Tigran Petrosian

Tigran Vardani Petrosian (; ; 17 June 1929 – 13 August 1984) was a Soviet-Armenian chess grandmaster.

Petrosian was a candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions (1953, 1956, 1959, 1962, 1971, 1974, 1977 and 1980). He won the World Championship in 1963 (against Mikhail Botvinnik), successfully defended it in 1966 (against Boris Spassky), and lost it to Spassky in 1969. Thus he was the defending World Champion or a World Championship Candidate in ten consecutive three-year cycles. He won the Soviet Championship four times (1959, 1961, 1969, and 1975).

Early life Petrosian was born to Armenian parents on 17 June 1929, in Tbilisi, Georgian SSR (present-day Georgia). As a young boy, Petrosian was an excellent student and enjoyed studying, as did his brother Hmayak and sister Vartoosh. He learned to play chess at the age of eight, though his illiterate father Vartan encouraged him to continue studying, as he thought chess was unlikely to bring his son any success as a career. Petrosian was orphaned during World War II and was forced to sweep streets to earn a living. Around this time, his hearing began to deteriorate, a problem that continued to affect him throughout his life. In a 1969 interview with Time magazine, he recalled:

Petrosian used his rations to buy Chess Praxis by Danish grandmaster Aron Nimzowitsch, the book which Petrosian later stated had the greatest influence on him as a chess player. He also purchased The Art of Sacrifice in Chess by Rudolf Spielmann. The other player to have had an early effect on Petrosian's chess was José Raúl Capablanca. At the age of 12 he began training at the Tiflis Palace of Pioneers under the tutelage of Archil Ebralidze. Ebralidze was a supporter of Nimzowitsch and Capablanca, and his scientific approach to chess discouraged wild tactics and dubious combinations. As a result, Petrosian developed a repertoire of solid positional openings, such as the Caro–Kann Defence. After training at the Palace of Pioneers for just one year, he defeated visiting Soviet grandmaster Salo Flohr at a simultaneous exhibition.

By 1946, Petrosian had earned the title of Candidate Master. Also that year he drew against Grandmaster Paul Keres at the Georgian Chess Championship, then moved to Yerevan where he won the Armenian Chess Championship and the USSR Junior Chess Championship. Petrosian earned the title of Master during the 1947 USSR Chess Championship, though he failed to qualify for the finals. He set about improving his game by studying Nimzowitsch's My System and by moving to Moscow to seek greater competition.

Grandmaster in Moscow Petrosian (standing on right, with jacket) at the 1961 European Chess Team Championship. Seated, facing right, is Mikhail Tal, then world champion.

After moving to Moscow in 1949, As evidence for this claim, he noted that all 12 games played between Petrosian, Geller, and Keres were draws. Statisticians pointed out that when playing against each other, these Soviet competitors averaged 19 moves per game, as opposed to 39.5 moves when playing against other competitors. Although responses to Fischer's allegations were mixed, FIDE later adjusted the rules and format to try to prevent future collusion in the Candidates.

Having won the Candidates Tournament, Petrosian earned the right to challenge Mikhail Botvinnik for the title of World Chess Champion in a 24-game match. In addition to practicing his chess, Petrosian also prepared for the match by skiing for several hours each day. He believed that in such a long match, physical fitness and endurance could become a factor in the later games. This advantage was increased by Botvinnik being much older than Petrosian. Whereas a multitude of draws in tournament play could prevent a player from taking first place, draws did not affect the outcome of a one-on-one match. In this regard, Petrosian's cautious playing style was well-suited for match play, as he could simply wait for his opponent to make mistakes and then capitalize on them. Petrosian won the match against Botvinnik with a final score of 5 to 2 with 15 draws, securing the title of World Champion.

Reigning World Champion

Upon becoming World Champion, Petrosian campaigned for the publication of a chess newspaper for the entire Soviet Union, rather than just in Moscow. This newspaper became known as 64. Petrosian studied for a degree of Master of Philosophical Science at Yerevan State University; his thesis, dated 1968, was titled "Chess Logic, Some Problems of the Logic of Chess Thought".

