Mikhail ULYANOV Movie marshal Zhukov was married once and, as they say, forever. In his wife - his classmate at the Shchukin Theater School - he fell in love while still a student. But Alla was not free then - she was the wife of the famous actor Nikolai Kryuchkov, with

Mikhail TAL Everywhere they called him simply Misha and they understood who they were talking about. He was loved, isn't that happiness? On the chessboard he was implacable, but in real life he seemed to be a harmless person. But at the same time he was smart and ironic. Chess was his passion, or rather, not chess

Mikhail Gorkhover Let's start with the simplest questions. What was played in the Moscow courtyards during your childhood? I can say for sure what we played then. "Cossacks-robbers", "catch-up", and later "wall", "rasshibets", where it was necessary to throw

Tal Once I played with Tal. To football. It was in 1972, on the beach, in the tiny Estonian town of Viljandi, where the next Ilmar Raud memorial was held. Although I was (and remain) a frail person, but when he ran at me with the ball, I got scared - for him. thin handles,

Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger (July 30, 1947, Thal, Austria) “I have been thinking about a career as an actor for a long time. I knew that in the past people found themselves in kino because of the structure of their body. The question was how to replicate their success. For films about Hercules, now is not the best

Michael Michael arrived in Palestine at the age of thirteen with his sister Judith, age fifteen, and brother Chaim, six years old. Their father Israel Bogomolny died after an operation in an Odessa hospital. A relative named Menis Teiffel was involved in transporting these three orphans to his brother

Mikhail Zhvanetsky and Mikhail Zadornov The story described above is clearly invented. By whom - I don’t know, it’s possible that I did too. Mikhal Mikhalych and Mikhal Nikolaich are far from Chekhov’s characters, there is no reason for them to quarrel, but they, each

Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal (1936-1992) - an outstanding Soviet and Latvian chess player, VIII world chess champion, six-time champion of the Soviet Union, multiple winner of chess Olympiads as part of the USSR national team, six-time European champion. For 10 years he headed the Chess magazine.

"The Magician from Riga" is one of the many nicknames of Mikhail Tal

Mikhail Tal was born in Riga on November 9, 1936. His parents had a medical education and were cousins ​​to each other. Perhaps that is why there was a genetic glitch that left the champion's right hand three-fingered. According to another version, the real father of the grandmaster was a certain Frenchman Robert, who cohabited with the Tal family. Therefore, the boy was actually raised by two fathers, although he always called Nehemia Tal dad.

From an early age, fate prepared great trials for him. Already at the age of six months, Misha fell ill with a severe infection, similar in clinical signs to meningitis. Despite the fact that there was little chance of survival, he remained alive and soon began to demonstrate rare abilities.

Already at the age of three, Tal was reading, and at five he easily multiplied three-digit numbers. He also had a phenomenal memory, easily memorizing large passages of text the first time. It is not surprising that the child prodigy was taken to school immediately in the third grade, and he was able to enter the Faculty of Philology at the University of Riga at the age of 15. The boy got acquainted with chess at the age of 6, but then he did not experience much excitement. Everything changed three years later, when a relative who came to visit gave him a “childish mat”.

From the age of ten, capable Mikhail began to study in a chess circle at the Riga Palace of Pioneers. His first mentor was Janis Karlovich Kruzkops. At the age of 13, Tal joined the Republican youth team, and at the age of 17 he won the Latvian championship.

Carier start

In 1957, Tal won the union championship for the first time and received the title of grandmaster. The defeated young player turned out to be authoritative at that time Alexander Tolush and David Bronstein. Then success came to Mikhail at the European Championships. True, fate again decided to test the chess player for strength - his father died. Tal's legs gave out from grief and he fell ill for a while, refusing to eat. The mother saved her son from severe depression by helping him participate in the youth blitz tournament. The result exceeded all expectations - 17 points out of 17 possible and a new interest in life.

