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Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943 – January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11–0 score, the only perfect score in the history of the tournament.
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For living grandmasters, this field is a weblink to the FIDE Chess Profile page which usually gives the year the GM title was awarded and the player's birth year. FIDE IDs for deceased grandmasters are retained in this table to aid matching with older FIDE records such as the FIDE rating lists.
- Early Years
- Soviet Champion
- World Champion
- Later Achievements
- Team Competitions
- Health Problems and Death
- Playing Style
- Notable Games
- Writings
- Score with Some Major Grandmasters
Tal was born in Riga, Latvia, into a Jewish family. According to his friend Gennadi Sosonko, his true father was a family friend identified only as "Uncle Robert"; however, this was vehemently denied by Tal's third wife Angelina. Uncle Robert had been a taxi driver in Paris, French Third Republic, in the 1920s and had lost all his family in World W...
Tal made his first significant appearance at the 1956 USSR Chess Championship, sharing 5th–7th place with Lev Polugaevsky and Ratmir Kholmov. Grigory Levenfish called him "the most colourful figure of the championship" and a "great talent" who strived for "sharp and complicated play". However, he was criticised by the media for taking unnecessary r...
In 1959, Tal won a very strong tournament at Zürich, Switzerland. Following the Interzonal, the top players carried on to the Candidates' Tournament, Yugoslavia, 1959. Tal showed superior form by winning with 20/28 points, ahead of Paul Keres with 18½, followed by Tigran Petrosian, Vasily Smyslov, the sixteen-year-old Bobby Fischer, Svetozar Gligor...
Soon after losing the rematch with Botvinnik, Tal won the 1961 Bled supertournament in SFR Yugoslavia, by one point over Fischer, despite losing their individual game, scoring 14½ from nineteen games (+11−1=7) with the world-class players Petrosian, Keres, Gligorić, Efim Geller, and Miguel Najdorfamong the other participants. Tal played in a total ...
In Chess Olympiad play, Mikhail Tal was a member of eight Soviet teams, each of which won team gold medals (1958, 1960, 1962, 1966, 1972, 1974, 1980, and 1982), won 65 games, drew 34, and lost only two games (81.2%). This percentage makes him the player with the best score among those participating in at least four Olympiads. Individually, Tal won ...
Naturally artistic, witty and impulsive, Tal led a bohemian life of chess playing, heavy drinking and chain smoking. His already fragile health suffered as a result, and he spent a great deal of time in the hospital, including an operation to remove a kidney in 1969. He was also briefly addicted to morphine, prescribed due to intense pain.Tal also ...
Tal loved the game in itself and considered that "Chess, first of all, is art." He was known to play numerous blitzgames against unknown or relatively weak players purely for the joy of playing. Tal was known as "The Magician from Riga", and his style of play was very aggressive and involved heavy calculation. His approach over the board was very p...
Tal vs. Alexander Tolush, USSR Championship, Moscow 1957, King's Indian Defence, Sämisch Variation (E81), 1–0.In a critical last-round game, Tal spares no fireworks as he scores the win that clinch...Boris Spassky vs. Tal, USSR Championship, Riga 1958, Nimzo-Indian Defence, Sämisch Variation (E26), 0–1. Spassky plays for a win to avoid a playoff for an Interzonal berth, but Tal hangs on by his...Tal vs. Vasily Smyslov, Yugoslavia Candidates' Tournament 1959, Caro–Kann Defence (B10), 1–0. A daring piece sacrifice to win a brilliancy prize.Robert James Fischer vs. Tal, Belgrade, Candidates' Tournament 1959, Sicilian Defence, Fischer–Sozin Attack (B87), 0–1.Their games from this period are full of interesting tactics.Tal was a prolific and highly respected chess writer, penning a number of books and serving as editor of the Latvian chess magazine Šahs ("Chess") from 1960 to 1970. His books are renowned for the detailed narrative of his thinking during the games. American Grandmaster Andrew Soltis reviewed his book on the world championship match as "simply the ...
Only official tournament or match games have been taken into account. '+' corresponds to Tal's wins, '−' to his losses and '=' to draws. Winning records in bold.
Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born Garik Kimovich Weinstein on 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion (1985–2000), political activist and writer. His peak FIDE chess rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by Magnus Carlsen in 2013. From 1984 until his retirement from ...
Alexander Aleksandrovich Alekhine [a] [b] (October 31 [ O.S. October 19] 1892 – March 24, 1946) was a Russian and French chess player and the fourth World Chess Champion, a title he held for two reigns. By the age of 22, Alekhine was already among the strongest chess players in the world.
Grandmaster (GM) is a title awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. Once achieved, the title is held for life, though exceptionally the title can be revoked for cheating.
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Nov 12, 2020 · English chess grandmaster Tony Miles (1955 – 2001), UK, 15th May 1973. (Photo by Adam/Daily Express/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
