– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

Today I prepared for you a blitz game played  between the eighth world champion Miky Tall and  

Anatoli Karpoff the 12th world champion. A true  clash of two champions with the sacrifice of two  

rooks. The game was played in 1987. Miky Tall  begins the game with E4 seizing the center. C6  

replies Anatoli Karpov preparing later to strike  in the center with D5. C4 from Miky Tall. On the  

board is the Kokan defense. The idea of white is  that now after d5 as indeed followed in the game,  

Karpov strikes at the center with d5. White  captures and after the recapture follows the  

exchange of four pawns. After black removes  the white pawn on d5, white will have an  

isolated pawn on the dfile, but in return  gains a central pawn and free peace play.  

Karpov develops his king's knight to f6 and wants  to take on d5 specifically with the knight since  

on a queen capture white could with tempo develop  the knight to c3. Tall develops his knight to c3  

and after the capture on d5 develops the king's  knight to f3 allowing black if he wishes to take  

on c3. The 12th world champion, knowing firsthand  the sharp attacking style of Mikail Tall,  

decides to exchange one pair of knights. Capture  on C3, recapture with the pawn on C3. Yes,  

white of course obtains the pawn center after  D4, but with one pair of knights less. G6. Black  

fiantos the dark squared bishop on the long dark  diagonal. D4. White seizes the center. Now he can  

develop the light squared bishop and castle. Black  develops the bishop to G7 and after bishop D3,  

black completes the development of the king side  by castling, hiding the king in a safe place. For  

the moment safe, white without wasting much time  also castles. The black knight comes out to C6.  

White has his pawn center and the black bishop  on G7 shoots well across the position. The white  

pawns are always under its sight. Tall brings the  rook to the E file. Rook E1. Rook E8 from black.  

Next move, black already intends to break with  E5, undermining white's central structure. Tall,  

developing his last minor piece, plays bishop G5  and pins black's pawn on E7 to the queen on D8.  

Now E5 is not so simple to play. Black needs  to solve the problem of the bishop on C8. On  

the long white diagonal, it cannot come since too  much time is required for B6 and then bishop B7.  

And in this position, Karpov decides to put his  bishop on E6. Also, of course, it would have been  

logical to play bishop G4, pinning white's knight  on F3 and later, for example, after a queen move,  

preparing E5 using the fact that the white knight  is pinned. But in the game, Karpov chooses bishop  

E6. The idea of this move is that next move he  can put his bishop on the long white diagonal.  

Apparently, Karpov simply forgot that opposite him  sits male tall. Rook takes E6. Black recaptures.  

But now without the light squared bishop, white  receives the advantage of the two bishops and  

especially the strongest light squared bishop,  which now cannot easily be challenged. White's  

bishop comes to C4, already threatening to take  the pawn on E6, and black is forced to defend.  

Queen D6, centralizing the queen, also watching  over the pawn on E6. Queen E2. White continues  

to increase pressure along the E file on the  pawn E6. The black knight goes backward to D8,  

defending the pawn on E6. But rook E1 and  defenders of the pawn on E6 for black are not  

enough to move the king to F7 is not desirable  at all. Black brings the last inactive piece,  

the rook, from A8 to C8. The rook begins to play  along the Cfile, looking at the bishop and the  

pawn on C3. And in this position for white, the  main thing is to remember his strategic goal.  

Having sacrificed the rook on e6 for the bishop,  white obtained a terrible initiative together with  

the light squared bishop. Therefore, simply giving  away that bishop on e6, taking the pawn on e6 is  

unprofitable. After capturing on e6 and numerous  exchanges would follow, capture on c3. And what  

remains here for white? White simply remains down  the exchange. He has a knight for black's rook.  

The position is losing. Therefore, of course,  the strategic idea here of Mika Nikmovich Tall  

is precisely to attack to attack the black king.  And best of all, to do this with knight D2. Tall  

transfers the knight into the center to E4, also  supporting his bishop on C4. Black responds with  

king H8, stepping out of all X-rays from the  bishop towards the pawn on E6. The knight  

comes to E4 attacking the queen. The black queen  retreats, also threatening to take the bishop on  

C4. The bishop steps back to B3 and black tries  to untangle in this position. He strikes in the  

center with E5, trying to break apart white's  pawn structure in the center. And again for white,  

the main thing in this position is not to play  for material, not to try to defend the pawn on D4,  

which black threatens to take twice and win. White  must continue to follow his plan, which Tall does.  

He plays H4 trying to break open black's cocoon  on the king's side. Black eats the pawn on D4 but  

H5 follows. The white pawn march continues towards  the black king and in this position Karpov starts  

to crumble. He takes with the pawn on H5. Well,  better of course in this position was for example  

queen B6 thereby connecting the queen to defense.  Now on capture simply recapture with the queen and  

the queen here would excellently defend the black  king but instead follows capture on h5. Already  

tall also makes a slight inaccuracy but plays in  human style. He takes with the queen on h5. The  

best of course in this position would have been a  rather inhuman move knight f6. In blitz at least  

such a move is very hard to find. The point is  that this knight cannot be taken. For example, on  

capture of the knight on F6, white takes with the  bishop with check. Black is forced to take this  

bishop. Otherwise, mate follows. But then white  captures the rook, the undefended rook on E8. But  

if capturing with the pawn, then all the same.  First, white eats the rook and then immediately  

mates the black king. On blocking with the bishop  after the capture, white eats this bishop and it  

is mate to the black king. But if this knight  is not taken after knight f6, something must be  

done for white is attacking the black rook on  e8. And on the retreat of the rook follows yet  

another sacrifice. The knight captures on f7,  sacrificing itself and completely destroying  

black's defenses on the king's side. After the  knight is taken, there follows a beautiful mate.  

