The chess games of Mikhail Tal

Tal

Mikhail Tal
Number of games in database: 2,806
Years covered: 1949 to 1992
Highest rating achieved in database: 2645
Overall record: +1117 -298 =1303 (65.1%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games
      Based on games in the database; may be incomplete.
      88 exhibition games, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS

With the White pieces:

Sicilian (339)
    B46 B43 B82 B32 B40
Ruy Lopez (254)
    C92 C95 C93 C96 C84
Ruy Lopez, Closed (163)
    C92 C95 C93 C96 C84
Caro-Kann (102)
    B14 B17 B18 B12 B10
French Defense (95)
    C07 C18 C09 C05 C16
English (91)
    A15 A14 A13 A17 A16

With the Black pieces:

Sicilian (340)
    B43 B40 B46 B22 B52
King's Indian (113)
    E94 E92 E98 E69 E62
Queen's Pawn Game (82)
    E10 A46 E00 A40 A41
English (79)
    A15 A14 A10 A13 A17
Nimzo Indian (79)
    E48 E52 E53 E46 E56
Modern Benoni (74)
    A56 A64 A61 A62 A65

Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   Tal vs Larsen, 1965 1-0
   Tal vs Hjartarson, 1987 1-0
   Tal vs Karpov, 1987 1-0
   Tal vs Smyslov, 1959 1-0
   Tal vs Miller, 1988 1-0
   Tal vs Hecht, 1962 1-0
   Tal vs Koblents, 1957 1-0
   M Bobotsov vs Tal, 1958 0-1
   Tal vs Sviridov, 1969 1-0
   Fischer vs Tal, 1959 0-1

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: [what is this?]
   Tal-Botvinnik World Championship Match (1960)
   Tal-Botvinnik World Championship Return Match (1961)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   Tal Fever by chocobonbon
   Match Tal! by amadeus
   Mikhail Tal: Selected Games by wanabe2000
   Mikhail Tal's Best Games by KingG
   The Magician, supplemental by Yopo
   Tal king of chess by LESTRADAR
   remembering Tal by Yopo
   The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal by MoonlitKnight
   tal best games by brager
   Road to the Championship - Mik Tal by Fischer of Men
   TAL by chessdeviant
   Guess-the-Move Chess: 1960-1979 (Part 3) by Anatoly21
   fav Tal & Topalov games by guoduke
   Geller and Tal beat the French by ughaibu

Search Sacrifice Explorer for Mikhail Tal
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MIKHAIL TAL (born Nov-09-1936, died Jun-28-1992) Latvia	PRONUNCIATION:		[what is this?]
Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal was born in Riga, Latvia (annexed by the USSR in 1940). At 6, he learned chess from his father,a medical doctor (source: Tal interview in <Chess Life>, May 1967). He won his first Latvian Championship in 1953, and earned the title of Soviet Master the following year. In 1957, he became the youngest-ever Soviet Champion. In 1960, following a string of victories in strong tournaments (including a second consecutive Soviet Championship, the Portoro� Interzonal and the Candidates in Yugoslavia), he became the youngest World Chess Champion with a match victory over Mikhail Botvinnik. This record was broken by Garry Kasparov in 1985. Suffering from poor health, he lost the rematch the next year. He never qualified for a title match again. Tal continued to struggle with health problems for the rest of his career, which was often marked by inconsistent results. On a number of occasions, however, he was still able to achieve world-class successes. He added four more Soviet Championship victories to his resume (in 1967, 1972, 1974, and 1978), equalling Botvinnik's all-time record of six. In 1979, he won joint first place at Montreal with Anatoly Karpov, briefly climbing back to second place in the world rankings. In 1988, he won the World Blitz Championship. He died of renal failure in 1992, at the age of 55. Paul Keres was a font of inspiration for him and Tal won three Keres Memorials 1977, 1981, and 1983. Renowned for his aggressive, sacrificial playing style, Tal was also a noted chess journalist and author. In his autobiography, The Life and Games of Mikhail Tal, he annotates 100 of his greatest games. A list of books about Tal can be found at http://www.chesshistory.com/winter/... Wikipedia article: Mikhail Tal

