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 5 of 5
- 1965 vs Bent Larsen Black Candidats sf1 A39 1/2-1/2
- 1965 vs Bent Larsen White Candidats sf1 C66 1-0
- 1965 vs Bent Larsen Black Candidats sf1 E99 1-0
- 1965 vs Bent Larsen White Candidats sf1 B54 1/2-1/2
- 1965 vs Bent Larsen White Candidats sf1 B04 1-0
- 1965 vs Bent Larsen Black Candidats sf1 D93 1-0
- 1965 vs Bent Larsen Black Candidats sf1 A60 1/2-1/2
- 1965 vs Bent Larsen White Candidats sf1 B82 1-0
- 1965 vs Bent Larsen Black Candidats sf1 A60 1/2-1/2
- 1965 vs Lajos Portisch Black Candidats qf1 A38 1/2-1/2
- 1965 vs Lajos Portisch White Candidats qf1 C92 1-0
- 1965 vs Lajos Portisch Black Candidats qf1 E51 0-1
- 1965 vs Lajos Portisch White Candidats qf1 C11 1-0
- 1965 vs Lajos Portisch Black Candidats qf1 E56 1/2-1/2
- 1965 vs Lajos Portisch White Candidats qf1 B11 1/2-1/2
- 1965 vs Lajos Portisch Black Candidats qf1 E52 1-0
- 1965 vs Lajos Portisch White Candidats qf1 B10 1-0
- 1965 vs Boris Spassky Black Candidats final B48 1/2-1/2
- 1965 vs Boris Spassky Black Candidats final B82 0-1
- 1965 vs Boris Spassky White Candidats final C89 1/2-1/2
- 1965 vs Boris Spassky Black Candidats final E12 1/2-1/2
- 1965 vs Boris Spassky White Candidats final C95 0-1
- 1965 vs Boris Spassky Black Candidats final B25 1-0
- 1965 vs Boris Spassky White Candidats final C89 1/2-1/2
- 1965 vs Boris Spassky White Candidats final C94 0-1
- 1965 vs Boris Spassky Black Candidats final E55 1/2-1/2
- 1965 vs Boris Spassky White Candidats final C90 0-1
- 1965 vs Boris Spassky White Candidats final C89 1/2-1/2
- 1964 vs Mikhail Botvinnik White URS Spartakiad B18 1/2-1/2
- 1964 vs David Bronstein Black Amsterdam Interzonal C28 1/2-1/2
- 1964 vs David Bronstein White URS-ch32 C18 0-1
- 1964 vs Nona Gaprindashvili White Reykjavik C99 1-0
- 1964 vs Efim Geller White URS Spartakiad C92 1-0
- 1964 vs Svetozar Gligoric White Reykjavik C97 1-0
- 1964 vs Svetozar Gligoric Black Amsterdam Interzonal C96 1/2-1/2
- 1964 vs Viktor Korchnoi Black URS-ch32 D42 1-0
- 1964 vs Bent Larsen Black Amsterdam Interzonal B21 1/2-1/2
- 1964 vs Tigran Petrosian Black URS Spartakiad A06 1/2-1/2
- 1964 vs Lajos Portisch Black Amsterdam Interzonal E62 1/2-1/2
- 1964 vs Samuel Reshevsky White Amsterdam Interzonal C96 1/2-1/2
- 1964 vs Vasily Smyslov White Amsterdam Interzonal C96 1/2-1/2
- 1964 vs Vasily Smyslov Black URS Spartakiad A36 0-1
- 1964 vs Boris Spassky Black Amsterdam Interzonal C96 1/2-1/2
- 1963 vs David Bronstein Black Asztalos mem D22 1/2-1/2
- 1963 vs Efim Geller Black Capablanca mem C88 0-1
- 1963 vs Svetozar Gligoric White Hastings6364 C87 1/2-1/2
- 1963 vs Svetozar Gligoric White Alekhine mem B99 1-0
- 1963 vs Paul Keres White Alekhine mem C96 1/2-1/2
- 1963 vs Paul Keres White URS-chT E18 1/2-1/2
- 1963 vs Viktor Korchnoi Black Capablanca mem D47 1/2-1/2
- 1963 vs Tigran Petrosian Black URS-chT D41 1-0