In 1966, three years after Petrosian had earned the title of World Chess Champion, he was challenged by Boris Spassky. Petrosian defended his title by winning rather than drawing the match, a feat that had not been accomplished since Alexander Alekhine defeated Efim Bogoljubov in the 1934 World Championship. However, Spassky defeated Efim Geller, Bent Larsen, and Viktor Korchnoi in the next candidates cycle, earning a rematch with Petrosian, in 1969. Spassky won the match by 12½–10½.

Later career

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 semifinal match in which Petrosian withdrew after five games while trailing 1½–3½ (+1−3=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 lost the match, and was fired from his position as editor of Russia's largest chess magazine, 64. His detractors condemned his reluctance to attack, with some attributing this to a lack of courage. At this point Botvinnik spoke on his behalf, stating that Petrosian only attacked when he felt secure, and his greatest strength was in defence.

Some of his late successes included victories at Lone Pine 1976 and in the 1979 Paul Keres Memorial tournament in Tallinn (12/16 without a loss, ahead of Tal, Bronstein, and others). He shared first place (with Lajos Portisch and Robert Hübner) in the Rio de Janeiro Interzonal the same year, and won second place in Tilburg in 1981, half a point behind the winner Alexander Beliavsky. It was here that he played his last famous victory, a miraculous escape against the young Garry Kasparov.

Personal life

Petrosian lived in Moscow from 1949. When asked by Anthony Saidy whether he is Russian, Petrosian replied: "Abroad, they call us all Russians. I am a Soviet Armenian." Petrosian married Rona Yakovlevna (née Avinezer, 1923–2005), a Russian Jew born in Kiev, Ukraine. A graduate of the Moscow Institute of Foreign Languages, They had two sons:

His hobbies included football, backgammon, cross-country skiing, table tennis, and gardening.

Petrosian died in Moscow of stomach cancer on 13 August 1984, and is buried in the Moscow Armenian Cemetery.

Deafness Petrosian was partially deaf and wore a hearing aid during his matches, which sometimes led to strange situations. On one occasion he offered a draw to Svetozar Gligorić, which Gligorić initially refused in surprise, but then changed his mind in a few seconds and re-offered the draw. Petrosian did not even respond to the offer, later winning the game. It was later found that he switched off his hearing aid, and did not hear when Gligorić re-offered the draw. In 1971, he played a Candidates match against Robert Hübner in a noisy area in Seville, which did not disturb him but frustrated Hübner so much that he withdrew from the match. Despite his poor hearing, he was a great lover of classical music and enjoyed attending concerts.

Recognition and legacy At the time of his death, Petrosian was working on a set of chess-related lectures and articles to be compiled in a book. These were edited by his wife Rona and published posthumously, in Russian under the title Шахматные лекции Петросяна (1989) and in English as Petrosian's Legacy (1990).

To commemorate the 75th anniversary of his birth, Armenia issued this stamp in 2005.

In 1987, World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov unveiled a memorial at Petrosian's grave which depicts the laurel wreath awarded to Chess World Champion and an image contained within a crown of the sun shining above the twin peaks of Mount Araratthe national symbol of Petrosian's Armenian homeland. On 7 July 2006, a monument honouring Petrosian was opened in the Davtashen district of Yerevan, in the street named after Petrosian. Petrosian was also honoured on the third banknote series of the Armenian dram, with his image on the 2,000 dram banknote.

