Electrical Engineer vs World Chess Champion | Mikhail Botvinnik - Alexander Alekhine 1938

The AVRO chess tournament of 1938 was the strongest tournament ever held up to that time. Mikhail Botvinnik was one of the few chess players to achieve a career in another field (Electrical Engineering) while also competing at a world-class chess level. Botvinnik was already an accomplished chess player, and would a decade later build his resume by becoming the 6th world chess champion. Botvinnik's opponent Alexander Alekhine was the current World Chess Champion (4th). The board saw the Queen's Gambit Declined, Semi-Tarrasch quickly arrive at a technical position, remaining as such until both players would shake hands. If you're a chess teacher, this instructional game is likely a good candidate to consider sharing with your students for its many technical and teachable moments.
PGN:
1. Nf3 d5 2. d4 Nf6 3. c4 e6 4. Nc3 c5 5. cxd5 Nxd5 6. e3 Nc6
7. Bc4 cxd4 8. exd4 Be7 9. O-O O-O 10. Re1 b6 11. Nxd5 exd5
12. Bb5 Bd7 13. Qa4 Nb8 14. Bf4 Bxb5 15. Qxb5 a6 16. Qa4 Bd6
17. Bxd6 Qxd6 18. Rac1 Ra7 19. Qc2 Re7 20. Rxe7 Qxe7 21. Qc7
Qxc7 22. Rxc7 f6 23. Kf1 Rf7 24. Rc8+ Rf8 25. Rc3 g5 26. Ne1
h5 27. h4 Nd7 28. Rc7 Rf7 29. Nf3 g4 30. Ne1 f5 31. Nd3 f4
32. f3 gxf3 33. gxf3 a5 34. a4 Kf8 35. Rc6 Ke7 36. Kf2 Rf5
37. b3 Kd8 38. Ke2 Nb8 39. Rg6 Kc7 40. Ne5 Na6 41. Rg7+ Kc8
42. Nc6 Rf6 43. Ne7+ Kb8 44. Nxd5 Rd6 45. Rg5 Nb4 46. Nxb4
axb4 47. Rxh5 Rc6 48. Rb5 Kc7 49. Rxb4 Rh6 50. Rb5 Rxh4
51. Kd3
Internet Chess Club (ICC)
Software: Blitzin
Thumbnail
ShareAlike 3.0 Netherlands (CC BY-SA 3.0 NL)
I'm a self-taught National Master in chess out of Pennsylvania, USA who was introduced to the game by my father in 1988 at the age of 8. The purpose of this channel is to share my knowledge of chess to help others improve their game. I enjoy continuing to improve my understanding of this great game, albeit slowly. Consider subscribing here on KZbin for frequent content, and/or connecting via any or all of the below social medias. Your support is greatly appreciated. Take care, bye. :D
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[@joehan2867]

Anyone can find a flashy tactic, but only the true masters can squeeze out a win from the smallest differences. What a game :D

[@cpgautam172]

Anyone can find a flashy tactic huh? I hope it's true, one day I will be good enough!

[@p4ssenger677]

No jerry... there are never too much pop quizzes!

[@hanzflackshnack1158]

Never in my life would I have thought of forcing the rook back to F8 before retreating. Thank you for explaining why that was a key move. Good stuff

[@tyhamilton3610]

Same. I thought that was brilliant. Well done.

[@emre3304]

What a fantastic game by Botvinnik! He is my idol with his instructive and theoretical game style! I would like to see more Botvinnik games in this channel. Thank you so much!

[@MrBanko8]

VERY grateful for another upload. Thank you so much, Jerry.

[@bulentkirca3311]

Thank you for having analysed deeply and very clearly this excellent positional masterpiece from Great Botvinnik. :)

[@ChessNetwork]

Thank you. It really is an excellent game by Botvinnik.

[@mizofan]

@@ChessNetwork such an important player and figure in chess history, yet he seems somewhat underrated nowadays, or at least lacking the popular appeal of certain other top champions

[@anonymousshitposter1743]

@@mizofan compared to Tal’s flashy aggressive play, which won in 1960, Botvinnik’s style is seen as positional and boring by many. But I think he is very underrated among chess champions.

