#tigran petrosian

[chessismyaesthetic]

Happy birthday Tigran Petrosian (1929-1972)!

One of my favourite chess players who most people haven't heard of, "Iron Tigran" was a Soviet-Armenian chess grandmaster and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. When he beat Boris Spassky to defend his world title in 1966, this was the first time a world champion had beaten their closest rival in match play since the nineteenth century. In 1969 Spassky got revenge and Petrosian lost his title. He continued playing though and continued being a very tricky opponent. In total, was a candidate for the World Chess Championship eight times (1953, 1956, 1959, 1962, 1971, 1974, 1977 and 1980) which means that for EVERY SINGLE WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BETWEEN 1953 AnD 1980 Petrosian was either the champion or the candidate!!

He also won the Soviet Championship four times (1959, 1961, 1969, and 1975) which, given the quality of Soviet players at the time, was no mean feat. This was, after all, the age of Tal, Botvinnik, Korchnoi, Spassky, Smyslov, and Keres!

Art Zeller, Paul Keres and Tigran Petrosian with the Piatigorskys at the 1963 Piatigorsky Cup, 1963

He was insanely hard to beat, virtually unplayable at times, using a style heavily influenced by Aron Nimzowitsch's book My System and makes me think particularly of Nimzowitsch's dictum "First restrain, next blockade, lastly destroy." In the Mammoth Book of the World's Greatest Chess Games, Graham Burgess writes Petrosian invented:

"a unique playing style that oppnonents found very hard to handle. Often it wasn't even clear what they were fighting against, as Petrosian's deep prophylactic play would be preventing ideas that had not even occurred to them. Once his opponent's active possibilities were neutralized, Petrosian would squeeze relentlessly."

To give an example of how difficult an opponent he was, over the ten Olympiads he played in, he had 79 wins, 50 draws, and only 1 loss. In 1969, his final year as World Champion, he didn't lose a single tournament game.

Sam Copeland breaks down one of his best games with Spassky in the video below and you can check out some more of Petrosian's games here.

[niche-drama]

Chess Drama: The PIPI Saga

Part 1: Setting the Stage

It’s September of 2020, half a year into the pandemic. It’ll be months before there’ll be vaccines for COVID-19, and all the “normal”, “respectable” chess tournaments have been on hiatus, because they dare not meet IRL and they’re too set in their ways to go virtual.

Online chess events with less clout but bigger prize pools have stepped forward to fill this gap, including the “PRO Chess League” (PRO being an acronym for Professional Rapid Online), a team-format championship where teams from different places compete against each other for a title.

This year, the winners of the tournament are a shock: the Armenia Eagles, a lesser-known team even in this lesser-known format for pro-level chess. Their all-star for the tournament is GM Tigran Petrosian (no, not the former World Chess Champion by that name, but another guy whose dad named him after the former champion), who won three of the four games he played and tied the fourth - an almost unbelievably good result at the top level of chess.

In fact, it was so unbelievable that even one of the other players in the tournament started to imply that he didn’t believe it.

GM Wesley So (a top-10-in-the-world grandmaster who was playing for the St Louis Archbishops in this tournament, who won 2nd place) commented on the chess.com article announcing the Eagles’ win with this:

The “secret gin” was a reaction to Petrosian’s joking interview comment that he’d achieved his results in this tournament because he’d had a glass of gin to drink as he played.

The second part of the comment, though, is a deeper cut. On chess.com, often instead of publicly banning titled players who’ve been found to cheat, they’ll just contact those players and ban them privately.  Basically “your account won’t show that you’re banned, but never log in again if you want it to stay that way”. In other words, Wesley was implying that:

Andriasian and Sargsyan had been cheating in a previous event and were quietly told to leave town, and

Petrosian had possibly achieved this result by committing the same sin.

Part 2: Wait, cheating at chess?

Yes, it’s possible. To oversimplify... it’s like copying the answer to a hard test question off your genius deskmate, except the “deskmate” is your desktop computer. Chess programs have been better at chess than humans for decades now; in theory, all you need to do to beat a human is enter the game into Stockfish and see what it thinks is the best move.

In practice, it’s much harder than that. Try logging into a chess website and rocketing up the ranks by copying the computer’s homework, and you’ll be banned pretty quickly. It turns out that computer moves don’t look like human moves, and people playing computer moves don’t behave like people playing their own moves either; the big chess websites all have secret sauce to try to detect cheaters, or to investigate games where they think cheating has occurred.

