MARK RUBERY CHESS

The following interesting article by the opinionated Dutch GM, Jan Hein Donner, was published in the Dutch newspaper De Tijd 60 years ago. ‘Tal is only 23 years old - younger than any world champion before him. He learned the game from his father at an early age and a useful study with the Latvian champion Koblents soon propelled him into the highest spheres of Soviet, and subsequently world chess. He is a student of Riga University - majoring in Russian language and literature - but he candidly admits that chess is his ‘main subject’. There is a story about him that is undoubtedly based on fact. As a twelve-year-old he is said to have taken chess board and pieces to Botvinnik, who was spending a fortnight’s vacation on the Baltic coast, to challenge the - then! world champion to a match. Did Botvinnik laugh at the time?

So fast, so meteor-like was Tal’s rise ten years later that the first game of their match was also their first confrontation over the board. That first game ended in a crushing defeat for Botvinnik, the finest that Tal inflicted upon him. All this may have inf1uenced the outcome .

I have played one game against Tal myself in the Zurich tournament that he won last year. It lasted two-and-a-half hours. When I resigned after using up most of my time, it turned out that he had needed only fifteen minutes.

Something like that is food for thought. We have always regarded chess as a serious game, and now this. There is no telling what the consequences will be.

Botvinnik is entitled to a re-match. It is to be hoped he will take up the challenge. He has got his age against him and he is beginning to see things in perspective, but if he really sets his mind to it, he may once again teach the ‘brazen newcomer’ a lesson.

I will reserve my judgement until then.’ (Botvinnik did indeed recapture his title in 1961 defeating Tal 13-8)

Donner,Jan Hein - Tal,Mihail [A70] Zurich, 1959 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 c5 3.d5 e6 4.Nc3 exd5 5.cxd5 d6 6.Nf3 g6 7.e4 Bg7 8.Bd3 0–0 9.0–0 a6 10.a4 Bg4 11.h3 Bxf3 12.Qxf3 Nbd7 13.Bf4 Qc7 14.Qe2 Rfe8 15.Bh2 Rac8 16.Bc4 Ne5 17.f4 Nxc4 18.Qxc4 Nd7 19.Rfe1 Qb6 20.Rab1 Qb4 21.Qf1 c4 22.Re2 b5 23.axb5 axb5 24.Kh1 Bxc3 25.bxc3 Qxc3 26.Rxb5 Qd3 27.Qe1 c3 28.Rb1 Nc5 0–1