Mikhail Tal

Mikhail Nekhemyevich Tal (Latvian: Mihails Tāls; Russian: Михаил Нехемьевич Таль; November 9, 1936, Riga - June 27, 1992, Moscow) was a Soviet and Latvian chess player, Grandmaster (1957) and eighth World Chess Champion (1960-1961).

Merited Master of Sports of the USSR (1960), six-time USSR champion (1957, 1958, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1978), champion of the Latvian SSR (1953, 1965), eight-time winner of the chess Olympiads as part of the USSR team, six-time European champion and three-time world champion among students in the team classification, winner of interzonal tournaments (1958, 1964, 1979), Candidates Tournament (1959), participant of two World Championship matches and seven Candidates Matches, winner of 44 international tournaments, journalist, editor-in-chief (1960-1970) of "Chess" magazine (Latvian). "Šahs"), which was published in Riga by the State Sports Committee of the Latvian SSR and the Republican Chess Federation.