In 1958, he again had no equal in the union championship. This was followed by an interzonal tournament in Portoroz, where Tal had to be the first or second among the Soviet players. Mikhail overfulfilled the norm and became the best among his compatriots. Later, he confirmed the right to challenge the world chess crown at the 13th Olympiad in Munich, showing the best result.

In 1959, the Candidates Tournament was held in Yugoslavia. None of the rivals perceived Tal as a serious opponent. However, in his fights, the Rigan worked real miracles. For example, in a game, he sacrificed his queen and forced his opponent to resign on the 26th move.

Tal — Smyslov

Candidates Tournament, Yugoslavia, 1959

The youngest champion

The fight for the title of world champion took place in March 1960 in the capital's theater. Pushkin. The stern and strong-willed Botvinnik, who ideally fits into the image of an authentic Soviet grandmaster, opposed the impulsive and always ready to take risks Riga genius, who preferred to live by his own rules. Botvinnik failed to find an antidote against Tal's onslaught, losing with a score of 8.5:12.5 points. Mikhail was declared the VIII world champion, becoming the youngest owner of the chess crown at the age of 23 (he broke this record only in 1985).

In 1961, Mikhail won a very representative tournament in Bled, losing only once to Fischer. The final result -14.5 out of 19 points spoke for itself. However, shortly after returning home, the chess player underwent kidney surgery.

Tal was the owner of the championship title for a short time. In 1961, a rematch took place, in which M. Botvinnik won a convincing victory with a score of 10:5. In many ways, Tal was prevented from showing a good result by an old illness, to which a heart attack was added. Interestingly, Mikhail asked to postpone the meeting, but Botvinnik demanded information only from Moscow clinics, and offended Tal decided to play at his own peril and risk.

After the championship

In 1962, the Candidates Tournament was held for Curaçao (an island in the Caribbean Sea in the Lesser Antilles group). The USSR was represented by Mikhail Tal, Tigran Petrosyan, Viktor Korchnoi, Paul Keres and Efim Geller. Bobby Fischer and Pal Benko participated from the USA, Miroslav Filip represented Czechoslovakia. Tal dropped out due to illness after the third round of the competition - in the seven remaining games, he was counted defeats. Naturally, in this situation, there could be no talk of any high result.

The only chess player who visited Tal in the hospital was. This gesture touched Mikhail deeply (Curaçao, 1962)

In the championship cycle of 1964-1966, Tal performed quite well, sharing 1-4 places in the interzonal tournament. Then, not without difficulty, he defeated the candidates Portisch and Larsen in the matches, but lost 4:7 in the final match.

The disease continued to haunt the chess player and in 1969 he had a kidney removed. Chess remained the only salvation during periods of protracted pain. He gladly accepted invitations to participate in tournaments, where he could escape from the illness that tormented him. A few months after the operation, Mikhail won the next competition.

The next series of successes awaited the grandmaster only at the end of the 70s, when in 1978, for the last time, he managed to win the championship of the USSR, share the palm with the "Tournament of Stars" in Montreal (1979) and take 2-3 places at the Keres Memorial . In 1988, Tal became the first world blitz champion, ahead of A. Karpov and G. Kasparov. He again proved that he has no equal, although many rivals thought otherwise.

Real genius

With his appearance, he perfectly personified the stereotypical idea of ​​a genius - negligence in appearance, disregard for trifles, complete ineptitude in everyday life, a phenomenal concentration on the main thing, as well as a sizzling and wild look. However, his incomparable game, which intertwined excitement, improvisation and the accuracy of calculating the options for a move, left no doubt that we were facing a real genius.

The look of a genius...

Unlike many colleagues who tried to play as rationally as possible, Tal awed the audience with his risky moves and unexpected sacrifices. Journalists and experts came up with new epithets for the grandmaster - chess Paganini, magician, alien. In fact, many of Mikhail's sacrifices turned out to be incorrect upon deep analysis. However, in this way he acquired tactical initiative, forcing the enemy to come up with new methods of defense and forcing him to make mistakes. “Many victims do not need a specific calculation at all,” Tal said. That is how he unsettled Botvinnik in the world championship match.

