The Chess Mind

My favorite player of all time, bar none, is the Latvian great Mikhail Tal. To my mind, there neither was nor is another player more in love with the game than he, and it showed. There is a joy to his chess that is evident to even the casual fan, manifested in an almost feral aggression at the chess board.

This joyous aggression was particularly pronounced in the first part of his career, when he was racing to the top of the chess Olympus, and we'll take a look at a typical game from this period. Playing against Ukranian great Efim Geller in the 1958 USSR Championship, Tal continually increased the tension: first by "normal" means, then with the sacrifice of the exchange and then an entire rook. Geller, as befits one of the greatest players never to become world champion, went blow for blow with Tal until the end was just about in sight. Unfortunately for Geller - and this happened to many of Tal's opponents - a sort of punch-drunkness set in and he finally fell for one of the simpler traps in the position.

Nevertheless, the game is one of the masterpieces of Tal's early career, and I think you'll be very glad you tuned in on the playchess.com server this Monday night at 9 pm ET, as I do my best to share some of the ins and outs of this magnificent tactical struggle. If you're a first-timer to the show or haven't watched in a while, you can find directions for watching (either live or archived shows) here; if you're curious about the contents of the previous 100+ shows I've done, then check here.

Nothing restores my pleasure in chess more than spending time with Tal's games, and even if - somehow! - he isn't your favorite player, I hope you will experience at least a taste of the beauty and exuberance I find there.

Though it's only twenty-two moves, our game for this Monday has more than enough content for a rich hour's show. Albin Planinc (also spelled "Planinec" in some sources - ChessBase's databases, for example) is now retired, but in the mid-60s and 70s was among the world's most creative players.

You want proof? Take a look at what he does to Rafael Vaganian, then a young, up-and-coming GM. White's opening play was ambitious, taking time to secure the bishop pair and then, at Planinc's invitation, to win a central pawn. Vaganian's king remained in the center as his kingside pieces slept, but it didn't seem that his opponent had enough development to do anything about it.

That's how it seemed, but as you can imagine, things worked out differently. To see just how differently, you'll want to tune in this Monday night at 9 pm ET as we explore a game I can almost guarantee you'll long remember!

If you're new to the show, click here for details about watching live and/or archived programs, while a list of games covered in previous shows can be found here.

Alexander Alekhine was the fourth world chess champion and one of the greatest and most appreciated players of all time. Chess fans are more familiar with his best games than those of any other player prior to Tal, I would guess, and yet...even in his well-covered career, there are some gaps that need to be filled. Alekhine's books of his best games cover the period from 1924-1937, and Kasparov in the first volume of My Great Predecessors likewise pays scant attention to the post-1937 phase of Alekhine's career. Yet although his later games may not have exemplified his best chess on as consistent a basis, there are still many beautiful efforts deserving to be known.

Naturally, this week's show will cover such a game. We'll take a look at his victory over the Finnish player Eero Böök (1910-1990, IM in 1950, honorary GM in 1984) from the 1938 Margate tournament (which he won). The game commenced as a safe, ordinary-looking Queen's Gambit Accepted, when Böök attempted a rather ambitious novelty. Unfortunately for the Finn, Alekhine refuted his conception over the board, even though it required committing to the sacrifice of a full rook for seemingly vague threats. Most of the time, Alekhine's attacking instincts were on the mark, and this was no exception.

It's a fine game, and an instructive one too, as you'll see when you join me this Monday night at 9 pm ET on the playchess.com server. Directions for watching the show (as well as previous weeks' shows) can be found here, while a list of games covered in past shows can be found here.

P.S. If among my readers there are any Finns or titled players who knew Böök personally and can explain how to correctly pronounce his name, I would be grateful if you would share that information with me!

On the ChessBase server, there's a link to a Boston Globe article commemorating the 100th anniversary of American great Harry Nelson Pillsbury. He rocketed into the elite in his early 20s, but he soon contracted syphilis, leading to a loss of chess strength and ultimately his premature death at the age of 33.

If the "lay" press is going to offer its tribute, how can I, as someone trying to promote the history of the game, do any less? (Answer: I can't!) This week, therefore, we'll take a look at his last great triumph, his victory over world champion Emanuel Lasker in the Cambridge Springs tournament of 1904. Utilizing an important, long-planned improvement over his choice in an 1896 loss to the same player, they rapidly reached a position where Pillsbury's lead in development compensated for a pawn and the bishop pair. The position was roughly balanced, but Pillsbury was in his element, outplayed his great opponent, and won brilliantly.

It's a great game, an interesting opening, and covers a player all real chess fans (especially but not only in the U.S.) should know about! I hope therefore you'll join me this Monday night at 9 pm ET on ChessBase's playchess.com server. It's free to watch, and you can find directions for watching the show here. That link also explains how to access my previous shows, and if you're curious about what you'll find in the archives, try this link. See you Monday!