VASILY Smyslov tied a world championship match 12-12 against Botvinnik in 1954, beat him 12.5-9.5 in 1957 and lost the title back to Botvinnik the following year 10.5-12.5.
Although Smyslov was 'only' world champion for a year, his score in the three matches against Botvinnik was +18=34-17, a close-run mini-precedent for the Karpov-Kasparov marathon of 1984-90.
A repertoire based on Smyslov's games emphasises positional play.
White
Smyslov played 1.e4 and 1.d4 almost equally often, scoring 64% with both moves in ChessBase's 2020 Mega database.
But add in the games in which he began 1.c4, but quickly transposed to a 1.d4 opening, and you get a preponderance of closed games over open ones.
So start with
1.c4, with which Smyslov scored 72%, but if Black replies
1...Nf6 follow up with
2.d4. Most of his games continued
2...e6, with Smyslov generally avoiding the Nimzo-Indian in favour of
3.Nf3.
He liked to meet the
Queen's Indian: 3...b6 with the counter-fianchetto
4.g3. In the mainline
4...Bb7 5.Bg2 Be7 6.0-0 0-0 7.Nc3 Ne4 he normally played the somewhat unusual
8.Nxe4!? Bxe4 9.Ne1 Bxg2 10.Nxg2, a line that English readers may not be surprised to learn became a favourite of grandmaster Keith Arkell. Against
4...Ba6 Smyslov scored 60% with
5.b3, meeting
5...Bb4+ with
6.Bd2.
He only met the
Bogo-Indian: 3...Bb4+ three times, always playing
4.Bd2.
In the
Queen's Gambit Declined: 3...d5 he scored 58% with
4.Nc3 but a much-more impressive 70% by making it a
Catalan: 4.g3. In the latter he met
4...dxc4 with
5.Qa4+. But the main line in his games, reached by various move-orders, went
4...Be7 5.Bg2 0-0 6.0-0 dxc4, against which he always played
7.Qc2, scoring 69%, rising to 80% in the main line
7...a6 8.a4.
When Black kept the position closed with
6...c6 he scored 80% with
7.Qc2, rising to 100% when he met the main move
7...Nbd2 with
8.b3.
Against the
Grünfeld: 2...g6 3.Nc3 d5 Smyslov generally continued
4.Nf3 Bg2 5.Qb3 (he also liked
5.cxd5 but did not score so well with it), meeting the main line
5...dxc4 6.Qxc4 0-0 with
7.e4. If Black kept the position closed with
5...c6, Smyslov continued
6.cxd5 Nxd5 (he did not face
6...cxd5, at least in Mega20)
7.e4.
Against the
King's Indian: 3...Bg7 Smyslov scored 79% with
4.e4, rising to 88% when he met
4...d6 with
5.Nf3 0-0 6.Be2. If Black continued with the main move
6...e5, Smyslov's score rose to an amazing 94% with
7.d5.
Against
2...c5 Smyslov generally switched back to
English lines with
3.Nf3 cxd4 4.Nxd4. He also reached this position from the
English Symmetrical move-order
1.c4 c5 2.Nf3 Nf6 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4. He did not face the modern favourite
4...e5, Smyslov's opponents almost invariably continuing
4...e6 or
4...Nc6. Smyslov was happy to reach the same position against both moves, ie by
4...e6 5.Nc3 Nc6 or
4...Nc6 5.Nc3 e6. He then scored 90% by continuing
6.g3. If in the
4...e6 line Black met
5.Nc3 with
5...Bb4, Smyslov generally played
6.Bd2.
After
1.c4 g6 Smyslov scored 73% with
2.d4, the games almost always transposing to lines covered above.
After
1.c4 e6 he overwhelmingly preferred an immediate fianchetto with
2.g3, aiming for lines covered above. If Black went for a
Dutch formation with
2...f5, Smyslov usually held off playing d4, instead going for a set-up involving Bg2, Nf3, 0-0 and b3, albeit from a small sample size.
However, against an immediate
Dutch set-up,
1.c4 f5, Smyslov was happy to continue with
2.d4 and
3.Nc3, albeit again from a small sample size.
Black v 1.e4
Smyslov was happy to go down the mainline
Closed Spanish: 1...e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3, feinting at, but never playing, a
Marshall Attack with
7...0-0 8.c3 d6 (
8...d5 would be a
Marshall Attack)
9.h3. There are more than 35,000 games with this position in Mega20. Smyslov generally continued down the main line with
9...Na5 10.Bc2 Qc7 11.d4 Qc7 12.Nbd2, but here varied his play, scoring best (64%) with
12...Bd7 (see below for Smyslov using this system to score an important win at the 1953 Interzonal).
