3: Mikhail Tal
Mikhail is regarded as the best attacking player of all time. He was a dominant competitor in his era when he consolidated his position as a world champion from 1921-1927. The Latvian was rightly called Magician from Riga. He turned chess into an art form; a violent, insane art form. He sacced pieces on pure instinct and is regarded easily as the most aggressive player in history. Mikhail is responsible for some of the most entertaining and beautiful chess games the world has ever seen. He is not on this list by virtue of strength, he is on this list purely by virtue of style.
His greatness was his magic, and although his strength was that of the dominant champion of an era. It was really his magical play that made up for his extremely short reign as a Champion. He was World Champion from 1960-1961. The Mammoth Book of the World’s Greatest Chess Games and Modern Chess Brilliancies include more games by Tal than any other player. In addition, Tal was a highly regarded chess writer. He also holds the records for both the first and second longest unbeaten streaks in competitive chess history. He was crowned with the title of “Grandmaster” in 1957.
