Kc4 Nxa5+ 55.Kxb4 Nc6+ 56.Kc5 Nxe5= 47...exd5 48.h4 48.Bg3 Ne7 Or 48...Na7 49.Bd3 Kg5 50.Bf1 h4 51.Be5 Nc6 52.Bd6 Kf6 53.Bh3 Na7 54.Bd7 Kf7 55.Kd3 Kf6 56.Ke3 Kf7 57.Kf4 Nc6 58.Bc8 Nxd4 59.Ke5 Nc6+ 60.Kxd5 Ne7+ 61.Bxe7 Kxe7 62.Bxb7 Nc5= 49.Bh4+ Ke6 50.Bxe7 Kxe7 51.h4 Kf6 52.Bd3 Nc7 53.Be2 Kg6 54.Bf3 Kf5 55.Bxh5 Kf4 56.Bd1 Ne8 57.Bb3 Nd6 58.Bxd5 Kg4 59.Kb4 Kxh4 60.Bxb7 Kg4= 48...Nab8 Kasparov thought that after 48...Ne7 Black loses. In fact, this isnt true: 49.Bg5+ Ke6 50.Bxe7 Kxe7 51.Bg6 b5 52.axb5 The position is draw in any case: 52.a5 b4+ 53.Kb3 Nc7 54.Kxb4 Ne6 55.Bxh5 Nxd4 56.Kc5 Nb3+ 57.Kb6 Nxa5 58.Kxa5 Kf8= 52...Nc7 53.b6 Na8 54.Bxh5 Nxb6 55.Bf3 Kf6 Easy draw gives 55...Ke6 56.h5 Nc4 57.h6 Kf6 58.Bxd5 Nd6= Petronijevic 56.Kb4 According Kasparov (1) White wins. This isn't true: Nc4 57.Bxd5 Nd6 58.Kc5 Nf5= Lomonosov, Petronijevic 49.Bg5+ White can try 49.Bc2 however, this position is even: Nd7 50.Bg5+ Ke6 50...Kf7 51.Bd1 Nf6 52.Bxf6 Kxf6 transposes to main line. 51.Bd1 Nf6 52.Bxf6 Kxf6 53.Bxh5 Kf5 Black can make a draw due to his activity 54.Bf7 b5 55.axb5 Ne7 56.Be8 Kg4 57.h5 Kg5 58.b6 58.Bf7 b6= 58...Nc8 59.Kb4 Nxb6 60.Kc5 Nc4 61.Kxd5 Ne3+ 62.Kc5= Lomonosov 49.Bxb8 Nxb8 50.Kb4 Nc6+ 51.Kb5 Nxd4+ 52.Kxb6 Ne6 53.a5 Nd4 54.Bd3 Nc6 55.Be2 Nxa5= 49...Kf7 50.Bf5!? Kasparov putted "!" to this move. However, it isn't visible why - the position is still even. 50.Bc2 cannot improve position even. Na7 51.Bd1 Kg6 52.Bb3 b5 53.a5 Nac6 54.Bxd5 Nxa5 55.Be4+ Kf7 56.Bf3 Kg6 57.d5 Nc4 58.Bd1 Nd7 59.Kb4 Nd6 60.Bc2+ Kf7 61.Bf4 Nc4 62.Kc3 Nf6 63.Kd4 Na5= 50...Na7 Kasparov thought that Black loses even after "more cuning" 50...Ne7 In fact it is a draw: 51.Bh3 and 51.Bxe7 Kxe7 52.Bg6 b5! 52...Nc6? Decisive mistake which loses. 53.Bxh5 Na7 54.Kb4+- Kasparov (1). Let's continue Kf6 55.Bg4 b5 56.axb5 b6 57.Bf3 Nc8 58.Bxd5 Nd6 59.h5 Kg5 60.Bf3 Kf6 61.Be2+- 53.axb5 the position is even: Nd7 54.Kd3 Nf6 55.Ke3 Ng4+ 56.Kf4 Kf6 57.Bxh5 Nh6 58.Bg4 b6 59.h5 Nf7 60.Bf3 Nd6 61.Bxd5 Nxb5= Lomonosov, Petronijevic. 51.Bd3 cannot win either Nbc6 52.Bxe7 Kxe7 53.Bg6 Kf6 54.Bxh5 b5 55.axb5 Ne7 56.Bg4 b6 57.Kd3 Kg6 58.Ke3 Kf6 59.h5 Ng8= 51...Nbc6 52.Bg2 Ke6! saves the day: 52...Kg7? 53.Bxe7 Nxe7 54.Kb4 Nc6+ 55.Kb5 Nxd4+ 56.Kxb6+- Kasparov. 53.Bf3 Nf5 54.Bxh5 Nfxd4 55.Bg4+ Kf7 56.h5 b5 57.Be3 bxa4 58.Bxd4 Nxd4 59.Kxd4 Kg7= Lomonosov, Petronijevic 51.Bf4 Nbc6 52.Bd3
