Strategy III - Mikhail Botvinnik - Hardcover

LEONTXO GARCÍA’S PROLOGUE

A Tenacious Trainer of Champions

Without a doubt, Botvinnik was the most benefited player in history by the controversial right of revenge. Additionally, he was specially overprotected by the Soviet authorities (there are founded suspicions that the KGB copied secret analyzes from one of his greatest rivals, the former Dutch world champion Max Euwe, during a trip), especially to the detriment of Paul Keres, Botvinnik’s contemporary who deserved to become world champion. However, it would be very unfair to emphasize this without at the same time highlighting Botvinnik’s great sportsmanship and, above all, his enormous capacity to learn from his own mistakes and take advantage of the weaknesses of his rivals after putting his game to an entomologist analysis. Although half a century has passed since Mijaíl Moiséyevich exhibited those virtues, it continues to be a model for the 21st century amateurs, as it was for the most brilliant products of the Soviet school, including Anatoli Kárpov and Gari Kaspárov.

He lost the crown to Vasili Smyslov in 1957, but recovered it in 1958; lost it again to Mijaíl Tal in 1960, but gained it back one year later. In both cases, Botvinnik accurately detected the small deficiencies - in Smyslov's open game and Tal's closed game - of both ephemeral champions, and he directed the struggle to those areas in the revenge meetings. Many pages full of interesting information can be written about each of the duels Botvinnik fought for the throne, as well as about his splendid rivals, but that exceeds by far what should be the content of a prologue like this.

However, it is worth dedicating a few more lines to emphasize the meticulous preparation of the sixth World Champion, and his metric schedules: "After breakfast I take a walk (