LibreChessChess, explained simply

Classic game replay

Mikhail Tal vs Hetman, 1963

This replay preserves the complete 59-ply score of Tal playing White across 30 numbered moves. The board can be advanced one ply at a time; the notes stick to observable board changes rather than guessing at the players’ intentions.

On this page
  1. Practice positions
  2. Replay with move-by-move board facts
  3. PGN
  4. Sources and checking
  5. Continue with another game
White
Mikhail Tal
Black
Hetman
Event
URS-chT
Year
1963
Result
1-0
Opening
B43 Sicilian Defense: Kan Variation, Knight Variation

Opening reference: Sicilian Defense: Kan Variation, Knight Variation (B43).

In this game, 20 half-moves are labelled opening, 39 middlegame and 0 endgame. The score contains 13 captures and 3 checks or mates; before a recorded move, the position offered a median of 38 legal choices. The final recorded move is 30.Rf8#, which is checkmate; the stored result is 1-0.

Practice positions

The daily trainer uses a short set of positions from this complete score. Each link goes to the exact half-move rather than only the numbered move.

  1. 8.f4 — Advance the f-pawn8.f4 was a leading choice in the fixed engine check.
  2. 14.Qf2 — Create pressure on h414.Qf2 was a leading choice in the fixed engine check.
  3. 19.Bd4 — Create pressure on e519.Bd4 was a leading choice in the fixed engine check.
  4. 30.Rf8# — Checkmate30.Rf8# was a leading choice in the fixed engine check.

Replay with move-by-move board facts

The board, fact panel and transcript use the same legal score. “Fixed engine check” means Stockfish 17.1, one thread, a fixed 25,000-node search and 3 candidate lines. It compares moves under one reproducible setting; it does not claim to reconstruct a player’s thoughts.

♜♞♝♛♚♝♞♜♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♟♜♞♝♛♚♝♞♜
Mikhail Tal vs Hetman, 1963

Start position

Use Previous and Next on the board, or select a move in the transcript. The board fact and fixed engine check remain visible until you choose another move.

Opening · 1.e4 to 10...Bd7

  1. 1.e4 Claim central space

    Board fact: White moves the pawn from e2 to e4; from there it controls d5 and f5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · e4 e5 Nf3 Nc6.

  2. 1...c5 Advance the c-pawn

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from c7 to c5; from there it controls d4.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · c5 Nc3 Nc6 Nf3.

  3. 2.Nf3 Develop the knight

    Board fact: White develops the knight from g1 to f3; from there it controls d4 and e5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nf3 e6 c3 d5.

  4. 2...e6 Advance the e-pawn

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from e7 to e6; from there it controls d5 and f5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · e6 c3 d5 e5.

  5. 3.d4 Change the pawn structure

    Board fact: White moves the pawn from d2 to d4; the move changes the central pawn contact; from d4 it attacks Black's pawn on c5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · d4 Be7.

  6. 3...cxd4 Exchange on d4

    Board fact: Black's pawn takes the pawn on d4; the move changes the central pawn contact; Black accepts doubled pawns on the d-file; black is ahead by 1 conventional material point after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · cxd4 Nxd4 Nf6 Nc3.

  7. 4.Nxd4 Recapture on d4

    Board fact: White's knight recaptures the pawn on d4; from d4 it attacks Black's pawn on e6; material is level after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nxd4 Nf6 Nc3 d6.

  8. 4...a6 Advance the a-pawn

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from a7 to a6.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · a6 Bd3.

  9. 5.Nc3 Develop the knight

    Board fact: White develops the knight from b1 to c3; from there it controls d5 and e4.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · Nc3 b5 Bd3 Qc7.

  10. 5...Qc7 Create pressure on c3

    Board fact: Black moves the queen from d8 to c7; from c7 it attacks White's knight on c3 and White's pawn on h2.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qc7 Bd3 Nc6 Be3.

  11. 6.Be2 Develop the bishop

    Board fact: White develops the bishop from f1 to e2; from e2 it attacks Black's pawn on a6.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Be2.

