Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian was the World Champion from 1963 until 1969. He was born in Tiflis (modern day Tbilisi) in Georgia to Armenian parents, but eventually relocated to Armenia in 1946 before moving to Moscow in 1949.
Petrosian was an avid student of Aron Nimzowitsch 's theories. His play was renowned for its virtually impenetrable defence and patient manoeuvring, a technique that earned him the nickname "Iron Tigran". Despite this, his capacity for dealing with tactical complications when the need arose prompted Boris Spassky to comment that: "It is to Petrosian's advantage that his opponents never know when he is suddenly going to play like Mikhail Tal ", and Robert James Fischer to observe that "He has an incredible tactical view, and a wonderful sense of the danger... No matter how much you think deep... He will 'smell' any kind of danger 20 moves before!" Petrosian's pioneering use of the positional exchange sacrifice underscored both his positional and tactical grasp of the game. Moreover, he has two major opening systems named after him: the Petrosian Variation of the King's Indian Defence (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.Nf3 O-O 6.Be2 e5 7.d5) and the Petrosian System in the Queen's Indian Defence (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nf3 b6 4.a3).
National Championships: Petrosian's first major win was the championship of Georgia in 1945 when he was 16. He won the 5th USSR Junior Championship in 1946 with a score of 14/15, and again in 1946. He won or came equal first in the championships of Armenia held in 1946, 1948, 1974, 1976 and 1980, won the Moscow championship in 1951; and shared first place with Vladimir Simagin and David Bronstein in the 1956 and 1968 Moscow Championships respectively. He gained his International Master title in the 1951 Soviet Championships, and went on to win the Soviet championship outright three times in 1959, 1961, and 1975, sharing the title with Lev Polugaevsky in 1969.
World championships: Petrosian won his Grandmaster title when he came equal second in the 1952 Interzonal tournament in Stockholm, which also qualified him for the 1953 Candidates tournament in Zurich. An eight time Candidate for the World Championship in 1953, 1956, 1959, 1962, 1971, 1974, 1977 and 1980, he won the Curacao Candidates Tournament of 1962 without losing a single game. The following year, he won the Botvinnik - Petrosian World Championship Match (1963) to become the 9th official World Chess Champion. He retained his title by winning the Petrosian - Spassky World Championship Match (1966), the first time since the Alekhine - Bogoljubov World Championship Rematch (1934) that the World Champion had succeeded in winning a title match. This feat was not repeated until Anatoly Karpov 's success at the Karpov - Korchnoi World Championship Match (1978). He also advanced to the Fischer - Petrosian Candidates Final (1971) semifinals, but lost, thereby losing the opportunity to qualify to the 1972 championship.
Team Play: Petrosian played in ten consecutive Soviet Olympiad teams from 1958 to 1978, winning nine team gold medals, one team silver medal, and six individual gold medals. His overall performance in Olympiad play was +78 =50 −1, the only loss being to Robert Huebner. He also played for the Soviet team in every European Team Championship from 1957 to 1983, winning eight team gold medals, and four board gold medals.
Classical Tournaments: Soon after becoming champion, he shared first place with Paul Keres in the first Piatagorsky Cup in Los Angeles in 1963. He won the tournaments at Biel and Lone Pine in 1976, the Keres Memorial in 1979, and took second place in Tilburg in 1981, half a point behind the winner Alexander Beliavsky. He was ranked among the top 20 players in the world until he died in 1984.
"Chess is a game by its form, an art by its content and a science by the difficulty of gaining mastery in it. Chess can convey as much happiness as a good book or work of music can. However, it is necessary to learn to play well and only afterwards will one experience real delight." - Tigran Petrosian
Playing Style
Tigran Petrosian's playing style was characterized by several key traits:
Prophylaxis and Defense: Petrosian was known for his exceptional defensive skills and his focus on prophylaxis—preventing his opponent's threats before they materialized. He excelled at anticipating danger and taking precautionary measures to neutralize his opponent's plans.
Strategic Depth and Understanding: He possessed a deep understanding of chess strategy and positional play. He was skilled at maneuvering his pieces, creating subtle imbalances, and gradually improving his position.
Tactical Skill and Combinative Vision: While primarily known for his defensive prowess, Petrosian was also a skilled tactician and possessed strong combinative vision. He was capable of launching sharp attacks and delivering unexpected tactical blows when the opportunity arose.
Patience and Objectivity: He was known for his patience and objectivity. He was willing to wait for the right moment to strike and avoided unnecessary risks. He was also self-critical and able to assess his own strengths and weaknesses objectively.
Psychological Resilience: Petrosian's strong nerves and ability to handle pressure made him a formidable opponent in long, intense matches. Only later, against Fischer (1971) and Korchnoi (1973) did he appear to have issues with match nerves.
References: (1) http://www.ac-iccd.org/ (Petrosian often required a hearing aid during his tournaments), (2) Wikipedia article: Tigran Petrosian
Kibitzing
