Mikhail Tal - not always ingenious
A few days ago here was shown the famous game Mikhail Tal-Tolush (UdSSR-championship 1956) with the brilliant sacrifice 15.Bb5!. If you have not seen yet, please go through it and come back.
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In that game we saw Tal in his elements - the tactics. But, as Botwinnik has proved later, Tal had strategic defizits. Here another game of Mikhail Tal, the ingenious chessplayer, against Tolush a year later. Here we will see a little bit of a "strategic defizit". After a wrong exchange (knight/bishop) he has to accept counterplay to go on with his attack
Tal - Tolush
( UdSSR-championship 1957)
1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 g6
3. Nc3 d6
4. e4 Bg7
5. f3 ... the Sämisch-variation in
"Kingsindian"
5. ... e5
6. Nge2 Nbd7
7. Bg5 c6
8. Qd2 0-0
9. d5 c5
10. g4 a6
11. Ng3 Re8
12. h4! ... Tal does not hesitate to go forward
against the black king residation
12. ... Qa5
13. Bh6 ... It is necessary to exchange the
strong defender on g7
13. ... Nf8
14. h5 Qc7
15. Bd3 b5 now black comes up on the
queenside
16. 0-0-0! ... No fear to castle in the attack. He
needs his second rook for his own
attack
16. ... bxc4
Till this moment Tal has done
very well. But now he should
have exchanged the bishops.
There would have been a clear
attacking plan:
Defending the point b2 he could go
forward with Rdg1, Nf5, Qh6 and
hxg6. - The point is that queen+
knight are stronger attacker than
queen+bishop
17. Bb1?! Bh8!
18. Rdg1 Rb8
19. Nf5 ... A standard sacrifice in such
positions. Black cannot take it.
The open g-file would be his end.
19. ... N6d7
20.Bg5 Bg7
21. Sxg7 ... Once more: this is the wrong piece
to exchange the bishop. In this kind
of castle attack is the knight
necessary
21. ... Kxg7
22. Bh6 Kg8
23. f4!?
A risky decision!?- He wants to
improve his attacking chances.--
A player as Tal has a good feeling
for positions.And he may have feeled,
that now after the wrong exchange
his attack is not strong enough.
So he decided to open the f-file.
He could also- Botwinnik would -
have played Be3, Rg2+Rgh2 with some
chances. - Now black gets
counterplay in the e-file and the
strong field e5 for his knight.-
Botwinnik , the great stratege,
would never have accepted such a
counterplay. Surely not!
23. ... exf4
24. Qxf4 Qd8!? He wants to protect f6.But perhaps
white could take the pawn with some
adventage
25. hxg6 Ng6
26. Qh2 ... Perhaps the d-pawn could have
been taken with adventage
26. ... Nde5
This position is absolutely o.k
for black. All his pieces are active!
White has two inactive pieces:
Bb1+ Nc3!
This position is slightly better for
black.
Tal has won this game,too. But
this is another story. It had
"nothing" to do with this position.
May be Tals fighting spirit and his
reputation as "magician of Riga"
may have helped him.
The game - move by move:
