Mikhail Tal
8th World Chess Champion · Soviet era · Latvia · 1936–1992
The magician from Riga: sacrifices no engine approves of, and few opponents survived.
Career In The Collection
1000Games
264Wins
582Draws
154Losses
56%Score
1954–1992Active
Head-to-Head Records
| Opponent | Games | Wins | Draws | Losses | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mikhail Botvinnik | 44 | 12 | 20 | 12 | view games |
| Viktor Korchnoi | 41 | 6 | 23 | 12 | view games |
| Tigran Petrosian | 40 | 3 | 32 | 5 | view games |
| Bent Larsen | 39 | 13 | 19 | 7 | view games |
| Boris Spassky | 39 | 6 | 24 | 9 | view games |
| Efim Geller | 34 | 6 | 22 | 6 | view games |
| Jan Timman | 33 | 6 | 22 | 5 | view games |
| Svetozar Gligoric | 33 | 10 | 21 | 2 | view games |
| Lajos Portisch | 32 | 9 | 18 | 5 | view games |
| David Bronstein | 31 | 10 | 15 | 6 | view games |
| Lev Polugaevsky | 31 | 2 | 21 | 8 | view games |
| Paul Keres | 26 | 4 | 14 | 8 | view games |
| Vasily Smyslov | 26 | 3 | 18 | 5 | view games |
| Anatoly Karpov | 20 | 1 | 17 | 2 | view games |
| Bobby Fischer | 13 | 4 | 5 | 4 | view games |
| Garry Kasparov | 12 | 0 | 10 | 2 | view games |
| Miguel Najdorf | 9 | 3 | 5 | 1 | view games |
| Nigel Short | 9 | 2 | 6 | 1 | view games |
| Samuel Reshevsky | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | view games |
| Michael Adams | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | view games |
| Nona Gaprindashvili | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | view games |
| Gata Kamsky | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | view games |
| Viswanathan Anand | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | view games |
1000 Games · Page 2 of 5
- 1988 vs Ulf Andersson Black World Cup A30 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Ulf Andersson Black Hoogovens A38 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Ulf Andersson Black World Cup E05 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Alexander G Beliavsky Black World Cup B09 1-0
- 1988 vs Alexander G Beliavsky Black World Cup D20 1-0
- 1988 vs Alexander Chernin Black Wch-blitz E92 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Alexander Chernin White Wch-blitz C10 1-0
- 1988 vs Alexander Chernin Black Wch-blitz B07 1-0
- 1988 vs Alexander Chernin White Wch-blitz B09 1-0
- 1988 vs Amparan Aquiles Chiu White National op B31 1-0
- 1988 vs Stuart Conquest White Tbilisi C92 0-1
- 1988 vs Branko Damljanovic Black Saint John op-2 D29 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Josif D Dorfman White URS Cup rapid B30 1-0
- 1988 vs Jaan Ehlvest Black Saint John op-2 B17 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Jaan Ehlvest White World Cup D27 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Vladimir Epishin Black URS Cup rapid D38 1-0
- 1988 vs Eversole White National op B02 1-0
- 1988 vs Ivan Farago White Hoogovens C18 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Cathy Forbes White Chicago op B77 1-0
- 1988 vs Kiril Georgiev Black Hoogovens D27 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Aivars Gipslis White Saint John op-2 B08 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Eduard Gufeld Black Tbilisi C69 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Dmitry Gurevich White Wch-blitz A34 1-0
- 1988 vs Dmitry Gurevich Black Wch-blitz E48 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Dmitry Gurevich White Wch-blitz B63 0-1
- 1988 vs Dmitry Gurevich Black Wch-blitz E48 0-1
- 1988 vs Curt Hansen White Hoogovens B85 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Johann Hjartarson Black World Cup D45 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Robert Huebner Black Hoogovens B84 0-1
- 1988 vs Ventzislav Inkiov Black Saint John op-2 E61 0-1
- 1988 vs Bozidar Ivanovic White Saint John op-2 A34 1-0
- 1988 vs Artur Jussupow White World Cup D53 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Artur Jussupow White Wch-blitz C43 1-0
- 1988 vs Artur Jussupow Black Wch-blitz E14 0-1
- 1988 vs Artur Jussupow White Wch-blitz B30 1-0
- 1988 vs Anatoly Karpov White World Cup C85 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Anatoly Karpov White Hoogovens A30 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Garry Kasparov Black World Cup D17 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Viktor Korchnoi White World Cup C07 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Viktor Korchnoi White World Cup C67 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Zdenko Kozul Black Tbilisi A41 1-0
- 1988 vs Bjarke Kristensen White Saint John op-2 B33 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Ljubomir Ljubojevic Black World Cup B04 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Ljubomir Ljubojevic White Hoogovens D36 0-1
- 1988 vs Smbat G Lputian White Saint John op-2 A13 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Valentin Lukov Black Tbilisi A70 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Bill Maddex Black National op B40 0-1
- 1988 vs Magaram Magomedov Black URS Cup rapid B87 1-0
- 1988 vs John C Meyer Black National op A41 0-1
- 1988 vs Vladimir A Muratov Black URS Cup rapid B17 0-1
