Mikhail Tal

Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal (Latvian: Mihails T?ls, Russian: ?????? ?????????? ????) (November 9 1936 - June 28 1992), born in Riga, Latvia, was the eighth World Chess Champion.

World champion

Tal's dominance over Bobby Fischer in his early years helped his rise to the top. In 1960, at the age of 24, Tal defeated the relatively staid and strategic Mikhail Botvinnik in a World Championship match, making him the youngest ever world champion (a record later broken by Garry Kasparov, who earned the title at 22). Botvinnik won the return match against Tal in 1961 after a lengthy study of Tal's style. Tal's chronic kidney problems may also have contributed to his defeat. His short reign atop the chess world made him one of the two so-called "winter kings" (the other was Vasily Smyslov) that broke up Botvinnik's long domination (1948?1963).

Related Topics:
Bobby Fischer - Mikhail Botvinnik - Garry Kasparov - Vasily Smyslov

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