Botvinnik, Mikhail
World ChampionMikhail Botvinnik, the "Patriarch of Soviet Chess," held the World Championship across three reigns (1948-1957, 1958-1960, 1961-1963), twice reclaiming the title in rematches after losing it. His iron-logical, deeply analytical style and scientific approach to preparation established the template for modern competitive chess training. As a legendary coach, he mentored three future World Champions -- Karpov, Kasparov, and Kramnik -- leaving an unparalleled legacy in chess education.
Total Games
891
Wins
406
Draws
375
Losses
110
45.6% wins42.1% draws12.3% losses
Most Played Openings
D94 - Grünfeld Defense: Flohr Defense13A36 - English Opening: Symmetrical Variation, Botvinnik System13D13 - Slav Defense: Exchange Variation12B12 - Caro-Kann Defense12C19 - French Defense: Winawer Variation, Positional Variation12E35 - Nimzo-Indian Defense: Classical Variation, Noa Variation11D35 - Queen's Gambit Declined: Normal Defense10C15 - French Defense: Winawer Variation10C08 - French Defense: Tarrasch Variation, Open System10A30 - English Opening: Wing Gambit10
Featured Games
1-0
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Smyslov, Vassily
World Championship 22th
1958
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Tal, Mihail vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
World Championship 23th
1960
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Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Smyslov, Vassily
World Championship 21th
1957
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Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Smyslov, Vassily
World Championship 20th
1954
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Smyslov, Vassily vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
World Championship 21th
1957
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Smyslov, Vassily vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
World Championship 22th
1958
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Tal, Mihail vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
World Championship 24th
1961
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Smyslov, Vassily vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
World Championship 20th
1954
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Tal, Mihail vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
World Championship 24th
1961
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Bronstein, David I vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
World Championship 19th
1951
View PrintGames (891)
Search & Filter All Games →Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Taimanov, Mark E
1/2-1/2URS-ch20 playoff-1pl 1952 E50
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Taimanov, Mark E
1/2-1/2URS-ch19 1951 E40
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Kopylov, Nikolai G
0-1URS-ch19 1951 A81
Aronin, Lev Solomonovich vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
0-1URS-ch19 1951 C03
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Moiseev, Oleg L
1-0URS-ch19 1951 E45
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Lipnitsky, Isaak
1-0URS-ch19 1951 E51
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Simagin, Vladimir
1/2-1/2URS-ch19 1951 D49
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Novotelnov, Nikolay Alexandrovi
1-0URS-ch19 1951 E45
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Kotov, Alexander
1/2-1/2URS-ch19 1951 A53
Flohr, Salo vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
1/2-1/2URS-ch19 1951 D14
Averbakh, Yuri L vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
1/2-1/2URS-ch19 1951 C09
Terpugov, Evgeny vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
0-1URS-ch19 1951 A46
Bondarevsky, Igor vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
1/2-1/2URS-ch19 1951 B63
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Trifunovic, Petar
1/2-1/2Chigorin mem 1947 D14
Bondarevsky, Igor vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
1/2-1/2Chigorin mem 1947 D30
Boleslavsky, Isaak vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
1/2-1/2Chigorin mem 1947 C92
Gligoric, Svetozar vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
1/2-1/2Chigorin mem 1947 D95
Plater, Kazimierz vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
0-1Chigorin mem 1947 B20
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Tsvetkov, Alexandar K
1-0Chigorin mem 1947 E08
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Novotelnov, Nikolay Alexandrovi
1-0Chigorin mem 1947 D74
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Kottnauer, Cenek
1-0Chigorin mem 1947 D13
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Kholmov, Ratmir D
1-0Chigorin mem 1947 E47
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Ragozin, Viacheslav
1-0Chigorin mem 1947 E40
Kotov, Alexander vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
1/2-1/2Chigorin mem 1947 A85
Sokolsky, Alexey vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
0-1Chigorin mem 1947 B51
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Pachman, Ludek
0-1Chigorin mem 1947 A28
Bernstein, Ossip vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
0-1Groningen 1946 B73
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Szabo, Laszlo
1-0Groningen 1946 D41
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Alexander, Conel Hughes
1-0ENG-URS radio 1946 E49
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Denker, Arnold S
1/2-1/2Groningen 1946 C83
Yanofsky, Daniel Abraham vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
1-0Groningen 1946 C99
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Kotov, Alexander
0-1Groningen 1946 E24
Steiner, Herman vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
0-1Groningen 1946 A90
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Vidmar, Milan Sr
1-0Groningen 1946 E01
Boleslavsky, Isaak vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
0-1Groningen 1946 C92
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Flohr, Salo
1/2-1/2Groningen 1946 D42
Tartakower, Saviely vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
0-1Groningen 1946 C01
Lundin, Erik vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
0-1Groningen 1946 E18
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Guimard, Carlos E
1-0Groningen 1946 C10
Christoffel, Martin vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
0-1Groningen 1946 C17
Alexander, Conel Hughes vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
1-0ENG-URS radio 1946 C18
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs O'Kelly de Galway, Alberic
1-0Groningen 1946 E44
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Kottnauer, Cenek
1-0Groningen 1946 D35
Stoltz, Goesta vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
0-1Groningen 1946 C00
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Kan, Ilia Abramovich
1-0URS-ch14 1945 D53
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Boleslavsky, Isaak
1-0URS-ch14 1945 C79
Denker, Arnold S vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
0-1USA-URS radio-m 1945 D44
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Alatortsev, Vladimir
1/2-1/2URS-ch14 1945 D13
Botvinnik, Mikhail vs Kotov, Alexander
1/2-1/2URS-ch14 1945 A06
Konstantinopolsky, Alexander vs Botvinnik, Mikhail
0-1URS-ch14 1945 C08