Mikhail Tal is a player who has been immortalised in chess history for his violent attacking style, intimidating stares, stunning sacrifices and creativity that chess has never had the joy of seeing again. Unfortunately, along with the brilliance came a long relationship with smoking and heavy drinking potentially contributing to his early death at 55. ‘The Magician of Riga’ holds two of the longest unbeaten runs in chess history lasting 86 and 95 games respectively. During his second record-breaking streak Tal played in one of the World’s most respected tournaments at the time, the Hastings International Congress.

The Hastings’ winners list boasts some of the greatest players of the 20th century, and despite not holding the same appeal as it did 50 years ago, players from across the globe still visit the town on the South Coast all with the aim of winning the illustrious crown.

The field of the 1973/74 Christmas Tournament contained some of the more established names in chess at the time such as Tal and Gligoric as well as rising star Jan Timman. The English contingent at the tournament consisted of Raymond Keene, William Hartston, a teenage Tony Miles, and the victim of Tal’s round 12 masterpiece, Michael Stean.

Hastings Christmas Chess Festival

Tal, Mikhail (2705) – Stean, Michael F (2540), 1974

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Nbd7 8.Qf3 Qc7

Stean, an author and a leading practitioner of the Najdorf Sicilian, is faced with a setup regarded today as one of the most dangerous with 8.Qf3. Ideas such as pawn to e5 to open the scope of the queen and g4–g5 dislodging the f6 knight are all ideas he should be wary of.

9.0–0–0 b5

10.Bxb5!

A sacrificial opportunity too good for Tal to turn down.

10...axb5 11.Ndxb5 Qb8 12.e5

Stean’s situation isn’t as dire as it may seem but the chances of avoiding the minefield of traps are little to none. For example, the lazy recapture of 12… dxe5 runs into 13.Qxa8!! with the knight arriving on c7. The move that black seems to find the most success from is the crazy looking 12… Ra5!! with the idea of winning two knights for the rook.

12...Bb7 13.Qe2 dxe5 14.Qc4 Bc5 15.Bxf6

Correctly judging that the knight on d7 is overloaded protecting both its f6 counterpart and c5 bishop.

15...gxf6

16.Rxd7!

Believe it or not, this line has been played in numerous games before and after 1974. The move 10.Bxb5 is the third choice behind more traditional developing options but is still a serious test for an unprepared player

16...Be3+ 17.Kb1 Kxd7 18.Rd1+ Bd4

An error that proves costly. The bishop only acts as a temporary plug and is no match for the barrage of pieces firing at the Black king.

19.fxe5 fxe5 20.Nxd4 exd4 21.Qxd4+ The beginning of what would turn out to be one of the most iconic of king hunts

21...Ke7 22.Qc5+ Kf6 23.Rf1+ Kg6 24.Qe7 f5 25.Qxe6+ Kg7 26.Qe7+ Kg6 27.h4

 A timely pawn advancement threatening to lure the black king away from the safety of his pawns.

27...Ra5 28.h5+ Kxh5 29.Qf7+ Kh4 30.Qf6+ Kg3 31.Qg5+ Kh2 32.Qh4+ Kxg2 33.Rf2+ Kg1 34.Ne2#

A picturesque finish as the black queen sleeps idly whilst her king is marched up the board before meeting his untimely demise on g1.

1–0

Stean was one of the top English players at the time, participating on multiple occasions for the English Olympiad teams. Tal faced another English opponent at Hastings, 19-year-old Tony Miles. The Birmingham-born talent would go on to make a draw against Tal and proceed to win the World Youth Championship in the same year. They would go on to make three draws before the deadlock was broken by a Tal win in the 1979 Riga Interzonal, a Candidates Tournament qualifier. Their fifth encounter would be in 1981, about seven years after their first.

Porz International Tournament

Tal, Mikhail (2705) – Miles, Tony (2635), 1981

1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nd2 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Nd7

In Tal’s analysis of the game, he wrote that Miles is considered to be a ‘Sicilian Specialist’ and the Caro-Kann is “encountered rarely enough in his practice.” However, it turns out that England’s first grandmaster used 1....c6 regularly in games against world-class opponents such as Spassky, Karpov and Anand, even using it to defeat Tal a few years after this game.

5.Nf3 Ngf6 6.Ng3 e6 7.Bd3 Be7 8.Qe2 0–0 9.0–0 b6 10.c4 Bb7 11.Bf4 Re8 12.Rad1 c5 13.dxc5 bxc5

This seems to be the start of Miles’ problems. Tal concluded that 13.Bxc5 was ‘much stronger’, an idea seconded by the computer. The immediate c5 break could have also been supported by the prophylactic 12...Qc8!, however, this seems like a move no human would willingly play.

14.Ne5 Qb6 15.Bxh7+ Finding the immediate breakthrough

15...Nxh7 16.Rxd7 g6 17.b4 Bc8 18.bxc5 Qxc5 19.Ne4 Qb6 20.Qf3

Taking the rook would lead to 21.Be3! hitting the queen whilst threatening mate on the f7 square.

20...Qb2 21.Nxf7

Brilliancy number two shreds open the defence around the black king. 21…Bxd7 is met with 22.Be5 which hits the queen and threatens the elegant Nh6#. Capturing the knight will lead to a swifter end as 22.Be5 would come with a check picking up the queen.

21...Qg7 22.Nh6+ Kh8 23.Rc7 Rf8 24.Rxe7

1–0

 Once again we see a ruthless attacking display from Mikhail Tal who ends the game with yet another rook sacrifice. This time deflecting the queen off the a1–h8 diagonal for it to be occupied by the white’s dark-squared bishop.

Tony Miles 1955-2001

Tal is without a doubt one of the all-time greats however Tony Miles seems to be less remembered. Miles won the race to become the first English Grandmaster in 1976 whilst defeating some of the great players of his generation. His most iconic game was his win over Karpov with 1...a6, he also scored wins against Smyslov and Spassky during the peak of his career.

 He reached an all-time high of world number 9 whilst battling for British Number 1 with John Nunn and Nigel Short. Combined with two Olympiad Silver medals in 1986 and 1988 it’s a wonder why he is not as highly regarded in British Chess. Perhaps one of the reasons was his controversial off-the-board antics, he was embroiled in a controversy involving a payment with the British Chess Federation as well as featuring in the ultimate pre-arranged draw when he played a grand total of 0 moves to try and secure a tournament.

 Miles tragically died of heart failure in 2001 aged only 46, he suffered from diabetes combined with other health problems through the later stages of his career. He would be celebrating his 68th birthday this year.