Tal-Smyslov, Candidates Tournament, Yugoslavia 1959
The Candidates Tournament from 1959 was held in three Yugoslav cities and featured eight Grandmasters in a four-game round robin competition with 28 rounds altogether. Mikhail Tal, who rose to the chess Olympus like a meteorite, convincingly won the tournament with 1,5 points above the second placed Paul Keres. In the late 50s the "Wizard of Riga" was in great form and played brilliantly. As a matter of fact, in this tournament the 22-year-old Tal defeated the 16-year-old Fischer with the score 4:0.
The presented game Tal-Smyslov started quietly, but very soon turned into a sharp position with kings on opposite wings. On move 11, Tal, in his trademark style, went for big complications connected with an intuitive piece sac. Smyslov, who lost the World Champion title the previous year in the rematch against Botvinnik, took up the gauntlet, and after White's 13th move a wild position arose which required extremely precise play from both sides. The Ex-World Champion defended perfectly for several moves, but it was next to impossible over the board to find the right defence for Black all the way, and under immense pressure Smyslov blundered on move 18, allowing Tal to execute an elegant temporary queen sac. The game ended soon due to White's decisive material advantage.