What was Mikhail Tal’s IQ?
At 43, with one kidney and two decades past his best chess, he was still the second-highest-rated player alive — an official number from the tail of a career that peaked before ratings existed.
Mikhail Tal’s IQ is unknown: no test result has been published for the eighth World Chess Champion, and the 170–190 figures that circulate for him cite no test. What is documented is the 1960 world title, an official FIDE peak of 2705 (January 1980) and 32 months as the top-rated player in 1958–61 under the retrospective Chessmetrics system, which together support an estimated IQ of 140–155.
Mikhail Tal’s estimated IQ
- By Chessmetrics’ retrospective rating system, Tal was the world’s number one player for 32 months, from October 1958 through April 1961, according to a 2005 profile by Jeff Sonas cited on Wikipedia. The system rebuilds playing strength for the years before FIDE’s Elo ratings began in 1970.
- Won the 1958 Portorož Interzonal (13½/20) and the 1959 Candidates Tournament (20/28), then beat the reigning champion, Mikhail Botvinnik, 12½–8½ in Moscow in 1960 to become World Chess Champion at 23, the youngest to that point.
- Six-time Soviet Champion (1957, at 20; 1958; 1967; 1972; 1974; 1978). FIDE gave him the International Grandmaster title in 1957, and he is listed as a graduate of the University of Latvia.
- A 95-game unbeaten streak (46 wins, 49 draws) from October 1973 to October 1974, a record until Ding Liren passed it in 2018. His official peak FIDE rating, 2705 on the January 1980 list, ranked No. 2 when he was 43, eleven years after a kidney was removed.
- A 2016 meta-analysis (corrected 2018) found that chess skill correlates with general cognitive ability at only r = .24 (.22 corrected) across 1,779 players. A rating converts to IQ only loosely, which is why this is a band, not a point estimate.
Tal’s title-winning peak came a decade before FIDE adopted Elo ratings in 1970. “World number one” here is a rating algorithm’s retrospective judgment, not a number Tal was assigned at the time. His one official peak, 2705 on the January 1980 list, came at 43, two decades after his best chess. It still ranked second, so his true peak was probably higher, though no published number from 1960 exists. A chess rating converts only loosely to IQ (r = .22 to .24). This estimate is inferred, not measured.
- Born
- November 9, 1936, Riga, Latvia
- Died
- June 28, 1992, Moscow, aged 55
- Education
- Graduate of the University of Latvia
- Titles
- International Grandmaster, 1957 (FIDE congress waiver); 8th World Chess Champion, 1960–61
- Soviet Champion
- Six times: 1957 (age 20), 1958, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1978
- Rating peak
- 2705 official FIDE rating, January 1980, world No. 2 at 43; world No. 1 for 32 months (Oct. 1958 – Apr. 1961) by the retrospective Chessmetrics system
- Other records
- 95-game unbeaten streak, Oct. 1973 – Oct. 1974 (passed by Ding Liren in 2018); World Blitz Champion, 1988, age 51
- Circulating IQ figure
- 170 to 190 across three pages; none cites a test
What an IQ of 140–155 actually means
Set the claim aside for a moment. If someone genuinely scored in this range, here is what that would represent.
Average is 100 by construction, and about two-thirds of people fall between 85 and 115. Take the test to place your own score on this scale.
| Score range | Classification | Share of people | What it indicates |
|---|---|---|---|
| 85 – 114 | Average | ~68% | The range most people fall into. |
| 115 – 129 | Above average | ~13.6% | Roughly one person in seven. |
| 130 – 144 | Gifted | ~2% | The threshold most high-IQ societies use. |
| Above 144 | Highly gifted | ~0.1% | Figures above this range are extrapolated from the curve rather than measured. |
Percentages are approximate and describe a normal distribution. The same number means different things on tests with different standard deviations.
Thirty questions gives you a measured position on this exact scale — your score, your percentile and the ability breakdown behind it.
Find out in 30 minutes →Who Mikhail Tal was
Mikhail Tal (Mihails Tāls in Latvian) was born on November 9, 1936, in Riga, Latvia. Chessgames, citing a 1967 Chess Life interview, says he learned chess at six from his father, a medical doctor. He began serious training in 1949 with the Latvian trainer Alexander Koblencs. In 1957, at 20, he won the Soviet Championship, the youngest champion the USSR had crowned to that point. FIDE then gave him the International Grandmaster title, waiving its usual requirements. He is also listed as a graduate of the University of Latvia.
