David Light annotates a Tal Game in his own special style. This is a teaching annotation so be prepared to answer questions. This is a great game for teaching so be prepared to learn.
WHITE: Karlis Klasup
BLACK: Mikhail Tal
Riga, 1953
CHAPTER 1: In the beginning…
Verse 1. And the center was without form, and void. And White moved upon the face of the center.
1. d4 Nf6
2. c4 g6
3. g3 Bg7
4. Bg2
2. And Black said, “Let there be a Kingside fianchetto.” And White said,
“Let there be two.” And there were two. And the name of the opening was the fianchetto variation of the King’s Indian Defense; and both players saw that it was very good. And both players then remained within the book, and dwelt within its shelter.
4… 0-0
5. Nc3 d6
6. Nf3 Nc6
7. 0-0 Bg4?!
3. But Black was young–18 years old– and haughty in his heart, for was he not Mikhail Tal?
4. Therefore he did eschew the book. And he did play a natural developing move which, as it turns out, looks a lot more active than it is and is actually a waste of time.
5. For the book move here was 7… a6.
6. And so it remains to this day.
7. Now the point of 7… a6 is to prepare for a …b5 advance, which is an important strategic goal for Black, who’s aiming for pawn expansion on the Queenside. But 7… Bg4?! does nothing whatsoever to help Black achieve that goal. The bishop’s natural square here is d7, where it hits b5; sending it to g4 instead is very blah.
8. And White responded.
8. d5 Na5
9. Nd2
9. White’s ninth move contains the unpleasant threat of an eventual pawn push to b4, when Black’s Na5 would be trapped. That knight is looking pretty awkward, huh?
10. Behold: 9… b6 would just be wretched, so Black’s response is forced.
9… c5!
10. h3 Bd7
11. Qc2 e6
12. b3 exd5
13. cxd5 b5
14. Bb2 Rc8
CHAPTER TWO: The middlegame
1. Thus the bishops and the knights and all their array were developed.
2. You are White, to move. There’s sound and fury on the Queenside. Black has a lead in development and his fianchettoed bishop is extremely active.
3. What stands out about White’s position? Well, all of White’s developed pieces are pointing at e4, which is also a square that can be used to initiate exchanges.
4. But are those exchanges good for you? And if they are, what should White do afterwards?
5. Don’t read on until you’ve come up with a plan. (Seriously, don’t. I’ll
kill a cute and fuzzy duckling if you do. You wouldn’t do that to a
duckling, would you?)
15. g4!!
6. This move is the awesome sauce. In fact, it’s sauceome. It’s sauceome for two reasons.
7. First, it keeps Black’s bishop off of f5. This is important because,
after the exchanges that will result from White playing Nce4, White wants to end up with a knight on e4 AND his g2-bishop still on the board.
8. He wants this setup because his goal is to put a knight on f6 and support it with a pawn at g5 (which is the second point of 15. g4, by the way); but without playing g4 first, he would’ve had to either trade both knights OR one of his knights plus the g2-bishop.
9. For behold: had White played 15. Nce4 right off the bat, Black would have replied: 15… Bf5, and now if White doesn’t take on f6, Black will simply play … Bxe4 followed by … Nxe4 and White’s plan will come to naught.
10. But if Black does take on f6, then you have this line: (15. Nce4 Bf5) 16. Nxf6+ Qxf6! 17. Bxf6 Bxc2 18. Bxg7 Kxg7 and although it might now seem as though Black’s Bc2 can be trapped by an opportune g4, the truth is it squirms free: 18. g4 c4 and the cavalry arrives just in the nick of time.
11. NOW. You are Black, to move. You have one tempo before White puts his plan in motion– a plan that ends with a knight on f6 and a pawn on g5, which is not a happy prospect for you.
12. Your Queenside pressure won’t just go away, so you can use this tempo to try to stop or counteract White’s plan.
13. No less a player than Mikhail Tal mishandled this position, but maybe you can find the right idea. Flip the board around and find yourself a plan.
14. Go get ‘em, tiger.
15… h6?
15. Tal meekly hands over the initiative (not a sentence that you’ll see
too often).
16. Not only does 15… h6 hand White the initiative, but it doesn’t really address White’s plan.
17. Yes, White wants to put a pawn on g5, but that’s because he wants to use it to support a knight on f6. The knight is the real focus of the plan, and what Black should be doing is looking for a way to deny it the f6-square.
18. That’s why Black should have played 15… Ne8!, the best defense.
(Engines will verify this if you give them enough time.)
19. With 15… Ne8, Black’s knight not only covers the f6 square, but also clears the way for the f-pawn to advance. Now Black threatens … f5, when White’s kingside starts to look extremely drafty.
20. If you found 15… Ne8, give yourself a hug.
21. Just a hug. No groping, please.
16. Nce4 Qe7?
22. Another sentence you won’t see too often: Tal becomes confused and drops a pawn.
23. The next few moves show how.
17. Nxf6+ Bxf6
18. Bxf6 Qxf6
19. Ne4 Qe5
20. Qd2!
24. This Queen fork nets the h6-pawn– and, irony of ironies, although 15…h6 was Black’s attempt at stopping White from playing Nf6 and g4-g5, now that the pawn is removed, Black is back at square one. How can he stop White’s maneuver?
25. The answer is: he can’t.
20… b4
21. Qxh6 Rfd8
CHAPTER THREE: Today is not your day, Mikhail Tal.
22. g5 Qg7
1. Truth be told, White’s doing fine after 23. Qxg7+ Kxg7 24. Nxd6, but
Karlis Klasup is a man with a plan. He’s been playing to put the knight on f6 and dadgummit, that’s exactly what he’s gonna do.
