My Favorite Game Of. Number 3. Mikhail Tal.

As someone who has studied just about every important chess player, I am often asked for my 'all-time lists'. You know, greatest of all time, strongest of all time, best endgame player of all time, etc. Well, I really don't do those lists!! The only one I will be drawn on is who my favorites are. Like pretty much everyone, I suppose, Tal is high up the order in my all-time favorite players. Often called 'The Magician of Riga', there is indeed something magical about his play. His ability to create a tactical and combinational hurricane from seemingly nowhere was extraordinary. In his games the pieces are rarely cold and lifeless. They are warm blooded living entities, with energy, ambition and personality.

It is, however, often forgotten that Tal was perfectly capable of high level positional play, and of more than competent technique. He was a proper all round player, but with the gift of being able to take the game into a different dimension. 

My favorite Tal game is probably the most highly regarded and best known of the ones in this series - widely regarded as one of the greatest games ever. Tal gives us a positional master-class, and then the hurricane arrives!

Enjoy the game, and don't forget that if you have a favorite Tal game, you can add it in the comments, or let me know and I will add it.

The game.