page 1 of 113; games 1-25 of 2,806

Game	Result	Moves	Year	Event/Locale	Opening
1. Tal vs Ripatti	½-½	41	1949	Riga	B74 Sicilian, Dragon, Classical
2. Tal vs Leonov	1-0	25	1949	Riga	B13 Caro-Kann, Exchange
3. Tal vs C Weldon	1-0	65	1949	Vilnius	B40 Sicilian
4. A Parnas vs Tal	0-1	29	1949	Riga	C91 Ruy Lopez, Closed
5. Tal vs J I Zilber	1-0	33	1949	Riga	C07 French, Tarrasch
6. J Klovans vs Tal	0-1	18	1949	Riga	C10 French
7. Tal vs M Strelkov	1-0	16	1949	Riga	C10 French
8. Nevitsky vs Tal	0-1	43	1949	Semi Finals Youth Championship	C49 Four Knights
9. Kholmov vs Tal	0-1	21	1949	Riga	D44 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
10. Jullik vs Tal	0-1	39	1950	Riga	A16 English
11. Tal vs Sodell	0-1	23	1950	URS	C91 Ruy Lopez, Closed
12. Pakala vs Tal	0-1	29	1950	Riga	D02 Queen's Pawn Game
13. Tal vs Kliavin	1-0	54	1950	Latvian jr Champ	B74 Sicilian, Dragon, Classical
14. Leonov vs Tal	0-1	34	1950	URS	E17 Queen's Indian
15. Liepin vs Tal	0-1	44	1950	Riga	B59 Sicilian, Boleslavsky Variation, 7.Nb3
16. Ivanov vs Tal	1-0	25	1950	URS	C90 Ruy Lopez, Closed
17. Lavrinenko vs Tal	0-1	38	1950	Riga	B59 Sicilian, Boleslavsky Variation, 7.Nb3
18. Tal vs Pliss	1-0	37	1950	Riga	C99 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin, 12...cd
19. K Klasup vs Tal	½-½	41	1950	Riga	D30 Queen's Gambit Declined
20. Tal vs Miglan	1-0	21	1950	URS jr	C82 Ruy Lopez, Open
21. Tal vs N Darsniek	0-1	26	1950	Riga	C98 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin
22. Tal vs J Fride	1-0	40	1951	Riga	B28 Sicilian, O'Kelly Variation
23. Tal vs Gipslis	1-0	24	1951	Tournament	E30 Nimzo-Indian, Leningrad
24. Tal vs S Giterman	1-0	63	1951	Leningrad	D15 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
25. Tal vs M Pasman	½-½	56	1951	Riga	C74 Ruy Lopez, Modern Steinitz Defense


page 1 of 113; games 1-25 of 2,806

REFINE SEARCH: White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Tal wins | Tal loses

< Earlier Kibitzing · PAGE 99 OF 103 · Later Kibitzing>
Nov-30-11		talriga25: Tal had the true talent!!! but was lack of positional way of modern chess... He refused to play it for a long term. Remember his blindfold simultaneous...

Nov-30-11		talriga25: what about his student?Kasparov?...he did not know how to lose...what about Karpov and his teacher thoughts about him at he was 12..Botvinnik was a strategist that is all..Alekhine is far higher than him for me...

Dec-13-11		talisman: thanks <kingcrusher>.

Dec-15-11		Antiochus: [Event "ENG"] [Site "?"] [Date "1964.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Mikhail Tal"] [Black "Springall"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D08"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "1964.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 d4 4. e4 Nc6 5. f4 f6 6. Nf3 fxe5 7. Bd3 Bg4 8. O-O Bd6 9. c5 Bxc5 10. Qb3 Qd7 11. Nxe5 Nxe5 12. fxe5 O-O-O 13. Nd2 Ne7 14. Nc4 Rdf8 15. Bf4 Be2 16. e6 $3 Qd8 17. Ne5 Bxf1 18. Rxf1 Ng6 19. Nf7 Qe8 20. Bg3 Rhg8 21. Rc1 Qe7 22. Qd5 Bb6 23. Ba6 $1 d3+ 24. Kh1 c5 25. Qc6+ 1-0

Dec-15-11		Mudphudder: I have come to believe that IM Emory Tate is a modern day reincarnation of Tal.

Dec-15-11		OhioChessFan: <Mud> I wonder if Tate was 2750+ if he'd be as swashbuckling in his play. I sort of think not. And I suspect that even Tal would have to tone his game down a little if he were transported to today's chess world. There's obviously still room for that kind of player, but I don't think that it would be as effective today as it was 50 years ago.

Dec-15-11		King Death: < OhioChessFan: ...I suspect that even Tal would have to tone his game down a little if he were transported to today's chess world.> He "toned down" his play during his career. By the 1960s, you'll find him using closed openings once in awhile and more of the same in the 70s and 80s. This was the man who had two long unbeaten streaks as a mature GM and he wasn't playing all of the ultrasharp lines he used in his early career. This may get me some heavy flaming, but I contend that he was very possibly a stronger player in the 1970s than when he won the title.

Dec-16-11		BishopofBlunder: <OhioChessFan:>, Computers killed the chess barbarians.

Dec-28-11		talisman: <possibly a better player in the 1970's than when he won the title> Tal said the same thing.

Jan-14-12		5hrsolver: click for larger view How is this for some excitement. They recently played a tournament in Spain where the opponents played two simultaneous games as black and white. They say this was an idea of the late David Bronstein. I propose the same type play but with the preset of the final position in this game here between Tal and kasparov(Tal vs Kasparov, 1992). Each player will have the chance to attack and defend the same position. It is this kind of positional imbalance that makes chess exciting and with the new system I think it becomes even more exciting. What do you guys think? We could use other preset positions too. The players will not know the preset position in advance so there is no chance for preparation.