Over time, the sharp combination game began to give way to a more universal style with deep ideological ideas and well-balanced strategic plans.

In 1968, an amazing session of blind play on 10 boards was organized at the Kyiv Film Studio. This action was organized as part of a TV project about human superpowers. In response to a request to find a hero for this duel, the chess federation advised Tal. As a result - seven wins with three draws.

A fragment of the film "Seven Steps Beyond the Horizon" (1968), in which Mikhail Tal conducts a session of simultaneous blind play.

Chess achievements

Mikhail Tal - VIII world champion (1960-1961) and eight-time champion of chess Olympiads. Along with Botvinnik, he is a six-time champion of the Union. He won over 20 solo victories in major tournaments, including Bled (1961), Miskolc (1963), Reykjavik (1964), Wijk aan Zee (1973), Malaga (1979) and several others. In addition, in another two dozen tournaments, he shared first places. Tal won six times the European Championship and three times the interzonal competitions.

Personal life

During the celebration of the new year 1959, Tal meets the famous Latvian actress and singer Sally Landau. In order for the girl to pay attention to him, he arranged “random” meetings with her and sent friends. As a result, the young people got married, and in 1960, his beloved wife, whom Tal called Saska, gave birth to his son George. The chess player doted on the child, inventing different nicknames for him. One of them - the Goose Tal loved especially. But the birth of a child did not save this marriage, and in 1970 the couple broke up.

Sally and Mikhail playing chess

Georgy Tal - son of Mikhail Tal and Sally Landau

After a short fictitious marriage with the Georgian Ira, which happened at the initiative of the latter, Mikhail married the typist Angelina, who gave birth to his daughter Jeanne in 1975. They met during one of the USSR championships, in which Tal acted as a commentator, and his future wife took shorthand of his speech. Gelya turned out to be a very important person in Tal's life, creating a reliable stronghold for him in everyday life, where the great chess player was completely irrelevant.

At the end of the 1980s, Tal began to think more and more about his fate, and the more he thought about it, the less he observed the regime. He spends sleepless nights playing poker, eating without restrictions and smoking five packs of cigarettes a day. Unable to withstand such a rhythm, the wife leaves for Germany with her daughter, and soon Marina's last passion appears in Mikhail's life.

Tal was known for his love affairs. He was credited with novels with actress Larisa Sobolevskaya, dancer Mira Koltsova and pianist Bella Davidovich.

Actress Larisa Sobolevskaya and actor Pavel Kadochnikov in the film Big Family (1954)

Who was the favorite woman of the world champion? According to people who knew Mikhail Tal closely, he carried quivering love and tenderness for his first wife Sally throughout his life.

Forever faithful to chess

In 1992, during a tournament in Barcelona, ​​Tal became ill and was urgently taken to Moscow. The state of the grandmaster caused great fears of doctors - he could die at any moment. It was all the more surprising to learn that the chess player had escaped from the walls of the hospital to a blitz tournament taking place at that time in Moscow. This competition will be won by Garry Kasparov, but the only defeat he will suffer is from Tal.

Tal — Kasparov

Moscow, 1992

This is the last game played by Mikhail Tal in official tournaments. It is possible that this is the last game in his life, but its weight is all the more enormous, since Mikhail Nekhemievich, a month before his death, won against the reigning world champion. The fact that Kasparov lost on time does not beg for victory either. As he himself admits (see the video above), he could not solve the problems that the terminally ill Tal created for him on the board in time.

On June 28, 1992, the eighth world champion died. Mikhail Tal is buried at the Shmerli Jewish cemetery in Riga (Latvia).

