Tigran Petrosian
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| Full name | Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian | |
| Country |  Soviet Union |
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| Born | June 17, 1929 Tbilisi, Georgia |
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| Died | August 13, 1984 Moscow, Russia |
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| Title | Grandmaster | |
| World Champion | 1963-1969 | |
Tigran Petrosian (Armenian: Տիգրան Պետրոսյան) (June 17, 1929 – August 13, 1984) was a former World Chess Champion. He is often known by the Russian version of his name, Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian (Russian: Тигран Вартанович Петросян). He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else[1].
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[edit] Biography
An ethnic Armenian, Petrosian was born in the city of Tbilisi, Georgia, USSR[2] and spent most of his childhood there. He learned the game of chess at the age of eight, after entering a local chess school at the Tbilisi Pioneer's Palace (currently known as Tbilisi Children's Palace). Petrosian's first coach was Archil Ebralidze. A significant step for Petrosian was moving to Moscow in 1949, where he began to play and win many tournaments. He won the 1951 tournament in Moscow, and began to show steady progress. By 1952 Petrosian became a Soviet and international Grandmaster in chess. Prior to taking up chess full time though, Petrosian was a caretaker and a roadsweeper[3].
His results in the triennial Candidates Tournament, held to determine the challenger to the world champion, showed a steady improvement: fifth at Zürich in 1953, equal third at Amsterdam in 1956, third in Yugoslavia in 1959. In the 1963 World Championship cycle, he won the Candidates tournament at Curaçao in 1962, then in 1963 he defeated Mikhail Botvinnik 12.5–9.5 to become World Chess Champion. His patient, defensive style frustrated Botvinnik, who only needed to make one risky move for Petrosian to punish him. Petrosian is the only player to go through the Interzonal and the Candidates process undefeated on the way to the world championship match.
Petrosian defended his title in 1966, defeating Boris Spassky 12.5–11.5, the first World Champion to win a title match while champion since Alekhine beat Bogoljubov in 1934. In 1968, he was granted an Master's degree from Yerevan State University for his thesis, "Chess Logic". In 1969 Spassky got his revenge, winning by 12.5–10.5 and taking the title.
He was the only player to win a game against Bobby Fischer during the latter's 1971 Candidates matches, finally bringing an end to Fischer's amazing streak of twenty consecutive wins (seven to finish the 1970 Palma de Mallorca Interzonal, six against Taimanov, six against Larsen, and the first game in their match). Nevertheless Petrosian lost the match.
Along with a number of other Soviet Chess champions, he signed a petition condemning the actions of the defector Viktor Korchnoi in 1976. It was the continuation of a bitter feud between the two, dating back at least to their 1974 Candidates semi-final match which Petrosian withdrew from after 5 games while trailing 3.5-1.5 (+3-1=1). His match with Korchnoi in 1977 saw the two former colleagues refuse to shake hands or speak to each other. They even demanded separate eating and toilet facilities. Petrosian went on to lose the match and was subsequently fired as editor of Russia's largest chess magazine, "64". His detractors condemned his reluctance to attack and some put it down to a lack of courage. At this point however, Botvinnik spoke out on his behalf, stating that he only attacked when he felt secure and his greatest strength was in defence[4].
Some of his late successes included victory in the 1979 Paul Keres Memorial tournament in Tallinn (12/16 without a loss, ahead of Tal, Bronstein and others), shared first place (with Portisch and Huebner) in the Rio de Janeiro Interzonal the same year, and 2nd place in Tilburg in 1981, half a point behind the winner Beliavsky. It was here that he played his last famous victory, a miraculous escape against the young Garry Kasparov[5]. Petrosian later died of cancer of the stomach in 1984 in Moscow.
[edit] Chess legacy
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 Defense (1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 b6 4. a3).
He is most famous for being one of the best players pioneering the theory of prophylaxis, years after Aron Nimzowitsch. His style of play was often highly strategical, notable for anticipating opponent's possible attacks, and he based many of his games on avoidance of error, content with accumulating small advantages. His games are now widely used for instruction in chess schools around the world. He was also the chief editor of the chess magazine, "Shakhmatnaya Moskva" ("The Chess Moscow") from 1963–66.
[edit] Notable chess games
- Tigran Petrosian vs Robert James Fischer, Yugoslavia ct 1959, Nimzo-Indian, 4.e3 (E40), 1-0 After Black's weak fifth move, Petrosian energetically exploits his spatial advantage.
- Tigran Petrosian vs Mikhail Botvinnik, Moscow 1963 (5th game of the WCh match), Gruenfeld Defense: Three Knights. Burille Variation (D94), 1-0 A classical endgame of R+N vs R+B.
- Tigran Petrosian vs Boris Spassky, Moscow Wch 1966, King's Indian, Fianchetto, Panno Variation (E63), 1-0 One of Petrosian's most famous games, where he demonstrated his superior understanding of the exchange sacrifice.
- Mikhail Tal vs Tigran Petrosian, Moscow Ch URS 1973, Caro-Kann, Steinitz Variation (B17), 0-1 Both former world champions attack, but Petrosian is quicker.
[edit] Quotes
- In those years, it was easier to win the Soviet Championship than a game against "Iron Tigran". — Lev Polugaevsky (Kasparov 2004:80).
[edit] References
[edit] Sources
- World Chess Champions by Edward G. Winter, editor. 1981 ISBN 0-08-024094-1
- Twelve Great Chess Players and Their Best Games by Irving Chernev; Dover; August 1995. ISBN 0-486-28674-6
- Garry Kasparov (2004). On my Great Predecessors, Volume 3. Everyman. ISBN 1-85744-371-3
- Viktor Vasiliev Tigran Petrosian: His Life and Games. Zhizn Shakhmatista, 1969. B. T. Batsford, 1974. ISBN 0-7134-2818-X .
- Tigran Petrosian. Chess Champions. Retrieved on August 14, 2005.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by Mikhail Botvinnik |
World Chess Champion 1963–1969 |
Succeeded by Boris Spassky |
