The story behind the game
Tal’s 1984 USSR–World game against Nunn contains pawn advances, piece offers and repeated rook checks. The attack is best understood through the tasks of the remaining pieces. One exercise compares a historical bishop retreat with a stronger saved central pawn advance, and the last follows the king out of a checking pattern.
Take these ideas to your next game
- A pawn advance can gain time against a bishop.
- Open lines matter when the next piece can use them.
- Compare a central pawn move with retreating an attacked piece.
- Escaping a check can preserve the activity of the rest of the army.
Read the complete annotated game
Full game transcript, including the result and the answers. Original explanations by chessgames.info; game score from the sources below.
g4 attacks the bishop while changing the kingside structure. The move is followed by a rook exchange that brings Black’s king to f8. That changed king position affects the later bishop check. Compare the king cover and the newly opened lines instead of judging the pawn advance only as a gain of space.
Bxh6+ captures a pawn and checks along the newly available diagonal. The earlier pawn moves and rook exchange made this checking line possible. White’s remaining rook can enter the f-file, but Black can still block or counterattack with active pieces. Calculate the immediate replies before relying on the appearance of an exposed king.
The game played Bg2; the saved search prefers the central move c5. The historical retreat allows further h-pawn counterplay. The saved pawn advance changes the centre before the bishop moves. Compare the resulting queen routes and pawn exchanges rather than assuming the eventual winner’s recorded move must be the best answer to the exercise.
Kg2 answers the check without sending the rook back to block again. Earlier rook moves repeated a checking pattern. Changing the king’s square keeps other pieces available for the next phase. Verify the queen and bishop attacks on the destination, then compare the saved defensive replies; a forward king move is useful only when its square is safe.
Result: 1-0. The recorded score ends here; it does not imply checkmate.
Think through the turning points
Move 16: Gain time against the bishop
Which g-pawn advance attacks the bishop on f5? In the game: g4. g4 attacks the bishop while changing the kingside structure. The move is followed by a rook exchange that brings Black’s king to f8. That changed king position affects the later bishop check. Compare the king cover and the newly opened lines instead of judging the pawn advance only as a gain of space.
Engine-supported alternatives
g4 Bg6 Rxf8+ Kxf8 Qd2 Nf6 Bxg5 Kg8 Rf1 Bxc3 Qxc3 Ne4 · +0.69 · depth 19
Qd2 g4 · +0.60 · depth 19
Bd3 Ng7 g4 Qe7 Bxf5 Nxf5 gxf5 Bxc3 Bxc5 Bxb2 Rb1 Be5 · +0.03 · depth 18
Move 20: Use the open diagonal
Which capture by the e3-bishop gives check to the king on f8? In the game: Bxh6+. Bxh6+ captures a pawn and checks along the newly available diagonal. The earlier pawn moves and rook exchange made this checking line possible. White’s remaining rook can enter the f-file, but Black can still block or counterattack with active pieces. Calculate the immediate replies before relying on the appearance of an exposed king.
Engine-supported alternatives
Bxh6+ Kg8 Rf1 Kh7 Bd3 Bxd3 Qxd3+ Kxh6 Rf7 Ng7 Ne4 Qc8 · +1.61 · depth 18
Rf1+ · +1.45 · depth 18
Kg2 Qe7 Bxh6+ Kg8 Kh3 Nf6 Rf1 Kh7 Qg5 Rh8 Bd1 b6 · +0.77 · depth 17
Move 30: Compare the retreat with a central break
Before retreating the bishop from f3, which c-pawn advance does the saved analysis prefer? In the game: Bg2. The game played Bg2; the saved search prefers the central move c5. The historical retreat allows further h-pawn counterplay. The saved pawn advance changes the centre before the bishop moves. Compare the resulting queen routes and pawn exchanges rather than assuming the eventual winner’s recorded move must be the best answer to the exercise.
Engine-supported alternatives
c5 dxc5 Qd2 Qd6 Qf4 a6 Kh3 b5 Bg2 b4 Ne2 Qe7 · +1.66 · depth 17
Qf4 b6 Nb5 Ne2 Bxe2 Rxe2 Nd4 Rxf2+ Qxf2 Bd3 b3 Qe4 · +1.44 · depth 17
Bg2 b6 · +0.80 · depth 17
Move 39: Leave the checking pattern
Black’s rook has checked from e1. Which king move leaves the first rank while keeping the rook on f3 active? In the game: Kg2. Kg2 answers the check without sending the rook back to block again. Earlier rook moves repeated a checking pattern. Changing the king’s square keeps other pieces available for the next phase. Verify the queen and bishop attacks on the destination, then compare the saved defensive replies; a forward king move is useful only when its square is safe.
Engine-supported alternatives
Kh2 Be4 Nxe4 Rxe4 Qf6 Qxf6 Rxf6 Rxc4 Kg3 Rc2 Rxd6 Rxb2 · +2.23 · depth 22
Kg2 Be4 Nxe4 Rxe4 Qf5 Kg7 b3 Re5 Qd3 Re2+ Rf2 Re5 · +2.18 · depth 22
Rf1 · +0.00 · depth 22
Every piece has a part to play.
Tal’s 1984 USSR–World game against Nunn contains pawn advances, piece offers and repeated rook checks. The attack is best understood through the tasks of the remaining pieces. One exercise compares a historical bishop retreat with a stronger saved central pawn advance, and the last follows the king out of a checking pattern.
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Accessible evaluation values & provenance
Stockfish 17.1 · 75,000 nodes per position; 1,000,000 at key moments. Actual depth 13–22. Positive centipawns favour White; mate scores remain separate. Selective search is evidence, not proof.
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