• Being in her seventh month of pregnancy, Mikhail's mother Ida Tal lived in the country and, once falling asleep, woke up from a large rat running next to her. The woman was terrified. Then she thought it was a sign from above. Again, this thought came to her mind immediately after the birth of the child, when she saw that he had only three fingers on his right hand.
• Once, the famous journalist Yakov Damsky doubted the phenomenal memory of Tal, who was able to memorize over a thousand pages of text. The chess player offered to take any page in the read book and read the first line. Further, Michael reproduced the entire text unmistakably himself.
• Tal has always had great quirks. For example, he could easily mix up his shoes or ask his wife for a long time in what order to wash.
• Even after the divorce from S. Landau's first wife, Tal continued to communicate with her and with every phone call he sang the words from the song: "I didn't tell you all the words."
• In 2014, the opera "Mikhail vs. Mikhail" appeared in Riga, dedicated to the match between Botvinnik and Tal for the chess crown.

Fragment of the opera "Mikhail against Mikhail". Thus, the inhabitants of Riga decided to remember their great countryman Mikhail Tal

Video

Meeting of the two-time champion of the USSR Mikhail Tal with fans in Riga (1958).

Mikhail Tal about Vladimir Vysotsky and the song.

Games with comments

Fischer - Tal (Sicilian Defence)

