Mikhail Tal, A Positional Player, Part I

Dear chess lovers, this post is based on the book "Mikhail Tal's Best Games 1, 1949-1959, The Magic of Youth", by Tibor Karolyi

I have selected a few of Tal's games that show his positional skills. We all know he is famous a a "tactician', but my point of departure is this: It is not possible to scale the heights of the chess world, like Tal did, without possessing an extraordinary set of positional skills, including good endgame play. From what I have observed so far, all World Champions were also great endgame players.

When I first became aware of the existence of this 3-volume set on Tal, I was skeptical.

I thought: "Yeah, another chess "writer" trying to make a buck on Tal's  games." But at some point I decided to buy not one, but all three volumes! By that time, the idea about writing a blog about Tal's positional abilities had already taken birth in my mind.

So I went through all three volumes, and marked all those games which were not decided by an attack on the opponent's King, but rather games that were decided in the endgame. And I have been pleasantly surprised.

Since at this time my time and energy are limited, and the comments in Karolyi's books are so good, I will do this: I will first post the whole selection of the games chosen, with the diagram marking a key moment, and then slowly I will be adding in the comments. Why? Because I can't wait anymore to share with you all the actual selection of games.

In the meantime, if you want to derive the utmost benefit from these games, it is better tom see them WITHOUT comments, and follow Bronstein's advice:

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"You should not "read" a chess creation but you should move the pieces on the chessboard and make move by move exactly as the work of Chess Art was created for the very first time. On your own chessboard with your own chess pieces and in complete silence, to be able to follow closely the events as they unfold before your very eyes. The best way is to do this in three stages."

"First, play through the whole game without hesitating more than a couple of seconds at each move. If you have the urge to pause longer-don't! Take a piece of paper and make some notes if you wish, and continue to play the game to the end. Then get a cup of tea or coffee, relax and try your best to recall from memory the spectacle you have just seen. Try to establish the reasons why certain decisions were made."

"Second, play through the game again, somewhat slower this time,and make notes of everything that you did not see the first time."

"Third, now go straight to those pencil marks and give your imaginative and creative energy free reign. Try to play better than my partner and I. If you do not agree, look closely at each decision, either for White or for Black, with a critical eye. If you look at a game like this you will discover a lot of new and useful knowledge, which you can use for your own benefit."

"Write your findings in a notebook in order to look at them later when you are in a different mood, especially if you like the game. If, during stage one, you took no notes, don't look at this game again. Go on to the next one that, hopefully, will give you more pleasure and satisfaction. It just means that it did not appeal to you. Although I consider chess an Art, I will not blame you at all if you do not like a particular game. In a museum you cannot like every painting you see. As French gourmets say, taste is a very personal matter."

"When I was learning to play chess, I studied thousands and thousands of games played by the older generation in exactly the same way and gained a lot from them."

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Game 1

Game 2

Game 3

Game 4

Game 5

Game 6

Game 7

Game 8

Game 9