Misha v. Vishy

Like (I would imagine) most Indian schoolboys, I knew of Vishwanathan Anand (https://lichess.org/@/Anand) – the Grandmaster, Khel Ratna Awardee, extraordinaire, before I even learned the rules of chess. His poise, modesty and undeniable talent had cemented his legendary status in the early 90s. Over the next two decades, he competed in 10 World chess championships and won five; with a peak ELO Rating of 2817 (in 2011).

I discovered Mikhail Tal shortly after I learned how to play chess. I must have been around 12 and didn’t know much beyond the pieces moved. Like many chess players, I was instantly drawn to his bold advances and flashy sacrifices. Again, I didn’t know any theory (or even that theory existed) at that age, so could not appreciate just how bold (unsound?) many of his moves were; nevertheless, his games were still a delight to read. A more mature me now heralds the likes of Shakhriyar Mamedyarov and Teimour Radjabov as better attackers, but Tal will always hold a special place in my heart. Anyway, more pertinently, he was the youngest World Champion (1960-61, aged 22) , his peak Elo rating was 2705 (in 1980), and his highest Historical Chessmetrics Rating was 2799 (in 1960).

When Misha played Vishy, the only match they would ever play, he was 55 years old and well past his prime. His health had deteriorated, and he visited the hospital nearly as much as he played chess. Vishy on the other hand was 19, having recently (July, 1987 and December, 1988) beat the legendary Vasyl Ivanchuk twice, and received the Grandmaster title (September, 1988). He would go on to beat Ivanchuk 3 more times in 1992, at a time when Ivanchuk was beating the likes Yasser Seirawan, Nigel Short, Boris Gelfand, Lev Polugaevsky, Alexei Shirov and Garry Kasparov.

Still, Misha had the White pieces. Its important to point out that Vishy wasn’t always the conservative, positional, universal-style player we know today. In his younger days, he was a fierce attacking player; with a proclivity for creative, original lines. And so the stage was set for two of the greatest attacking players of different generations (of all time?) to go head to head. If you know either of them, you know they hate draws. And so, its February 1989, and the stage was set in Cannes at the 4th Tournoi de Generations (the photo on top is only to indicate how Vishy looked back then) - a most exciting cross-generational matchup.

Tal played an Average Centipawn Loss of 36. Which is great for a 37 move game, especially given that Computer Analysis was still at a burgeoning stage. According to Stockfish, there were 6 inaccuracies, and the only blunder was move 25, where Tal gambits a pawn for the b7 pawn; more pertinently to open up lines to Vishy's King.

But, Anand played the game with an Average Centipawn Loss of 9.
0 inaccuracies
0 mistakes
0 blunders

A masterclass.

I'm sure Mikhail Tal thoroughly enjoyed the game and they heartily analysed it afterwards. From the opening to the very end, the game is creative and competitive, with both sides fighting hard. And not just fighting to defend/draw, but for the initiative, both sides want to win. I'm glad two of my favourite chess players got to play against each other atleast once. Misha was of course one of Vishy's greatest inspirations, Anand is of course a product of the Tal Chess School in Madras. Here's Vishy on what it was like playing against Tal: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1897116173774273. Misha would pass away three years later, in the summer of 1992.

" To play for a draw, at any rate with white, is to some degree a crime against chess. "
- Mikhail Tal