Belgrade, 1954

(LOSSED OPPORTUNITIES<<Эта одна из четырёх партий, которые Фишер проиграл Талю, победителю турнира, завоевавшего право оспаривать шахматную корону у Ботвинника. Остроумный Таль, когда кто-то попросил у него автограф, в шутку поставил кроме свой подписи и подпись Фишера. «А что такого? — завил он. — Я столько раз бил Бобби, что имею право расписаться за него!» Внимательное изучение примечаний Фишера поможет нам ясно уловить отзвуки сильного волнения, переполнявшего его во время этого напряжённого поединка. Он упускает победу в дебюте и затем несколько раз проходит мимо ничейных возможностей, словно желая в наиболее драматичной форме показать, как можно проиграть отличную позицию, допуская незначительные на вид просчёты>> (L. Evans).) 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bc4 (This move brought me success many times.) e6 7. Bb3 ((In one of 7. O-O Be7 8. Bb3 Qc7 9. f4 b5 10. f5 b4 11. fxe6 $5 ((unprofitable for White and) 11. Nce2 e5 12. Nf3 Bb7) 11. ... bxc3 12. exf7+ Kf8 13. Bg5 Ng4!(, and Black should win.)) 7... b5! (You need to hurry with this move ({В нашей партии из второго круга Таль играл слабее:} 7... Be7? 8. f4 O-O 9. Qf3 Qc7 {и теперь} 10. f5! ({в партии чёрные захватили инициативу после} 10. O-O? b5 11. f5 b4! 12. Na4 e5 13. Ne2 Bb7) 10... e5 ({но не} 10... Nc6 {из-за} 11. Be3 {с сильным давлением}) 11. Nde2 b5 12. a3 Bb7 13. g4 {давало белым сильную атаку.}) 8. f4 $5 ({Против Олафссона (Буэнос-Айрес, 1960 г.) я продолжал} 8. O-O Be7 ({если} 8... b4 {, то} 9. Na4 Nxe4 10. Re1 Nf6 11. Bg5 {с атакой}) 9. Qf3 $5 Qc7 (9... Bb7 10. Bxe6!) 10. Qg3 b4 11. Nce2 g6 12. c3? (12. Bh6!) 12... Nxe4 13. Qe3 Nf6 14. cxb4 O-O { с обоюдоострой игрой}) ({В партии Р. Бирн — Эванс (первенство США, 1967 г.) белые продолжали} 8. Qf3 {, но не смогли ничего получить:} Bb7 9. Bg5 b4 10. Na4 Nbd7 11. O-O Qa5 12. Bxf6 Nxf6 13. Rfe1 Be7 {.}) 8... b4! {Косвенно подрывая центр белых.} 9. Na4 Nxe4 ({Возможно и} 9... Bb7 {.}) 10. O-O g6? ({ Правильно здесь} 10... Bb7 {.}) 11. f5! {Этот ответ оказался для Таля неожиданным. Король чёрных, застрявший в центре вскоре станет объектом неприятельских атак.} gxf5 ({Если} 11... exf5 {, то} 12. Bd5 Ra7 13. Nxf5! gxf5 14. Qd4 {.}) 12. Nxf5! {!}<<Почти всю партию Фишер играл в стиле Таля, но вся его беда была в том, что Таль защищался не в стиле Фишера, а изыскивал единственные спасающие контршансы!>> (V. Panov).) Rg8 (Having lost his balance, Tal does not defend in the strongest way.) ((It was better to play) 12... d5 13. Nh6 Bxh6 14. Bxh6) ((<но не>) 12...exf5? 13. Qd5 Ra7 14. Qd4 (.)) 13. Bd5! Ra7 (13... exd5 14. Qxd5 Bxf5 15. Rxf5 Ra7 16. Qxe4+ Re7 17. Qxb4 Re2 18. Bg5! Rxg5 19. Rxg5 Qxg5 20. Qxb8+ (— V. Panov.)) 14. Bxe4? ((Correct here) 14. Be3! Nc5 15. Qh5! Rg6 (15... Nxa4 16. Bxa7 exd5 17. Rae1+) 16. Rae1! ( , and all White's pieces fall on the king (indicated by Kevitz).)) 14 ... exf5 15. Bxf5 ((Probably it was better to avoid exchanges by) 15. Bd5) ((or ) 15. Bf3 (.)) 15... Re7! (A rare way to protect the king.) 16. Bxc8 Qxc8 17. Bf4? ((We should have chosen a simple one) 17. c3! (, and if) Qc6 (, then) 18. Rf2) (( impossible) 17. Qxd6? (because of) Rxg2+ 18. Kxg2 Re2+ 19. Kf3 Bxd6 20. Kxe2 Qxc2+ (.)) 17... Qc6! 