The Last Round. How Tal Became A Grandmaster

A change of plan today, because I came across the above - rather wonderful - picture, and decided to post the story around it before I forgot.

Back in the 1950s and 60s, becoming a Grandmaster was no easy task. I'm not going to say that it is 'easy' today - it isn't - but things have changed.

My favourite comment on the whole subject can be found here :-

https://dgriffinchess.wordpress.com/2019/07/11/ratmir-kholmov-1925-2006/  

Kholmov's take on the question.

'' In ’60, when they put me up for the grandmaster title, Botvinnik himself spoke against it. “Let’s wait a bit,” Mikhail Moiseyevich said , “let Kholmov play for another year or two and demonstrate his class.”

By then I had been among the prize-winners in national championships and won more than one international tournament. That was how they awarded the grandmaster title in those days!

And now look at what they do, it’s completely idiotic, this race after grandmaster titles. It’s nonsense. I read recently that Russia got 22 new grandmasters in one year.

A candidate master becomes a grandmaster within a year . And they are proud of this.

They should be crying, not celebrating.''

So here's the story of how - at the 24th USSR Championship and it's aftermath - Tal earned the Grandmaster title.

He needed a little luck along the way - indeed, he barely qualified for the tournament at all!

As I have said many times, the USSR Championship semi-finals were seriously tough events. Tal played in the one in Tbilisi, and scraped through, finishing equal fifth, way behind the winner Petrosian.

Time is short here, so let's leap forward to the final round of the 24th Championships finals, and hand over to Tal himself, in 'Life and Games'.

''Before the last round, three of us were sharing first place: Bronstein, Tolush and myself. My last round opponent was Tolush, whilst Bronstein had to play Kholmov, against whom, 'by order', no one won at that time, so that a draw would assure me of a share of first place.

I'll go back just a little. In the penultimate round I had drawn with Kholmov as Black, while my opponent needed to win in order to reach the Grandmaster norm for the second and last time. He tried very hard, but around move 30 the position had become so simplified that I allowed myself to begin peace negotiations.

Kholmov very sharply rejected the offer and sank into thought for an hour, during which time I was imagining all sorts of terrible things. Then he raised his eyes from the board, said ''Draw!'', and we began analysing.

To the question, what had he been thinking about for so long, Kholmov replied; 'about how I am going to win tomorrow as Black against Bronstein.....''

The last round game, taking into account the fact that i was White and that my opponent was the uncompromising Tolush, was bound to be a fighting game, and that is how it turned out.''

In the end, it all turned out very well for Tal, as the final table shows.

 So, the picture first. It has 5 of the 6 players in the battle for the places - just Bronstein is absent - Spassky, Taimanov, Tal, Kholmov, Tolush and Keres, with - if you look in at the demo board - the game at it's critical juncture.

What an amazing picture!! My thanks to Davide Nastasio on twitter - gem of a find mate!! Wow! This has instantly become one of my favourite pictures of it's type.

And the relevant games in the dog fight for the places.

I possibly shouldn't throw this first one in, as Spassky could not get into a share of top position however the other games went, but I just love the game! A real classic example of the Bishop Pair in the middle game, as well as an opening set up being explored at the time, plus as the young Spassky as a practical player, fighting for the high places in a huge tournament. I really like Spassky! 

Moving up a spot, Keres, as I understand it, could have theoretically have ended up in a mass equal tie for first if everything had gone his way Sadly, I don't have the tournament book which might explain the strange - to say the least - finish. But along the way, it is Keres trying all he can to win with Black.

And on two the two main games - three players fighting for first prize, and one for the title of Grandmaster.

So - Bronstein against Kholmov.

And on to the game between Tal and Tolush - pictured here at the previous Championships, with Salo Flohr.

A famous game! You can find it annotated in lots of places, so just done some brief notes.

O.K. A magnificent result for the young tal, but not the end of the story in terms of becoming a Grandmaster. Here he needed another spin of the wheel to go his way!

Let Tal himself take up the story in Life and Games.

''During the Championship of Europe a FIDE Congress was held, and our federation proposed  me for the title of International Grandmaster.

The Formal grounds for this were clearly inadequate. In the first place I was not an International Master, and secondly I had not reached the Grandmaster norm in an international tournament.

Against this, the argument was put forward that I was the USSR Champion, and had won the title in a very strong tournament.

The decision taken by the Congress was truly Solomon-like: I was ''exchanged'' for L. Evans and A. Bisguier, who had failed to make the norm by something like half a point, and we all three were raised to the rank of Grandmaster.''

And that is how Mikhail Tal - three years later to become Champion of the world - came to hold the Grandmaster title.

I won't say all I could, but my thoughts on the devaluation of the title echo those of Kholmov.

After such a result - go look at the names behind him in the tournament table above - it still, absurd as it seems in modern times, needed some behind the scenes dealing for Tal to become a holder of the Grandmaster title.

I hope you enjoyed this little spur of the moment offering, the games and the wonderful pictures which inspire me so much.

Take care everyone. Simaginfan.