[@loginmisc123]

A positional and instructive game. Prof. Mikhail Botwinnik played the game faultlessly against his great opponent.

[@aedificabantur]

Great game, excellent commentary. Thanks Jerry. I appreciate how you pointed out all the little details -- these are definitely things I'll have to keep in mind for my own future games. The details (making your opponent waste a tempo, getting the rook back to cut off the king, IDing good knight squares) were excellently pointed out!

[@anasbouayad6826]

Beautiful game! I really enjoy these positional games with the thought process commentary, as I feel that the more tactical games are shared way more often. Thank you for sharing!

[@jaydavidrn82]

This is one of my favorite games you ever posted. Like you said it is not flashy but sooo instructive. Very good game, analysis and comentary!

[@_archimedes]

What a beautiful game. Love these positional ones. Also so glad you're doing a bunch of analysis again Jerry! Other channels have their strengths too but I love your style of analysis, it's so instructive and entertaining.

[@BFSearle]

Rewatching this because I liked it so much the first time. I really love this game, a super instructive game that I would miss the reasons for a lot of the moves - but knowing them makes me excited to play and think much deeper about restricting the other player rather than material advantage. Thank you Jerry for being an incredible teacher!

[@vishwa000]

Fantastic review and very strategic. Thanks

[@Pat6578]

Hey Jerry, Thanks for the frequent uploads. It's always nice to see the Tricky Knight icon pop up in my notifications. :) Keep up the great work, Back to tournament, Watch out for the Blue Chicken!

[@ChessNetwork]

Thanks Pat. 👍

[@i8kraft]

I love all of your videos, Jerry, but this one is superb. More like this, please!

[@Nithesh2002]

Thanks for the pop quizzes, they help me learn to play the game better! :)

[@GabrielGarcia-ni1qi]

Another Great video! Thanks for the awesome breakdowns.

[@threethrushes]

I really enjoy the deeper analysis, and the minute and subtle differences in position. More of the same, thanks.

[@darioscumburdis2568]

beautiful game, great analysis thank you Jerry

[@somtovitus]

I've watched this video at least two times. Each time I watch it there is something new to learn. Eye opening.

[@venkateshvr1246]

Excellent narration.. Just love this guy Jerry.

[@alllove3717]

Thanks for the awesome analysis!

[@alwardafahd2887]

My fav Chess Channel on youtube

[@huaweiandroid125]

Truly instructive. Thank you!

[@drutgat2]

Hi Jerry, many thanks for this. It was, as you hoped, very instructive, at least for me.

[@paulboro5278]

Brilliant analysis. I learnt a lot from this analysis. Thank you, Jerry.

[@bsul03420]

Really appreciate the clarity of your commentaries, Jerry. For us not-so-strong players you concisely explain the reasoning behind each move, allowing us to learn valuable lessons. Too many commentators rush through complicated games too quickly for the relative strengths and weaknesses of each position to be recognised, thereby failing to be properly instructive.

[@slightlokii3191]

Wow. Not only was this an incredibly instructive game, i felt your help and promoting to find the best move, along with your deep analysis and evaluation were very helpful! I started watching this channel around a year ago now and with your help along with a few other channels and constant playing on chess.com and lichess.org I have gone from an 800 rated player to now being just over 1700 rated. Thankyou for your help! You are inspiring and educational Jerry!

[@jackf3619]

Thanks for uploading so much content lately Jerry.

[@BattleFieldGalaxy]

As an electrical engineering student, I'm happy about this video :p

[@ChessNetwork]

👍🏼😀

[@IntercomFPV]

Me too, as an electrical engineer :)

[@zezomohamed212]

same here 😀

[@drwaffles317]

same :)

[@ramon1930]

Same.

[@rohitbassi490]

Very Nice and Instructive Game. Especially the End Game of how to place your and obstruct opponent's pieces.

[@gsp_admirador]

Thanks Jerry, you are my favorite KZbinr , I am learning a lot from your content, really appreciate it, thank you😊

[@williamsmith9510]

Jerry this video was awesome! Thanks for the great uploads!

[@ChessNetwork]

👍🏼

[@ajarnray4115]

Very instructional and awesome content. Thank you so much for spending your time on creating great videos like this one.

[@ChessNetwork]

Thank you!

