Why is Rashid Nezhmetdinov not as popular/known as Mikhail Tal? I was looking at some games between of Rashid Nezhmetdinov and noticed he doesn't seem to be as popular (I don't know if this is the best word) or as well-known as Mikhail Tal.  After reading some of the things said about him, you would think this is not the case:


  "Nobody sees combinations like Rashid Nezhmetdinov." Mikhail Botvinnik
  
  Nezhmetdinov is "the greatest master of the initiative." Lev
  Polugaevsky
  
  "His games reveal the beauty of chess and make you love in
  chess not so much the points and high placings, but the wonderful
  harmony and elegance of this particular world." Mikhail Tal
  
  "Rashid
  Nezhmetdinov is a virtuoso of combinational chess." David Bronstein


Here is his most celebrated brilliancy vs Lev Polugaevsky, featuring a stunning queen sacrifice:

[FEN ""]
1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 d6 3.Nc3 e5 4.e4 exd4 5.Qxd4 Nc6 6.Qd2 g6 7.b3 Bg7 8.Bb2 O-O 9.Bd3 Ng4 10.Nge2 Qh4 11.Ng3 Nge5 12.O-O f5 13.f3 Bh6 14.Qd1 f4 15.Nge2 g5 16.Nd5 g4 17.g3 fxg3 18.hxg3 Qh3 19.f4 Be6 20.Bc2 Rf7 21.Kf2 Qh2+ 22.Ke3 Bxd5 23.cxd5 Nb4 24.Rh1 Rxf4!! 25.Rxh2 Rf3+ 26.Kd4 Bg7!! 27...b5! and 28...Nec6#. 27.a4 c5+ 28.dxc6 bxc6 29.Bd3 Nexd3+ 30.Kc4 d5+ 31.exd5 cxd5+ 32.Kb5 Rb8+ 33.Ka5 Nc6+ 0-1


Regarding the above game, Polugaevsky is quoted as saying, "I must have beaten Rashid a dozen times. But that one loss was so good I would have traded them all to be on the other side of the board."
Probably because he never made it to world champion, And Mikhail Tal did. Another great player that is not as popular as he deserves to be was Akiba Rubinstein