- 1963 vs Vasily Smyslov Black Alekhine mem A30 1/2-1/2
- 1962 vs Bobby Fischer Black Candidats Tournament B32 1-0
- 1962 vs Bobby Fischer White Candidats Tournament C64 1/2-1/2
- 1962 vs Bobby Fischer White Candidats Tournament B92 1/2-1/2
- 1962 vs Efim Geller Black Candidats Tournament B48 1/2-1/2
- 1962 vs Efim Geller Black Candidats Tournament B48 1-0
- 1962 vs Efim Geller White Candidats Tournament D01 0-1
- 1962 vs Paul Keres White Candidats Tournament C96 0-1
- 1962 vs Paul Keres White URS-chT C87 1/2-1/2
- 1962 vs Paul Keres Black Candidats Tournament B48 1/2-1/2
- 1962 vs Paul Keres White Candidats Tournament C96 0-1
- 1962 vs Viktor Korchnoi Black Candidats Tournament D41 0-1
- 1962 vs Viktor Korchnoi White Candidats Tournament B48 1/2-1/2
- 1962 vs Viktor Korchnoi White Candidats Tournament C83 0-1
- 1962 vs Viktor Korchnoi Black URS-ch30 A62 1-0
- 1962 vs Tigran Petrosian Black Candidats Tournament A16 1/2-1/2
- 1962 vs Tigran Petrosian White Candidats Tournament C11 0-1
- 1962 vs Tigran Petrosian Black Candidats Tournament A12 1-0
- 1962 vs Lev Polugaevsky Black URS-chT D35 1/2-1/2
- 1962 vs Vasily Smyslov Black URS-chT B25 1/2-1/2
- 1962 vs Boris Spassky Black URS-ch30 D41 1/2-1/2
- 1961 vs Mikhail Botvinnik Black World Championship 24th E81 1-0
- 1961 vs Mikhail Botvinnik White World Championship 24th C18 1-0
- 1961 vs Mikhail Botvinnik Black World Championship 24th E87 1-0
- 1961 vs Mikhail Botvinnik White World Championship 24th B12 0-1
- 1961 vs Mikhail Botvinnik Black World Championship 24th E51 1-0
- 1961 vs Mikhail Botvinnik White World Championship 24th B12 1/2-1/2
- 1961 vs Mikhail Botvinnik Black World Championship 24th A23 1-0
- 1961 vs Mikhail Botvinnik White World Championship 24th B12 1-0
- 1961 vs Mikhail Botvinnik Black World Championship 24th E81 0-1
- 1961 vs Mikhail Botvinnik Black World Championship 24th E81 0-1
- 1961 vs Mikhail Botvinnik White World Championship 24th B18 1-0
- 1961 vs Mikhail Botvinnik White World Championship 24th B12 1/2-1/2
- 1961 vs Mikhail Botvinnik Black World Championship 24th E24 1-0
- 1961 vs Mikhail Botvinnik Black World Championship 24th E51 1/2-1/2
- 1961 vs Mikhail Botvinnik Black World Championship 24th E85 1-0
- 1961 vs Mikhail Botvinnik White World Championship 24th B12 1/2-1/2
- 1961 vs Mikhail Botvinnik White World Championship 24th B12 1/2-1/2
- 1961 vs Mikhail Botvinnik Black World Championship 24th D14 1-0
- 1961 vs Mikhail Botvinnik White World Championship 24th B12 0-1
- 1961 vs Mikhail Botvinnik White World Championship 24th B12 1/2-1/2
- 1961 vs Mikhail Botvinnik Black World Championship 24th E51 1-0
- 1961 vs David Bronstein White URS-ch29 B14 0-1
- 1961 vs Bobby Fischer Black Bled B47 1-0
- 1961 vs Efim Geller Black Bled E55 1/2-1/2
- 1961 vs Svetozar Gligoric White Bled E98 1/2-1/2
- 1961 vs Svetozar Gligoric Black EU-chT E52 1/2-1/2
- 1961 vs Paul Keres Black URS-ch29 D30 1/2-1/2