52...Nc8? After this move the position is lost. After 52...Ne7! the position is a draw. As far as I know, first who gave this move as a drawing one was Timman in his book "Timman's titans (page 66). 53.Be2 Kg6 54.Bc7 Nf5 55.Bd3 55.Bxb6 Nc8 56.Bc7 Nce7 57.Bb5 Nxh4 58.Be8+ Kg5 59.Kb4 Nf3 60.Kc5 h4 61.Bd7 Nf5 62.Be6 N3xd4 63.Bd8+ Kf4 64.Bxd5 Ke5 65.Bc7+ Kf6 66.Kb6 Ne6 67.Bh2 Nd8 68.Bf3 Ne3 69.Bg1 Nc4+ 70.Kc5 Ne5 71.Bg2 Ke7 72.Kb5 Ndf7 73.Kb6 Nd6 74.Bf2 Nec4+ 75.Kc5 Kd7 76.Bxh4 b6+ 77.Kb4 Nb2 78.Bh3+ Kc7 79.Bg3 Nd3+ 80.Kb3 Nc5+ 81.Ka3 Kc6= 55...Kf6 56.Bxb6 Nc6= Timman 53.Be2 Kg6 54.Bd3+ "a repetition of moves in time-trouble" - Kasparov. After 54.Bf3 White's position is is winning - see analyzes bellow. However, as i mentioned above, Black still had chances to make a draw due to "50 moves rule. 54...Kf6 Black is lost anyway. Let's see possible lines. 54...Kg7 leads to lost position after 55.Be2 N8e7 White can win on easiest way after Charles Sullivan 55...Kg6 is interesting attempt, although also loses: 56.Bf3 N6e7 57.Bg5 b5 58.axb5 b6 59.Bf4 Na7 60.Kb4 Nf5 61.Be5 Ne7 61...Ne3 62.Ka4 Nc8 63.Bc7 Nc4 64.Bxd5 N4d6 65.Kb4 Kg7 66.Bf3 Kg6 67.Bd8 Nf7 68.Be4+ Kg7 69.Bc7 Nfd6 70.Bd5 Kf6 71.Bd8+ Kg7 72.Bc6 Nf7 73.Bc7 Nfd6 74.Kc3 Kf6 75.Kd3 Ke7 76.d5 Nf5 77.Bf4 Nfd6 78.Bg5+ Kf8 79.Bd8 Kf7 80.Bc7 Ne8 81.Bb8 Nf6 82.Kd4 Ng4 83.d6 Nxd6 84.Bxd6+- 62.Bc7 Nac8 63.Bb8 Kh6 64.Bf4+ Kg6 65.Bc7 Kh6 66.Bd8 Kg6 67.Kc3 Kh6 68.Bg2 Kg6 69.Bh3 Nf5 70.Kb4 Nfd6 71.Be6 Nf7 72.Bc7 Nfd6 73.Bxd5 Kg7 74.Bf3 Kh6 75.Be2 Kg6 76.d5 Nf5 77.Kc3 Nfd6 78.Kd4 Kf5 79.Bd3+ Kf6 80.Bd8+ Kg7 81.Be2 Kf8 82.Bf6 Nb7 83.Ke5 Kg8 84.Bxh5 Kh7 85.Bg4 Ncd6 86.Be2 Kg8 87.h5 Nf7+ 88.Kf5 Kh7 89.Ke6 Kg8 90.Bd4 Nbd6 91.Bxb6 Ne4 92.Bd4 Kf8 93.Kd7+- 56.Bxh5 56.Bf3 Is much more complex winning way. White should be careful due to "50 moves rule". Kf6 56...Ng6 57.Bg5 Nge7 58.Bh1 Nf5 