The "Special": Mikhail Tal

1/9/2023 – Mikhail Tal's meteoric rise shook the chess world in the late 1950s, taking him straight to the very top. His victory over Botvinnik in the 1960 match won him the world title. In the process, the 'Wizard from Riga' thrilled fans with his unprecedented combination style – “There are two kinds of sacrifices - correct ones and mine!” For CBM 211 we invited our authors to comment on their favourite Mikhail Tal games. The total of 21 encounters, the last played in 1991, show the eighth World Champion above all, in his element - as a brilliant tactician. A little-known game from the National Open in Chicago 1988 is presented by Yannick Pelletier in CBM 211 - you can watch his analysis in abridged form here. Enjoy!