One of Mikhail Tal's greatest masterpieces, where the complications are fantastic even by Tal's own standards. During the game, Tal's coach, Alexander Koblents, received condolences from Bronstein and Simagin, as Tal's position seemed absolutely hopeless. Tal's opponent, Oscar Panno, was of the same opinion. And only Tal evaluated it differently. In what might be one of the most chaotic positions in chess history, Tal’s genius came to light - and the game proved him right. So, let's dive in and try to find some order in this chaos.
Tal vs Panno, Portoroz 1958
1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 O-O 9. h3 Nd7 10. d4 Nb6 11. Be3 exd4 12. cxd4 Na5 13. Bc2 c5 14. e5 dxe5 15. Nxe5 Nbc4 16. Qd3 f5 17. Bb3 f4 18. Bd2 Nxb3 19. Nc6 Nxa1 20. Nxd8 Bf5 21. Qf3 Raxd8 22. Rxe7 Bxb1 23. Bxf4 Rxd4 24. Qg4 Bg6 25. Qe6+ Bf7 26. Qf5 Nc2 27. b3 Bg6 28. Rxg7+ Kxg7 29. Bh6+ Kxh6 30. Qxf8+ Kg5 31. bxc4 bxc4 32. g3 Be4 33. h4+ Kg4 34. Kh2 Bf5 35. Qf6 h6 36. Qe5 Re4 37. Qg7+ Kf3 38. Qc3+ Ne3 39. Kg1 Bg4 40. fxe3 h5 41. Qe1 Rxe3 42. Qf1+ Ke4 43. Qxc4+ Kf3 44. Qf1+ Ke4 45. Qxa6 Kd4 46. Qd6+ Kc4 47. a4 Re1+ 48. Kf2 Re2+ 49. Kf1 Ra2 50. Qa6+ Kd4 51. a5 c4 52. Qb6+ Kd5 53. a6 Ra1+ 54. Kf2 c3 55. a7 c2 56. Qb3+ Kd6 57. Qd3+ 1-0