  12. 6...Nf6 Develop the knight

    Board fact: Black develops the knight from g8 to f6; from f6 it attacks White's pawn on e4.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · Nf6 O-O Nc6 Be3.

  13. 7.O-O Kingside castling

    Board fact: White castles kingside, moving the king to g1 and the rook to f1. The move changes king safety and develops the rook in one turn.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · O-O d6 f4 Be7.

  14. 7...Be7 Develop the bishop

    Board fact: Black develops the bishop from f8 to e7; from there it controls c5, d6 and f6.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Be7 f4 d6 Qd3.

  15. 8.f4 Advance the f-pawn

    Board fact: White moves the pawn from f2 to f4; from there it controls e5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · f4.

  16. 8...d6 Advance the d-pawn

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from d7 to d6; from there it controls e5 and c5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · d6 Qe1.

  17. 9.Be3 Develop the bishop

    Board fact: White develops the bishop from c1 to e3; from there it controls d4 and f4.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Be3 Nc6 Qe1 O-O.

  18. 9...Nc6 Develop the knight

    Board fact: Black develops the knight from b8 to c6; from c6 it attacks White's knight on d4.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nc6 Nxc6.

  19. 10.Qe1 Reposition the queen

    Board fact: White moves the queen from d1 to e1; from there it controls c3.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qe1 O-O Qg3 Nxd4.

  20. 10...Bd7 Develop the bishop

    Board fact: Black develops the bishop from c8 to d7; from there it controls c6 and e6.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bd7 Qg3 O-O Rad1.

Middlegame · 11.Qg3 to 30.Rf8#

  1. 11.Qg3 Create pressure on g7

    Board fact: White moves the queen from e1 to g3; from g3 it attacks Black's pawn on g7.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qg3 O-O Bd3 b5.

  2. 11...g6 Advance the g-pawn

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from g7 to g6; from there it controls f5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · g6 Rad1.

  3. 12.Rad1 Rook on the semi-open d-file

    Board fact: White moves the rook from a1 to d1; the rook now works on a semi-open d-file; from there it controls d4 and d3.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Rad1 Nxd4.

  4. 12...h5 Advance the h-pawn

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from h7 to h5.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · h5 h3 b5 a3.

  5. 13.h3 Advance the h-pawn

    Board fact: White moves the pawn from h2 to h3.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · h3 b5 a3 b4.

  6. 13...h4 Create pressure on g3

    Board fact: Black moves the pawn from h5 to h4; from h4 it attacks White's queen on g3.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · h4 Qf2 Nh5 f5.

  7. 14.Qf2 Create pressure on h4

    Board fact: White moves the queen from g3 to f2; from f2 it attacks Black's pawn on h4.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qf2 Nh5 f5 Ne5.

  8. 14...Nh5 Create pressure on f4

    Board fact: Black moves the knight from f6 to h5; from h5 it attacks White's pawn on f4.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Nh5 f5 gxf5 exf5.

  9. 15.f5 Change the pawn structure

    Board fact: White moves the pawn from f4 to f5; the move changes the central pawn contact; from f5 it attacks Black's pawn on e6 and Black's pawn on g6.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · f5 Ne5 Bxh5 Rxh5.

  10. 15...Ne5 Improve the knight

    Board fact: Black moves the knight from c6 to e5; from there it controls c4, c6 and d3.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Ne5 Bxh5 Rxh5 fxe6.

  11. 16.Nxe6 Exchange on e6

    Board fact: White's knight takes the pawn on e6; from e6 it attacks Black's queen on c7; white is ahead by 1 conventional material point after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; Bxh5 ranked higher · Nxe6 fxe6.

  12. 16...Bxe6 Recapture on e6

    Board fact: Black's bishop recaptures the knight on e6; from e6 it attacks White's pawn on a2 and White's pawn on f5; black is ahead by 2 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; fxe6 ranked higher · Bxe6 fxe6 fxe6 Bxh5.

