Mikhail Tal Hit in the Head with a Bottle and Beaten up!

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Mikhail Tal vs Alfredo Olivera
Havana (1966), 05, rd 5, Oct-30
Spanish Game: Closed Variations (C84)


1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3 Bg4 9. h3 Bh5 10. d4 Bf3 11. Qf3 ed4 12. Qg3 Kf8 13. Qd3 dc3 14. Nc3 Ne5 15. Qe2 c5 16. Be3 b4 17. Nd5 Nd5 18. Bd5 Ra7 19. Rad1 g5 20. Qh5 Bf6 21. f4 gf4 22. Bf4 Rg8 23. Rf1 Rg6 24. Qh7

The event was organized by Jose Barreras, and funded lavishly by the Cuban government. There was great fan interest, prompting a Cuban newspaper to write "At this moment the whole country is one mighty chessboard."2

Tal played 3d board for an exceptionally strong Soviet team, featuring world champion Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian on 1st board, Boris Spassky on 2d board, and Leonid Stein on 4th board. The depth of this squad was highlighted by the fact that the 1st and 2d reserve boards were occupied by such strong international grandmasters as Viktor Korchnoi and Lev Polugaevsky. 3

In the preliminary rounds, held 25 Oct - 4 Nov, the USSR cruised easily to victory in Group 1, winning every game.2 Tal missed the first four rounds because he had been hit over the head with a bottle shortly before the tournament started.4 This bizarre mishap didn't seem to affect his play, however, as he averaged just 29 moves a game in mowing down opponents from Uruguay, Switzerland and Spain in the last 3 rounds of the preliminaries.

The finals were held 4-20 Nov, and in Group A only the Americans looked to mount any serious opposition to the Soviets.2 This was due almost entirely to the play of Robert James Fischer, who racked up an incredible score of +14 -1 =2 through the course of the tournament. The USSR-USA match came in final round 2. Spassky held Fischer to a draw, but Tal proved the hero by winning the only game of the match, against Robert Eugene Byrne. Tal maintained his stellar form to the end, winning the gold medal on 3d board with a score of +11 -0 =2. The USSR triumphed over the USA, Hungary, Yugoslavia, Argentina, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, Romania, East Germany, Denmark, Iceland, Spain, Norway and Cuba.5

Tal missed the last round and the closing celebrations. Since the USSR had already clinched first, the Soviet team gave him permission to fly out early to Spain, where he was slated to play in Palma de Mallorca (1966). 4

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