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Janusz Szukszta vs Mikhail Tal
"In the Tal Grass" (game of the day Jun-01-2008)
Uppsala (1956) (blitz), Uppsala SWE, Apr-??
King's Indian Defense: Saemisch Variation (E86)  ·  0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 4 OF 4 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Mar-03-09  WhiteRook48: e2! Where pieces come to be sacrificed!
Jun-16-09  remolino: Unbelievable. I also had not seen this game, as if it was nothing for Tal to compose such a brilliancy.
Aug-24-09  Verklarte Nacht: this is what it says of this game at OlimpBase:
"This game was NOT a tournament game, rather a friendly blitz. Jotted by Euwe and then published in the world press it became one of most widely known Uppsala-related episodes."
Nov-05-10  sevenseaman: Like a man picking up his best possessions and throwing them into a raging fire with apparent unconcern - and still arriving at an alchemy of the desired result. Recondite methods!

Perhaps the game is rightly cut to size of perspective by the fact it wasn't played in a proper competition. But there it is; the genius for all posterity to marvel at! As chess aficionados we have an ancestor of an evergreen genre to be proud of.

Aug-19-11  atarw: for Nc6, all i have to say is you've got to be kidding me!
Aug-19-11
Premium Chessgames Member
  Fusilli: As a cute detail, both black rooks were sacked on e2, both checking the king face to face.
Sep-24-11  gourav27: Tal, you are the king of chess
Oct-03-11  pom nasayao: the game is pure entertainment!
Feb-12-12  screwdriver: It seems like Mikail Tal didn't follow the rules and principles of chess. He was somewhat of a law breaker. But chess aficionados don't see him as a law breaker, but the law maker!
Feb-24-12  reilouco: Yes. 11...Nc6 is a blunder.
Even he knew that a great part of his sacrifices were unsound.

This was one of them. But of course he is still a great player.

Mar-12-12  screwdriver: A standout performance by Mr. Tal.
Apr-13-12  palagalaako: Amazing game! Did he really had everything thought out since his Knight sac at c6? I wish I could play sacrificial chess games too...
Apr-13-12  Albertan: Note the two players followed the moves from the game A Zaruba vs J Marsalek, 1954 until White's 11th move.
Jun-24-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  LoveThatJoker: Stunning! This was a blitz game!!

LTJ

Nov-14-12
Premium Chessgames Member
  LoveThatJoker: Guess-the-Move Final Score:

J Szukszta vs Tal, 1956.
YOU ARE PLAYING THE ROLE OF TAL.
Your score: 39 (par = 28)

LTJ

Oct-15-13
Premium Chessgames Member
  kingscrusher: Blimey
Sep-05-14  fisayo123: This was the first Tal game I ever saw as a kid. It was in Bill Robertie's book. Safe to say, it made a strong impression on me.
Feb-26-15  Cactusjuice: One of the Tal's masterpiece
Sep-07-16  ughaibu: The idea of meeting the Saemisch by blowing open the centre, with c6 and d5, while white is behind in development, seems to have first been played in Euwe vs Pirc, 1938, with a precursor in L Abramavicius vs A D de Groot, 1937.
Jan-30-17  ColeTrane: And this is why Tal is there OG
May-16-17  clement41: It looks like black's attack is flowing easily, stemming from the ...Rxe3! exchange sac to own the dark squares, but in fact it's more subtle. For ex, after Kxe3 Ng4+ white doesn't have to take the knight, which complicates the calcs, and even in case of fg Qxd4+ Ke2 (Kf3?? is mated easily) Bh6!! (Mating) is best and easy to miss due to the overwhelming attraction towards the natural ...Bxg4+. If the latter is played, then after Ke2 Re8+ Ne2 black has to find ...Qe4! (Preventing Qc2) ; while of Be2 instead of Ne2 then black has to find ...Qd3! taking away c4 to the white Q while threatening ...Bxc3+ (...Qe3? is natural but fails to Qc4). Note how much ...Nc6!! earlier was key in blossoming the ensuing attack: not only did it evacuate the 8th rank for the Ra8, but it also opened the d file for the queen! Remarkable blitz play by Tal (I trust he saw every detail OTB, ?)
Aug-08-19  Degerman: An entertaining game, but far from correct from Tal. 11 - Nc6 is a huge blunder, but obviously good enough to bluff the white player. 13 0-0-0 (instead of Kf2) is clearly winning for white. 13 - Rxe3 14 cxb7 and black lose a piece without compensation.
Aug-24-21
Premium Chessgames Member
  kingscrusher: It is fun to know that even in the 1950's people appreciated blitz chess games sometimes for their fun value :)
Dec-15-22  AliSawalha: The following analysis by stockfish12. dxc6 Re8 13. O-O-O Rxe3 14. cxb7 Bxb7 15. Qxb7 Re7 16. Qb3 Qc8 17. Kb1 Rc7 18. Ndb5 Rb8 19. Qc2 Rd7 20. Be2 a6 21. Nd6 Qc5 22. Nc4 Nd5 23. Nxd5 Rxd5 24. f4 Rbd8 25. g3 Rxd1+ 26. Rxd1 Rxd1+ 27. Qxd1 Bd4 28. Qa4 a5 29. Qe8+ Kg7
May-28-23  Musicrafter: Interesting note: there are some comments about how Tal's 11...Nc6??! is a blunder. That's true. But in my opinion this game is not really tarnished by it since by simply adjusting the move order the combination becomes fully correct, and indeed black has an advantage from the position beginning with 11...Re8! 12. Kf2 Nc6! 13. dxc6, where you will notice we transpose back to the game. The game continuation is of course refuted by 13. O-O-O!, a move I suppose both players probably missed since it looks like it just hangs the bishop on e3, but in reality after 14. cxb7 white still walks away with an extra piece. Forcing Kf2 first by interpolating Re8 before Nc6 cuts this option out.
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