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Mikhail Tal Plays the Tarrasch

This is a game in which Mikhail Tal plays the Tarrasch against Jan Timman. It seems to be even, and then Tal converts the position into a won endgame.

Do not view my annotations as undisputable facts; I am rated 1300 USCF.

These blogs are mainly my efforts to understand games played by grandmasters. They may be helpful to you, too.

Comments


  • 2 years ago

    bbirney

    The end where black resigned, promotion was not inevitable as black could have traded off his rook in return for the pass pawn. In addition, black could've easily marched down the board with his own 2 pass pawns and promoted. A good game, but not entirely won.

  • 3 years ago

    BasicLvrCH8r

    Thank you for your constructive criticism. The next game features an unsound sacrifice that ends up winning very nicely.

  • 3 years ago

    KillaBeez

    I'll just correct some of your annotations as I go.  Most of them were pretty good

    6. Bd3- This move is not really aimed at attacking the g6 square; it is mainly devised for pressuring the h7 point and to get things going on the kingside with an eventual sacrifice on h7.

    9. exf6- Not all other moves lose.  Nf4 is a good alternative which leads to a draw in modern theory.  This result is usually not acceptable for White, so he plays exf6

    9. Nxf6- Qxf6 is actually a decent alternative.  The idea is to play for a quick e5.  This would activate Black's forces.

    15. Rhe1- Tal does care, but doesn't see a useful discovery from the knight.  Therefore he attacks the e6 pawn.

    31. h4- While I can't see the reason for this move, at least try to find the rationale behind it.  Tal likely had some reason to play it over other alternatives.

    37. Ka5- This move has merits.  It gets the king out of the way for the b pawn and puts it in a place that is safe from immediate checks.

    38. Ra3+- Black wants to force White to impede his pawn with the king before he undergoes any other matters.

    Overall, I thought you did an excellent job annotating this game.  You got lazy on some matters and didn't elaborate on others, but overall, it was a great effort.  I hope you learned something while doing it.  Next game, rather than a boring rook ending, look up a Tal special: a middlegame crush!

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