Mikhail Tal — chess champion with roots in the USSR
Mikhail Tal was a Latvian-Soviet chess grandmaster who became World Chess Champion in 1960 at age 23, defeating Mikhail Botvinnik with a ferociously attacking style that bewildered the chess world. Known as the Magician from Riga, his games are still considered the most exciting ever played.
Tracing the roots — Riga (Latvia)
Born in Riga (Latvian SSR) in 1936 to Nehemiah Tal, a Jewish doctor, Tal grew up in Soviet Latvia and trained in the Soviet chess system. His Jewish heritage and his Riga origins place him at the intersection of two great traditions — the Baltic Jewish intellectual world and the Soviet chess empire — that together produced one of the most creative minds ever to play the game.
Riga (Latvia). At the time, this region was one of the fifteen republics of the Soviet Union.
A career defined by ambition
"You must take your opponent into a deep, dark forest where 2+2=5, and the path out is only wide enough for one."