The queen captures on H5, the only enterposition.  And here is mate to the black king. In this way,  

the game could have ended already here. But Miky  Tal plays in a more human way. He captures with  

the queen on H5, attacking the rook on E8. The  rook is forced to retreat. Rook F8, connecting the  

rook along the F- file to the king's defense. But  now comes bishop C2. The white bishop will play a  

more active attacking role. Threats of discovered  knight jumps begin to appear. For example, also on  

F6 with mating threats from the queen supported  by the bishop. Black must defend with queen E5,  

centralizing the queen and tying down the white  pieces. Now the bishop cannot move since behind  

it hangs the queen on H5 and the knight also  since behind it hangs the rook on E1 with check.  

But nothing terrible thinks Mikail Tall. He plays  knight G3. The second white rook is sacrificed.  

This time a pure rook. In this way, white tries  to distract the black queen from defending its  

king. And it is not as if black has any choice.  The queen has nowhere to retreat while staying  

close to the king side. The entire point of knight  g3 is that white opens his light squared bishop  

and already now threatens mate in one move. Queen  takes H7. Therefore, it is necessary to capture  

this rook with check. The white king is forced  to retreat and black's checks run out. Still,  

there is the threat of maiden one, queen H7. In  this position, black had only one saving move  

to find the inhuman resource bishop H6, giving  white some material, sacrificing his bishop. But  

whichever way captures here, if for example taking  with the bishop, then follows rook f7. The rook  

is defended by the knight from D8. Thus, the rook  along the seventh rank protects its king. The pawn  

on G7 is defended. But if for example to capture  this bishop with the queen, then also rook F7  

protecting the pawn on H7. White here simply lacks  material and the whole attack breaks down. But in  

the game, this did not happen. The move was not  found. Black played H6 in human style trying to  

block the mate. But now follows bishop takes H6.  The black king is forced to run since if taking  

then comes again mate in a couple of moves. And  now after king G8, white captures the bishop on  

G7. Black captures on F2 trying to counterattack  attacking the bishop on C2. But white's mate is  

stronger. White gives check with the queen on H7.  The only retreat for the king is F7 and queen G6.  

King G8. Bishop A6 check. Next move after the only  retreat of the black king to H8 will follow mate  

with the queen on G7. With such a stunning attack,  the eighth world champion Miky Nekamehovich Tall  

defeated the 12th world champion Anatoli Karpov.  Put a like if you enjoyed this game and do not  

forget to support the channel. All the links  are in the description. Thank you for watching.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
champion /ˈtʃæmpiən/ B2	noun - a person who has defeated or surpassed all rivals in a competition
sacrifice /ˈsækrɪfaɪs/ B2	noun - an act of giving up something valued for the sake of something else regarded as more important verb - to give up something for the sake of other considerations
seizing /ˈsiːzɪŋ/ C1	verb - taking hold of something suddenly and forcibly
captures /ˈkæptʃərz/ B2	verb - to take into possession or control
isolated /ˈaɪsəleɪtɪd/ B2	adjective - far away from other places, buildings, or people; solitary
exchange /ɪksˈtʃeɪndʒ/ B1	verb - to give something and receive something of the same kind in return
attacking /əˈtækɪŋ/ B1	adjective - characterized by aggressive play
diagonal /daɪˈæɡənl/ B2	noun - a straight line joining two opposite corners of a square, rectangle, or other straight-sided shape
structure /ˈstrʌktʃər/ B2	noun - the arrangement of and relations between the parts or elements of something complex
advantage /ədˈvæntɪdʒ/ A2	noun - a condition or circumstance that puts one in a favorable or superior position
inactive /ɪnˈæktɪv/ B2	adjective - not engaging in or involving any activity
strategic /strəˈtiːdʒɪk/ C1	adjective - relating to the identification of long-term or overall aims and interests
initiative /ɪˈnɪʃətɪv/ C1	noun - the ability to assess and initiate things independently
unprofitable /ʌnˈprɒfɪtəbl/ C1	adjective - not yielding profit or financial gain
crumble /ˈkrʌmbl/ C1	verb - to break or fall apart into fragments

Key Grammar Structures

• Karpov prepares later to strike in the center with D5.

  ➔ Infinitive of purpose (to + verb)

  ➔ The phrase "to strike" explains the reason or purpose for Karpov's preparation.

• White captures and after the recapture follows the exchange of four pawns.

  ➔ Inversion after prepositional phrases

  ➔ The subject "the exchange" is placed after the verb "follows" to emphasize the sequence of events.

• White will have an isolated pawn on the d-file, but in return gains a central pawn.

  ➔ Future Simple (will have) vs Present Simple (gains)

  ➔ The contrast between "will have" (a future consequence) and "gains" (a present fact in chess logic).

• The white pawns are always under its sight.

  ➔ Passive Voice structure

  ➔ The subject "pawns" receives the action of being watched by the bishop.

• Now E5 is not so simple to play.

  ➔ Adjective + Infinitive (easy/simple to do)

  ➔ The construction "simple to play" describes the difficulty of performing the move E5.

• It would have been logical to play bishop G4.

  ➔ Third Conditional (hypothetical past)

  ➔ "Would have been" expresses an action that didn't happen but was considered a logical choice.

• The bishop cannot move since behind it hangs the queen.

  ➔ Causal conjunction (since)

  ➔ "Since" here functions as "because" to explain the reason for the piece being restricted.

• The white pawn march continues towards the black king.

  ➔ Noun adjunct (pawn march)

  ➔ "Pawn" modifies "march" to create a compound concept specific to chess tactics.