Mikhail Tal. "Knowledge? Intuition? Risk?", part 2
When intuition fails
In my game against I. Platonov (Alma-Ata, 1968/69, 36th USSR Championship) I got this position after Black's 19th move.
Though I think that the next example is even more instructive.
Misfortunes never come alone. The worst outcome of such mistakes aren't the points in table. They make you unsure in your own capabilities, fearful of making a mistake. I think that those mistakes in Alma-Ata played a role in what happened in Holland, during the last (8th) game against Larsen.
The game ended. A Dutch master Vithaus approached us and asked timidly, "You know, there's a local tournament in the next hall, and amateurs can't understand why didn't you play 29. a5 or 30. Re3? I immediately started to show the aforementioned variant, but when I castled Black's king, they looked at me very strangely... and I understood it all. It was even good that I've already lost the match.
So, let's start from the beginning. Knowledge? Intuition? Risk? All three components of victory can also become components of defeat. The question is, just how precise you are...
When risk doesn't pay off
I must immediately say that this heading isn't too precise. As I said before, both partners risk during a chess game - one agrees to give away some material, and the other agrees to bear some suffering for the material gain. In this case, the phrase "When risk doesn't pay off" is very emotional. The author comes back to the recent games again.
