Answers.Body: <p>I have seen this referred to/attributed to a couple of Tal's games. It is quite likely that he used the saying more than once. If you study enough of Tal's games, you'll see that he developed a technique of <em>not</em> retracting his (minor) pieces when they were en prise. </p>
  
  <p>The first reference that I was able to find was in his <strong>Havana-1966</strong> game against Bjorn Brinck-Claussen. (Quite likely this position, where he's just moved Ra8!</p>
  
  <pre><code>[Title "Tal v Brinck-Claussen, Havana 1966 "]
  [fen "R2r2k1/6pp/1p3pn1/3b2q1/3P4/P4QP1/BP3P2/6K1 w - - 0 1"]
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>The saying is also often  attributed to his <strong>1968 game against Chikovani</strong>, where Tal plays 19 Bxe6 instead of retracting his dark-squared Bishop.</p>
  
  <pre><code>[Title "Tal v Chikovani, 1968"]
  [fen "1qrr2k1/p3bp2/bpn1Bnpp/6B1/3P4/P1N2N2/1PQ2PPP/3RR1K1 w - - 0 1"]
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>As you can see, in both cases Tal leaves multiple pieces hanging, a psychological strategy that he's used to his advantage.</p>
  
  <p>Hope that helps.</p>
  
Answers.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Answers.CreationDate: 2019-12-31T12:18:30.043Z
Answers.Text: Incidentally, Tal's move in the second example is incorrect. It gives Tal a big advantage but Black can defend for a long time. The correct move leads to checkmate quickly.
Answers.UserDisplayName: user21820
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Answers.CreationDate: 2012-11-23T05:33:30.383Z
Answers.LastActivityDate: 2019-08-12T14:23:25.057Z
Answers.LastEditDate: 2019-08-12T14:23:25.057Z
Answers.UserDisplayName: Ram Narasimhan
Body: <p>The expression refers to aggressive attacking style where one side leaves multiple pieces attacked, but the opponent cannot take full advantage of it since "they can only take one at a time". Was this said by Tal in an interview or in a book (assuming he was actually the one who said it)? Did he say it originally in Russian? If so - what is the exact Russian expression he used?</p>
  
Comments.ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0
Comments.CreationDate: 2018-09-24T14:46:18.180Z
Comments.Text: @ETD I was curious about your game but the link appears to be broken.
Comments.UserDisplayName: Daniel Alfredo Sottile
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Comments.Text: @DanielAlfredoSottile edited.
Comments.UserDisplayName: ETD
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Comments.CreationDate: 2012-10-17T21:57:36.223Z
Comments.Text: I played a tournament game last week, two days after you asked this, in which I [had 3 minor pieces en prise at once](https://edwardtdean.org/2018/09/30/they-can-only-take-them-one-at-a-time-mikhail-tal/) and I thought about your question during the game. Now I'm even more curious where Tal first said this. I'm tempted to offer a bounty for an answer, but I think that might go to waste right now.
Comments.UserDisplayName: ETD
Tags: <history><tal><quotations>
Title: What is the origin of Tal's expression "They can only take one at a time"?
ThreadText: # What is the origin of Tal's expression "They can only take one at a time"?
  
  (Asked by: username_0 on 2012-10-06)
  
  The expression refers to aggressive attacking style where one side leaves multiple pieces attacked, but the opponent cannot take full advantage of it since "they can only take one at a time". Was this said by Tal in an interview or in a book (assuming he was actually the one who said it)? Did he say it originally in Russian? If so - what is the exact Russian expression he used?
  
  **Tags:** history, tal, quotations
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_2**: I played a tournament game last week, two days after you asked this, in which I [had 3 minor pieces en prise at once](https://edwardtdean.org/2018/09/30/they-can-only-take-them-one-at-a-time-mikhail-tal/) and I thought about your question during the game. Now I'm even more curious where Tal first said this. I'm tempted to offer a bounty for an answer, but I think that might go to waste right now.  
  > **username_1**: @username_2 I was curious about your game but the link appears to be broken.  
  > **username_2**: @username_1 edited.  
  
  ---
  
  ## 1 answers
  
  ### Answer by username_3 on 2012-11-23. Score: 6 | Accepted answer
  
  I have seen this referred to/attributed to a couple of Tal's games. It is quite likely that he used the saying more than once. If you study enough of Tal's games, you'll see that he developed a technique of *not* retracting his (minor) pieces when they were en prise.
  
  The first reference that I was able to find was in his **Havana-1966** game against Bjorn Brinck-Claussen. (Quite likely this position, where he's just moved Ra8!
  
  ```
  [Title "Tal v Brinck-Claussen, Havana 1966 "]
  [fen "R2r2k1/6pp/1p3pn1/3b2q1/3P4/P4QP1/BP3P2/6K1 w - - 0 1"]
  
  ```
  
  The saying is also often attributed to his **1968 game against Chikovani**, where Tal plays 19 Bxe6 instead of retracting his dark-squared Bishop.
  
  ```
  [Title "Tal v Chikovani, 1968"]
  [fen "1qrr2k1/p3bp2/bpn1Bnpp/6B1/3P4/P1N2N2/1PQ2PPP/3RR1K1 w - - 0 1"]
  
  ```
  
  As you can see, in both cases Tal leaves multiple pieces hanging, a psychological strategy that he's used to his advantage.
  
  Hope that helps.
  
  > **Comments:**
  > **username_4**: Incidentally, Tal's move in the second example is incorrect. It gives Tal a big advantage but Black can defend for a long time. The correct move leads to checkmate quickly.  
  
  ---
  
  