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It is commonly known that Mikhail Tal was an alcohol addict and also had a morphine addiction for a short time.

Are there any games where he played under the influence of drugs that affected his play, or had any troubles regarding this matter with an arbiter?

Rewan Demontay
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1 Answers1

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I [William Hartson] remember him vying for first place with another Soviet grandmaster in a tournament in Holland. On the night before the final round they began buying each other drinks and lining up the empties on the table. When I left them at around 2am, Tal had the remains of 11 drained brandies, his rival had 11 empty rum-and-cokes. They continued for another two hours. At 8.30 in the morning, Tal trotted downstairs to start the last round looking fresh and relaxed. He won easily to take first prize, while his drinking companion was happy with a quick draw.

Source: The Independent

I'm going to search for this game when I get home this evening.