59.Bxd5 Nfxd4 60.Be3 Ne2+ 61.Kc4 Ne5+ 62.Kb3 Nd7 63.Bxb7 Kf6 64.Bf3 Ng3 65.Bf2 Nf5 66.Bxh5+- 57.Bg5+ Alternative is (probably easiest one) 57.Bc7 Ke6 57...Nf5 58.Bxd5 b5 58...Ne3 59.Bf3 Ke6 60.Kd3 Nd5 61.Bg3 Nf6 62.Kc4 Ne7 63.Bxb7 Nf5 64.Be5 Nd7 64...Ne3+ 65.Kb5 Nfd5 66.Bxd5+ Nxd5 66...Kxd5 67.Kxb6+- 67.Kc6 Nc3 68.Bc7 Nxa4 69.d5+ Kf5 70.d6 Nc5 71.Bxb6 Nd3 72.d7+- 65.Bd5+ Ke7 66.Bf4 Nf6 67.Bb7 Kd8 68.Bc6 Nd7 69.Be4 Ng7 70.d5 Kc8 71.Bg6 Nf8 72.Bc2 Nd7 73.Kb5 Kb7 74.Bg6 Kc8 75.Kc6 Kd8 76.Bd6+- 59.Bxc6 bxc6 60.a5 Ke6 61.Kb4 Ne7 62.Bb8 Nc8 63.Kc5 b4 64.Kxb4 Kd5 65.a6 c5+ 66.dxc5 Kc6 67.Kc4+- 58.Bxh5 Nf5 59.Bg4 Ncxd4 60.h5 b5 61.h6 Kf7 62.h7 Kg7 63.a5 Kxh7 64.Bb6 b4+ 64...Ne3 65.Bc8 Nc6 66.Bxe3 Nxa5 67.Bb6 Nc4 68.Bc7 b6 69.Bb7 Kg7 70.Kb4 Kf6 71.Bxd5 Ne3 72.Bb7 Nf5 73.Kxb5 White wins in less than 50 moves according Tablebase. 65.Kd3 Nh6 66.Bc8 Nc6 67.Bxb7 Nxa5 68.Bxd5 Kg6 69.Bxa5+- White wins in less than 50 moves according Tablebase. 57...Ke6 58.Bxh5 Nf5 59.Bg4 Ncxd4 60.h5 b5 Charles Sullivan: 61.a5! Very important move which allows White to win keeping in mind "50 moves rule". 61.h6 Kf7 62.a5 b4+ 63.Kxb4 Kg6 64.Bf4 Nxh6 65.Bc8 Nc6+ 66.Kb5 Ng8 66...Nf5 67.Kb6 Nxa5 68.Kxa5+- White wins, however, he cannot win practically due to "50 moves rule". 66...Nxa5 67.Kxa5+- 67.Bxb7 Nxa5 68.Kxa5+- Lomonosov Petronijevic. If we continue Kf5 69.Bd2 Ne7 70.Bb4 Ke6 71.Kb5 Nf5 72.Kc5 Ke5 73.Bxd5 White wins this position in 108 moves which means that after 50 moves it would be a draw. 61...Kf7 ZP 61...Ke5 62.h6 62.Kb4 62...Nxh6 63.Bxh6 Nc6 64.Bh3 Nxa5 65.Bg7+ Ke4 66.Bg2+ Kf5 67.Kb4 Nc6+ 68.Kxb5+- 62.Kb4 Nc6+ 63.Kc5 Nfd4 64.h6 Kg6 64...b4 65.Be3 65.h7 Kg7 66.Bf6+ Kxh7 67.Bxd4 Nxa5 68.Bf5+ Kh6 69.Be3+ Kg7 70.Kxb4+- 65...Nb3+ 66.Kxd5 Ne7+ 66...Nbxa5 67.Bh5+ Kf6 68.Bc5 b3 69.Ba3 Nb4+ 70.Bxb4 b2 71.Bc3+ Kg5 72.Bxb2 Kxh6+- 67.Kd6 Nxa5 68.h7 Nc4+ 69.Kc5 Kg7 70.Kxc4 Kxh7+- Lomonosov. Win in less than 50 moves. 