18. Qf3 Qxa4! (How unexpected that I could hardly believe my eyes ({Я ожидал} 18... Qxf3 19. Rxf3 Re2 20. Rf2 Rxf2 21. Kxf2 {, и после а2-а3 белые могли бы рассчитывать на использование многочисленных слабостей в лагере чёрных.}) 19. Bxd6 Qc6! {Таль вдохновенно защищается.} 20. Bxb8 Qb6+ ({После} 20... Qxf3 21. Rxf3 Bg7 22. c3 {белые оставались бы с лишней пешкой.}) 21. Kh1 Qxb8 {Каждый ход вызывал в зале шум и свист. Позднее я узнал, что среди зрителей было много спортивных болельщиков. Видимо, не состоялся какой-нибудь футбольный матч, и шахматы в тот день оказались в центре внимания в Белграде.} 22. Qc6+ ({Многие комментаторы полагали, что ход} 22. Rae1 {выигрывал партию. Сам Таль признался, что он считал свою позицию после этого хода безнадёжной. Однако ход} Kd8! {спасал чёрных во всех вариантах} ({плохо} 22... Rg6? {из-за} 23. Qxf7+ Kd7 24. Rd1+! Rd6 25. Rxd6+ Kxd6 26. Rf6+!) {Я проанализировал эту позицию вдоль и поперёк и не могу предложить ничего лучшего, чем} 23. Rd1+ Kc7! (23... Kc8? 24. Qc6+) 24. Qf4+ (24. Rd4 Qb7!) 24... Kb7 25. Rd6 Qc7 26. Qxb4+ Kc8 27. Rxa6 Qb7! 28. Qxb7+ Kxb7 29. Raf6 Rg7=) 22... Rd7 23. Rae1+ ({Чёрным удавалось защититься после} 23. Rad1 Bd6 24. Rxf7 (24. Rf6 Rg6? 25. Rdxd6? Qxd6! { (то есть:} 26. Rxd6 Rgxd6 27. Qe4+ Re6 28. Qa8+ Rd8 {— В. Лебедев)}) 24... Qc7) ({Если же} 23. Rxf7 {, то} Qd6 {.}) 23... Be7 {Наконец Таль !}<<развил>> his bishop.) ((Losing) 23... Kd8 24. Rxf7! Be7 25. Rfxe7 Rxe7 26. Rd1+ (.)) 24. Rxf7 Kxf7 25. Qe6+ Kf8! ((I only considered) 25... Kg7 (, after ~~it wins easily) 26. Qxd7 (.)) 26. Qxd7 ((To win black velo) 26. Rf1+ Kg7 27. Rf7+ Kh8 28. Qxd7 Rd8 ( (() 28... Rxg2! (— V. Lebedev))) 29. Qg4 Qe5 (.)) 26... Qd6 27. Qb7 Rg6 a draw.) 28. c3! (With each exchange, Black's extra piece will become increasingly worthless.) a5 (28... bxc3 29. Qc8+ Bd8 30. Qxc3=) 29. Qc8+ (Wrong idea.) ((White achieved a draw with) 29. cxb4! Qxb4 ( 29... axb4 30. a3!bxa3 31. bxa3 Qxa3 (with a draw)) 30. Qf3+ Kg7 31. Qe2 (due to the unreliable position of the black king.)) 29... Kg7 30. Qc4 Bd8 31. cxb4 axb4 (( In case) 31... Qxb4 32. Qe2 (a draw would be guaranteed for White.)) 32. g3? (White creates additional difficulties for himself.) ((It is unclear how Black would have won the game after) 32. Qe4 Bc7 33. Qe7+ Kg8 34. Qe8+ Qf8 35. Qe4 (.)) 32... Qc6+ 33. Re4 Qxc4 34. Rxc4 Rb6! (I looked over this move. Now Black has winning chances.) ((I counted only on) 34... Be7? 35. a3! (, getting rid of the b4-pawn (if) b3 (, then) 36. Rc7 ( and 37. Rb7))) 35. Kg2 Kf6 36. Kf3 Ke5 37. Ke3 ((Now to) 37. a3 (of course) b3 (.)) .) 37... Bg5+ 38. Ke2 Kd5 39. Kd3 Bf6 40. Rc2? (Too passive,) ((but I didn't want to<<замораживать>> pawns on the queenside through) 40. b3 (although this was probably the best chance. If) Be7 (then) 41. Rd4+ (preserving draw possibilities.)) 40... Be5 41. Re2 Rf6 42 .Rc2 Rf3+ 43. Ke2 Rf7 44. Kd3 Bd4! (Move after move Tal takes over the space.) 45. a3 ((If) 45. b3 ( , then) Rf3+ 46. Ke2 Rf2+ 47. Kd3 Rxc2 48. Kxc2 Ke4 (.)) 45... b3 46. Rc8 (( Hopeless and) 46. Re2 Rf3+ 47. Kd2 Bxb2) ((or) 46. Rd2 Rf3+ 47. Ke2 Rf2+) 46... Bxb2 47. Rd8+ Kc6 48. Rb8 Rf3+ 49. Kc4 Rc3+ 50. Kb4 Ba1 51. a4 ( ((Mistake here!)) 51. Rc8+ Kb6 52. Rxc3 b2 53. Rb3) 51... b2! (White resigned.) ((On (after) 51... b2! ()) 52. Kxc3 (follows) b1=Q+! (Theme<<вскрытого шаха>>.}) 0-1