The chess kept accelerating. Tal won the 1958 Portorož Interzonal with 13½ points from 20 games and a second Soviet Championship that year. He won the 1959 Candidates Tournament with 20 points from 28 games. That earned a title match with the reigning champion, Mikhail Botvinnik. In Moscow in 1960 Tal won 12½–8½. At 23 he was the youngest World Chess Champion to that point, a record Garry Kasparov broke in 1985. FIDE’s museum says his sacrificial, combinational style earned him the nickname “The Wizard from Riga.”
Botvinnik regained the title in the 1961 rematch, winning 13–8. Tal’s chronic kidney problems contributed to the loss, and in 1969 a kidney was removed. He kept competing. He won four more Soviet Championships (1967, 1972, 1974 and 1978), six in all. Between October 23, 1973 and October 16, 1974 he went 95 games unbeaten, with 46 wins and 49 draws. That was the longest run in top-level chess until Ding Liren’s 100-game streak in 2017–18.
Late in his career, with one kidney, Tal still produced strong results. His official FIDE peak, 2705 on the January 1980 list, ranked him second in the world at 43. In 1988, at 51, he won the World Blitz Championship in Saint John, Canada, ahead of the reigning champion, Kasparov. Tal died in Moscow on June 28, 1992, aged 55.
By Elora Mercer, Celebrity Research WriterFigures checked by Leon Falkner, Data & Research AnalystReviewed by Aarav Vardhan, Editor-in-Chief · Last reviewed November 2026
Mikhail Tal: the documented record
The estimate above rests on this record. Every entry here is a matter of public fact, which is more than can be said for the number itself.
- 1936Born November 9 in Riga, then the capital of independent Latvia.
- 1949Begins training under Latvian master and trainer Alexander Koblencs.
- 1957Wins his first Soviet Championship at 20 and earns the International Grandmaster title.
- 1958Wins the Portorož Interzonal (13½/20) and a second Soviet Championship; by Chessmetrics’ retrospective count, becomes the world’s top-rated player this October, a status that lasts until April 1961.
- 1959–60Wins the Candidates Tournament at Bled, Zagreb and Belgrade (20/28), then beats Mikhail Botvinnik 12½–8½ in 1960 to become World Chess Champion at 23.
- 1961Loses the title back to Botvinnik, 13–8, in a rematch hampered by chronic kidney problems.
- 1969Undergoes a nephrectomy, having a kidney removed.
- 1973–74Runs a 95-game unbeaten streak (46 wins, 49 draws) between October 23, 1973 and October 16, 1974, a record until Ding Liren passed it in 2018.
- 1988Wins the first official FIDE World Blitz Championship, in Saint John, Canada, at 51.
- 1992Dies in Moscow on June 28, aged 55.
Where the 170–190 figure came from
Following a claim back to its first appearance is the part almost nobody does — and it is what most people are actually asking.
Mikhail Tal’s IQ level is quoted at three heights online, and none cites a test. celebrityiq.info gives 190 and labels it “Extraordinary Genius.” It names no source beyond a general note on how it compiles estimates. correspondencechess.com gives a range of 170 to 180 in a page dated November 3, 2023, with no citation. chessjournal.com prints 175 and admits that “this IQ score hasn’t been able to be verified.” Three pages give three numbers, and none is sourced. This is the pattern this site traces across celebrity IQ figures.
What is documented is a ranking, not a score. Wikipedia, citing a 2005 Chessmetrics profile by Jeff Sonas, says the system placed Tal first in the world for 32 months, from October 1958 to April 1961. Chessmetrics is a retrospective system. It rebuilds playing strength for the years before FIDE adopted Elo ratings in 1970. So the ranking is a modern algorithm’s judgment of old results, not a number Tal was ever given. See what a chess rating can and cannot say about IQ.
Even a firm rating converts only loosely to IQ. A 2016 meta-analysis by Burgoyne and colleagues in Intelligence covered 19 studies, 26 samples and 1,779 players. It found that chess skill correlates with general cognitive ability at only r = .24, revised to .22 in a 2018 corrigendum. The Elo ratings in those studies ran from 1,311 to 2,607, below Tal’s level throughout his adult career. See the wider research on chess and intelligence.
Tal’s official FIDE record is short. FIDE’s first rating list, in July 1971, had him at 2620, ninth equal (Olimpbase’s copy of the lists). His official peak, 2705, came on the January 1980 list, when he ranked second. He was 43, eleven years after a kidney was removed and two decades past his title-winning form. Both numbers are a floor for a damaged late career, not a ceiling for the player who beat Botvinnik in 1960.