Jan-25-12		kingscrusher: Another Tal Session last night on the Playchess.com server Kingscrusher Radio Show 24th Jan - A selection of Mikhail Tal Games between 1955 and 1958 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qeKf...

Jan-30-12		Antiochus: " People banter me because I was world champion for one year only. Though, the world title is forever." Mikhail Tal

Jan-30-12		JoergWalter: And after the rematch with Botvinnik Tal told his mama: "Look I'm an Ex-World Champion now". Quite a character, modest, well mannered and good humour.

Feb-02-12		Antiochus: <Joerg Walter> Sometimes, good guys and humor sense can be malevolent.In any case, I found it funny the joke below "I drink, I smoke, I bet, I seek girls _ but correspondence chess is an addiction I do not have" Mikhail Tal Here is a win of "Wizard of Riga" not present in cg database.I hope you enjoy. [Event "ENG"] [Site "?"] [Date "1964.??.??"] [Round "?"] [White "Mikhail Tal"] [Black "Springall"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "D08"] [PlyCount "49"] [EventDate "1964.??.??"] 1. d4 d5 2. c4 e5 3. dxe5 d4 4. e4 Nc6 5. f4 f6 6. Nf3 fxe5 7. Bd3 Bg4 8. O-O Bd6 9. c5 Bxc5 10. Qb3 Qd7 11. Nxe5 Nxe5 12. fxe5 O-O-O 13. Nd2 Ne7 14. Nc4 Rdf8 15. Bf4 Be2 16. e6 Qd8 17. Ne5 Bxf1 18. Rxf1 Ng6 19. Nf7 Qe8 20. Bg3 Rhg8 21. Rc1 Qe7 22. Qd5 Bb6 23. Ba6 $1 d3+ 24. Kh1 c5 25. Qc6+ 1-0

Feb-16-12		waustad: I don't remember seeing this one before: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q6nU... It tells you something about his health late in his career. He was still in his 50s then.

Feb-16-12		AlphaMale: Yeah, he looked like death warmed up.

Feb-17-12		teddysalad: <waustad:> This was a blitz match against Kasparov that Tal won on time. It was mid 1992, about a month before Tal died at at age 55. He looked about 25 years older but he packed a lot of exuberant living and brilliant chess into those 55 years.

Feb-22-12		drnooo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JxAd... some great stuff here very rich snips also apparently they missed mentioning one guy in the video. lets see if anyone here can spot him(when you do be sure and put in exactly where he shows up with the minute and second hand near as I can tell nobody at you tube did OR the poster, and man o man was Tal ever the gracious guy look at how genially he accepts the literal laurels what a guy, what a guy

Feb-22-12		drnooo: lets see how many days it takes for someone here to spot the goof in the video...it's a pretty rich goof...and very understandable

Feb-22-12		Zugzwangovich: Was that GM Gligoric at 2:11?

Feb-23-12		drnooo: maybe its gligo, not sure would have to look again...however its not the one I am talking about...this goof is much much larger...will check out the gligo thing but I doubt it...at any rate when the culprit is spotted you all will be in for a HUGE surprise

Feb-23-12		drnooo: okay, checked it out, nope it aint gligo, almost positive, that guy is just some russkie functionary congratulating Tal upon winning the WC, notice his, Tals, attire is virtually the same as in the next few sections, the smile even the same however so far even at youtube nobody has posted an addendum, so this is a toughie..not a job for amateurs...what is going to be interesting is how long it will take for someone popping in there, or here to pick up the error right now they have had 30,000 and some odd visitors and so far nobody there has noticed it either

Feb-23-12		Zugzwangovich: <drnoo> A real stumper! I've looked over the video frame-by-frame and can't spot the guy you did. So I'll take a shot in the dark. I can't clearly identify the two guys at 3:29 but the one with the window seat looks a bit like Fischer--mebbe it could be? BTW, might you be a fellow 007 buff?

Feb-24-12		drnooo: right you are zug, this is a crazy piece of business and ultimately quite hilarious. Your choice, I did not check out yet, but it ain't the one. The hilarity will come when the guy is spotted, you will see what I mean. Part of this fun is like that of a manhunt, an entire police force, ie this crew thrashing the woods for one escaped maniac. Lots of us here and even more at youtube. But stay tuned when the mystery is solved it will be well worth the wait...in passing I should say that I have always been extra good in spotting faces, all this talk about people being dead ringers, forget it, even with twins I somehow have always picked up the very very very slight differences. So I really get no credit here, its almost a fluke and a freak. As for the 007 stuff, nope, seen em all but not really a fan, other than From Russia with Love and Ursula Undress, uhh Andress and a few of the other women. But I digress. When the villain here is spotted, believe me its a howler

Feb-24-12		drnooo: just checked , no the one at the window is our hero, Tal, going over what seems to be a paper portable set, maybe even leather, as for whom he is doing it with, got me, but my hunch is some fairly top notch russkie good enough for some soviet championship. Very very very good video, showcasing the young Tal, notice his humor and humility in virtually every blasted snip.

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