A World Chess Championship was played between former champion Mikhail Botvinnik and champion Mikhail Tal in Moscow from March 15[1] to May 13, 1961. Tal had unseated Botvinnik in the 1960 match; thus, Botvinnik was entitled to this rematch the next year. Tal was considered a strong favourite due to his heavy win the previous year, and being 25 years younger.[citation needed]
Botvinnik won convincingly, by a 13–8 margin, regaining the world title.[2] Although Tal suffered kidney illness in 1962, there was no hint of it at the time, and commentators put the victory down to Botvinnik playing a superior strategy, and being able to combat Tal's attacking style.[3] However, in 2002, Yuri Averbakh revealed that Tal was having health issues, and his doctors in Riga advised that he should postpone the match for health reasons. When Botvinnik would agree to a postponement only if Tal was certified unfit by Moscow doctors, Tal decided to play, thinking he would win anyway.[4]
The win made Botvinnik the first (and only) person to have three separate reigns as World Champion. At 49 years of age, it also makes him (as of 2023) the oldest player to win a World Championship match since 1892 (when 55-year-old Wilhelm Steinitz prevailed over Mikhail Chigorin).
^"Tal Will Defend Crown in Chess; Latvian to Meet Botvinnik in Moscow on March 15 for World Championship", New York Times, March 5, 1961
^"Botvinnik Wins Chess Title", New York Times, May 13, 1961
^"Russian First to Regain World Chess Title", Montreal Gazette, June 1, 1961, p. 27
^Kingston, T. (2002). "Yuri Averbakh: An Interview with History – Part 2" (PDF). The Chess Cafe. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-25.
and 22 Related for: World Chess Championship 1961 information
A WorldChessChampionship was played between former champion Mikhail Botvinnik and champion Mikhail Tal in Moscow from March 15 to May 13, 1961. Tal had...
The WorldChessChampionship is played to determine the world champion in chess. The current world champion is Ding Liren, who defeated his opponent Ian...
A WorldChessChampionship was played between Mikhail Botvinnik and Mikhail Tal in Moscow from March 15 to May 7, 1960. Botvinnik was the reigning champion...
WorldChessChampionship has taken various forms over time, including both match and tournament play. While the concept of a world champion of chess had...
The World Junior ChessChampionship is an under-20 chess tournament (players must have been under 20 years old on 1 January in the year of competition)...
The WorldChessChampionship 1972 was a match for the WorldChessChampionship between challenger Bobby Fischer of the United States and defending champion...
the World ChessChampionship. The winner of the Candidates earns the right to a match for the WorldChampionship against the incumbent world champion....
national chess championship ever held, with eight worldchess champions and four worldchampionship finalists among its winners. It was held as a round-robin...
Chess has risen in popularity in India in the last few decades primarily due to chess Grandmaster and former 5-time World Champion Viswanathan Anand....
an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh WorldChess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of...
tournament World Open chess tournament Xtracon Chess Open Zurich Chess Challenge ChessWorld Cup 2005 ChessWorld Cup 2007 ChessWorld Cup 2009 ChessWorld Cup...
(9 November 1936 – 28 June 1992) was a Soviet-Latvian chess player and the eighth WorldChess Champion. He is considered a creative genius and is widely...
triennial World ChessChampionship cycle and were held after the Zonal tournaments, and before the Candidates Tournament. Since 2005, the ChessWorld Cup has...
in the organization of chess, making a significant contribution to the design of the WorldChessChampionship system after World War II and becoming a...
The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the...
International Chess Federation (FIDE) and revolve around the WorldChampionship cycle, which culminates in a match to decide the Women's WorldChess Champion...
The winner of the Canadian Closed advances to the World Cup stage of the FIDE WorldChessChampionship cycle. Winners on tiebreak or a playoff match are...
modern chess tournament play began, and the first official WorldChessChampionship was held in 1886. The 20th century saw great leaps forward in chess theory...
Malaysian ChessChampionship is organized by the Malaysian Chess Federation (MCF; Malay: Persekutuan Catur Malaysia). Known as the National Closed Chess Championship...