Tal's Famous Queen Sacrifice

 

     In 1958 the World Student Chess Championship was held from 5th to 20th of July at the spa Zlatni Piasatsi (Golden Sands) near Varna, Bulgaria on the Black Sea coast. Sixteen teams, a record number, participated. 

     It was a particuarly strong event because some of the students, Tal, Filip, Panno, Olafsson and Sanguineti had played in the Interzonal at Portoroz where Tal and Olafsson qualified for the candidates' tournament. Also playing were Spassky and 8 IMs. 

     The winning Soviet team consisted of Mikhail Tal, Boris Spassky, Bukhuti Gurgenidze, Aivars Gipslis, Alexander Nikitin and Yury Nikolaevsky. 

     The US team was William Lombardy, Edmar Mednis, Anthony Saidy, Arthur Feuerstein and Robert Sobel. 

     The day before the famous Bobotsov vs. Tal game, after Tal had finished his regular game he played speed chess against Nikola Padevsky and in all the games Tal played black. The games all were the same variation in which Tal sacrificed his Q for two minor pieces with mixed results. 

     Bobotsov was among the spectators and one version of the story is that Bobotsov said to Tal that he would never risk it in a serious game. Tal's reply was that he thought it was good and the two of them agreed to play it the next day.

     According to Jiri Vesely in the book White and Black Memories, when Bobotsov and Tal met the next day the opening moves, the same variation Tal had been experimenting with against Padevsky, were blitzed out as Bobotsov was anxious to find out what Tal had prepared instead of the Q sacrifice. Without flinching Tal played the Q-sac and the surprised Bobotsov, looking a bit embarrassed, took the Q and then lost quickly.

     It's quite possible that Tal knew of the game played about a year and a half earlier in the 1956 semi-finals of the 24th USSR Championship at Kharkov between Zamikhovdsky and Nezhmetdinov. That game didn't attract much attention, but it had featured the same Q sacrifice in a slightly different position and had ended in a draw.

Milko Bobotsov - Mikhail Tal

Result: 0-1

Site: Student Team Championship Varna

Date: 1958

King's Indian: Saemisch

[...] 1.d4 ♘f6 2.c4 g6 3.♘c3 ♗g7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.♘ge2 c5 7.♗e3 ♘bd7 Nowadays you won't see this continuation very often because at d7 the N does not take part in the fight for the square d4 and it blocks his B. (7...♘c6 8.d5 ♘e5 9.♘g3 e6 is the modern way.) 8.♕d2 a6 9.O-O-O ♕a5 10.♔b1 b5 11.♘d5

11.dxc5 was played in Zamikhovdsky - Nezhmetdinov, 24th USSR Championshipsemi-finals, Kharkov 1956. 11...dxc5 12.♘d5 ♘xd5 13.♕xa5

13.cxd5 was tried in van der Sterren-DeJong, Wijk aan Zee 1990 which also leads to equality after either 13...Qxd2 or 13...Qc7 as in the game.

13...♘xe3 14.♖c1 Nezhmetdinov was of the opinion that white's most dangerous line was now to play 14.Rxd7, but either way the chances would be about even.

11...♘xd5 12.♕xa5 ♘xe3 13.♖c1

13.♖d3 is probably more dangerous to black. 13...♘xc4 14.♕e1 ♘db6 15.♕c1 b4 16.♖d1 ♗d7 17.♘f4 ♘xb2 18.♔xb2 ♗h6 19.♔a1 ♗a4 20.dxc5 White is better and soon won in Bu Xiangzhi (2565)-Selin,O (2327)/St Petersburg 2000

13...♘xc4 14.♖xc4

14.♕c7 is not at all good. 14...♖b8 15.dxc5 ♗xb2 16.♘c3 ♖b7 17.♕c6 ♗xc1 18.♔xc1 ♘xc5 19.♗xc4 bxc4 and black soon won. Aflalo,S (2105)-Rouffignac,T (2278)/Pau FRA 2015

14...bxc4 This is a critical position as white's next move will determine whether he stays equal or slips into an inferior position. 15.♘c1 After this passive retreat black gains the initiative.

This is the best move. After 15.♘f4 ♗xd4 16.♗xc4 ♖b8 17.b3 Black has only a slight advantage. Adnan,A (2124)-Roeder,M (2426)/Abud Dhabi 1999

15.dxc5 is definitely inferior as the following game shows: 15...♘xc5 16.♘c3 ♗e6 17.♗e2 ♖ab8 and black went on to win. Zakharchenko,A (2316)-Videki,S (2424)/Zalakaros 2003

15...♖b8 16.♗xc4 ♘b6 (was even better. 16...♗xd4 17.♘b3 ♗e5) 17.♗b3 Whether white takes the P or not black gets a dangerous position. Bobotsov probably avoided 17.Bxa6 because it gives black another open file on the Q-side. 17...♗xd4 18.♕d2 the position is going down the drain

18.♘e2 is met by 18...♗xb2 19.♔c2 (19.♔xb2 ♘c4+) 19...c4 20.♗a4 ♘xa4 21.♕xa4 ♗f6 with a winning position.

18...♗g7 This allows the c-Pawn to advance. White is now dead lost. 19.♘e2 c4 20.♗c2 c3 A nifty little finishing touch. 21.♕d3 (21.bxc3 ♘c4+ wins the Q.) 21...cxb2 22.♘d4 ♗d7 23.♖d1 ♖fc8 24.♗b3 (24.♕xa6 loses: 24...♗xd4 25.♖xd4 ♖xc2 26.♔xc2 ♘d5 27.♖d1 ♘b4+) 24...♘a4 25.♗xa4 ♗xa4 26.♘b3 ♖c3 27.♕xa6 ♗xb3 28.axb3 ♖bc8 29.♕a3 ♖c1+ 30.♖xc1 ♖xc1+ It's mate next move so Bobotsov resigned.

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