23. Nf6+ Kf8
24. Qh4!
2. Good call. White doesn’t want to exchange Queens; Black’s king is looking pretty ugly in the center, and White wants to keep his best attacking unit on.
24… Bb5
25. Qg3 Bxe2??
3. I think it’s pretty clear at this point that aliens have abducted the real Mikhail Tal.
4. White /wants/ the e-file to be open. Why on earth should Black open it for him?
5. Plus, watch what happens to Black’s bishop.
26. Rfe1 Bb5
27. a4!
6. Tal is getting absolutely /spanked/ here by the wily veteran Karlis Klasup.
7. Spanked into a coma. … uh… good Lord, that mental image was
disturbing. Let’s just forget I said it and move on.
8. Black can just resign here, but instead he chooses to play out the string.
27… Ba6
9. Obviously, 27… Bd7?? 28. Qxd6# is embarrassing for Black.
10. So his only other choice was 27… bxa3, when 28. Rxa3 Nb7 29. Rxa7 Rb8 is obviously lost for Black, but looks like it might not collapse immediately. but look at that position more closely.
11. It’ll collapse, though. Look at that position more closely.
12. White would love to play Re8#, but Black’s Bb5 protects that square–and, oh yes, there are also a couple of Black rooks on the 8th rank that might present a teensy obstacle.
13. But those can be decoyed: the b8-rook can be pulled away by playing Rxb7, and the d8-rook can be pulled away by playing Qxd6+.
14. That just leaves the bishop. Now, given that we need the Queen and both the rooks to play the decoy moves and then deliver mate, how can we drive that friggin’ bishop off?
15. At first it seems like there’s no way. But in fact, there’s one unit of
our army that we AREN’T using for the combination… yet.
16. Sweet sassy molassy! I love it when a plan comes together.
17. White plays: 30. Bf1!! and /now/ Black can resign, ’cause 30… Bxf1 31. Rxb7 Rxb7 32. Qxd6+ Rxd6 33. Re8# SMELLS LIKE VICTORY.
18. So 27… Ba6 was forced, but now Black has /voluntarily/ taken the bishop away from guarding the e8 square.
19. Which, along with the loose d6-pawn, makes White’s next move so obvious it hurts.
28. Re8+ Rxe8
29. Qxd6+ Re7
30. Re1 Qh8
31. Rxe7 Kg7
32. Qxa6 c4
20. In the immortal words of Senior Drill Instructor Hartman, “What is this Mickey Mouse bull****?”
21. Apparently Black’s hoping to create a passed pawn as compensation for his sizeable and ever-growing material deficit.
22. Not gonna happen, bub.
23. White to move and crush Black’s dreams.
24. This is your second chance in this game to find something a master overlooked.
25. As usual, don’t read on until you’re satisfied with your solution.
33. Qxa7
26. Oh, Karlis Klasup. When will you learn that showing off is rude… and dangerous?
27. White should’ve played the simple, forcing, and (if I do say so myself) aesthetically pleasing combination 33. Rxf7+! Kxf7 34. Qe6+ Kf8 35. Qxc8+ Kg7 36. Qc7+ Kf8 37. Qb8+ Kg7 38. Qxa7+ Kf8 39. Qxa5.
28. I love me some hot windmill action.
29. White’s choice of 33. Qxa7+ does get the job done in the end, but not without some trials and travails. Well, potential trials and travails, in any case.
33… Qf8
34. Qd4
30. See what I said about showing off? Bad Karlis! BAD! Pride comes before the fall, y’know.
31. True, the rook’s verboten since 34… Qxe7 would allow 35. Ne8+ Kf8 39. Qh8#.
32. And true, White also threatens other discovered-check shenanigans.
33. But before White plays to reach this position, he has to be absolutely sure– certain in his bones– that he has a guaranteed win against every Black continuation (34… Qh8, for instance.)
34. This line’s a lot more murky than the windmill combination, no? Simplicity of calculation is your friend.
35. It took White five more moves to land the killing blow:
34… Nxb3
35. Qe5 c3
36. Be4 Kh8
37. Nd7+ Qg7
38. Nf6 Rf8
39. Qf4
36. And Black resigned. Let us say: 1-0, and amen.
klasup-tal-riga.pgn
[Event "?"]
[Site "Riga"]
[Date "1953.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Klasup Karlis"]
[Black "Tal Mikhail"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "E62/19"]
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. g3 Bg7 4. Bg2 O-O 5. Nc3 d6 6. Nf3 Nc6 7. O-O Bg4 8.
d5 Na5 9. Nd2 c5 10. h3 Bd7 11. Qc2 e6 12. b3 exd5 13. cxd5 b5 14. Bb2 Rc8
15. g4 h6 16. Nce4 Qe7 17. Nxf6+ Bxf6 18. Bxf6 Qxf6 19. Ne4 Qe5 20. Qd2 b4
21. Qxh6 Rfd8 22. g5 Qg7 23. Nf6+ Kf8 24. Qh4 Bb5 25. Qg3 Bxe2 26. Rfe1 Bb5
27. a4 Ba6 28. Re8+ Rxe8 29. Qxd6+ Re7 30. Re1 Qh8 31. Rxe7 Kg7 32. Qxa6 c4
33. Qxa7 Qf8 34. Qd4 Nxb3 35. Qe5 c3 36. Be4 Kh8 37. Nd7+ Qg7 38. Nf6 Rf8
39. Qf4
1-0
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