chessgames.com
Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players · Kibitzing
Mikhail Tal vs Kevin Spraggett
Montpellier Candidates (1985), Montpellier FRA, rd 15, Nov-02
Spanish Game: Fianchetto Defense (C60)  ·  1/2-1/2

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

explore this opening
find similar games 2 more Tal/K Spraggett games
PGN: download | view | print Help: general | java-troubleshooting

TIP: To see the raw PGN for this game, click on the PGN: view link above.

PGN Viewer:  What is this?
For help with this chess viewer, please see the Olga Chess Viewer Quickstart Guide.
PREMIUM MEMBERS CAN REQUEST COMPUTER ANALYSIS [more info]

Kibitzer's Corner
Nov-05-16  Howard: A bit surprising that Tal (with White, too) couldn't have beaten the tournament tail-ender in this crucial game. It took place in the last round--a win would have lifted Tal into a four-way tie for first place, and thus a place in the Candidates.

It was the last game in the tournament to finish.

Sep-03-17  RookFile: It looks like Tal was hanging on by his fingernails and did extremely well just to get a draw out of this.
Apr-20-18  newzild: On his website, Spraggett says that he couldn't believe Tal's blunder with 22. Qf3, as the refutation is so elementary. Tal "psyched him out" after the blunder, staring at him and doing everything he could to upset Spraggett's concentration. Spraggett became nervous, and started making imprecisions.
Jun-08-20  Straclonoor: <couldn't have beaten the tournament tail-ender in this crucial game> Some years later this tail-ender striked out Andrei Sokolov #3 in rating list.

Significant Spragget's mistake was 50....Bf5

Analysis by Stockfish 300520 64 BMI2:

1. -+ (-68.64): 50...Qg5 51.c6 Qe3+ 52.Kh2 Qe1 53.Kh3 Qc3+ 54.Kh2 Bxc6 55.Qe7 hxg4 56.Qg5 Qh3+ 57.Kg1 Be4 58.Kf2 Qh2+ 59.Ke1 g3 60.Qf4 Bc2 61.Ng2 Qg1+ 62.Qf1 Qd4 63.Qe2 Be4 64.Nf4 g2 65.Nxg2 Qg1+ 66.Kd2 Qxg2 67.Kc1 Qg1+ 68.Kb2 Qd4+ 69.Ka3 Qc3+ 70.Ka2 Qa5+ 71.Kb3 Bd5+ 72.Kc2 Qa2+ 73.Kd1 Qxe2+ 74.Kxe2 Ne6 75.Kd3 Kg6 76.Kc2 Kf5 77.Kc3 Ke4 78.Kb2 Kd4

2. -+ (-68.15): 50...Qf1+ 51.Kg3 Qc1 52.c6 Qe3+ 53.Kh2 Qe1 54.Kh3 Qc3+ 55.Kh2 Bxc6 56.Qe7 hxg4 57.Qg5 Qh3+ 58.Kg1 Be4 59.Kf2 Qh2+ 60.Ke1 g3 61.Qf4 Bc6 62.Kd1 Bd5 63.Kc1 Qh1+ 64.Kb2 g2 65.Nxg2 Qxg2+ 66.Kc1 Kg6 67.Qc7 Qf1+ 68.Kb2 Qf2+ 69.Kc3 Qe1+ 70.Kb2 Qb4+ 71.Kc1 Qc4+ 72.Qxc4 Bxc4 73.Kb2 Ne6 74.Ka1 Bd5 75.Kb2 Bc6 76.Kc3 Nc5 77.Kc4 Na4 78.Kd4 Kf5 79.Kc4 Ke5

Last chance was

53. c6 Kg6 54. Qd6+ Ne6 55. c7 Qf2+ 56. Kh3 Qf1+ 57. Kg3 Qc4 58. Kf2 h4 59. Qb6 Kf7 60. Qb1 Nxc7 61. Qf5+ Ke7 62. Qg5+ Kd7 63. Qg7+ Kc6 64. Qg6+ Ne6 65. Kg2 Qd5+ 66. Kh2 Qd6+ 67. Kg1 Nf4 68. Qe4+ Kc5 69. Qc2+ Kd5 70. Kh2 h3 71. Qd1+ Ke5 72. Qe1+ Kf5 73. Qb1+ Kg5 74. Qg1+ Kh5 75. Qe3 Nd5+ 76. Qg3 Qxg3+ 77. Kxg3 Nf4 78. Kh2 Kh4 79. Kh1 Nd3 80. Kg1 Kg3 81. Kf1 h2 82. Ke2 Ne5 83. Kd2 h1=Q 84. Kc2 Qf1 85. Kb2 Qf3 86. Ka2 Qc3 87. Kb1 Nd3 88. Ka2 Qb2# (Lomonosov TB7)

NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

  1. No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
  2. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts.
  3. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members.
  4. Nothing in violation of United States law.
  5. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members.
  6. No trolling.
  7. The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited.
  8. Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers.

Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times.

Blow the Whistle

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator.


NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific game only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.
All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration.

This game is type: CLASSICAL. Please report incorrect or missing information by submitting a correction slip to help us improve the quality of our content.

Home | About | Login | Logout | F.A.Q. | Profile | Preferences | Premium Membership | Kibitzer's Café | Biographer's Bistro | New Kibitzing | Chessforums | Tournament Index | Player Directory | Notable Games | World Chess Championships | Opening Explorer | Guess the Move | Game Collections | ChessBookie Game | Chessgames Challenge | Store | Privacy Notice | Contact Us

Copyright 2001-2025, Chessgames Services LLC