The games analyzed in this article can be found in this public Lichess Study.
You can also download them in the .pgn format at my Chess PGN Download page.
Table of Contents
The Magician From Riga
Out of all World Chess Champions, Mikhail Tal’s life and games have very likely captivated the hearts and minds of chess players worldwide. When you ask people who their favourite player is, sooner or later his name enters the mix and most chess players can remember at least one of his memorable sacrifices, if not more. Even though his short tenure as the World Champion only lasted for one year (from 1960 when he won the World Championship match against Botvinnik until 1961 when he lost the Return World Championship match to the same opponent), his legacy and the effect on the chess world have been unparalleled – even for the World Chess Champion standard.
What is it about Tal’s style that makes his games so memorable? Well, his extremely combative, tactical, and sharp style and his absolute willingness to search for creative ideas and sacrifice material in the process – even under the most unexpected, surprising circumstances. Even though chess history has seen a number of true tactical geniuses, 1 no other player had such an innate ability (and inclination) to create total chaos on the board, go for material sacrifices and positions where everything and display Tal’s level of creativity and imagination.
Due to his tremendous calculating ability as well as a certain talent to simply “see” through the variations, Tal would often come on top in these tactical skirmishes. Even though his concepts and sacrifices were often not 100% correct from the objective standpoint, they posed his opponents with very difficult problems they were often unable to solve over the board, with the clock ticking. 2
Such a playing style was particularly fresh and novel in the 1950s and 1960s. At the time, the whole chess world was influenced by the strict Soviet school of chess, spearheaded by the likes of Botvinnik and Smyslov, which had a very solid strategical/positional foundation. Tal’s daredevil, seemingly “gambling” style sent shockwaves at a time – especially when it transpired you can reach the very summit of chess and become World Champion with it.
When you also add Tal’s witty, jovial and humorous character into the equation, as well as the tragic circumstances connected to the lifelong health issues that hindered him from achieving as much as he could achieve in chess, you can understand why he is a fan favourite.
In this post, we will take a look at some of his famous and memorable games. The games have been fully annotated by the author of these lines 3 Of course, given his legacy, it was very difficult to make a selection – the full list of his memorable games would extend further away from the number ten. But in order to keep it reasonable and manageable, one has to cut the line somewhere.
Hopefully, this post will serve as a motivation for the reader to find out more about Tal and to look for other wonderful Tal gems for themselves. Now, without further ado, let’s dive into the magical world of the magician from Riga.
Mikhail Tal – Alexander Tolush, USSR Championship, 1957.
A very one-sided stomp of the King’s Indian Defence with the White pieces. Perhaps not the most spectacular game, but very instructive and a good introduction to the Tal style.
Mikhail Tal – Alexander Koblents, Riga, 1957.
A mind-boggling Sicilian skirmish against his own coach Alexander Koblents. One of those typical Tal games that makes your head dizzy with all the possibilities, tactics and reach ideas.
Milko Bobotsov – Mikhail Tal, World Championship U26, 1958.
A remarkable positional queen sacrifice in the Saemisch King’s Indian that has since become more-or-less standard. Not the typical Tal game, but a very beautiful one nevertheless.
Mikhail Tal – Vasily Smyslov, Candidates Tournament, 1959.
The famous clash against Vasily Smyslov from 1959. candidates where Tal managed to “trick” his very experienced opponent and defeat him in just 26 moves, with the help of some very exciting and flashy tactical shots.
Mikhail Tal – Mikhail Botvinnik, World Championship 1960., Game 1
The first game of the Tal’s 1960 World Championship Match against Botvinnik and the only instance in that match where Botvinnik dared to venture the French Defence.
Mikhail Botvinnik – Mikhail Tal, World Championship 1960., Game 6
Another very famous and celebrated game, in which Tal went for the speculative piece sacrifice in the King’s Indian which completely rattled the Patriarch.
Mikhail Tal – Hans-Joachim Hecht, Varna, 1962.
A famous game featuring a spectacular queen’s sacrifice, during which Miguel Najdorf allegedly kissed Tal after the latter made the tremendous 19.exf6 move!
Mikhail Tal – Lajos Portisch, Candidates Quarterfinal, 1965., Game 2
Another game with a very high competitive significance – played at the Quarterfinal Candidates match against Lajos Portisch – and another one of those amazing Tal attacks that makes you smile :).
Mikhail Tal -Michael Stean, Alekhine Memorial, 1975.
A very instructive and also attractive game where Tal displayed his understanding of the White side of the Tarrasch Defence, apart from the usual genius tactical stuff.
Mikhail Tal – Johann Hjartarson, Reykjavik, 1987.
Last but not least – a sort of swansong game by Mikhail Tal against Johann Hjartarson, during which he displayed a masterful understanding of the Ruy Lopez structures and topped it with a spectacular sacrificial finish.