Tal, Aleksandr S vs Petrosian, Tigran A.
Candidates Curacao · Round 8 · 1962.05.01 · 0-1 · C10 French Defense: Burn Variation
Moves
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PGN
[Event "Candidates Curacao"]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1962.05.01"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Tal, Aleksandr S"]
[Black "Petrosian, Tigran A."]
[Result "0-1"]
[PlyCount "40"]
[WhiteFideId "522057684"]
[BlackElo "2376"]
[BlackFideId "13300849"]
[BlackTitle "IM"]
[ECO "C10q"]
[Source "Codekiddy"]
[SourceQuality "3"]
[ImportDate "2026-01-06"]
1. e4 e6 2. d4 d5 3. Nc3 Nf6 4. Bg5 dxe4 5. Nxe4 Nbd7 6. Nxf6+ Nxf6 7. Nf3 c5
8. Qd3 Be7 9. Bxf6 Bxf6 10. Qb5+
{ A bad move which wastes time while developing the Black pieces. } 10... Bd7
11. Qxb7
{ Vulnerable b-pawns are often referred to as poisoned pawns because the time wasted in capturing them is often used by the opponent to develop forces and punish the greedy consumer. }
11... Rb8 12. Qxa7 Rxb2 13. Bd3
{ White gives back the extra pawn fearing the Black bishop on f6. Now we see how the pawn he ate earlier turns out to be "poisoned". }
13... cxd4 14. O-O Bc6
{ The tactics have cleared with Black standing better thanks to his two center pawns. }
15. Qa3 { White desperately tries to keep the Black king from castling. } 15...
Qb6 16. Bc4 Rb4
{ A good move which blocks the White queen from the a3-f8 diagonal. } 17. Qd3
O-O 18. a3 Ra4 19. Rfd1 Qa7 20. Ra2 Rxc4
{ White resigned as 21. Qxc4 Bd5 followed by Bxa2 would leave White a piece down. }
0-1