In this game, Mikhail Tal has the White pieces and Mark Pasman has the Black pieces.1e4c5This opening is called the Sicilian Defense, one of the sharpest, and most common openings back then and even now. The Sicilian is imbalanced in many ways and is Tal's favorite, as well as many other masters.2Nf3d63d4...When White plays the move d4, it creates pawn tension and will lead to many open positions, therefore this opening is named the open Sicilian.3...cxd44Nxd4Nf65Nc3a66f4...We dive deep into theory. This is the Najdorf Sicilian (characterized by Black's 5…a6) and White cleverly gains space in the center and kingside for a possible attack in the future.6...e5White does not want to trade pawns and give up his space, so Tal retreats his knight.7Nf3Nbd78Bd3...Clever, Tal is thinking into the future for an attack.8...Be79O-OO-O10Kh1...White prevents any shenanigans with Qb6+.10...b5if we look at the structure of this position, we can see that Black is going for some sort of queenside expansion while White has attacking chances on the kingside and the d-file. But before we attack, stop our opponent's attack or plan!11a3!...Prophylaxis; Tal paralyzes his opponent's play, and only then is time to attack.11...Qc712fxe5...Finally--the time has come to open up files.12...dxe513Nh4!...Tal needs to improve all of his pieces.
To attack, we have to:
First, get our pieces to their best squares, all pointed to one side (kingside).
Second, sacrifice to rip open the king;
Third, go for checkmate and mate or win a lot of material.13...Nc514Bg5...Tal develops his last minor piece and prepares to take away the knight on f6.14...Qd815Nf5...A juicy outpost!15...Bxf516Rxf5Nfd7?!A small mistake on Black's part; this allows White a stronger attack, as Tal can jump in with his pieces with tempi, and the knight takes one more move to hop into the defensive post on f6 to counter the attack to come.17Bxe7Qxe718Nd5!...The knight is on it's best square and with tempo, too!18...Qd619Qg4!...Invite all the pieces to the party! Without a knight on f6, Black's only shelter is a wall of pawns, so White can bring in more pieces.19...g620Raf1!...Bring more pieces!20...f6Black has weakened his structure, but Misha's bishop on d3 is not attacking yet. So, for it's substitute, we throw in Harry the h-pawn as a battering ram. This is a very common maneuver against a castled king, and especially works well against a pawn on g6.21h4Kh8Black threatens to take the rook- Tal backs up for a moment.22R5f3f5Here, it seems that White is losing; the e4 pawn is attack twice and defended only once, and if we capture it, we lose the knight on d5. But it comes to a point where White should sacrifice a piece to open up the Black king.23exf5!...Suddenly, the bishop on d3 springs to life! This sacrifice is not correct, but if a sacrifice is 'correct', it's not much of a sacrifice, is it?23...Qxd524fxg6Rxf325g7+!...Amazing in-between move! The g-pawn is 1 step away from queening, and Black has to defend for his life to stop that criminal.25...Kg826Bxh7+!!...chaos breaks loose! The second piece sac, for a second passed pawn. Harry the h-pawn is off on his journey to become a wizard.26...Kxh727Rxf3Ne428h5...Tal threatens Qg6+ followed by h6 and h7#. According to the engine, Black is still holding on to the 2 extra pieces and can still survive but this position is practically better for White as a single mistake from Black leads to bloody death.28...Ndf629Qg6+Kg830h6Ra7The knight on f6 is the glue to Black's defense, and Tal now only needs to play h7 and mate to follow... but haste makes waste! Rh3 leads to Nf2+, so we just sllllide the king up.31Kh2!...31.Rh3Nf2+31...Re7??Remember how I said that one slip could be winning for White? Well, this is the slip. This move gives White a big lead. Apparently, Black had to PREVENT Rh3 with Qd2!! which has the threat of Qf4+ if the rook moves.31...Qd2!!Black is hanging on by a thread, but White has nothing but to win back a knight.32.h7+Nxh733.Qxe4Stockfish: -2.3, black is much better.
This shows that although Tal's sacrifices were unsound, they are extremely hard to defend against.32Rh3...Continuing the plan.32...Nh733Rd3!!...Rd8!! is crushing! Black has to sacrifice the queen to survive, but what did Misha have planned against Qa8?33...Qa8Here, you must realize that Rd8+ is crushing, and we need to do everything to get it in, so logically the only move to continue the attack is:34Qxe4!!...DECOYING the queen away from the defense of the back rank; White can check on d8 and queen on g8 next.34...Qxe434...Qb835.Qd5+Rf736.Qd8+Qxd837.Rxd8+Nf838.gxf8=Q+Rxf839.h7+Kg740.Rxf8Kxf841.h8=Q+35Rd8+Kf736g8=Q+...Tal sacrificed his queen to get another, and Black's king is a sitting duck.36...Kf637Rd6+Kf538Qg6+Kf439g3+Ke340Rd3+Qxd3Black Resigns, not waiting for Tal's response 41. Qxd3+, which would be winning.
AMAZING sacrifice by the great magician and this game shows how strong passed pawns can be.