Next to this site’s other chess profiles, Tal’s estimate (140–155) matches Viswanathan Anand’s exactly (peak rating 2817). It overlaps Garry Kasparov’s (135–155, peak 2851) and sits just under Magnus Carlsen’s (145–160, peak 2882). All three rest on peaks that appear on official FIDE lists. Bobby Fischer (160–180) has a reported school test; see chess players ranked by IQ.
At 51, Tal beat the reigning champion, Kasparov, to win the 1988 World Blitz Championship. That is a late-career result, not a peak one. The top of this estimate is 155, thirty-five short of the 190 that circulates. For what a score in that range means in practice, see what an IQ of 140 means.
How we read a number →Confirms the Wikidata item is the Soviet-Latvian chess grandmaster (1936–1992), not a namesake. Wikipedia: birth (November 9, 1936, Riga) and death (June 28, 1992, Moscow, of a hemorrhage in the esophagus — Wikidata’s own item gives June 27, a discrepancy noted in the research log); International Grandmaster title 1957 (FIDE congress waiver); six Soviet Championships (1957, 1958, 1967, 1972, 1974, 1978); the 1958 Portorož Interzonal (13½/20) and 1959 Candidates Tournament (Bled–Zagreb–Belgrade, 20/28); the 1960 title match win over Botvinnik (12½–8½) and the 1961 loss (13–8); highest official Elo rating 2705, achieved January 1980; the 95-game unbeaten streak, October 23, 1973 to October 16, 1974; chronic kidney problems and a nephrectomy in 1969; heavy drinking, smoking and a period of morphine use for pain; and, citing a 2005 Chessmetrics player profile by Jeff Sonas, that Tal was Chessmetrics’ world number one for 32 months, October 1958 through April 1961. No IQ figure appears anywhere in the article (confirmed against the raw wikitext).
Career summary: rose from master to World Champion in three years; won the 1959 Candidates Tournament in Yugoslavia; beat Botvinnik 12½–8½ in 1960; lost the 1961 rematch; lost a 1965 Candidates match to Spassky; six-time Soviet Champion; eight-time FIDE Olympiad gold medalist; the 95-game unbeaten streak; “The Wizard from Riga” nickname; and that Tal won the official World Blitz Championship in 1988, at 51, in a field that included Garry Kasparov. No IQ figure; no education details.
Reproduces the official FIDE rating lists: 2620 (ninth equal) on the July 1971 list, and a peak of 2705, ranked No. 2, on the January 1980 list.
Says Tal learned chess from his father, a medical doctor; became the youngest Soviet Champion in 1957 and the youngest World Champion in 1960; lost the 1961 rematch; won the World Blitz Championship in 1988; and lists 2705 as his highest rating.
19 studies, 26 samples, 1,779 players; average r = .24 between chess skill and general cognitive ability, corrected to .22 in the 2018 corrigendum; the Elo ratings in the pooled studies ran from 1,311 to 2,607, below Tal’s documented adult level throughout his career. Citation and figures reused from this site’s existing Gukesh Dommaraju profile, which cites the same paper; not independently re-fetched in this session — see research log.
Gives 190, labelled “Extraordinary Genius.” Cites no test, expert or date; its own site-wide disclaimer states IQ figures are “estimates compiled from public sources, biographies, and expert analysis” and “not verified test results unless otherwise noted.”
Gives an estimated range of 170 to 180 (“remarkable intellectual abilities with an estimated IQ ranging from 170 to 180”), with no citation, test or expert named anywhere on the page.
States a figure of 175 and, in the same piece, admits “this IQ score hasn’t been able to be verified.” Its headline claim about Kasparov “fearing” Tal is not supported anywhere in its own text — the only substantiated link it gives is that Tal beat a already-world-number-one Kasparov in a blitz game in Moscow in 1992, a detail this profile does not otherwise rely on since it could not be corroborated elsewhere.
Ranges and peak ratings used for comparison: Kasparov 135–155 (peak 2851), Anand 140–155 (peak 2817), Carlsen 145–160 (peak 2882), all estimated by the same domain-performance method from officially published FIDE ratings.
None appears in Wikipedia, Wikidata, FIDE’s Open Chess Museum profile, or any of the three pages that estimate a figure for him, and none claims he took a test. Tal was born in 1936, well after intelligence testing began, so a result could in principle exist; none has surfaced in the sources checked for this profile.