- 1961 vs Paul Keres White Bled C85 1/2-1/2
- 1961 vs Miguel Najdorf White Bled B92 1-0
- 1961 vs Tigran Petrosian Black Bled E98 1/2-1/2
- 1961 vs Lev Polugaevsky Black URS-ch29 A43 1/2-1/2
- 1961 vs Lajos Portisch Black EU-chT C05 1-0
- 1961 vs Lajos Portisch Black Bled E65 1/2-1/2
- 1961 vs Lajos Portisch White EU-chT B77 1-0
- 1961 vs Vasily Smyslov White URS-ch29 C93 1/2-1/2
- 1961 vs Boris Spassky Black URS-ch29 E65 1-0
- 1960 vs Mikhail Botvinnik Black World Championship 23th E24 1/2-1/2
- 1960 vs Mikhail Botvinnik Black World Championship 23th A60 1-0
- 1960 vs Mikhail Botvinnik White World Championship 23th A30 1/2-1/2
- 1960 vs Mikhail Botvinnik Black World Championship 23th A61 1/2-1/2
- 1960 vs Mikhail Botvinnik White World Championship 23th B18 0-1
- 1960 vs Mikhail Botvinnik Black World Championship 23th E24 1/2-1/2
- 1960 vs Mikhail Botvinnik White World Championship 23th B18 1/2-1/2
- 1960 vs Mikhail Botvinnik Black World Championship 23th E27 1/2-1/2
- 1960 vs Mikhail Botvinnik White World Championship 23th D78 1-0
- 1960 vs Mikhail Botvinnik Black World Championship 23th E89 1/2-1/2
- 1960 vs Mikhail Botvinnik Black World Championship 23th E69 0-1
- 1960 vs Mikhail Botvinnik White World Championship 23th B18 1-0
- 1960 vs Mikhail Botvinnik White World Championship 23th B18 1-0
- 1960 vs Mikhail Botvinnik White World Championship 23th A87 1-0
- 1960 vs Mikhail Botvinnik Black World Championship 23th E24 1/2-1/2
- 1960 vs Mikhail Botvinnik White World Championship 23th C18 1-0
- 1960 vs Mikhail Botvinnik Black World Championship 23th E24 1/2-1/2
- 1960 vs Mikhail Botvinnik White World Championship 23th B11 1/2-1/2
- 1960 vs Mikhail Botvinnik Black World Championship 23th D40 1/2-1/2
- 1960 vs Mikhail Botvinnik White World Championship 23th E19 1/2-1/2
- 1960 vs Mikhail Botvinnik White World Championship 23th B18 1/2-1/2
- 1960 vs Bobby Fischer Black Leipzig olm fin-A C17 1/2-1/2
- 1960 vs Svetozar Gligoric Black Leipzig olm fin-A E96 1/2-1/2
- 1960 vs Miguel Najdorf Black Leipzig olm prel E39 1/2-1/2
- 1960 vs Miguel Najdorf White Leipzig olm fin-A B82 1-0
- 1959 vs David Bronstein White URS-ch26 C96 1-0
- 1959 vs Bobby Fischer Black Candidats Tournament B86 0-1
- 1959 vs Bobby Fischer White Candidats Tournament E93 1-0
- 1959 vs Bobby Fischer Black Candidats Tournament B87 0-1
- 1959 vs Bobby Fischer White Zuerich B99 1/2-1/2
- 1959 vs Bobby Fischer White Candidats Tournament E93 1-0
- 1959 vs Efim Geller Black URS-ch26 A71 0-1
- 1959 vs Efim Geller Black URS-chT B42 1/2-1/2
- 1959 vs Svetozar Gligoric Black Candidats Tournament A78 0-1
- 1959 vs Svetozar Gligoric White Candidats Tournament E89 1-0
- 1959 vs Svetozar Gligoric White Zuerich C87 0-1
- 1959 vs Svetozar Gligoric Black Candidats Tournament C97 1/2-1/2
- 1959 vs Svetozar Gligoric White Candidats Tournament E13 1-0
- 1959 vs Paul Keres White URS-chT B19 0-1