Of course, in an officially organized, professional event, the most straightforward way is just for the players to be watched while playing, so that it’s clear whether or not they have Droidfish open on their phones - whether by a live tournament rep in the player’s house, or just by setting up enough cameras that the judges can see what’s going on. That’s the “proctoring” that Wesley mentions in his followup comment to the thread:

The PRO Chess League finals, despite being an online-native event, only requires the players to set up a single facecam - not the multi-camera setup that would be necessary to see what the contestants are actually doing. And the “single facecam” video from the event does show Petrosian repeatedly glancing down at... something... during the tensest moments of his games.

Part 3: Classics of Post

Early the next morning, Tigran Petrosian catches wind of the conversation going on in the article comments, and decides to reply to Wesley’s accusations. But the way he chooses to do it, well... take a look for yourself.

This pretty much instantly ascended to copypasta status in the chess fandom. The /r/chess subreddit had to install an automod to remove reposts of it. Meanwhile, /r/AnarchyChess installed a bot to automatically post it whenever any of the main characters or catchphrases of this story were mentioned.

Wesley accepts the offer for an IRL money match, with a final snide remark: “You are clearly the king of online chess, man. But I will dare fight you over-the-board.”

Unfortunately, the “PIPI Invitational”, as GM Hikaru Nakamura called it in a Twitch stream, ends up not happening. Later that day, chess.com and the Pro Chess League make a joint announcement that, after conducting an investigation, they determined that Tigran Petrosian was, in fact, cheating in the semifinals and finals of the tournament. Petrosian is banned from the PCL for life, the Eagles get tempbanned, and the prizes get redistributed... thereby proving Petrosian right that, one way or another, “liers will kicked off”.

[twentyyearstoolate]

[glubbs]

“Chess is a game by its form, an art by its content and a science by the difficulty of gaining mastery in it.” — Tigran Petrosian

[perdvivly]

I think the narrative around the world famous Bobby Fischer vs Boris Spassky match as being a triumph of America over the Soviet Union during the Cold War is silly.

Yes, Fischer was one of the greatest chess players of all time. I don’t think there’s any doubt about that. But when you look at the world chess champions between 1947 and 1991 you find:

Mikhail Botvinnik - Soviet Union

Vasily Smyslov - Soviet Union

Mikhail Tal - Soviet Union

Tigran Petrosian - Soviet Union

Boris Spassky - Soviet Union

Bobby Fischer - United States

Anatoly Karpov - Soviet Union

Garry Kasparov - Soviet Union/ Russia

You have to squint *really* hard to think America is in any way winning here. The Soviet Union really was just better at producing top chess players than America during the Cold War era. This is not a moral claim nor is it equivalent to saying the Soviet Union valued intelligence more than the United States. I think a good explanation for this fact is that the Soviet Union cared more about producing top chess players than the United States did. And this explanation is almost plausible until you hear stories about how invested the American government was in making the match happen after Fischer threatened to drop out. Apparently Henry Kissinger called Fischer personally to advise him to take the match. It seems odd to me that they cared when they were winning, but not at all when they weren’t. Beyond odd… straight up silly.

[ownproperties]

Use the Chess Perspective to Navigate Life

Having a chess perspective to life can give you a big advantage over regular folks.

But have you ever paused and wondered – how can you use your chess perspective in different areas of life?

That’s precisely what you’re going to discover in this article.

Let’s jump right in!

1.  Developing a sharp sense of empathy

At Victorious Chess Academy, we show the games of 2 world champions, Anatoly Karpov and Tigran Petrosian, to teach students an important chess concept.

That concept is prophylaxis! It’s a skill to foresee your opponent’s threats, plans, and strategies well in advance.

Any good player can add this skill into their game.

In life too, you can use the prophylaxis of chess to understand the other party’s world view. Whether it’s a disagreement with a friend or resolving a conflict, striving to see the situation from the other party’s point of view can lead to more effective communication.

It also enables empathy, reduces conflicts, and fosters stronger relationships.

2.  Learning from painful setbacks and failures

As a chess player, you’ll understand that losing a game isn’t a failure. Rather, it’s an opportunity for growth. You can analyze your games, especially losses, find out your mistakes and learn.

Over a long time, this is how improvement happens.

You can apply this same approach when faced with life’s setbacks. Instead of viewing setbacks as insurmountable, see them as learning opportunities.

Bad grades in exams means there are subjects you didn’t understand that well. So you need to pay attention next time you study them.

For a majority of people, they don’t go through this ‘setback training’ that most chess players face. So by adopting a chess perspective here, you’re equipping yourself with the tools to bounce back from setbacks more effectively than normal folks.

3.  Adapting to change fast

World’s top 10 in chess in 1990 looked very different from the world top 10 in 1995.

You might wonder why? In his excellent book, ‘My Great Predecessors’ Kasparov shared an interesting reason behind that.

Chessbase, a database software, had just been launched during that time. And it drastically changed how chess was studied.