[@mradeelmalik]

Thanks for Your instructive videos. I love the way you explain. I improved so much in chess, thanks Jerry!!

[@ChessNetwork]

👍🏼

[@Oblivic]

wow, a very instructive game and analysis, thanks!

[@javieramato9946]

What a precise game, so strong the great Mikhail Botvinnik

[@dodekaedius]

That's how you teach chess. Perfect 👌 thanks Jerry. You're the best on this platform

[@Specialistik]

This is now officially the absolutely best youtube chess channel in human history

[@sjsteinitz]

While I do appreciate all the chess instructors here on youtube, I find most of them talk too fast and too much for my tastes, sometimes even repeating themselves. No sense of calm. You stand alone in your flawless delivery and calm demeanor which makes a real contribution to spreading understanding of the game. That along with your thoughtful choice of games and other fine attributes, which others have mentioned, make you a real gift to the chess world. Thank you.

[@ChessNetwork]

Thank you for the thoughtful compliment Steve. 👍

[@kameronbourne84]

Thank you, Jerry.

[@TeaBagggg]

Great explaining!

[@gironic]

You know, we Electrical Engineers put the EE in gEEk. Thanks for the video, Jerry. Very informative.

[@benjaminramos9793]

Very beautiful scientific analysis. No loop holes. Awesome.

[@basharakkad5928]

Thank you Jerry for the great commentary and nice explanation of Botvinnik's sneaky moves! Bashar from Syria.

[@ChessNetwork]

Thank you Bashar.

[@m0rfans]

That was really interesting. thanks, Jerry. :-)

[@chessanalysis64]

Excellent analysis thanks

[@d.j.hoskins7320]

This is so deep. Position and strategy play more of an important role it seems than fancy tactics.

[@sirdaveo]

I don't really play but I still love your videos. Thanks!

[@apexmaintenance461]

Nice analysis!!

[@willyh.r.1216]

Fruitful chess lesson. Thank you Jerry.

[@AzureLazuline]

That position with the two rooks on the two empty files, beautiful!

[@ilyrm89]

Very nice to see a game where there are no flashy tactics but just a steady growing advantages, with good and solid play. This is the kind of play that makes you a better chess player

[@JulesMoyaert_photo]

Wow! Thank you!

[@MotoGreciaMarios]

Wow. Such an amazing and instructive analysis. This channel features the best instructional videos. Deep, accurate, to the point analysis, without the frequent but ultimately boring and stalling humorous chit-chat so many teachers seem to resort to. I see now that most of my positional thinking in chess is largely correct but my mind is too compartmentalized. I just tend to focus on what I consider "star" pieces, i.e. the ones that are directly involved in whatever is at stake and overlook other pieces that may have an impact if activated - not because I don't know they can be moved, but in the midst of the chaos and analysis, unwittingly and unwillingly, I just deem then irrelevant. This flaw of mine goes very far unfortunatly and it makes me blunder a lot of times. I just fail to look at the chessboard as a whole.

[@JagVama]

Brilliant classical game thank you

[@HexxuSz]

jerry must be like the best dad ever

[@kyoyounglee7676]

უწმინდური მამაო ღორმენ how do i read ur name

[@HexxuSz]

learn georgian?

[@bobojenkins5805]

georgian? you mean diet russian?

[@DustenRust]

I know you meant this as a compliment, but I truly dislike these types of comments, or rather, conclusions. People nowadays really need to stop drawing such intimate conclusions based on nothing else but Internet posts and online interactions. I know you're filling in the blanks with your imagination and the information he shares in these videos, but that's exactly the point. These are (quality) chess videos and nothing more, they're not a window into this man's personal life, beliefs, and moral compass. You don't know how it would be like to have this person as a father because you don't actually know him. Maybe his kid(s) don't/wouldn't like playing chess at all, but he's forcing them to do it because he likes chess so much, and for them, it's a nightmare. Not saying this is the case, of course. I'm just "filling in the blanks" see? This attitude really needs to stop and people should judge, consume, appreciate and enjoy Internet content for what it is. Internet content.

[@UsiSpiral]

@@DustenRust you typing an essay wont change what people will comment lol

[@benoit421201]

Great commentary

[@abdullahibashir5024]

wow great analysis thanks Jerry

[@a.gindinson]

What a great video!