- 1988 vs Predrag Nikolic Black World Cup D76 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Predrag Nikolic Black Hoogovens D38 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Predrag Nikolic Black World Cup A63 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Jesus Nogueiras White Wch-blitz E43 1-0
- 1988 vs Jesus Nogueiras Black Wch-blitz A00 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Jesus Nogueiras Black World Cup D41 0-1
- 1988 vs Jesus Nogueiras Black Wch-blitz D38 0-1
- 1988 vs Igor A Novikov Black URS Cup rapid D38 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Igor A Novikov Black Tbilisi B08 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs John DM Nunn Black World Cup B44 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs John DM Nunn Black World Cup B17 1-0
- 1988 vs Arshak B Petrosian White URS Cup rapid C87 1-0
- 1988 vs Margeir Petursson Black World Cup E48 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Jeroen Piket White Hoogovens B60 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Lajos Portisch White World Cup C67 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Lajos Portisch White World Cup C65 1-0
- 1988 vs Eduard Prandstetter White Tbilisi A14 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Yuri S Razuvaev Black Saint John op-2 A64 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Zoltan Ribli Black World Cup A34 0-1
- 1988 vs James Rizzitano White National op B93 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Daniel Mauricio Rodriguez Black Saint John op-2 B53 0-1
- 1988 vs Oleg M Romanishin Black Tbilisi D30 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Valery Salov White World Cup A30 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Gyula Sax Black World Cup B63 0-1
- 1988 vs Gyula Sax Black World Cup B88 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Yasser Seirawan Black World Cup E32 1-0
- 1988 vs Andrei Sokolov White World Cup A13 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Andrei Sokolov White World Cup E04 1-0
- 1988 vs Gennadi Sosonko Black Hoogovens A90 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Boris Spassky White World Cup D58 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Jonathan S Speelman White World Cup D94 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Jonathan S Speelman White World Cup A43 1-0
- 1988 vs Evgeny Sveshnikov White URS Cup rapid D40 1-0
- 1988 vs Aleksander Sznapik White Tbilisi C09 1-0
- 1988 vs Jan Timman White KRO m E18 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Jan Timman White World Cup D32 1-0
- 1988 vs Jan Timman White KRO m D12 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Jan Timman White World Cup B63 0-1
- 1988 vs Jan Timman Black KRO m B82 0-1
- 1988 vs Jan Timman Black KRO m D44 1-0
- 1988 vs Jan Timman Black KRO m D94 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Jan Timman White KRO m A35 1-0
- 1988 vs V. Tsarev White URS Cup rapid B93 1-0
- 1988 vs Elizbar Ubilava White Tbilisi D62 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Rafael A Vaganian Black Wch-blitz A35 0-1
- 1988 vs Rafael A Vaganian White Wch-blitz A13 1-0
- 1988 vs Rafael A Vaganian White Wch-blitz C16 1-0
- 1988 vs Rafael A Vaganian Black Wch-blitz D38 0-1
- 1988 vs Rafael A Vaganian White World Cup+ A14 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Anatoli Vaisser White URS Cup rapid A90 0-1
- 1988 vs Paul Van der Sterren Black Hoogovens A13 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs John TH Van der Wiel White Hoogovens D45 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Aleksandr Veingold White URS Cup rapid A05 0-1
- 1988 vs Evgeny Vladimirov Black URS Cup rapid E90 0-1
- 1988 vs Luc Winants White World Cup C65 1/2-1/2
- 1988 vs Gennadi Zaichik White Tbilisi B82 1-0
- 1987 vs Simen Agdestein White Reykjavik E06 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Lev O Alburt White Subotica Interzonal A46 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Jon L Arnason Black Jurmala B84 0-1
- 1987 vs Jon L Arnason Black Reykjavik B17 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Vladimir Bagirov White Jurmala A11 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Alexander G Beliavsky Black Moscow TV D38 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Alexander G Beliavsky White Moscow TV C91 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Luis Bronstein White Rio Hondo C06 1-0
- 1987 vs Thomas Casper White Jurmala A54 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Alexander Chernin Black Subotica Interzonal D22 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Roberto Cifuentes Parada Black Rio Hondo A30 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Thomas Ernst Black Subotica Interzonal A65 0-1
- 1987 vs Carlos Garcia Palermo Black Rio Hondo D38 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Aivars Gipslis White Jurmala E00 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Jorge H Gomez Baillo White Rio Hondo D95 1-0
- 1987 vs Julio E Granda Zuniga White Rio Hondo C05 1-0
- 1987 vs Ahmed Hamed White Subotica Interzonal C79 1-0
- 1987 vs Johann Hjartarson White Reykjavik C99 1-0
- 1987 vs Robert Huebner White Brussels blitz C07 0-1
- 1987 vs Robert Huebner Black Brussels blitz D38 0-1
- 1987 vs Anatoly Karpov Black Brussels blitz D38 1-0
- 1987 vs Anatoly Karpov Black Brussels E06 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Anatoly Karpov White Brussels blitz B10 1-0
