Botvinnik Variation

The Botvinnik Variation arises when Black accepts the pawn with 5...dxc4 and White replies 6. e4, building a broad center instead of recovering c4. Black usually defends the extra pawn with 6...b5. The main line runs 7. e5 h6 8. Bh4 g5 9. Nxg5 hxg5 10. Bxg5 Nbd7. White gets the piece back and ends up a pawn ahead. Black, however, gains rapid development and dynamic compensation. White typically fianchettoes the king's bishop and castles short. Black plays ...c5 and ...Qb6, castles long, and can strike in the center or on either wing. The usual eleventh move is 11. g3, the Lilienthal Variation, while 11. Qf3 is the Szabo Variation. Earlier deviations include the Ekstrom Variation, 9. exf6 gxh4 10. Ne5, and the Alatortsev System, 9...Nd5. Some lines are analyzed past move thirty. The quieter 6...Be7 is the second choice, and White scores noticeably better against it.

Mikhail Botvinnik brought the line into practice against Arnold Denker in the 1945 USSR–USA radio match, although Klaus Junge is credited with inventing it. Alexei Shirov has been its leading advocate with Black, and Alex Yermolinsky has done well on the White side. The engine gives White a slight edge.