Tigran Petrosyan is one of the most prominent figures in the history of chess. His career and achievements have left an indelible mark not only on the chess world, but also on culture, thanks to his outstanding results and unique playing style.
Childhood and youth
Tigran Vartanovich Petrosyan was born on June 17, 1929 in Tiflis (Tbilisi), Georgia, to an Armenian family of a janitor, Vartan Petrosyan, who worked at the Tbilisi Officers’ House, in the building of which the future world champion spent his childhood and youth. Tigran lost his father and mother early. His older sister Vartush took on the boy’s upbringing. He began playing chess at the age of 13 at the Palace of Pioneers under the guidance of master A. Ebralidze. A. I. Nimzowitsch’s book “My System in Practice” had a great influence on the formation of his chess skills. His chess path began with a love for the game, which he absorbed from the environment. He quickly developed his skills and in 1945, at the age of 16, he became the champion of Georgia.
Career
Some stages of Tigran Petrosyan’s career:
- In 1945, at the age of 16, he became the champion of Georgia.
- In 1947, he achieved the standard of Master of Sports of the USSR in the semi-finals of the USSR Championship.
- In 1950 he moved to Moscow and became the capital’s champion.
- In 1952 he received the title of International Grandmaster.
- In 1963 he became world champion, winning a match against Mikhail Botvinnik.
- In 1966 he defended his title in a match with Boris Spassky.
- In 1969 he lost the title to Spassky.
- As part of the USSR national team, he won the Chess Olympiads nine times (1958–1974) and was an eight-time winner of the European Team Championship (1957–1983).
Petrosyan had an original style of play, combining attack and defense, strategy and tactics. For his defensive skills he was nicknamed “Iron Tigran”.
Awards and recognition
After the war ended, in 1945, 16-year-old Tigran announced himself to the chess world. He won the All-Union Youth Championship and achieved the same success in the following junior championship. In 1947, playing in the semi-finals of the USSR championship, Petrosyan fulfilled the master norm. Three years later, he moved to Moscow, where he immediately succeeded, taking third place in the city championship. Participation in the 1951 Soviet Union championship ended for the young Armenian with a share of 2nd–3rd place, which allowed him to play in the interzonal tournament the following year, where he also shared 2nd–3rd place. From that moment on, Tigran Petrosyan became a grandmaster and a regular participant in the qualifying cycles for the match for the world championship.
In 1962, in his fourth Candidates Tournament, Petrosyan won and received the right to compete for the chess crown in a match with Mikhail Botvinnik. In previous Candidates Tournaments, the Armenian chess player took the following places: 5th (1953), 3rd–7th (1956), 3rd (1959). At the Candidates Competition held on the island of Curacao, which became his triumph, Tigran Petrosyan played 27 games and, without losing a single one, achieved eight victories.
The World Chess Championship match between champion Mikhail Botvinnik and challenger Tigran Petrosyan was held in Moscow from March 23 to May 20, 1963. The regulations stipulated 24 games. After 14 rounds, the opponents exchanged blows twice. Botvinnik tied the score in the 14th match, but already in the 15th, Petrosyan took the lead, and then won two more games, the 18th and 19th, after which he drew three meetings. Thus, the match ended early, with a score of 12.5:9.5 in favor of the challenger. Having become the new, 9th World Chess Champion, Tigran Petrosyan retained the title for six years, the same amount of time Capablanca held the chess crown.
In 1959, the right to a rematch was abolished, and so Petrosyan’s opponent in the 1966 World Championship Match was Boris Spassky, who had qualified through the Candidates Cycle. Three years after his first successful title defense, the Armenian grandmaster defended his world championship title against Spassky again, and this time the challenger won.
Tigran Petrosyan lost his chess crown, but he did not refuse to compete in candidate competitions: he participated in the Candidates’ Matches (1971-1980), shared honorable 2nd-4th and 1st-3rd places in the interzonal tournaments in Biel (1976) and Rio de Janeiro (1979), respectively. As part of the Soviet Union team, he won 9 victories at the Chess Olympiads (1958-1974) and 8 victories at the European Team Championships (1957-1983), as well as participating in the “Match of the Century” (1970). Petrosyan twice became the champion of the USSR (1969, 1975) and Moscow (1951, 1956), repeatedly took prize places and won major international tournaments.
