Mikhail Tal

[The Green Destiny]

Mikhail Tal is my personal Hero, and has been since I started playing chess at the age of 8. Here are a few of my favorite games for you to enjoy.
Hippopotamus Game
In his excellent autobiography Mikhail Tal told an entertaining story of what does a chessplayer think when he plays:
"JOURNALIST. It's perhaps not convenient to interrupt at such a culminating moment, but I would, nevertheless, like to know whether extraneous thoughts ever enter your head during a game?

CHESS PLAYER. Oh yes! For instance, I will never forget my game with Grandmaster Vasyukov in one of the USSR Championships. We reached a very complicated position where I was intending to sacrifice a knight. The sacrifice was not altogher obvious, and there was a large number of possible variations, but when I conscientiously began to work through them, I found, to my horror, that nothing would come of it. Ideas piled up one after another. I would transport a subtle reply by my opponent, which worked in one case, to another situation where it would naturally prove to be quite useless. As a result my head became filled with a completely chaotic pile of all sorts of moves, and the famous 'tree of the variations', from which the trainers recommend that you cut off the small branches, in this case spread with unbelieavable rapidity.

And then suddenly, for some reason, I remembered the classic couplet by Korney Ivanovich Chukovsky:


Oh, what a difficult job it was
To drag out of the march the hippopotamus.
I don't know from what associations the hippopotamus got onto the chess board, but althoug the spectators were convinced that I was continuing to study the position, I, despite my humanitarian education, was trying at this time to work out: just how would you drag a hippopotamus out of the marsh? I remember how jacks figured in my thoughts, as well as levers, helicopters, and even a rope ladder. After a lenghty consideration I admitted defeat as an engineer, and thought spitefully:"Well, let it drown!" And suddenly the hippopotamus disappeared. Went off from the chess board just as he had come on. Of his own accord! And straightaway the position did not appear to be so complicated. Now I somehow realized that it was not possible to calculate all the variations, and that the knight sacrifice was, by its very nature, purely intuitive. And since it promised and interesting game, I could not refrain from making it.
And the following day, it was with pleasure that I read in the paper how Mikhail Tal, after carefully thinking over the position for 40 minutes, made an accurately- calculated piece sacrifice..."


[Event "?"]
[Site "Kiev ch-SU"]
[Date "1964.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Tal,Mikhail"]
[Black "Vasiukov,Evgeny"]
[Result "1-0"]
[NIC "CK 8.2"]

1. e2-e4 c7-c6 2. Nb1-c3 d7-d5 3. d2-d4 d5xe4 4. Nc3xe4 Nb8-d7 5. Ng1-f3
Ng8-f6 6. Ne4-g3 e7-e6 7. Bf1-d3 c6-c5 8. O-O c5xd4 9. Nf3xd4 Bf8-c5
10. Nd4-f3 O-O 11. Qd1-e2 b7-b6 12. Bc1-f4 Bc8-b7 13. Ra1-d1 Nf6-d5
14. Bf4-g5 Qd8-c7 15. Ng3-h5 Kg8-h8 16. Bd3-e4 f7-f6 17. Bg5-h4 Bc5-d6
18. c2-c4 Bb7-a6 19. Nh5xg7 Kh8xg7 20. Nf3-d4 Nd7-c5 21. Qe2-g4 Kg7-h8
22. Nd4xe6 Nc5xe6 23. Qg4xe6 Ra8-e8 24. Qe6xd5 Bd6xh2 25. Kg1-h1 Qc7-f4
26. Qd5-h5 Qf4xe4 27. Rf1-e1 Qe4-g6 28. Qh5xg6 h7xg6 29. Bh4xf6 Kh8-g8
30. Re1xe8 Rf8xe8 31. Kh1xh2 Ba6xc4 32. Rd1-d7 Re8-e6 33. Bf6-c3 Bc4xa2
34. Rd7xa7 Ba2-c4 35. Kh2-g3 Bc4-d5 36. f2-f3 Kg8-f8 37. Bc3-d4 b6-b5
38. Kg3-f4 Bd5-c4 39. Kf4-g5 Kf8-e8 40. Ra7-a8 Ke8-f7 41. Ra8-a7 Kf7-e8
42. b2-b4 Bc4-d5 43. Ra7-a3 Ke8-f7 44. g2-g4 Re6-e2 45. Bd4-c5 Re2-e5
46. Kg5-h6 Re5-e6 47. Ra3-d3 Bd5-c6 48. Rd3-d8 Re6-e8 49. Rd8-d4 Re8-e6
50. f3-f4 Kf7-e8 51. Kh6-g7 Bc6-e4 52. Bc5-b6 Be4-f3 53. Rd4-d8 Ke8-e7
54. Rd8-d3 Bf3-e2 55. Bb6-d8 Ke7-e8 56. Rd3-d2 Re6-e3 57. Bd8-g5 Be2-d3
58. f4-f5

1-0



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LIVE!

 

[The Green Destiny]

Mikhail Botvinnik said this about Tal,
"I was surprised by his ability to figure out complex varations. Then the way he sets out the game; he was not interested in the objectivity of the position, whether it's better or worse, he only needed room for his pieces. All you do then is figure out variations which are extremely difficult. He was tactically outplaying me and I made mistakes.

I'll post one more game with notes this time.
This game was one of 40 games played in a simultaneous exhibition.
Tal - Miller
1 e4 e5
2 Nf3 Nc6
3 Bc4 Nf6

By playing the complicated Two Knight's Defense, Black indicates his desire to beat his illustrious opponent.

