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Mikhail Tal's Incredible Knightmare Game! - Best Of The 1980s - Tal vs. Hjartarson, 1987
Is this Tal's most perfect game? Can you spot any mistake?!?

Mikhail Tal's Incredible Knightmare Game! - Best Of The 1980s - Tal vs. Hjartarson, 1987

SamCopeland
| 20

Mikhail Tal became world chess champion at the age of only 23, and he lost the title in the following year. While he wouldn't get another shot at the title, he played INCREDIBLE chess for three more decades, including many fine games in the 1980s. One of his last great brilliancies was his game vs. Johann Hjartarson in 1987.

Tal combines exquisite positional play with a beautiful final tactical denouement, winning a game that I consider one of the most precise of his excellent career. I challenge you to find any notable mistake by Tal in this game!

Top 10 Games of the 1980s

The game begins simply enough with a solid Chigorin Defense in the Ruy Lopez. Mikhail Chigorin, namesake of the variation, was a great lover of knights, but he would hate to see what befalls Hjartarson's knight here. From a5, the knight can easily end up dominated, and in this game, Tal finds the right opportunity with b4! to exclude the knight from the rest of the action.

With his positional assets in hand, Tal is able to start setting up some clever tactics and eventually, his opponent falls prey to one, the brilliant 36.Rc5!! which allows Tal a brilliant attack, culminating in some gorgeous knight play and a pretty checkmate.

Lessons:

  • Act to restrict your opponent's knights on the rim. (19.b4!)
  • Attackers must also use prophylaxis. (34.Qb2!)
  • Tactics nearly always favor the stronger side. When your opponent scrambles for tricks, try to calculate a refutation.

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SamCopeland
NM Sam Copeland

I'm the Head of Community for Chess.com. I earned the National Master title in 2012, and in 2014, I returned to my home state of South Carolina to start Strategery: Chess and Games. In late 2015, I began working for Chess.com and haven't looked back since.

You can find my personal content on Twitch , Twitter , and YouTube where I further indulge my love of chess.