The sources behind our estimate
The figures that circulate for Mikhail Tal, what we were able to confirm, and where the two diverge.
Two figures circulate for Mikhail Tal’s IQ, plus a third inside one of them. celebrityiq.info gives 190, labelled “Extraordinary Genius.” correspondencechess.com, in a page dated November 3, 2023, gives 170 to 180. chessjournal.com prints 175 and says in the same piece that the number “hasn’t been able to be verified.” None cites a test, an examiner or where the figure began.
No published IQ test result exists for Mikhail Tal. Wikipedia, Wikidata and FIDE’s Open Chess Museum profile do not mention one. The three pages that give a number cite no test either. celebrityiq.info’s own disclaimer calls its figures “estimates compiled from public sources” that are “not verified test results unless otherwise noted.” correspondencechess.com gives no citation at all. chessjournal.com flags its own 175 as unverified.
Our band tops out at 155. That is twenty short of the 175 chessjournal.com prints and thirty-five short of the 190 celebrityiq.info gives. As on this site’s other chess profiles, the documented record supports a lower, achievement-based range than the number that circulates.
Want a number that does hold up? Every figure on this page is somebody’s claim. Take the 30-question test and get a percentile you can check rather than a figure you have to trust.
Mikhail Tal — frequently asked
What is Mikhail Tal’s IQ?
No IQ test result has been published for Mikhail Tal, the eighth World Chess Champion. Figures of 170 to 190 circulate online, but none cites a test. From his documented record, this site estimates a range of 140–155.
What was Mikhail Tal’s IQ level, and where does the 190 figure come from?
No source is given for the 190 that some pages print for Mikhail Tal. celebrityiq.info labels it “Extraordinary Genius” and cites only a general disclaimer. correspondencechess.com gives 170–180 with no citation. This site’s estimate, 140–155, is inferred from his chess record and stops well short of either figure.
Did Mikhail Tal ever take an IQ test?
No IQ test result for Mikhail Tal appears in any source we reviewed, including Wikipedia, FIDE’s museum profile and the pages that estimate his IQ. Intelligence tests existed throughout his lifetime, but none has been published for him.
What was Mikhail Tal’s Elo rating?
Mikhail Tal’s highest official FIDE rating was 2705, on the January 1980 list, when he ranked second in the world. FIDE’s first rating list, in July 1971, had him at 2620. His title-winning years, 1958 to 1961, came before any official list, so no FIDE rating covers his peak.
What is Mikhail Tal’s chess IQ, since he played before Elo ratings existed?
Tal’s title-winning years came before FIDE adopted the Elo system in 1970. The retrospective Chessmetrics system ranks him first for 32 months, October 1958 to April 1961. A 2016 meta-analysis puts the link between chess skill and cognitive ability at only r = .24, so neither figure converts to a precise IQ. This site’s estimate is 140–155.
How does Mikhail Tal’s estimated IQ compare with Garry Kasparov’s or Viswanathan Anand’s?
This site’s range for Tal, 140–155, equals Viswanathan Anand’s (peak rating 2817) and overlaps Garry Kasparov’s 135–155 (peak 2851). All three rest on chess achievement, not a test. Tal’s is the least firm, because his title-winning peak predates any official rating.
Was Mikhail Tal really ranked the best chess player in the world?
By one measure, yes. The retrospective Chessmetrics system ranks him first for 32 months, from October 1958 to April 1961. That is a modern reconstruction of old results, not a number Tal was assigned at the time, because official FIDE ratings did not exist until 1970.
Is Mikhail Tal’s chess rating the same as an IQ?
No. A chess rating is built from results against other players, not from an intelligence test. Tal’s 2705 says how he scored against strong opponents, not what a test would give him. See what a chess rating can and cannot say about IQ.
How does my IQ compare with Mikhail Tal?
You can find out in about fifteen minutes. The IQ Metrics assessment is 30 questions, scored on the same 100-mean scale used throughout this page, so your result and the estimate above are at least expressed in the same units — one measured, one inferred. Once you have a number, the leaderboard shows where it would sit, and how we score and norm it explains the benchmarking.
Where does this estimate come from?
From the documented record rather than a test — the method is named above and set out in full under how we read a number. Compare it against the other athletes profiles, starting with Magnus Carlsen.
- Take the 30-question IQ test — get a measured score and percentile of your own
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- How IQ Metrics scores its assessment — the method behind our own number
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