Mikhail Tal vs. Pal Benko

Mikhail Tal vs. Pal Benko, Bled, 1959
White moves and wins in 2.

Roll over to see the solution: 1.Rh8+ Bxh8 2.Nh7#

FEN: 1r3k2/2n1p1b1/3p2QR/p1pq1pN1/bp6/7P/2P2PP1/4RBK1 w - - 0 1

About the players

Mikhail TalMikhail Tal (1936-1992) was a Soviet chess Grandmaster and World Chess Champion. He was very creative and one of the best attacking players. His style was daring and unpredictable. His peak rating was 2705.

3 articles on Mikhail Tal


Pal BenkoPal Benko (1928-) is a Hungarian-American chess Grandmaster and author of chess problems with a peak rating of 2530.

12 Responses

  1. Asmath
    Asmath at

    . Ng5-h7 Kf8-g8
    2. Re1xe7 Qd5-d4
    3. Qg6-f7 Kg8-h8
    4. Nh7-g5 Bg7xh6
    5. Qf7-h7

    Reply
  2. Garry Dorman
    Garry Dorman at

    This is a great matting pattern.

    Reply
  3. Nathan Dickison
    Nathan Dickison at

    1. Ng5-h7 Kf8-g8
    2. Re1xe7 Qd5-d4
    3. Re7xc7 Ba4xc2
    4. Nh7-f6 Qd4xf6
    5. Qg6-h7 Kg8-f8
    6. Rh6xf6 Kf8-e8
    7. Qh7xg7 Rb8-d8
    8. Rc7-e7

    Checkmate

    Reply
    1. GOCHI
      GOCHI at

      COOL!!!!!!!!

      Reply
  4. E.venkat
    E.venkat at

    1. Ng5-h7 Kf8-g8
    2. Re1xe7 Qd5-d4
    3. Qg6-f7 Kg8-h8
    4. Nh7-g5 Bg7xh6
    5. Qf7-h7

    Reply
  5. Maverick
    Maverick at

    1. Rh6-h8 Bg7xh8
    2. Ng5-h7

    Took me 100 tries.

    Reply
  6. Humza Mazhar
    Humza Mazhar at

    anyone can defeat it! I did it like several times! So eeaaaassssy!

    Reply
  7. laxman goswami
    laxman goswami at

    1. Ng5-h7 Kf8-g8
    2. Nh7-g5 Ba4-e8
    3. Rh6-h8 Kg8xh8
    4. Qg6-h7

    Reply
  8. Santosh Gulivindala
    Santosh Gulivindala at

    1. Rh6-h8 Bg7xh8
    2. Ng5-h7

    Reply
  9. John Tsamis
    John Tsamis at

    My analysis is:

    1. Rh8+!! There is no sufficient response to that, because:

    A) 1…. Bxg8 2. Nh7#
    B1) 1…. Qg8 2. Qf7# (the Black Q is pinned!) or
    B2) 1… Qg8 2. Nh7#

    The first line is more obvious, the second one is a bit cunning (and more flashy following the B1 variant, due to the pin), but I am pretty sure that the great Tal had foreseen them both.
    Another enchanting checkmate by M. Tal!

    Reply
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