Clearly White has many deviations along the way. Important ones include the
Modern Exchange: 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.0-0, against which Smyslov scored 60% with
5...f6 6.d4 Bg4 7.dxe5 Qxd1 8.Rxd1 Bxf3 9.gxf3 fxe5.
Against the
Anti-Marshall: 8.a4 he always pushed past with
8...b4.
If White omitted
9.h3 in the main line, Smyslov scored 62% with
9...Bg4.
Against the
Italian Game: 3.Bc4 Smyslov scored 80% with
3...Bc5, rising to 83% when he met
4.c3 with a closed system starting with
4...Qe7.
He also liked
...Bc5 against the
Scotch: 3.d4 exd4 4.Nxd4, but against the
Scotch Gambit: 4.Bc4 he continued
4...Nf6.
In the
Scotch Four Knights: 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.d4 exd4 5.Nxd4 he went down the main line with
5...Bb4 6.Nxc6 bxc6 7.Bd3 d5 8.exd5 cxd5 9.0-0 0-0 10.Bg5 but then generally continued
10...Be6.
In the
Spanish Four Knights: 4.Bb5 he usually continued
4...Bb4 5.0-0 0-0, and after
6.d3 he won the two times he played the conventional
6...d6 but drew in the two games he played the less-popular
6...Bxc3.
Against the
Vienna: 2.Nc3 Nf6 with both
3.f4 and
3.g3 he played
3...d5.
Against the
Bishop's Opening: 2.Bc4 he scored 60% with
2...Nf6, and he declined both times he faced the
King's Gambit: 2.f4, drawing with
2...d5 and winning with
2...Bc5.
Black v 1.d4 and Others
Smyslov usually aimed for a
Nimzo-Indian: 1...Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4, scoring 62% when he met
4.e3 with
4...0-0. Against the main continuation
5.Bd3 he liked
5...c5, with most games continuing, as they still do,
6.Nf3 d5 7.0-0. Smyslov usually proceeded
7...dxc4, scoring 64% when he met
8.Bxc4 with the unusual
8...Qe7!? Against
5.Nge2, which is popular at club level because it avoids doubled c pawns, Smyslov scored 67% with
5...d5 6.a3 Be7.
Smyslov varied against
4.Qc2 but most common was the unusual, although it has been played by Carlsen,
4...d6. The main reply is
5.Nf3, which Smyslov twice met with
5...0-0 and twice with
5...Nbd7, scoring a win and a draw with each move.
Against
4.a3 Bxc3+ 5.bxc3 he scored 67% with
5...c5, and against
4.Nf3 he scored 60% with
4...b6.
He met
4.f3 with
4...d5, and
4.Bg5 with
4...h6 5.Bh4 c5.
Smyslov played both the
Queen's Indian: 3...b6 and the
Bogo-Indian: 3...Bb4+ against
3.Nf3, scoring much better with the latter.
After
3...Bb4+ 4.Bd2 he scored 64% with
4...a5.
Against
4.Nbd2 he usually played
4...c5 5.a3 Bxd2+.
Against
4.Nc3 he scored 60% with
4...b6.
After
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 Smyslov scored 85% with
2...g6, generally meeting
3.c4 Bg7 4.Nc3 with
4...d5. This requires learning a lot about the
Grünfeld, although some time is saved as the
Grünfeld is part of the white repertoire presented here. However a more-practical approach for club players might be to play
2...e6, with which Smyslov scored a very respectable - to say the least - 72%. Virtually all Smyslov's opponents continued
3.c4, after which
3...Bb4+ is a
Bogo-Indian.
He faced the
Veresov: 2.Nc3 d5 3.Bg5 three times, scoring a win and two draws with
3...Nbd7.
Smyslov varied against the
English: 1.c4 but scored best (72%) with his favourite reply
1...e5.
The commonest continuation was
2.Nc3 Nf6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.g3, whereupon he scored 62% with
4...Bb4.
Against
2.g3, which today is very popular at club level, Smyslov scored 67% with
2...f5 3.Bg2 Nf6 4.Nc3 Bb4
The move
2.Nf3 always transposed to 2.Nc3 lines by
2...Nc6 3.Nc3.