(1936-1992) Soviet chess player

He was one of the most popular grandmasters in the world in the history of chess. Tal's playing evoked and still evokes admiration even among the most outstanding masters.

Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal was born in Riga and lived there all his life. From early childhood, he showed versatile abilities: at the age of three he learned to read, and when he went to school, he easily multiplied three-digit numbers. Therefore, the boy was immediately assigned to the third grade.

He learned to play chess at the age of seven. His father was his first teacher, and they played real battles on the chessboard. However, Misha did not think then that he would become an outstanding player. He had many other hobbies. He played football well, was a school champion in checkers, and loved to play music.

Mikhail Tal began to seriously engage in chess at the age of nine. This happened after Misha's cousin checkmated him. The pride of the young chess player was hurt, and he took up the textbooks.

At the age of ten, Mikhail came to the chess section of the Pioneer Palace in Riga. His coach was a wonderful teacher Janis Kruzkop. Soon the first successes appeared, and at the age of twelve Misha had already received the second category. And he decided that now he has no equal. Once he took a chessboard and went to the Riga seaside, where at that time the world chess champion Mikhail Botvinnik was resting. Tal was going to challenge him to a duel, but their meeting did not take place then. It happened only twelve years later.

After graduating from school, Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal entered the Faculty of Philology of the University of Riga and continued to play chess. At the age of eighteen, he became a master of sports, and in the next three years he went from master to grandmaster. At this time, Tal had already graduated from the university and began working at school as a teacher of Russian language and literature.

In 1957, he became the country's chess champion for the first time, and when he returned home, all of Riga greeted him as a hero, and his students brought chess boards to literature lessons and played combinations of their famous teacher.

The following year, 1958, Mikhail Tal won the national title for the second time. He decided to concentrate completely on chess, although he liked the work at school. But his frequent absences for tournaments did not contribute to the progress of his students.

In 1960, when he was only twenty-four years old, he won a match against Botvinnik as the winner of the Candidates Tournament and became the youngest world champion.

The success of the young chess player was truly phenomenal. Experts studied his games and tried to penetrate the secrets of the champion's style.

It was obvious that for Mikhail Tal, chess is, first of all, an art. He strove to create beautiful combinations on the board, looking for new ways in chess creativity.

In almost every game, he tried to attack his opponent and force him to surrender under the threat of a mate. He had an amazing ability to cause a storm of combinational complications in a simple position. The wooden chess pieces in his hands seemed to come to life, and he was ready to sacrifice any of them for the sake of victory. It was said about Tal that from 1956 to 1960 he sacrificed as many pieces in chess games as any other grandmaster would not have given in his entire life.

Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal played with such enthusiasm that some chess players even claimed that he was hypnotizing them. At the Candidates Tournament in 1959, the American grandmaster P. Benko, after losing two games (and the participants played each other four games each), came to the third in dark glasses so as not to succumb to the opponent's hypnosis.

Mikhail NekheTal also put on sunglasses that he borrowed from Tigran Petrosyan so as not to frighten his opponent. But nothing helped, and the match ended anyway with Tal's victory.

He was an amazingly cheerful person, charming and witty. Everyone loved him for his sociable disposition and complaisant character. He did not lose his sense of humor even in the most difficult situations.

Over the years and with experience, Tal began to act more prudently on the chessboard. And yet the most characteristic feature of his style remained fantasy in search of combinational possibilities of struggle.

Tal's life was like a game of blitz, which he loved very much, and he was the first world champion in the blitz game. From the outside, he seemed like a darling of fate - a brilliant chess player, an ex-champion with thousands of fans in all corners of the globe. However, he had to experience a lot of suffering - both physical and moral.

Shortly before the start of the 1962 Candidates Tournament, he underwent complex kidney surgery. After the operation, Professor A. Frumkin said: “I don’t understand how Tal could play chess at all. Due to the abnormal functioning of the kidneys, his body was constantly subjected to intoxication.

Mikhail Tal liked to win, but he also lost with dignity. Returning home after losing the rematch to Botvinnik, he cheerfully told his mother: "You know, mother, I am the youngest ex-world champion in the history of chess."

Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal and then became the world champion as part of the USSR team, won the most prestigious tournaments - in Zurich, Hastings, Sarajevo, but he failed to return the title of world champion.

Along with participation in tournaments, he was engaged in journalism - he was the first editor of the Riga magazine "Chess" ("Shahe"), a sports columnist for the newspaper "Soviet Russia", then he led the chess page in the oral editions of the newspaper "Trud" (that was the name of the new form of propaganda when a group of editorial journalists traveled to some area and spoke to readers with stories about various achievements.)

However, the disease increasingly undermined his strength. Participation in chess tournaments alternated with frequent visits to the hospital. In 1969, he had a new operation, but Tal asked to postpone it, as the national championship began. True, he played there unimportantly and immediately went to Tbilisi for an operation, where he had a diseased kidney removed.