4. d4
White strives for the initiative, rejecting the critical 4.Ng5 d5 5 exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7 dxc6 bxc6, which gives black the initiative as compenstation for his sacrificed pawn.

4...d6
A bit passive. The best move is 4...exd4, with equal chances.
5 dxe5 Nxe4
6. Bxf7+
A tiny combination. White gets his piece back right away.
6...kxf7
7. Qd5+
White forks the Black King and e4-Knight
7...Be6
8 Qxe4
The smoke clears to reveal that White's combination has produced dramatic results. He is up a pawn, and Black's King is uncomfortably placed on f7.
8...Be7
9 0-0 d5
10 Qd3 Qd7
11 Re1 Raf8
12 Nc3 Ke8
13 Ng5 Bc5
14 Nxe6!?
Now white moves into a realm of great complexity.
14...Bxf2+
15. Kh1 Bxe1
16 Nxf8 Rxf8
17 Bg5
White's Move threatens 18. Rxe1 and capture of the Black Bishop. However, Black notices that he can create a back rank checkmate with ...Rf1 if he can force White's Queen away from the defense of the f1-square.
17...Nb4
18 Qe2 Nxc2!
This chance to battle Tal tactically on a one-to-one basis must have given Black great pleasure. NOw 19. Qxc2 is not possible because 19...Rf1 results in checkmate.
19. e6 Qd6
20 Nb5! Qe5!
At this point, the spectators though that Black would win. White's Queen, Rook, and Bishop all hang because 21. Qxe5?? losses to 21.....Rf1++
How can White survive?
21. h4!!
Simply superb. White's move defends his Bishop, stops the back rank checkmate, and threatens to capture Black's Queen. And as if that weren't enough, 21...Qxe2 and 21 Qxb2 both run into 22. Nxc7++. "So we were wrong," cried the audience, "Tal was winning all along."
21...Qg3!
Black threatens both ...Nxa1 and ...Rf2. Excitement mounts in the crowd. Will Black win after all?
22 Rd1!!
The tricky point of White's play!
Now 22...c6 is strongly countered by 23. Rd3! Qb8 24 Rf3!, when 24...cxb5 loses to 25. Qxb5+. However, Black has another option.
22...Rf2
White must now find some way to answer Black's threat of Qxg2 Checkmate.
23 Qxf2!!
Now White's intentions are finally clear.
23...Bxf2
Black's alternative 23...Zxf2 24. Nxc7+ Kf8 25. e7+ Kg8 26 e8=Q+ is an easy win for White.
24 Rxd5
The threat of 25. Rd8++ forces Black to part with material. (Notice how Tal has fashioned a checkmating net with his Rook, Bishop and Pawn.)
24...Qxh4
25 Bxh4 Bxh4
26. Nxc7+
White, a full Exchange up, can win as he pleases.
26...Kf8
27 Rf5+ Bf6
28 Rd5 a6
29 Rd7 Nb4
30 Rf7+ Kg8
31 Rxf6!
Another tactic. After 31...gxf6 32 e7, the pawn will become a Queen.
31...Nc6
32 Rf7 g6
33 e7!
Black Resigns.

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LIVE!

 

[Smash]

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Some Interesting Facts

* Youngest World Champion until Kasparov.
* Played in 8 Olympiads, 5 Best board Results, 3 times absolute best score.
* 6 times USSR Champion.
* Lost only once to Kasparov & once to Karpov.
* A countback of ELO ratings revealed that Tal's rating during his peak around 1960 would be 7th in the all time rankings with 2700 behind Fischer, Kasparov, Capablanca, Botvinnik, Lasker, & Karpov. In fact in 1979 following his wins in Montreal & Riga he went up to 2710.
* 3rd in 1985 Interzonal thus qualifying for Candidates at 49
* Only 3 men played in both USSR-Rest of the World matches - Tal, Larsen, & Polugaevsky.

Quotes about Tal

* If Tal had really studied Chess in the late fifties and early sixties he would have been impossible to play against - Botvinnik
* How does Tal win? - He develops all his pieces in the centre and then sacrifices them somewhere - Bronstein
* If Tal has an open file it will be mate - an onlooker at a Tal post mortem analysis session.

Tal quotes

* "If you wait for luck to turn up, life becomes very boring."
* "There are two types of sacrifices - sound ones and mine."

 

[stormerne]

My favorite Tal quote:

"To play for a draw (at any rate with White) is to some degree a crime against chess."



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[The Green Destiny]

From my own experience I would say, so easy to say as a GM when pondering over a game, but so hard to play (even as white) when you are but all alone in your decision.

P.S. The thing that gets me most in that pic, is of course he had his Cig.
I thought many times over, what Made Tal Tick, and for a long time I couldn't Discover anything different than the plain white stick in his hand, but lately I've begin to see his face in a new light, It's almost a boredom with the world, but still an ambition, and can't quite place it yet, but every time I look at him I see a vial of tears.



[This message has been edited by The Green Destiny (edited August 23, 2001).]

 

[Smash]

He lived with the torment of an artist living under a suppresive regime.The system was such,that he was not the favorite son of the Soviet chess system.He would not be allowed to fulfil his destiny to it's fullest degree.You can bet that tremendous resources were devoted to beat him after his victory over the good doctor.They only tolerated him because he was "one of their own"
They never let him be "The Star"

He would have loved MP Civ.