Against
1.Nf3 Smyslov generally played
1...Nf6, when
2.d4 can be met by
2...e6 or
2...g6 depending on your choice in the move-order
1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3. If White transposed to an
English with
2.c4, Smyslov usually replied
2...b6, aiming for a
Queen's Indian set-up. If White continued
2.g3, Smyslov scored 67% with
2...d5 3.Bg2 c6 4.0-0 Bf5.
Here is Smyslov using his pet system in the Spanish.
Zdravko Milev - Smyslov
Interzonal (Bucharest) 1953
Spanish Closed
1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 d6 8.c3 0-0
Smyslov usually reversed Black's last two moves.
9.h3 Na5 10.Bb3 c5 11.d4 Qc7 12.Nbd2
Considering how massively popular this position became, it is perhaps surprising that its first appearance in Mega20 is in a 1905 game.
12...Bd7
The main line continues 12...cxd4 13.cxd4 Nc6 14.Nb3 a5 15.Be3 a4 16.Nbd2 Bd7, which occurs 777 times in Mega20, with White scoring 58%.
13.Nf1 Rfe8!?
Smyslov scored two wins and two draws with this move. Black has major alternatives in 13...cxd4, 13...Nc4 and 13...Rac8.
14.dxe5
Ľubomír Ftáčnik in Mega20 likes 14.b3!?
14...dxe5 15.Nh2
More popular today is 15.Ne3 but the text had appeared in two previous Smyslov games.
15...Rad8 16.Qf3 Be6 17.Ne3
The previous year, in round eight of the USSR Championship, Smyslov lost to Vasily Byvshev after 17.Ng4 Nxg4 18.Nxg4 h6!? 19.Ne3 Bg5 20.Nd5 Bxd5 21.Bxg5 hxg5, when Black was perhaps a little weak on the light squares (1-0, 64 moves).
Smyslov must have had an improvement in mind - perhaps 18...Nc4 or 18...Nc6 instead of the somewhat weakening 18...h6!? - as six rounds later he was happy to again reach the position after 16...Be6 (but more about that after the diagram).
17...Nc4 18.Nf5!?
It was probably safer to swop off the aggressively placed black knight,
18..Bxf5 19.exf5 e4!?
 |
| How should White proceed? |
*****
*****
*****
*****
*****
20.Qe2
This seems best.
In round 14 of the 1952 USSR Championship the game Lev Aronin - Smyslov went 20.Bxe4?! Ne5 21.Qg3 Bd6 22.f4 c4 23.Nf3 Nxf3+ 24.Bxf3 when the analysis engines Stockfish11 and Komodo11.01 reckon Black gets a winning attack with 24...Bc5+ 25.Kh2 Qb6 26.Re2 (Black threatened 26...Bf2) Rxe2 27.Bxe2 h5. The game saw 24...Rxe1+ 25.Qxe1 Bxf4 26.Bxf4 Qxf4 27.Rd1 Re8?! (the engines much prefer 27...Rxd1 28.Qxd1 h6) 28.Qf2 Qxf5, when Black had won a pawn but White got very active with 29.Bc6 Qxf2+ 30.Kxf2 Rb8 31.Rd6 (½–½, 55 moves).
20...Bd6 21.Ng4 Nd5 22.f6?!
Ftáčnik points out that 22.Bxe4? (my punctuation) is more-or-less refuted by 22...h5 as White's attack following 23.Nh6+ gxh6 24.Qxh5 runs into 24...Nf6 25.Qxh6 Nxe4. However the engines reckon 22.Bb3 keeps Black's advantage to a minimum.
22...h5 23.Ne3 Ndxe3 24.Bxe3 Nxe3 25.fxe3 g6 26.a4 c4!
As Ftáčnik explains, the text highlights the weakness of f6 and makes it very difficult for White to activate his bishop.
27.axb5 axb5 28.Rad1 Qc5 29.Rf1 Qg5 30.Rd4?
White had to keep the black queen out of g3, either by the engines' 30.Qe1 or Ftáčnik's 30.Qf2.
30...Qg3 31.Rxe4
The consistent follow-up to Black's last move, but Smyslov has seen his way through to victory.
31...Qh2+ 32.Kf2 Bg3+ 33.Kf3 Be5 34.Qf2 Re6 35.Rxe5!?
Desperation, but White's game cannot be saved, eg 35.Kf2 Rxf6 36.Qg1 Qxg1 37.Rxg1 Bg3 38.Rf1 Rxf1 39.Kxf1 Rd2.
35...Qxe5 36.Ke2 Red6 0-1