Character and features of the game
Petrosyan became known for his unique style of play, which combined strategy and tactics. His approach to chess was based on a deep understanding of the position and fantastic defensive play. Treating chess as an art, not just a discipline, allowed him to defeat many of the strongest opponents of the time.
Petrosyan’s creative style was mainly determined by the game of limiting the opponent’s capabilities and preventing his threats across the board. The grandmaster’s heightened sense of danger allowed him to foresee any risks in a position, cover up potential weaknesses in advance and deprive the opponent of ways to develop the game that would be useful for him. Speaking about his colleague, Robert Fischer noted that the Armenian chess player was able to eliminate danger 20 moves before it arose. At the same time, Petrosyan himself, having achieved an excellent position, possessed an amazing ability to find resources for its further strengthening. Thanks to his mastery of defense, he held six Soviet Union championships and the entire tournament stage in 1962 without a single defeat, and lost only once in ten Chess Olympiads from 1958 to 1978, with 79 wins and 50 draws.
It is believed that the art of positional play of “Iron Tigran”, as Petrosyan was nicknamed by his contemporaries for his greatness of play in defense, is largely a consequence of the grandmaster’s combinational skill, the ability to accurately find and calculate small tactics. In rare but significant cases, if the position absolutely required it or the opponent managed, as they say, to twist the game, Tigran Vartanovich, not surprisingly, was ready for this and, throwing caution to the wind, showed the world a skilled combinational fighter. Be that as it may, above all, Petrosyan valued logic in chess, believed in the patterns that arise in it and correct play based on an understanding of positional factors. The chess player was often criticized for his peaceful manner of play, at the same time, the 9th world champion in no way hid the fact that he liked to defend more than to attack. His famous statement is widely known: “The Chigorin style of our rivals is the key to our constant success!”
Petrosyan loved closed positions and enriched a number of openings with his ideas. In particular, the variation in the New Indian Defense and the system in the Old Indian Defense are named after him. In addition, Tigran Vartanovich is the creator of the country’s most popular chess magazine “64” and its first editor, the founder of a chess club in Moscow and a writer. “Petrosyan’s Chess Lectures” enjoy special recognition.
Petrosyan was not only a skilled player, but also a deep understanding of chess theory. He taught and wrote books, sharing his experience with future generations of chess players. His books, such as The Strategy of Reliability and Chess Lectures, remain useful sources for studying the game and strategy.
But in addition to his success on the chessboard, Tigran Petrosyan’s influence on society should also be noted. He became a symbol of the development of chess in Armenia and the USSR. His success inspired many young people to take up chess. Thanks to him, chess clubs began to develop in the country, and chess became part of cultural life.
Tigran Petrosyan not only won tournaments, but also left his mark on history with his character, resilience, and sense of justice. His achievements inspire many, showing that chess is not only a game of the mind, but also a way to achieve success in life. Petrosyan always emphasized the importance of discipline, hard work, and finding the right approach to each situation, which makes him a role model in any field.
Family
When talking about the personality of Tigran Petrosyan, it is impossible not to mention his wife Rona Petrosyan (née Avinezer), who played a significant role in his fate. She was a very energetic and proactive woman, who after the wedding devoted herself entirely to her husband and his well-being. Possessing outstanding organizational skills, the ability to establish connections and interact with important people, Rona actively participated in Tigran’s sports career. Mikhail, his son from his first marriage and the adopted son of a chess player, ironically recalled that his father did not strive to become a world champion and that it was his mother who pushed him to this achievement. In his life together with his wife, Tigran had a second child – Vartan.
Conclusion
Unfortunately, Petrosyan passed away on August 13, 1984, but his legacy lives on. He became not only a wonderful chess player, but also an indispensable teacher who guided many young players on the path to chess mastery. Many of his students became famous masters, continuing his work and passing on his knowledge to future generations.
Today, the name Tigran Petrosyan represents not only his magnificent chess achievements, but also the philosophy he promoted: patience, persistence, and passion for the game. His contribution to chess is hard to overestimate, and his life is a shining example of how one can achieve success by following one’s dreams and working hard on oneself.
Tigran Petrosyan is not just a name in chess history. He is a symbol of the eternal pursuit of perfection, which will inspire many generations of chess players for many years to come.
Sources:
1. Tigran Petrosyan ǁ chess-boom.online .
2. Mikhail Botvinnik. “Portraits” ǁ litresp.ru .
3. armmuseum.ru