65.Bh5+ Kxh5 66.h7 Kxg5 67.h8Q Nb3+ 68.Kxb5 Kf5 69.Qc8+ Ke4 70.Qe6+ Kd3 71.Qxd5++- Lomonosov 56...Nf5 57.Be5+ Kf8 57...Nxe5 58.dxe5 Nxh4 59.Kd4 Kf8 60.Kxd5 Ke7 61.Bg4 Ng2 62.Kd4 Ne1 63.Bf5 or 63.Kc4 Kd8 64.Be2 Ng2 65.Bf3 Ne3+ 66.Kd3 Nf5 67.Bxb7+- 63...Nf3+ 64.Kd5 Nd2 65.Bc8 Nf1 66.Bxb7+- 58.Bf3 Nxh4 59.Bxd5 Nf5 60.Be4 Ne3 61.Bg3 Nd1+ 61...Ne7 62.Bxb7 N3f5 63.Bc7 Ne3 64.Kd3 N3d5 65.Bg3 Kf7 65...Ke8 66.Kc4 Ne3+ 67.Kb5 N3d5 68.Bh4 Nc3+ 69.Kb4 Ne2 69...Ncd5+ 70.Kc4 Nc7 71.Bg3+- 70.Bf6 Nf5 71.d5 Kd7 72.Kb5 Kc7 73.Ka6 Kd6 74.Kxb6 Ne3 75.Bg7 Nc4+ 76.Kb5 Na3+ 77.Ka6 Ke7 78.Bc6 Nf4 79.Be5 Nd3 80.Bc7 Nc4 81.a5 Nb4+ 82.Kb5+- Petronijevic 66.Kc4 Ke6 67.Be5 Ne3+ 68.Kb5 N7d5 69.Bxd5+ Nxd5+- Lomonosov 62.Kc2 Ne3+ 63.Kd3 Nd1 64.d5 Nb2+ 65.Kc2 Nxa4 66.dxc6 bxc6 67.Bxc6+- White can win in less than 50 moves (Lomonosov). 55.Be2 Kg6 55...N8e7 This move also loses. White should play very carefully to avoid "50 moves rule" which was valid at that time. 56.Bg5+ Ke6 57.Bxh5 Nf5 58.Bg4 Ncxd4 59.h5 b5 In case of 59...Kf7 White also wins 60.Bd2 60.h6 Kg6 61.Bf4 b5 62.a5 b4+ 62...Nxh6 63.Bxh6 Nc6 64.Bf4 Nxa5 65.Kd4 b4 66.Kxd5+- 63.Kxb4 Nxh6 63...Nc6+ 64.Kb5 Nxh6 65.Bc8 Nxa5 66.Kxa5 b5 67.Kxb5 Nf5 68.Kc5 Ne7 69.Be6 Kf6 70.Bg4 d4 71.Kxd4 Loses in less than 50 moves. 64.Bc8 64.Bd7 Nf7 64...Nc6+ 65.Kb5 d4 66.Bxb7 Nxa5 67.Kxa5 Ng4 68.Bc7 68.Be4+ Kf6 69.Kb4 d3 70.Bxd3 Loses theoretically, but it is a draw due to "50 moves rule." 68...d3 69.Be4+ Kf7 70.Bxd3 Draw due to "50 moves rule" 60...b5 61.a5 b4+ 62.Kxb4 Nd6 63.Bc1 Ne4 64.Bb2 64.Bd7 Nc2+ 65.Kb5 Nd4+ 66.Kb6 Nb3 67.Bf4 Nf6 68.Bc8 Nxh5 69.Bh2 Nxa5 70.Kxa5+- White is winnig. 64...Nc6+ 65.Kb5 Nd6+ 66.Kc5 Nxa5 67.Kxd5 Ne8 68.Be2 b6 68...Nf6+ 69.Ke5 Ng8 70.Kf5 Kf8 71.Kg6 Ne7+ 72.Kh7 Nac6 73.Bc4 Nf5 74.Kg6 Nd6 75.Bg7+ Ke8 76.Bd3 Ne7+ 77.Kf6 Kd7 78.Bf8 Ne8+ 79.Kg5 Nd6 80.Bg6 Ng8 81.Bc2 Ne7 82.Bg7 Ke8 83.Bb2 b5 84.Ba3 Nf7+ 85.Kf6 Nd5+ 86.Kg7 Nd8 87.Bg6+ Kd7 88.Bf5+ Kc7 89.h6 Ne3 90.Bh3 Nb7 91.h7 b4 92.Bxb4+- 69.h6 Nf6+ 70.Kd6 Nb7+ 71.Kc6 Nd8+ 72.Kxb6+- Lomonosov. White wins in less than 50 moves. 60.a5 Charles Sulivan - On this way White avoids "50 moves rule". 