Mikhail Tal – a favourite of Caissa

Mikhail Tal – a favourite of Caissa

By Prof. Nagesh Havanur

The Candidates' Tournament 1959 was one of the greatest triumphs of Tal’s career. It was a star-studded field with eight players: Vassily Smyslov, Paul Keres, Tigran Petrosian, Mikhail Tal, Svetozar Gligorich, Pal Benko, Fridrik Olafsson and a 16-year-old Bobby Fischer! (Misha beat him 4-0). The event began rather ominously for Tal, with losses to Smyslov and Keres. But he picked up pace with courage and confidence. By the end of the second cycle it was already clear that the real struggle for the first place lay between Tal and Keres. The third cycle of the Tournament commenced in Zagreb. Harry Golombek recalled:

"If the audience had been surprisingly large at Bled, then they were still more impressive in their numbers at Zagreb where popular enthusiasm for chess is clearly very great indeed. The hall of play had some 700 seats but all tickets were sold well in advance and it was the custom for the crowds to assemble outside the playing room at each session..."

Spectators got their money's worth in excitement in the first round at Zagreb. Despite Tal's wonderful record it was an open secret that Smyslov was rather contemptuous of his play which seemed to him to allow to too great a role to chance and luck. In fact a few days before he had given an interview to a reporter of the Zagreb Evening News in which he indicated how lucky he thought Tal had been thus far in the tournament and that he regarded it as part of his duties as a grandmaster to beat Tal in a proper manner when next they met.''

Smyslov had reason to be unhappy. The former world champion was beaten in no uncertain terms in the eighth round by the young upstart. It was time for him to put the pretender in his place. We have the rest of the story from Tal himself:

'Up to a certain point Smyslov played the game brilliantly, and completely outplayed me, while in addition I had only 2-3 minutes left for some 15 moves. I had nothing to lose, there was no time for hesitation, and I only attempted to complicate my opponent's task in any way possible. And then, with my flag horizontal, and a further four moves still to make. Smyslov ran into almost the only swindle I had managed to think up."

“As I later found out, he had seen my rook sacrifice on g1, but on h1 – no. Smyslov is normally imperturbable at the board, but here after 39...Rh1+, his face changed, and after thinking for some three minutes, he made his reply and slammed his clock with furious force. Some of the pieces fell over, but contrary to my normal practice, I first gave check with my rook on...g1, pressed my clock, and then only began to restore order on the board. White could no longer escape from perpetual check.''

The result was no fluke. They met again in the 22nd round. This time Tal gave up a piece that could be called “half sacrifice and half blunder” in his words. But the resulting complications proved too much for Smyslov and it was he who blundered on reaching the time control.

Tal-Smyslov in round eight, move six – Tal won this one in 26 moves

Tal went on to win the Candidates’ Tournament and the last ride was not without adventure. Next year in 1960 he beat Botvinnik in the world championship match. He was only 24 years old. The aftermath also deserves a mention. He was beaten in the return match by Botvinnik. Misha lost the title, but not his wit. With characteristic irony he quipped, “I have a new title, I am the youngest ex-champion.”

Decades later he won the World Blitz Championship ahead of Kasparov among others. For once there was no way of stopping him. By then he was past fifty and had only four years to live. He breathed his last on 28th June, 1992 in Moscow.

By way of post script I should add the following: Smyslov left his disappointment far behind and bore no grudge against Tal for surpassing him in Candidates’. Indeed, he treated young Misha with rare affection thereafter. Time and again Tal would visit the Smyslov dacha and they would spend a happy day playing blitz or looking over the veteran’s games. Here is a combination that Tal admired. Smyslov played it when he was just 14, one year before Tal was born.

Today Tal and Smyslov are no more. One was the maestro of fantasy and the other of harmony. The Moving Finger writes and having writ moves on… (Omar Khayyam).

Links

A star is born
11/9/2012 – Sixty-four years ago: a twelve-year-old lad is excited that Mikhail Botvinnik is visiting his city. "I am going to challenge him,” he proclaims. To his dismay he is not allowed to go anywhere near the World Champion, but the boy gets to play in a simul against Botvinnik's sparring partner Vyacheslav Ragozin. You know of course who the boy was – today would have been his 76th birthday.

Tal in Memoriam
6/29/2015 – The 28th June happens be the death anniversary of Misha Tal. Few players in chess history have been loved and adored as much as this charismatic figure. Nagesh Havanur pays a tribute to this legendary player, recalling a rare encounter with Garry Kasparov. The second is a hussar-style duel with elegant tactical play throughout. Sheer magic!

Mikhail Tal: Triumph and Tragedy (Part I)
6/28/2012 – Exactly 20 years ago, on June 28, 1992, one of the greatest and most popular champions of all time, Mikhail Tal, passed away. In a fitting conclusion to his own legacy of chess before all, the Magician from Riga had escaped from the hospital on May 28, where he was dying from kidney failure, to play in the Moscow Blitz championship where he faced Kasparov. A tribute by Prof. Nagesh Havanur.

Mikhail Tal: Triumph and Tragedy (Part II)
7/4/2012 – Twenty years ago one of the greatest and most popular champions of all time, Mikhail Tal, passed away. In a previous column Prof. Nagesh Havanur described how the Magician from Riga spent his final days. Today he describes the friendship and rivalry between Tal and another world-class player, GM Paul Keres. Two encounters between the two are presented as deeply annotated games.

Master Class Vol.2 - Mikhail Tal
6/9/2014 – The first volume in the Master Class was based on Bobby Fischer, one of the most popular and revered players in history. What better player to follow up than Mikhail Tal, the Magician of Riga, whose imaginative play inspired and enthralled generations of players? Here his openings, middlegame, and endgame are scrutinized and analyzed by grandmasters. An in-depth review.