Tal, on the Other End

The game, move by move

A Closed Ruy Lopez

1. 1. e4 King’s pawn
2. 1… e5 The same claim
3. 2. Nf3 The knight out
4. 2… Nc6 And Black’s
5. 3. Bb5 The Ruy Lopez
6. 3… a6 a6, asking
7. 4. Ba4 The bishop steps back
8. 4… Nf6 Developing
9. 5. O-O White castles
10. 5… b5 b5, again
11. 6. Bb3 And back to b3
12. 6… Bb7 The bishop to b7 The long diagonal, aimed at e4 — and at the end of the game this bishop takes that pawn and pulls the rook off the second rank with it.
13. 7. d3 d3, the quiet line
14. 7… Be7 Developing
15. 8. Re1 The rook to e1
16. 8… O-O And Black castles
17. 9. Nbd2 The second knight
18. 9… d6 d6, solid
19. 10. c3 c3, preparing d4
20. 10… Na5 The knight to a5
21. 11. Bc2 The bishop to c2
22. 11… c5 c5, taking space
23. 12. Nf1 The knight re-routes
24. 12… Re8 The rook to e8
25. 13. Ng3 The knight to g3
26. 13… Bf8 The bishop back to f8

The centre breaks

1. 14. d4 d4 — the break at last
2. 14… cxd4 Taken
3. 15. cxd4 Recaptured
4. 15… Nd7 The knight to d7
5. 16. Nf5 The knight to f5 The Tal square. It is offered rather than defended, and Black does not take it for four more moves.
6. 16… exd4 Taken in the centre
7. 17. N3xd4 Recaptured with the other knight
8. 17… Ne5 The knight to e5
9. 18. b3 b3, propping up
10. 18… Rc8 The rook to the c-file And the c-file is where the mate comes from twenty-two half-moves later — the rook goes to c2 and never leaves the second rank.
11. 19. Bb2 The bishop to b2
12. 19… g6 g6, at last asking the knight

Everything traded

1. 20. f4 f4, keeping it there
2. 20… gxf5 The knight, taken
3. 21. fxe5 Taken back on e5
4. 21… dxe5 Recaptured
5. 22. Nxf5 The second knight takes f5
6. 22… Qxd1 The queens come off Qxd1 — and the recapture has to be with the bishop, which takes the last piece off the b1–h7 diagonal that White’s whole attack was built on.
7. 23. Bxd1 Recaptured with the bishop
8. 23… Nc6 The knight comes back to c6
9. 24. Bg4 The bishop to g4
10. 24… Nb4 The knight to b4 Heading for c2 — a square that is defended by nothing at all, because the queen and both bishops that used to cover it are gone.

Mated on the back rank

1. 25. Rad1 The second rook to d1 It looks like the right square and it is the losing one: at the end this rook is standing on d1 in its own king’s way.
2. 25… Rc2 The rook to c2 Onto the second rank in front of the king, where nothing can take it.
3. 26. Re2 The rook to e2, challenging it
4. 26… Bc5+ Check, from c5 The bishop that has been sitting on f8 since move thirteen finds the diagonal that ends at g1.
5. 27. Kf1 Kf1
6. 27… Bxe4 The bishop takes e4 A pawn, and the point is what has to take back: the rook on e2 — the one piece guarding the second rank.
7. 28. Rxe4 Recaptured
8. 28… Rf2+ The rook to f2, with check
9. 29. Ke1 Ke1
10. 29… Nc2# Checkmate, on c2 The knight steps to c2 and Tal has nothing. The rook on f2 covers f1, e2 and d2; the bishop on c5 covers f2; and d1 is his own rook, which he put there himself.