60.h6 Kf7 61.a5 Kg6 62.Bf4 Nxh6 63.Bxh6 Nc6 64.Bf4 Nxa5 65.Bc7 65.Kd4 b4 66.Kxd5 65...Nc6 66.Bc8 b6 67.Bxb6+- The position is lost according Lomonosov base. However, Black can continue: Ne5 68.Be6 Nc4 69.Ba7 Ne5 70.Bxd5 Nd7 71.Bc6 b4+ 72.Kxb4 Theoretically this position is winning in 65 moves according to Tablebase. However, at that time was valid "50 moves rule" in which such positions weren't included. So, Theoretically win, practically - draw. After 50 played moves without trading any piece or moving any pawn, Black can claim draw. 60...Kf7 61.Kb4 Nc6+ 62.Kc5 Nfd4 63.h6 Kg6 64.Bh5+ Kxh5 65.h7 Kxg5 66.h8Q Nb3+ 67.Kxb5 Kf5 68.Qc8+ Ke4 69.Qe6+ Kd3 70.Qxd5++- WHITE WINS (EGTB) Let's have a look analyzes by Jonsson, Dadi which starts with 55...Kf5 56.Bc7 Ke4 Petronijevic: After 56...Kg6 57.Bf3 White wins. Possible line is N6e7 58.Be5 b5 59.axb5 b6 60.Kb4 Na7 61.Bc7 Nac8 62.Bb8 Kh6 63.Bf4+ Kg6 64.Bg5 Nf5 65.Bxd5 Nxd4 66.Be4+ Kg7 67.Bf4 Kf6 68.Bb7 Na7 69.Ba6 Kf5 70.Bg3 Nc2+ 71.Kb3 Nd4+ 72.Kc4 Kg4 73.Bf2 Nf5 74.Kd5 Nxh4 75.Bxb6 Nxb5 76.Bxb5+- Lomonosov White wins avoiding "50 moves rule". 57.Bxh5 Nxd4 58.Bg6+ Nf5 Petronijevic: White can win after 59.Bh7 Dadi's analyze is 59.h5 d4+ 60.Kd2 Nce7 61.Bh7 Kd5 62.Kd3? This move is a mistake and really leads to draw. White is winning after 62.Bxb6 Ke5 62...Ke6 63.Kd3 Nc6 64.Bc7 Kf6 65.Bg6 Na7 66.Ke4 Ne7 67.Be5+ Ke6 68.Bxd4 Nac8 68...Nxg6 69.Bxa7 Ne5 70.Be3+- 69.Bh7 Nd6+ 70.Kd3 Kd7 71.h6 Nf7 72.Bg7 Nd5 73.Bg8 Nf4+ 74.Kd4 Ne6+ 75.Kc4 Nd6+ 76.Kb4 Nf4 77.h7 Ng6 78.h8Q Nxh8 79.Bxh8+- 63.Bc7+ Kf6 64.Kd3 Kg5 65.Bd8 Kh6 66.Bxe7 Kxh7 67.Bf8 Kg8 68.Ba3 Kg7 69.Bc1 Kf6 70.Kc4 Ke5 71.h6 Kf6 72.Bf4 Kg6 73.Kc5 Kh7 74.Kd5 d3 75.Ke4 Ne7 76.Kxd3+- Lomonosov 62...b5 63.axb5 Ke6 64.Bf4 Kf7 65.Bxf5 "keeping both bishops on the board with" 65.Be5 "does not change matters" Jonsson, Dadi Ke6 66.Bc7 Kf6 67.Ke4 Ke6 68.Bb8 68.Be5 d3 69.Bc3 Ng3+ 70.Kxd3 Nxh5= 68...Nd6+ 69.Kf3 Nf7 69...Nef5 70.Bxf5+ Nxf5 71.Ke4 Kf6 72.Be5+ Ke6 73.Bf4 Kf6 74.h6 Ne7 75.Kxd4 Kg6= Petronijevic 70.Bc2 Ne5+ 71.Ke2 White can win after 71.Ke4 Nd7 72.Bh2 Nf6+ 73.Kxd4 Nxh5 74.Kc5 Nf5 75.Bb3+ Ke7 76.Bd5 Nf6 77.Bxb7+- 71...d3+ 72.Bxd3 Nxd3 73.Kxd3= with a similar draw as in the main line. 65...Nxf5 66.Be5 Ke6 67.Bxd4 Kf7! "only drawing move as the king must be able to attack