In the second half of the 20th century, chess was wildly popular in the Union, and Mikhail Tal was one of the brightest grandmasters of that time. He became the eighth world champion. He was nicknamed "Chess Paganini" for the original and fascinating style of play.
Biography: early years
Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal was born on November 9, 1936 in Riga. He has Jewish roots. Parents were each other's cousin and brother. Probably, consanguinity was the cause of the abnormality of the intrauterine development of Michael: he did not have two fingers on his right hand. My father worked as the main neuropathologist of Latvia.
There is a spot in Tal's biography that he tried to hide. According to rumors, his biological father was a completely different person, a family friend and subsequently the second spouse of Tal's mother, Robert Papyrmeister. This was known to Michael himself and a narrow circle of his friends. However, after Tal died, his widow and daughter refuted this assumption.
When Mikhail was barely 1.5 years old, he suffered a severe form of meningitis. The disease left a serious imprint on his health. It will fail Tal all his life, but he never grumbled at fate.
The absence of two fingers on his right hand did not prevent Mikhail from mastering the piano. He began to study chess at the age of nine. By modern standards, a bit late. However, in just a couple of years, he turned from a novice player into a rising chess star.
At the age of thirteen, Mikhail joined the youth team of the Latvian SSR, and four years later became the champion of the republic.
Career
In 1957, Tal, defeating the country's most powerful chess players, became the champion of the Union. The following year, he secured the result and received the right to play in the interzonal tournament. Michael brilliantly passed it, as well as the championship of applicants. Thanks to these victories in 1960, Tal got the right to play at the World Cup. In the final, his opponent was Mikhail Botvinnik himself, whom he idolized and considered an idol in the world of chess. The tournament was held in the metropolitan Pushkin Theater. Prior to this, Botvinnik and Tal had never met on the board.
Michael's desperate playing style was too tough for the reigning world champion. Tal celebrated victory ahead of schedule with a score of 12.5: 8.5 points. He became the youngest world champion in chess history, the eighth in a row. Only 25 years later, the famous Garry Kasparov will “surpass” him.
A year later, Michael “lost” the crown of the champion. He will suffer defeats on the board many times, but this did not stop him from entering the chess history as a bright player with a beautiful, combinational style. The games of Tal are still invariably versed in chess textbooks.
In 1961, Mikhail began to have health problems. The chess player suffered terrible kidney pain. At that time, colic was very difficult to stop. Attacks were repeated almost daily. Tal had to participate in tournaments, being on injections.
Soon, doctors found that Michael has a rare congenital pathology: a third kidney and a third ureter. In the late 60s, the chess player will lie under the surgeon’s knife. After the operation, he will feel better and even sunbathe as before. That's just Michael could not return the champion crown.