Those who adopted the new technology entered the top 10. Those who didn’t were thrown out of it.

The same thing applies in life. Technology and skilled people move fast. And to stay on top of your game, you need to adapt to change. And adapt fast.

So stay sharp, and don’t be afraid of embracing new ideas and technologies.

Final thoughts

Life, like chess, is full of challenges. But with a chess perspective, you can confidently navigate much of what life throws at you and prepare yourself for success.

Just remember to apply what you learn from chess into your life. 🙂

[dan6085]

Top 20 of the greatest chess players of all time:

1. **Garry Kasparov (1963-)**: Considered one of the greatest players, he held the World Chess Championship title from 1985 to 2000.

2. **Magnus Carlsen (1990-)**: Current World Chess Champion (as of my last update in September 2021) and one of the strongest players in history.

3. **Bobby Fischer (1943-2008)**: World Chess Champion from 1972 to 1975; renowned for his match against Boris Spassky during the Cold War era.

4. **Anatoly Karpov (1951-)**: Held the World Chess Championship title from 1975 to 1985 and was a dominant force in chess during his time.

5. **Emanuel Lasker (1868-1941)**: World Chess Champion from 1894 to 1921, he had the longest reign of any official World Chess Champion.

6. **Mikhail Tal (1936-1992)**: Known for his aggressive and imaginative style of play; World Chess Champion from 1960 to 1961.

7. **Jose Capablanca (1888-1942)**: World Chess Champion from 1921 to 1927; renowned for his exceptional endgame skill.

8. **Vladimir Kramnik (1975-)**: World Chess Champion from 2000 to 2007; known for his deep understanding of chess positions.

9. **Viswanathan Anand (1969-)**: World Chess Champion from 2007 to 2013; India's first grandmaster and a chess legend.

10. **Mikhail Botvinnik (1911-1995)**: World Chess Champion for several non-consecutive terms between 1948 and 1963.

11. **Tigran Petrosian (1929-1984)**: World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969; known for his defensive and strategic prowess.

12. **Boris Spassky (1937-)**: World Chess Champion from 1969 to 1972; faced Bobby Fischer in the famous 1972 World Championship match.

13. **Akiba Rubinstein (1882-1961)**: An outstanding player from the early 20th century, known for his endgame skill and openings.

14. **Paul Morphy (1837-1884)**: A chess prodigy of the 19th century; his games are still studied and admired today.

15. **Viktor Korchnoi (1931-2016)**: A strong contender for the World Chess Championship in the 1970s and 1980s; known for his resilience.

16. **Siegbert Tarrasch (1862-1934)**: One of the strongest players of his time; made significant contributions to chess theory.

17. **Max Euwe (1901-1981)**: World Chess Champion from 1935 to 1937; also a respected mathematician and chess administrator.

18. **Boris Gelfand (1968-)**: A top-level player for several decades, he contested the World Chess Championship in 2012.

19. **Rashid Nezhmetdinov (1912-1974)**: A highly creative player known for his brilliant combinations and sacrifices.

20. **Vassily Ivanchuk (1969-)**: Considered one of the most versatile and imaginative players in modern chess.

Please note that the information provided here is brief and there is much more to learn about each of these players if you are interested in their specific games, strategies, and contributions to chess theory.

[saswathacademyworld]

Patience Pays in Chess: How Even a Losing Side Can Turn Around the Game

Patience is a virtue

And the game of chess requires a lot of it!

Patience can no only help you win better positions, but it can also help you turn a losing position into a winning one. The latter is where most of this article will focus.

But often in the chess world, this term is misunderstood. So here we want to share the real meaning of it, in chess terms. At the same time, you’ll discover the 3 great players (2 world champions and 1 minister) who personify the word ‘patience’ in the chess dictionary.

Who are they?

You’ll find out as you read the article. So let’s jump right into it. It’s going to change the way you associate patience and chess.

Be Patient When There’s No Hope

A lot of chess players give up when the position looks hopeless. Children are especially prone to making such mistakes, as they often make decisions based on their emotions.

But it’s extremely important to hold one’s nerves when things aren’t going as planned. Everyone can be patient when things are doing great! But only champions can keep going when things are out of control

Don’t Live a Disaster In Your Head

When children have a bad position in their game, it’s easy for most of them to look into the future, and live the disastrous outcomes in their minds.

During such situations, they might have thoughts like –

“What will my parent say?” “I will be embarrassed if I show this game to my coach” “My chess friends would laugh at me”

This damages their self-belief, which was their main hope in turning the game around.

What follows is that they become more nervous, lose their patience, play a rash move and lose the game quickly.

