Traps, Tricks & Mistakes: Tal’s Mistakes

“Searching for Bobby Fischer” is an American film released in 1993. The film shows young Josh’s life and the way he discovers his passion for chess.

One of the characters in that film is the Russian chess player Josif Israel Zilber. Zilber was Latvian Chess Champion in 1958. After 1974 he immigrated to the USA but his life was not very successful in the United States. Zilber ended up homeless on the streets of New York and played chess in Washington Square Park as a hustler.

In that film, Zilber appears holding a sign offering “a photograph or a game with the man who beat Mikhail Tal.”

In fact, Zilber and Tal played 5 games in total, with a final score of 3-2 in Tal’s favour.

The first time they met was in 1949 in Riga’s Pioneer Palace Championship. Tal was just 13 years old and Zilber was 16 years old.

For two moves in a row, Tal missed a variation that would have won a queen!!

This game shows that the future world champion was making the same mistakes that most kids do.
Follow the next link to reproduce the 5 games played between Zilber and Tal.