  13. 17.fxe6 Recapture on e6

    Board fact: White's pawn recaptures the bishop on e6; the move changes the central pawn contact; White accepts doubled pawns on the e-file; from e6 it attacks Black's pawn on f7; white is ahead by 1 conventional material point after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · fxe6 fxe6 Bxh5 Rxh5.

  14. 17...fxe6 Recapture on e6

    Board fact: Black's pawn recaptures the pawn on e6; the move changes the central pawn contact; material is level after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · fxe6 Bxh5 Rxh5 Bd4.

  15. 18.Bxh5 Exchange on h5

    Board fact: White's bishop takes the knight on h5; from h5 it attacks Black's pawn on g6; white is ahead by 3 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bxh5 Rxh5 Bd4 Qc6.

  16. 18...Rxh5 Recapture on h5

    Board fact: Black's rook recaptures the bishop on h5; from h5 it reinforces the knight on e5; material is level after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Rxh5 Bd4 Rh7 Bxe5.

  17. 19.Bd4 Create pressure on e5

    Board fact: White moves the bishop from e3 to d4; from d4 it attacks Black's knight on e5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bd4 Qc6 Kh1 O-O-O.

  18. 19...Qc4 Create pressure on f1

    Board fact: Black moves the queen from c7 to c4; from c4 it attacks White's rook on f1 and White's knight on c3.

    Fixed engine check: Near the leading choice · Qc4 Kh1 O-O-O Qe3.

  19. 20.Bxe5 Exchange on e5

    Board fact: White's bishop takes the knight on e5; from e5 it attacks Black's pawn on d6; white is ahead by 3 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Bxe5 Rxe5.

  20. 20...Rxe5 Recapture on e5

    Board fact: Black's rook recaptures the bishop on e5; from e5 it attacks White's pawn on e4; material is level after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Rxe5 Qf7+ Kd7 Qg7.

  21. 21.Qf7+ A forcing check

    Board fact: White moves the queen from f2 to f7; the move checks Black's king; from f7 it attacks Black's bishop on e7 and Black's pawn on e6.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qf7+ Kd7.

  22. 21...Kd7 Answering the check

    Board fact: Black answers the check by moving the king from e8 to d7; from there it controls c6, d6 and e6.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Kd7 Qg7.

  23. 22.Qg7 Create pressure on e5

    Board fact: White moves the queen from f7 to g7; from g7 it attacks Black's rook on e5 and Black's bishop on e7.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qg7 Rg5 Rf7 Qc5+.

  24. 22...Rg5 Create pressure on g2

    Board fact: Black moves the rook from e5 to g5; from g5 it attacks White's pawn on g2.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Rg5 Kh1 Re8 Rf7.

  25. 23.Rd4 Rook on the semi-open d-file

    Board fact: White moves the rook from d1 to d4; the rook now works on a semi-open d-file; from d4 it attacks Black's queen on c4 and Black's pawn on d6.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Rd4 Qc7 Rf7 Re8.

  26. 23...Qc5 Create pressure on d4

    Board fact: Black moves the queen from c4 to c5; from c5 it attacks White's rook on d4 and White's knight on c3.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; Qc7 ranked higher · Qc5 Na4 Qa7 Kh1.

  27. 24.Na4 Create pressure on c5

    Board fact: White moves the knight from c3 to a4; from a4 it attacks Black's queen on c5.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Na4 Qc6 Rf7 Re8.

  28. 24...Qa7 Create pressure on d4

    Board fact: Black moves the queen from c5 to a7; from a7 it attacks White's rook on d4.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qa7 b4 b5 Nc5+.

  29. 25.Kh1 Reposition the king

    Board fact: White moves the king from g1 to h1; from h1 it reinforces the pawn on g2.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; c4 ranked higher · Kh1 b5.

  30. 25...Re8 Improve the rook

    Board fact: Black moves the rook from a8 to e8; from e8 it reinforces the bishop on e7.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; b5 ranked higher · Re8 Rfd1 Qb8 Qf7.

  31. 26.Rfd1 Rook on the semi-open d-file

    Board fact: White moves the rook from f1 to d1; the rook now works on a semi-open d-file; from there it controls d4 and d3.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Rfd1 Kc7.