- 1959 vs Paul Keres Black Candidats Tournament B42 0-1
- 1959 vs Paul Keres White URS-ch26 D37 1/2-1/2
- 1959 vs Paul Keres White Candidats Tournament D34 0-1
- 1959 vs Paul Keres Black Zuerich D42 1/2-1/2
- 1959 vs Paul Keres Black Tallinn m1 B40 1/2-1/2
- 1959 vs Paul Keres White Candidats Tournament E20 0-1
- 1959 vs Paul Keres Black Candidats Tournament A16 1-0
- 1959 vs Paul Keres White Tallinn m1 C78 1/2-1/2
- 1959 vs Viktor Korchnoi White URS-ch26 B94 0-1
- 1959 vs Bent Larsen White Zuerich B77 1-0
- 1959 vs Tigran Petrosian White URS-ch26 C99 1/2-1/2
- 1959 vs Tigran Petrosian Black Candidats Tournament E39 1/2-1/2
- 1959 vs Tigran Petrosian Black Candidats Tournament D41 1/2-1/2
- 1959 vs Tigran Petrosian White Candidats Tournament B94 1/2-1/2
- 1959 vs Tigran Petrosian White Candidats Tournament C96 1/2-1/2
- 1959 vs Lev Polugaevsky White URS-ch26 B94 1-0
- 1959 vs Vasily Smyslov Black Candidats Tournament B42 1/2-1/2
- 1959 vs Vasily Smyslov White Candidats Tournament B84 1-0
- 1959 vs Vasily Smyslov White Candidats Tournament B10 1-0
- 1959 vs Vasily Smyslov Black Candidats Tournament B92 1-0
- 1959 vs Boris Spassky Black Riga C97 1-0
- 1959 vs Boris Spassky Black URS-chT C92 1-0
- 1959 vs Boris Spassky White URS-ch26 E92 1/2-1/2
- 1958 vs David Bronstein White Portoroz Interzonal E46 1/2-1/2
- 1958 vs David Bronstein Black URS-ch25 B49 1/2-1/2
- 1958 vs Bobby Fischer Black Portoroz Interzonal C92 1/2-1/2
- 1958 vs Efim Geller White URS-ch25 C96 1-0
- 1958 vs Svetozar Gligoric White Portoroz Interzonal E88 1/2-1/2
- 1958 vs Viktor Korchnoi White URS-ch25 C18 0-1
- 1958 vs Bent Larsen White Portoroz Interzonal B94 1-0
- 1958 vs Tigran Petrosian White Portoroz Interzonal E79 1/2-1/2
- 1958 vs Tigran Petrosian White URS-ch25 C97 1/2-1/2
- 1958 vs Lev Polugaevsky Black URS-ch25 E46 1/2-1/2
- 1958 vs Lajos Portisch White WchT U26 E54 1-0
- 1958 vs Boris Spassky Black URS-ch25 E26 0-1
- 1957 vs David Bronstein White URS-ch24 D90 1-0
- 1957 vs Paul Keres Black URS-ch24 B14 0-1
- 1957 vs Viktor Korchnoi White URS-ch24 C10 1/2-1/2
- 1957 vs Bent Larsen White WchT U26 B96 1-0
- 1957 vs Tigran Petrosian White URS-ch24 C18 1-0
- 1957 vs Boris Spassky White URS-ch24 C63 1/2-1/2
- 1956 vs Viktor Korchnoi Black URS-ch sf E81 1/2-1/2
- 1956 vs Viktor Korchnoi Black URS-ch23 A19 1/2-1/2
- 1956 vs Tigran Petrosian White URS-ch sf C02 1/2-1/2
- 1956 vs Lev Polugaevsky Black URS-ch sf D40 1/2-1/2
- 1956 vs Lev Polugaevsky White URS-ch23 B66 1/2-1/2
- 1956 vs Boris Spassky Black URS-ch23 E80 1-0
- 1955 vs Viktor Korchnoi White URS-ch sf C83 0-1
- 1954 vs Paul Keres White Tallinn m E92 0-1
- 1954 vs Paul Keres Black Tallinn m A61 1/2-1/2
- 1954 vs Viktor Korchnoi Black URS-chTJ Coop E06 1/2-1/2
- 1954 vs Tigran Petrosian White URS-chTJ Coop B95 1/2-1/2
- 1954 vs Boris Spassky White URS-chTJ A61 0-1
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