Mikhail Tal was a Soviet Latvian chess grandmaster and the eighth World Chess Champion, known as the Magician from Riga for his attacking, combinatorial style. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential players in chess history, and he held the record for the longest unbeaten streak in competitive chess, 95 games between October 1973 and October 1974, until it was surpassed by Ding Liren in 2018.
Facts
Career HighlightEighth World Chess Champion; held the record for the longest unbeaten streak in competitive chess history, 95 games between 23 October 1973 and 16 October 1974, until Ding Liren surpassed it in 2018. 1 Classification
Competition Category FAQs
Why did Mikhail Tal lose the 1961 return match to Botvinnik?
Botvinnik prepared against Tal's style and steered the games into slow play, while Tal's kidney problems also hurt him.
Mikhail Tal beat Mikhail Botvinnik in 1960 for the world title but lost the return match in Moscow in 1961 by 13 to 8. Between the matches Botvinnik had thoroughly analysed Tal's style, and he turned most of the return match's games into slow wars of maneuver or endgames rather than the complicated tactical melees that suited Tal. Tal's chronic kidney problems also contributed to his defeat. His short reign made him one of the two so-called winter kings who interrupted Botvinnik's long reign from 1948 to 1963.
Connections
Competed In
Source Wikipedia, Mikhail Tal
Plays
Chess, Games Source Wikipedia, Mikhail Tal
In the Other Atlases
Nationality
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Source Wikidata: Mikhail Tal
Also in Geography Atlas: the nationality of this subject.
Source Wikidata: Mikhail Tal
Sources
1. Wikipedia, Mikhail Tal
WikipediaIntroduction
Mikhail Tal (9 November 1936 - 28 June 1992) was a Soviet Latvian chess grandmaster and the eighth World Chess Champion.
third paragraph, death sentence
Tal died on 28 June 1992 in Moscow, Russia.
second paragraph, unbeaten streak
He also held the record for the longest unbeaten streak in competitive chess history with 95 games (46 wins, 49 draws) between 23 October 1973 and 16 October 1974, until Ding Liren's streak of 100 games (29 wins, 71 draws) between 9 August 2017 and 11 November 2018.
Competed In: World Chess Championship, Article text
He retained the title of champion at the 1958 USSR Chess Championship, and competed in the World Chess Championship 1960 for the first time.
Plays: Chess, Lead sentence
was a Soviet Latvian chess grandmaster and the eighth World Chess Champion.
View the Source Wikidata: Mikhail Tal
Wikidata Q102664, class allow-list match (w-wdresolver-0926)View the Source Reader Challenges (0)
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