the h-pawn in time if required" 68.Kc4 Nd6+ 69.Kc5 Nc8 70.Kd5 Kg8 71.Ke6 b6 72.Kd5 Na7 73.Kc4 Kh7= "and all of White's forces are bound so he can make no progress." - Jonsson, Dadi 59...d4+ 59...Nce7 60.h5 d4+ transposes to the main line. 60.Kc2 Nce7 61.h5 Kd5 62.Bxb6 Ke5 63.Bc7+ Kf6 63...Kd5 64.Kd3 Ke6 65.Bf4 Nc6 66.Kc4 Nce7 67.Bg5 Nc6 68.Bg8+ Ke5 69.h6 Nce7 70.Bxe7 Nxe7 71.h7 Ng6 72.a5 Nh8 73.Bd5+- 64.Kd3 Kg5 65.Bd8 Kh6 66.Bxe7 Kxh7 67.Bf8 Kg8 68.Ba3 Kf7 69.Bc1 Ke6 70.Kc4 Ke7 71.Bf4 Ke6 72.Kc5 Kd7 73.Kd5 Ke7 74.Ke5 Ng7 75.h6 Ne6 76.Bd2 d3 77.Bb4+ Kd7 78.Ke4 Ke8 79.Kxd3+- Lomonosov Petronijevic 56.Bf3 N6e7 Let's check Botvinnik's analyzes: 56...N8e7 57.Bg5 57.Bc7 also wins Nf5 57...Kf6 58.Bxb6 Nc8 59.Bc7 Ke7 60.Bxh5+- Petronijevic 58.Bxd5 Nfxd4 59.Bxb6+- Botvinnik 57...Nf5 58.Bxd5 Nfxd4 Petronijevic: 58...Nd6 59.Bg2 Kf5 60.d5 Ne5 61.Be7 Nc8 61...Ne4+ 62.Kb4 Kf4 63.Kb5 Nc3+ 64.Kxb6 Nxa4+ 65.Kxb7 Kg4 66.Bf1 Nc3 67.d6 Ne4 68.Be2+ Kh3 69.Bxh5 Nxd6+ 70.Bxd6 Kxh4+- White is winning regardless "50 moves rule" 62.Ba3 Kf6 63.Kd4 Na7 64.Bc1 Nd7 65.Bg5+ Kf7 66.Bf3 Kg6 67.Be7 Nc8 68.Ba3 Na7 69.Be2 b5 69...Kh6 70.Bd3 Kg7 71.Bf5 Nb8 72.Bd6 Na6 73.Be5+ Kf8 74.Kc4 Ke7 75.d6+ Kf8 76.Bd4 Nc6 77.Bxb6+- 70.axb5 Kf6 71.Bd6 Kf5 72.Be7 Kg6 73.Bc5 b6 74.Be7 Nc8 75.Ba3 Na7 76.Ke4 Kf6 77.d6 Kg6 78.Kd5 Kf5 79.Bd3+ Kf6 80.Bb2+ Kf7 81.Be2 Kg8 82.Bc3 Kf8 83.Bd4 Kg8 84.Ke6 Nf8+ 85.Kf6 Nc8 86.Bc4+ Kh7 87.Be5+- 59.Be4+ Kf7 60.Kc4? Botvinnik's move is wrong in fact! White cannot win at all: Stronger is 60.Be3 Ne2+ 61.Kc4 Ke6 62.Bxb6 Ng3 63.Bxc6 bxc6 64.Bc7 Nf5 65.a5 Kd7 66.Bh2 Kc8 66...Nd6+ 67.Kc5 67.a6 Nxh4 68.Kc5 Nf5 69.Kxc6+- Petronijevic 60...Ke6 61.Bf4 Ne2 62.Bc7 Ne5+ 63.Kb4 Nc6+ 64.Kb3 b5 65.axb5 Ncd4+ 66.Kc4 Nc3‼ Astonishing Knight move! Although trivial 66...Nxb5 also makes a draw 67.Bd5+ Kd7 68.Be5 Nbc3 67.Bd3 Ncxb5 and Black cannot lose anymore. Possible line is: 68.Bf4 Kf7 69.Bg3 Ke7 70.Bf2 Kd6 71.Bxd4 Nxd4 72.Kxd4 Ke7= 57.Bg5 After 40 minutes' thought Black resigned. "Why so early? 'Depressed by the fact that I did not play 43...Na7 and fell into a prepared variation, I completely lost heart,' Bronstein explained years later. 