dTal: Before the match, Korchnoi and many others expected this to be a walkover because of Tal's record against Korch. However it was extremely close, with Tal losing 2 to 1. Tal missed a couple of wins in some of the drawn games. Although he never complained, he was often crippled by pain, illness and various tragedies in his later career. Tal was a genius in the truest sense; this is what Kramnik says about him:
"Tal was a star, a real chess genius. As far as I am concerned he was not ambitious at all, he played primarily for fun and enjoyed the game. This attitude is totally unprofessional. But he was an incredibly gifted player and even with such an amateur approach, Tal managed to become a World Champion."
"Tal was quite simply an outstanding versatile chess player. Of course, his attitude to chess had an effect. If only he had had Botvinnik's character, he would have been impossible to deal with..."
"It is difficult to talk about Tal because he was an unusual person as well as being a very fascinating player. Like a natural phenomenon. I am absolutely sure he would have been a success in any other field of endeavour. He had a quick and brilliant mind. If he had been an academic, he would have won a Nobel prize. He was an unworldly man. By the way, many people who knew him quite well said that he bore no relation to homo sapiens. He was like a man from another planet! That's why he played "unidentifiable" chess. Analyzing his chess games is tantamount to discussing what God looks like."