At that time it seemed to many that he would not survive, and an obituary even appeared in the Yugoslav newspapers in connection with the death of an outstanding chess player. The Chess Federation and the management of the USSR Chess magazine also prepared an obituary, just in case, and when Tal finally recovered and arrived in Moscow, someone showed him this text as a joke.

He underwent several difficult operations, but they did not help for long. He paid little attention to his health, did not follow the sports regime at all, and eventually began to drink a lot. Obviously, numerous operations, during which drugs were used to relieve severe pain, accustomed him to drugs.

All this, to some extent, was the reason that Mikhail Tal became restricted to travel abroad. Under various pretexts, he was not allowed to go abroad, where the most significant tournaments were held, and as a result, he was excommunicated from big chess.

However, Tal's friends claim that he was the victim of a denunciation. On one of his trips to Argentina, where the grandmaster went along with another famous chess player, at the request of his chess mentor, the famous master of Koblenz, he visited his son abroad, who had emigrated from the country some time ago. Upon returning to his homeland, the relevant authorities received a report from Mikhail Tal's companion about his misbehavior abroad.

He did not know the reasons for the disgrace that fell on him, but its consequences were not slow to affect. A brilliant chess player, international grandmaster was paid the lowest sports salary, and it came to the point that he had nothing to buy medicine for his sick mother.

Together with a group of journalists from the editorial office of the Trud newspaper, the grandmaster traveled around the country with oral releases, held simultaneous sessions with random people in clubs and palaces of culture, receiving a penny for this.

His personal life was not entirely successful either. He was married twice. His first wife was the daughter of a variety administrator from Vilnius, the second was a typist in the editorial office of the Chess magazine, where he once was an editor. He also had other hobbies, which, however, did not develop into a serious relationship.

A few months before his death, Mikhail Tal played in a strong blitz tournament, which was held at the Central House of Culture of Railway Workers. He felt unwell, lost weight, his eyes were sunken, but he answered all questions about his health: “It’s normal.” Then Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal won one of the games against Kasparov and took third place, receiving a home safe as a prize. He was too emotional person, not always disciplined and collected. He was a man of the world, open, cheerful and did not complain about fate. No wonder his friends called him a happy martyr.

Tal's chess creativity has evolved from sharply combinational to universal style.

Tal Mikhail Nekhemievich was born on November 9, 1936 in Riga, the eighth world champion in the history of chess (1960-1961), international grandmaster (1957), Honored Master of Sports of the USSR (1960). Journalist; editor-in-chief of the "Shahs" magazine (1960 - 1970).

He learned to play chess at the age of 10. Improved in the chess circle of the Riga Pioneer Palace. At the age of 13, a member of the youth team of the Latvian SSR; at 17 - the champion of the republic. At the USSR team championship (1953) he shared 1st-2nd place on the 2nd board and got the right to a match for the title of master of sports of the USSR, which he won (1954) against the multiple champion of Belarus V. Saigin - 8: 6 (+6, -4, =4). In 1955, he took 1st place in the semi-final of the 23rd USSR Championship and made his debut (1956) in the All-Russian Championship: 5-7th place. In 1957, Tal achieved great success in the 24th national championship - he won the title of champion. The game of the new champion was distinguished not only by high performance, but also by an unusually aggressive style of play, the speed and accuracy of calculating variations, and risk, elevated to the principle of the game. Subsequent performances. Tal - the world championship among students (8.5 points out of 10 on the 1st board, 1957) and the European championship (3 out of 5 on the 4th board, 1957) - were also successful. The 25th championship of the country (1958) again ended with the victory of Tal, who won the right to participate in the FIDE interzonal tournament (Portorož), where he also won (1958). Tal confirmed the right to fight for the title of world champion at the 13th Olympiad in Munich (13.5 points out of 15 - the absolute best result; 1958), the 26th USSR Championship in 1959 (2-3rd place) and at the international tournament in Zurich - 1- e place, 1959.