Tal's 13.Nf5 — Sacrifice Begins

White to play

Mikhail Tal(white)vsMikhail Botvinnik(black)

World Championship · 1960

SPEED1.2s

Solution

Tal opens the sacrificial floodgates against the World Champion.

Review

White to play. Tal — the Magician from Riga — plays 13.Nf5!! offering the knight to open lines against Botvinnik's king. The position is concretely unsound by computer analysis, but practically irresistible: the resulting complications were too much for Botvinnik to navigate at the board. This sacrificial style won Tal the World Championship at age 23.

See the full master game →

Opening: Caro-Kann Defense

More tactics

Lasker's Second Bishop: 17.Bxg7
Botvinnik's Knight Sacrifice: 31.Nh5+
Kasparov's 30.Rxb7 — King Hunt Continues
Fischer's 38.Rxf6!! — Positional Demolition

Themes

SacrificeWorld ChampionshipRomantic Era