  32. 26...Kc8 Reposition the king

    Board fact: Black moves the king from d7 to c8; from c8 it reinforces the pawn on b7.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; Qb8 ranked higher · Kc8 Qf7 Rh8 Qxe7.

  33. 27.Qf7 Create pressure on e8

    Board fact: White moves the queen from g7 to f7; from f7 it attacks Black's rook on e8 and Black's bishop on e7.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qf7 Qxd4 Qxe8+ Bd8.

  34. 27...Rf8 Rook on the open f-file

    Board fact: Black moves the rook from e8 to f8; the rook now occupies the open f-file; from f8 it attacks White's queen on f7.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; Rd8 ranked higher · Rf8 Qxe7 Qxd4 Qxf8+.

  35. 28.Qxe7 Exchange on e7

    Board fact: White's queen takes the bishop on e7; from e7 it attacks Black's rook on f8 and Black's rook on g5; white is ahead by 3 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Qxe7 d5 Qxe6+ Kb8.

  36. 28...Rf1+ A forcing check

    Board fact: Black moves the rook from f8 to f1; the move checks White's king; the rook now occupies the open f-file; from f1 it attacks White's rook on d1.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; Rf3 ranked higher · Rf1+ Rxf1 Rf5 Qe8+.

  37. 29.Rxf1 Answering the check

    Board fact: White's rook takes the rook on f1; the rook now occupies the open f-file; from f1 it reinforces the king on h1; white is ahead by 8 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Rxf1 Rf5 Rc4+ Qc5.

  38. 29...Qxd4 Exchange on d4

    Board fact: Black's queen takes the rook on d4; from d4 it attacks White's knight on a4 and White's pawn on b2; white is ahead by 3 conventional material points after the capture.

    Fixed engine check: Recorded move; Rf5 ranked higher · Qxd4 Rf8#.

  39. 30.Rf8# Checkmate

    Board fact: White's rook moves from f1 to f8 and delivers checkmate; Black's king has no legal way to answer the attack.

    Fixed engine check: Ranked first · Rf8#.

PGN

[Event "URS-chT"] [Site "?"] [Date "1963.??.??"] [White "Tal, Mikhail"] [Black "Hetman"] [Result "1-0"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 a6 5. Nc3 Qc7 6. Be2 Nf6 7. O-O Be7 8. f4 d6 9. Be3 Nc6 10. Qe1 Bd7 11. Qg3 g6 12. Rad1 h5 13. h3 h4 14. Qf2 Nh5 15. f5 Ne5 16. Nxe6 Bxe6 17. fxe6 fxe6 18. Bxh5 Rxh5 19. Bd4 Qc4 20. Bxe5 Rxe5 21. Qf7+ Kd7 22. Qg7 Rg5 23. Rd4 Qc5 24. Na4 Qa7 25. Kh1 Re8 26. Rfd1 Kc8 27. Qf7 Rf8 28. Qxe7 Rf1+ 29. Rxf1 Qxd4 30. Rf8# 1-0

Sources and checking

Score source: Chess Database, version 1 by Ana Schaigorodsky (2016), licensed under CC BY 4.0. LibreChess selected the exact score identified by sha256:a7c8fd23e3de39e29e98064e0eb5897a2dbd81755e1cacaed6bc08d4fb596248 and pins it in the selection manifest.
Exact Figshare tags:
White="Tal, Mihail"; Black="Hetman"; Event="URS-chT"; Date="1963.??.??"; Result="1-0".
Reviewed display mapping: white Tal, Mihail → Tal, Mikhail. LibreChess parsed the main line with chess.js and stores normalised SAN. Source comments, side variations and termination detail were not retained.

LibreChess checks every SAN move with chess.js and compares the result and move sequence with a stored reference. The engine comparison was calculated offline from the fixed settings above; it is not a source for historical claims. No termination is inferred where the imported score does not preserve one.

Try today's selected positionsOpen the analysis board

Continue with another game

For a method you can apply to your own games, continue with studying model games and advanced candidate selection.