米哈伊尔·塔尔 (Mikhail Nechemevich Tal)

Alexander Genrikhovich Beliavsky – Mikhail Nechemevich Tal
October Revolution 60th Anniversary Tournament; Leningrad, 1977
Sicilian Defence B69

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 Nc6 6. Bg5 e6 7. Qd2 a6 8. 0-0-0 Bd7 9. f4 Be7 10. Nf3 b5 11. Bxf6 gxf6 12. f5 Qb6 13. Kb1 0-0-0! 14. g3 Kb8 15. fxe6 fxe6 16. Bh3 Bc8 17. Qh6. The alternative was 17. Qe1 Rhe8 18. Ne2 Bf8 19. Nf4 Bg7 20. Rf1 Qc5 21. Rf2! Re7 22. c3! d5 23. Nd4! with an edge, Lékó – Timman, 57th “Hoogoven” International Tournament, Wijk aan Zee 1995. Grandmaster Efim Petrovich Geller also considers 17. Ne2 (Δ Ne2-f4). 17. ... Qc5! 18. Rhf1. If 18. Rhe1 then 18. ... b4! 19. Ne2 d5! (Ermenkov’s analysis). 18. ... a5! If 18. ... b4 then 19. Ne2 d5 20. exd5 Rxd5 21. Rxd5 Qxd5 22. Nf4 Qe4 23. Bg2± (Ermenkov). If, instead, 18. ... Rdg8 then 19. Ne2 Ne5 (19. ... Rg6 20. Qc1 Bf8 21. c3 Bh6 22. Qc2 Ne5 23. Nh4 Rg7 24. Nd4 Nc4 25. Ng2!± Suetin – N. Weinstein, Budapest 1976) 20. Nfd4 Ng4 21. Bxg4 Rxg4 22. Nf4 e5 23. Nb3+- Pietzsch – Palmason, 17th Chess Olympiad, Havana 1966. 19. Ne2. After 19. Qd2 (E. Geller) 19. ... b4 20. Na4 Qb5 21. b3 d5 the game is roughly even. 19. ... d5. Not 19. ... Nb4 on account of 20. Qd2! d5 21. e5 d4 22. Nexd4! fxe5 23. Nxe5! Bb7 24. a3 Qxe5 25. axb4 Bf6 (25. ... Bxb4 26. Qf4±) 26. Qf2!!+- Ermenkov – P. Kovačević, “Investbanka” Tournament, Belgrade 1991. 20. exd5 Nb4!

21. Ned4? (21. Nfd4 e5! ∞) 21. ... Qxd5-+ 22. b3 e5! 23. Ne6. 23. Ne2 is met by 23. ... Qe4-+ (E. Geller). 23. ... Qc6!! (Δ ... Qc6xc2+) 24. c3 0 : 1. Because of 24. ... Qe4+! 25. Ka1 Nc2+ 26. Kb2 (26. Kb1 Ne1+!) 26. ... Ba3+ 27. Kb1 Ne1+! and mate in three moves.

Misha Tal, “The Magician from Riga”

When Mikhail Nechemevich Tal fell ill in Curaçao (1962), Bobby Fischer was the only player who visited him in hospital, a gesture which touched Tal deeply, giving rise to the iconic photo of the two playing chess on Tal’s hospital bed.