- 1987 vs Garry Kasparov Black Brussels blitz E42 1-0
- 1987 vs Garry Kasparov White Brussels blitz B85 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Garry Kasparov Black Brussels E48 1-0
- 1987 vs Garry Kasparov Black Moscow TV E41 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Garry Kasparov White Moscow TV E65 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Edvins Kengis White Jurmala B90 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Viktor Korchnoi White Brussels blitz C07 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Viktor Korchnoi Black Brussels blitz D38 0-1
- 1987 vs Viktor Korchnoi White Brussels C81 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Viktor Korchnoi White Reykjavik C80 1-0
- 1987 vs Anthony C Kosten Black Jurmala C83 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Bent Larsen White Brussels blitz C91 1-0
- 1987 vs Bent Larsen White Brussels B72 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Bent Larsen Black Brussels blitz E14 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Ljubomir Ljubojevic White Brussels D46 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Ljubomir Ljubojevic Black Brussels blitz D38 1-0
- 1987 vs Ljubomir Ljubojevic Black Reykjavik C90 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Ljubomir Ljubojevic White Brussels blitz B06 0-1
- 1987 vs Slavoljub Marjanovic White Subotica Interzonal B90 1-0
- 1987 vs Richard Meulders White Brussels A81 1-0
- 1987 vs Helgi Olafsson Black Reykjavik A75 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Oscar Panno White Rio Hondo C67 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Margeir Petursson White Reykjavik A35 1-0
- 1987 vs Lev Polugaevsky Black Rio Hondo D86 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Lev Polugaevsky Black Reykjavik A14 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Petar Popovic Black Subotica Interzonal C78 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Lajos Portisch Black Reykjavik D47 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Devaki V Prasad Black Subotica Interzonal B93 1-0
- 1987 vs Josef Pribyl Black Jurmala D11 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Lev Psakhis White Jurmala A47 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Miguel A Quinteros White Rio Hondo B08 1-0
- 1987 vs Yuri S Razuvaev Black Jurmala D25 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Zoltan Ribli White Subotica Interzonal E18 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Pablo Ricardi White Rio Hondo A20 1-0
- 1987 vs Amador Rodriguez Black Subotica Interzonal B17 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Oleg M Romanishin White Jurmala C96 1-0
- 1987 vs Jorge A Rubinetti Black Rio Hondo A34 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Gyula Sax White Subotica Interzonal E48 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Alexander Shabalov Black Jurmala D61 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Nigel Short White Brussels blitz C09 1-0
- 1987 vs Nigel Short Black Brussels blitz B10 0-1
- 1987 vs Nigel Short Black Brussels B17 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Nigel Short White Subotica Interzonal C18 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Nigel Short Black Reykjavik C91 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Vasily Smyslov Black Subotica Interzonal D38 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Gennadi Sosonko White Brussels blitz E29 1-0
- 1987 vs Gennadi Sosonko Black Brussels blitz E18 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Jonathan S Speelman White Subotica Interzonal B17 1-0
- 1987 vs Artur Sygulski White Jurmala C88 1-0
- 1987 vs Jorge Szmetan Black Rio Hondo B52 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Jan Timman Black Brussels A30 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Jan Timman White Brussels blitz C84 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Jan Timman White Reykjavik C43 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Jan Timman Black Brussels blitz C88 1-0
- 1987 vs Eugenio Torre Black Brussels blitz D38 1-0
- 1987 vs Eugenio Torre White Brussels B07 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Eugenio Torre White Brussels blitz B07 0-1
- 1987 vs Tihomir Toshkov Black Jurmala A12 1-0
- 1987 vs John TH Van der Wiel Black Brussels blitz C69 0-1
- 1987 vs John TH Van der Wiel White Brussels blitz B40 0-1
- 1987 vs John TH Van der Wiel Black Brussels C45 1/2-1/2
- 1987 vs Luc Winants White Brussels A34 1-0
- 1987 vs Xu Jun Black Subotica Interzonal E90 0-1
- 1987 vs Alonso Zapata Black Subotica Interzonal B03 0-1
- 1986 vs Utut Adianto White Reykjavik op D36 1-0
- 1986 vs Ashot Anastasian Black Yerevan A16 1-0
- 1986 vs Sergey Arkhipov Black Tbilisi A45 1/2-1/2
- 1986 vs Zurab Azmaiparashvili White Tbilisi B07 1/2-1/2
- 1986 vs Guenther Jan Ballon White Berlin op C70 1-0
- 1986 vs Alexander G Beliavsky Black Sochi E91 1/2-1/2
- 1986 vs Alexander Chernin White Sochi A28 1/2-1/2
Keep Studying
Open any game above to read it move by move, or replay it on the interactive board. When a position grabs you, have Stockfish analyze the whole game, or play the ideas out against Stockfish yourself. All the players are on the Grandmaster Games hub.