Olympiads and team championships Petrosian was not selected for the Soviet Olympiad team until 1958; though he had already been a Candidate twice by that time. From that point, however, he made ten straight Soviet Olympiad teams from 1958 to 1978, won nine team gold medals, one team silver medal, and six individual gold medals. His overall performance in Olympiad play is impressive: +78−1=50 (only one game lost, to Robert Hübner, out of 129 played), or 79.8 percent, the all-time third-best performance after Anatoly Karpov (+43−2=23 or 80.1 percent) and Mikhail Tal (+65−2=34 or 81.2 percent). His Olympiad results follow: Munich 1958, 2nd reserve, 10½/13 (+8−0=5), board and team gold medals Leipzig 1960, 2nd reserve, 12/13 (+11−0=2), board and team gold medals Varna 1962, board 2, 10/12 (+8−0=4), board and team gold medals Tel Aviv 1964, board 1, 9½/13 (+6−0=7), team gold medal Havana 1966, board 1, 11½/13 (+10−0=3), board and team gold medals Lugano 1968, board 1, 10½/12 (+9−0=3), board and team gold medals Siegen 1970, board 2, 10/14 (+6−0=8), team gold medal Skopje 1972, board 1, 10½/16 (+6−1=9), team gold medal Nice 1974, board 4, 12½/14 (+11−0=3), board and team gold medals Buenos Aires 1978, board 2, 6/9 (+3−0=6), team silver medal

Petrosian also made the Soviet team for the first eight European Team Championships (from 1957 to 1983). He won eight team gold medals, and four board gold medals. His totals in Euroteams play are (+15−0=37), for 64.4 per cent.

Petrosian preferred to play openings that did not commit his pieces to any particular plan. As black, Petrosian enjoyed playing the Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation and the French Defence. As white, he often played the English Opening. Petrosian would often move the same piece multiple times in a few moves, confusing his opponents in the opening and threatening draws by threefold repetition in the endgame. In a game against Mark Taimanov during the 1955 USSR Chess Championship, Petrosian moved the same rook six times in a 24-move game, with four of those moves occurring on consecutive turns. He had a strong affinity for knights rather than bishops, a characteristic that is often attributed to the influence of Aron Nimzowitsch.

A number of illustrative metaphors have been used to describe Petrosian's style of play. Harold C. Schonberg said that "playing him was like trying to put handcuffs on an eel. There was nothing to grip." He has been described as a centipede lurking in the dark, a tiger looking for the opportunity to pounce, a python who slowly squeezes his victims to death, and as a crocodile who waits for hours to make a decisive strike. Boris Spassky, who succeeded Petrosian as World Chess Champion, described his style of play thus: "Petrosian reminds me of a hedgehog. Just when you think you have caught him, he puts out his quills."

Petrosian's style of play, although highly successful for avoiding defeats, was criticized as being dull. Chess enthusiasts saw his "ultraconservative" style as an unwelcome contrast to the popular image of Soviet chess as "daring" and "indomitable". His 1971 Candidates Tournament match with Viktor Korchnoi featured so many monotonous draws that the Russian press began to complain. However, Svetozar Gligorić described Petrosian as being "very impressive in his incomparable ability to foresee danger on the board and to avoid any risk of defeat." Petrosian responded to his criticisms by saying: "They say my games should be more 'interesting'. I could be more 'interesting'—and also lose."

Another consequence of Petrosian's style of play was that he did not score many victories, which in turn meant he seldom won tournaments even though he often finished second or third. However, his style was extremely effective in matches.

Petrosian could also occasionally play in an attacking, sacrificial style. In his 1966 match with Spassky, he won Game 7 and Game 10 this way. Spassky subsequently stated: "It is to Petrosian's advantage that his opponents never know when he is suddenly going to play like Mikhail Tal." (Tal was known as the most aggressive attacker of his era.)

The positional exchange sacrifice Petrosian was known for his use of the "positional exchange sacrifice", where one side sacrifices a rook for the opponent's bishop or knight. Kasparov discussed Petrosian's use of this motif:

25... Re6

The game was eventually drawn on move 41.

Contributions to opening theory

Quotes "In those years, it was easier to win the Soviet Championship than a game against 'Iron Tigran'." — Lev Polugaevsky "It is to Petrosian's advantage that his opponents never know when he is suddenly going to play like Mikhail Tal." — Boris Spassky "During tournament analysis sessions players all speak at once, but whenever Petrosian said anything, everyone would shut up and listen." — Yasser Seirawan