Mikhail Tal is regarded as one of the greatest chess players of all time. He was the youngest world champion during his time in 1961, a record that was broken by Garry Kasparov later.
Mikhail was known for outrageously aggressive style of play which involved sacrificing important pieces to win the game. His positional understanding was off the charts and his cunning tactics earned him the nickname ‘The Magician from Riga’.
Now, his wife may have deemed him as ill equipped to deal with life and a bit of an unusual character who was also promiscuous at the same time, but there is no denying that Mikhail Tal had a drive that was unlike anything you could have ever seen.
Mikhail Tal was 54 years old at the time and critically ill. He was in the hospital bed and it was evident that his days were numbered. One particular day when the doctor got into his room, he found out that Tal had left the bed.
He went out to play the last tournament of his life where he faced off against Garry Kasparov the reigning world champion on 28th May 1992. He defeated Garry Kasparov in the last game even though Garry had the positional advantage.
Mikhail Tal had created a lot of confusion on the board which made it difficult for Garry to play accurately which led to Garry loosing on time.
Mikhail died exactly a month later on 28th June 1992. Its crazy to think that even during his last days he had the determination to beat the World Champion which he did anyhow.
So, that was the story of Mikhail Tal, one of the immortal names in chess history.
