Tal took that pawn? Analysis by GM Daniel King

by Daniel King
2/21/2024 – The 1959 Candidates Tournament saw an inspired Mikhail Tal emerging victorious with 20/28 points in a quadruple round-robin. On his way to victory, Tal, aged 22 at the time, defeated Bobby Fischer, aged 16, in all four of their confrontations. GM Daniel King analysed one of these games, where Tal fearlessly grabs material, allowing Fischer to create a dangerous attack. The game, along with Daniel King’s voice-over, was featured in an animation produced by Umang Mankodiya.
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Tal beats a 16-year-old Fischer

In contrast to the Candidates Tournaments in Zürich 1953 and in Amsterdam 1956, only eight players took part in the 1959 edition of the event. But they played a quadruple round-robin, i.e. 28 games altogether. Mihail Tal coped best with this challenge. He won the tournament with 20 points to his name, while Keres finished second with 18½ points.

This result is even more remarkable given that only a few days before the start of the tournament, Tal had to go into a hospital to get his appendix removed. Yuri Averbakh, who worked as Tal’s second at the Candidates, was ‘horrified’ when he met him:

He looked pale and haggard. Only his eyes were just as piercing, burning with an unquenchable fire.

- Dmitry Plisetsky and Sergey Voronkov, Russians vs. Fischer, Everyman 2005, p.32

Tal himself played down the operation:

I was allowed ten days to recover. [...] I was not much troubled by the effects of the operation, apart from in a purely mechanical sense; during a game I did not feel inclined to stroll about, and I was unable to walk quickly. I was able to devote myself to the battle.

- Mihail Tal, The Life and Games of Mihail Tal, RHM Press 1976, p.118

It was the way in which Tal won his games that enchanted chess players all over the world. He did not shy away from risk nor sacrifice. This style caused the occasional defeat but also led to numerous brilliancies.

Find here a complete recap of the 1959 and 1962 Candidates Tournaments...

Bobby Fischer, Mikhail Tal

Bobby Fischer, Mikhail Tal and Tigran Petrosian in 1959

Great interest was caused by the duel between Tal and the 16-year-old Bobby Fischer. Tal won all four games against the young American, even when Fischer managed to outplay him.

Fischer later included one of his four losses against Tal in his 60 Memorable Games — an indicator of how much the defeat had affected him.

GM Daniel King analysed the game on the Power Play Chess YouTube channel.

Umang Mankodiya produced an animation titled “d4 or e4?”, featuring this memorable game and a voice-over by GM Daniel King.

Replay the game

Variations reproduced from Fischer’s “60 Memorable Games”

No other World Champion was more infamous both inside and outside the chess world than Bobby Fischer. On this DVD, a team of experts shows you the winning techniques and strategies employed by the 11th World Champion.

Grandmaster Dorian Rogozenco delves into Fischer’s openings, and retraces the development of his repertoire. What variations did Fischer play, and what sources did he use to arm himself against the best Soviet players? Mihail Marin explains Fischer’s particular style and his special strategic talent in annotated games against Spassky, Taimanov and other greats. Karsten Müller is not just a leading international endgame expert, but also a true Fischer connoisseur.

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Topics: Candidates Tournament 1959, Mikhail Tal
Daniel King is a regular on playchess.com. Commentating on live events such as the World Championship or analysing themes for his monthly Power Play Show. He also produces a DVD series called Power Play for ChessBase in the Fritztrainer format.