[@manuelbaeza9396]

Great video

[@quantummath]

excellent analysis man

[@adarshnair2710]

Wow so interesting n instructive I can feel my elo going up

[@DustenRust]

I haven't played chess since I was a kid so I'm really bad at it, but once in a blue moon I guess a pop quiz and it makes me soo happy lol

[@aramoticy]

Masterful technique on display in this game. It's hard to fathom how much different the game of chess would be if Botvinnik had stuck with his "official" job.

[@RedGaming23]

Amazing videos :)

[@zobry2xxx]

You are an excellent analyst!

[@markhughes7927]

Really interesting! One of those games that show the cat and mouse at work rather than invention.

[@MrKayDeeJay]

Great video, very educational

[@ChessNetwork]

Thank you CS

[@caryfamilyyoutube1148]

Awesome analysis, I learned more from this video than any previous. Thanks for the hard work.

[@ChessNetwork]

Great to read that. :)

[@joehan2867]

Rapid fire uploads WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

[@1911indi]

thank you

[@redagherbi2872]

Botvinnik really is 1 of my all time favourite chessplayers.. I think I have learned so much more from watching his games than from watching Tal's games to name 1 of the big shots out there. Being a tactical player myself I felt like I needed a more positional approach to the game and then I found Botvinnik...ge just makes it look so simple.

[@Checkthisflow]

Thank you I am learn much

[@TheGreatMaverick]

The juicy technical remarks, like the one going from 3:20 are simply marvelous :D

[@sCraNDoMxD]

The best chess videos around

[@rishikeshtourismbybtm4384]

jerryyyyyy....ur the best......tutor.......

[@apexmaintenance461]

4:02 exhausting tempo. Very good tactic. Thank you for pointing this out.

[@jimlang7461]

Jerry's videos are the most instructive

[@SuedeStonn]

If Capablanca hadn't gotten the nickname 'The Chess Machine' I'm sure Botvinnik would've gotten it. Dude wasn't flashy (though he could pull some serious tactics when they were presented), just super-solid, a tough nut to crack.

[@trevorsmith8950]

Really a testament to Tal's brilliance that he could.

[@SNoCappidona]

Jerry please make videos forever! I'm also currently studying to be an electrical engineer

[@ChessNetwork]

Nice! 😎

[@matrix31003]

Hi Jerry, Thanks for the upload. Learned a lot from this video. Question: what is the name of the user interface you employ for your analysis?

[@jaredlee8371]

Thanks. Nice

[@robertgarrett3345]

Great game!!

[@ronakchudasama7793]

Nice video and very useful improve chess game

[@ajay176v]

Awesome!!

[@michaeldunagan8268]

You're explaining the moves to me a great great favor since I'm not a very good player and I would not be able to see it unless someone told me. I believe the B3 Pawn push that you kind of gave a "?" To might have been some sort of waiting move to force Black into some sort of zugzwang.

[@aminoqlonhmreiz7207]

thank u jerry ur the best

[@TheDevintomb]

Man, very technical indeed

[@user-po9vf3ox8j]

Good video🤝👏👏

[@veogamer7904]

ji Jerry plz make new videos ur da best !

[@JimJWalker]

I thought that f6 primary idea was limiting the knight, but I guess that is just perspective.

[@maleficentcop2752]

I'm a new sub. & have found this lesson.....I have a question on moves 14 & 15.... In 14 B pawn takes W answers by pawn takes...why ? I've played with this for sometime, but can't find where W would not be better by moving to e4. The only issue I saw was timing, d3 can be answered by the kn. or the qu. Anyway what am I missing ? Thx for your attention to detail and endless expenations...👍

[@fukukaicho1264]

What a cool positional game it is

[@LionHGH]

Thank you Jerry

[@miguelpanta]

best chess reviewer on yt

[@user-ew5rp4vy6x]

Great video. Which program are you using?

[@Jackbenjameson]

A jerry a day keeps my boredom away

[@henrychewings8061]

Hey jerry would you ever consider adding to the beginner to master playlist?

[@MoonBurn13]

No wonder word had gone out among chess professionals: “Alekhine can’t play dull chess!”