Tal’s Immortal Rook Hunt: The King March That Crushed Utemov

Описание: In this intense 1990 USSR Team Championship battle from Podolsk, Mikhail Tal—already a legend—faced Vladimir Utemov in a rich strategic fight originating from the Symmetrical English (A35). The game began quietly, but Tal gradually transformed the position with energetic piece activity and pressure on the queenside.

The turning point came when Tal created a dangerous passed b-pawn, forcing Utemov into passive defense. Once the center opened, Tal’s rooks and pieces coordinated perfectly, breaking through on the queenside and then shifting the attack to the kingside.

The decisive sequence came in the endgame:
Tal activated his king, invaded with Kf3–g4–g5, and combined it with accurate rook maneuvers. His g-pawn advance and rook activity completely overwhelmed the white king. The final attack ended in an unavoidable mate net:

…Rc5+ → …Qd6# (from the rook and queen coordination)
A clean and fully forced finish — no need for resignation, as the checkmate appeared on the board.


If you love Tal’s endgame magic, this is one of his most instructive late-career masterpieces.



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