Mikhail Tal

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Marquavious_Britt

Hello everyone. I'm interested in knowing what openings Tal would play against a d4, or e4 opening. I'm asking specifically for Tal because he's the player I'd like to play as, sacrificing pieces, covert attacks, etc. Any help would be greatly appreciated ! I'm also trying to find repertoires I'm comfortable with.

rooperi

Yup, what he said ^^

JamieKowalski

While pfren is 100% right, the main question still stands.

Against 1. d4, Tal seems to have more King's Indian Defense games than most others. There are also some Nimzo-Indian and some Benoni. 

blueemu

Like most world-class players, Tal's opening repertoire evolved over the years. During his "wild" years, he liked to play the King's Indian Defense or the Benoni against the d-Pawn, and the Sicilian against the e-Pawn. As his style matured, he added more "classical" systems to his opening praxis.

... but as pfren points out, "playing like Tal" has very little to do with your opening move choices.

JamieKowalski

By the way, this is why you will never be Tal:



DrFrank124c

I've been looking at Tal's games and playing solitaire chess with them. Tal used speculative sacrifices to attack the opponent's King side. Very instructive and helpful games. Tal played like Paul Morphy would play if he had lived in modern times.

blueemu
frank124c wrote:

Tal used speculative sacrifices to attack the opponent's King side.

Tal used speculative sacrifices to attack the opponent's composure.

DrFrank124c
blueemu wrote:
frank124c wrote:

Tal used speculative sacrifices to attack the opponent's King side.

Tal used speculative sacrifices to attack the opponent's composure.

that 2

bronsteinitz

He had one weakness : he did not play the fishing pole :-)

Marquavious_Britt

@JamieKowalski I'm not trying to be Tal, I just like him as a player and would like to copy some of the opening he played as black.

Grobzilla
JamieKowalski wrote:

By the way, this is why you will never be Tal:

 

The Wizard is also my favorite player, but I hadn't seen this game. So I ran it through my free engine, and it's pretty solid play by both right through the exchange sac, with small inaccuracies by both, more by White. But it all stays in the fractional pawn range. But right around move 22, White starts to go off the rails, giving up a pawn in vale, then two. Then he blunders his way into a quicker defeat move after move, with Tal just crushing with hyper-accurate play. It's as if the other guy couldn't see that they were almost even, but that Tal had something up his sleeve, and you can just...see...him...wilt. The exchange sac by Tal wasn't winning in itself, but it psychologically froze his opponent. I just bet he was giving that piercing stare the whole time...

Tal probaby would have lost to Fischer post-WC, as well as Karpov, and then again Kasparov, but goddamn was his play electric. It's ironic that electricity itself would have ruined his play, as the silicone monsters aren't frightened, and certainly don't make inaccuacies.

If machines would have ruined Tal, then, I think, they have ruined Chess. For Tal embodied everything beautiful about our holy pursuit.

JamieKowalski

It takes nerves of steel to play a move like 11.. Nxd5 over the board. Even if my best calculations told me it was sound, I'd be sweating bullets actually making the move.

Scottrf
JamieKowalski wrote:

It takes nerves of steel to play a move like 11.. Nxd5 over the board. Even if my best calculations told me it was sound, I'd be sweating bullets actually making the move.

It's just insanity.

fanxo

OMG!

plutonia

Apart from some famous Tal's sacrifices, you cannot copy a particular player's style for the simple fact that chess players...don't have a style. Their style is winning.

Every good chess player needs to know how to attack, defend, play positionally, play tactical etc. in short = everything. Depending on the situation on the board.

Scottrf

If you can copy the winning moves, not just the risky ones.

e4_guy

Play like Tal ? Piece of cake ! :)



Grobzilla
e4_guy wrote:

Play like Tal ? Piece of cake ! :)

 

Fantastic combo! What were the time controls?

e4_guy

10 min. Blitz.

Grobzilla
e4_guy wrote:

10 min. Blitz.

I tip my hat to you. And probably my King, too.