'And yet" 57.Bg5 Black can try b5 57...Nc6 58.Bxd5 Nd6 59.Bf3 Kf5 60.Bh6 60.Bc1 b5 61.Bxc6 bxc6 62.a5+- Smyslov. Zierke.Mueller analyze: Ke6 63.a6 Nc8 64.Bf4 Kd5 65.Bg3 Ke6 65...Ke4 66.Bd6 Kd5 67.Bc5+- 66.Bb8 Kd5 67.a7 Nb6 68.Bg3 Na8 69.Kb4 Kxd4 70.Ka5+- 60...Ne4+ 61.Kc4 Nd6+ 62.Kd5 Nf7 63.Bf8 Kg6 64.Ke4 Nb8 65.Kd5 Nc6 66.Be4+ Kf6 67.Kc4 Ne7 68.Bxe7+ Kxe7 69.Bg6 Nd6+ 70.Kc3 Ke6 71.Bxh5 Kf5 72.Be2 Ne4+ 73.Kc4 Ke6 74.h5 Nd6+ 75.Kb4 Kf6 76.Bd3 Kg7 77.d5 Kh6 78.Bg6 Kg5 79.Kc3 Kf6 80.Kd4 Nc8 81.Bd3 Nd6 82.h6 Nf7 83.h7+- 58.axb5 b6 with the idea of making a fortress. Of course, his idea running out on a zugzang: 59.Kd3 Ng8 59...Nf5 60.Bxd5 Nfd6 61.Bc6 Kf7 62.Bd8 Ke6 63.Bc7 Ke7 64.d5 Nf5 65.Bf4 Nfd6 66.Kd4 66.Bg5+ Kf8 67.Bd8 Kf7 68.Bc7 Ne8 69.Bb8 Nf6 70.Kd4 Ng4 71.d6 Nxd6 72.Bxd6 Nh6 73.Bc7 Nf5+ 74.Ke5 Ne3 75.Kf4 Nd1 76.Bxb6+- 66...Kf8 67.Be5 Kf7 68.Ke3 Nc4+ 69.Kf4 Ke7 70.Bc7 Kf6 71.Bd8+ Kf7 72.Kg5 N8d6 73.Bc7 Ne4+ 74.Kf5 Nc5 75.d6+- 60.Bxd5 Nf6 61.Be4+ Kf7 62.Bb7 Nd6 63.Bc6 Ke6 64.Bf4 Nc8 65.Kc4 Ne7 66.Bc1 Ned5 67.Bg5 Ne7 68.Bg2 Kf7 69.Bf3 Nf5 70.Bd5+ Ke7 71.Kd3 Nd6 72.Bc4 Nde4 73.Bxf6+ Nxf6 74.Ke3 Ne8 75.Ke4 Nd6+ 76.Kd5 Kd7 77.Bd3 Nf7 78.Bf5+ Kc7 79.Ke6 Nd8+ 80.Kf6 Nb7 81.Be4 Nd6 82.Bc6 Nc4 83.Kg5 Nb2 84.Kxh5+- Petronijevic 1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Botvinnik,M-Bronstein,D-1–0195166. World Championship Match, Moscow23

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Karsten Müller is considered to be one of the greatest endgame experts in the world. His books on the endgame - among them "Fundamentals of Chess Endings", co-authored with Frank Lamprecht, that helped to improve Magnus Carlsen's endgame knowledge - and his endgame columns for the ChessCafe website and the ChessBase Magazine helped to establish and to confirm this reputation. Karsten's Fritztrainer DVDs on the endgame are bestsellers. The mathematician with a PhD lives in Hamburg, and for more than 25 years he has been scoring points for the Hamburger Schachklub (HSK) in the Bundesliga.

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