You can blame that they didn’t show any fight, but in reality, they were overwhelmed by the future and the disastrous events in their mind.

This caused them to lose patience.

The solution is simple ー Don’t look at the future and think it’s bleak. Rather, focus on playing the best moves in the given moment and think happy thoughts.

3 Great Players Whose Games Will Teach You The Meaning of Patience in Chess

At our chess academy, we show children games of chess legends. Our coaches believe that there are 3 great players whose game you should study to understand what patience translates to on the chessboard.

Two of them are former world champions ー Anatoly Karpov and Tigran Petrosian.

By studying their games(especially the latter’s!), children come to understand how these world champions would keep playing even in dead drawn positions, and eventually after 30-40 moves they would magically win the game!

Their strategy?

They would be extremely patient, keep grinding on and on, and just prolong the game without making a very terrible move or a very great move.

Sooner or later, their opponent would lose patience and make a mistake, on which these champions would pounce like a hungry wolf.

The third player is a modern-day great. He’s renowned for his ability to be extremely patient and defend the daylights out of any bad position.

His name? Sergey Karjakin.

Even strong players like Magnus Carlsen, Vishy Anand, Ian Nepomniatchchi find it difficult to break through his defenses when he has a slightly worse position.

This has earned him the nickname of being the ‘Minister of Defense’!

What patience means in chess?

Here’s what it boils down to –

Continuing to play the best moves that you can find even if your position is losing.

Having a strong belief that you can turn the tide in your favor.

Just prolonging a game to keep the fight going.

Holding your nerves, no matter what you’re faced with.

But there’s a common misconception people have when it comes to patience in chess.

Being Idle and Being Patient Are Not The Same Things

By being patient, we don’t mean that you should sit idle. Idleness is being lazy and not doing anything. It means not thinking and not foreseeing your opponent’s resources. Idleness relies on hope and luck –

‘Let’s hope that the move I play will be missed by my opponent.’

‘Let’s hope that this move doesn’t lose immediately’

Patience, on the other hand, is different. It’s taking active steps to be an obstacle in your opponent’s route to victory. It sounds more like –

‘I know the position is difficult for me, so let me try to find a move that keeps the game going and does the least damage to my position. I’m not going to give up just yet.

‘If I go in that line, my opponent will surely see my trap after which I’ll have a bad position. So let me play this line where the position is unclear.’

Read this section again because this is where the real meaning of patience lies!

The Reason Why Patience Is So Powerful and Effective

It’s because your patience builds frustration in your opponent!

How does this happen?

See once a player gets a winning position, there’s a tendency to relax and ease down. It is expected that the advantage should be more than sufficient to convert itself into a win.

But what happens when the other player just refuses to give up?

The superior side tries to break through, the weaker side holds. When this goes back and forth without any real gains for the superior side, the more frustrated they become.

Consequently, they lose their nerve, make a mistake and see their advantage evaporate into the air.

That’s why patience is such a powerful tool!

In Conclusion...

We hope you enjoyed reading the article and found useful points to implement in your games.

To summarize everything, patience is about holding your nerve and prolonging the game when things seem bleak. This will help you save losing positions. Also, you learned how this skill can often leave your opponent frustrated.

In the chess world, there are 3 players who personify patience like no others.

Studying their game will help you develop this skill in chess. Our coaches can show you the right method of learning from the games of greats players like them.

Book a free trial with one of our coaches from here.

[coachtortoise]

Today’s position demonstrates why Boris Spassky opined, "It is to Petrosian's advantage that his opponents never know when he is suddenly going to play like Mikhail Tal.”

#chess #art #Petrosian

[inevitable-destruction]

“The game Sherlock and Moriarty play is a variation of a famous (in chess circles anyway) game played in 1966.

The game in question was played between Grandmaster Bent Larsen and then-World Chess Champion Tigran Petrosian, at the Second Piatigorsky Cup in Santa Monica. This game is most well-known for the moment, on move 25, when Larsen sacrificed his queen to Petrosian.

Not to put his opponent’s king in check.

Not to capture some valuable enemy piece.

But to capture a pawn. One pawn. That’s it.

However, the point of the sacrifice wasn’t the immediate benefit. Making the hard choice to give up his queen gave Larsen the opening that he needed to win the larger game. In fact, if both players played their best moves from then on out, it was no longer possible for Petrosian to win the game at all.”

[joeyteano]

TIGRAN PETROSIAN DELIVERS ANOTHER BREATH-TAKING-QUEEN OFFER Click here ⬇️ to watch the video: https://youtu.be/TpBBy0Dp2y4 https://www.instagram.com/p/CmdFcs_hOkF/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[absurdiskas-brutalus-avangardas]

Vytauto Landsbergio ir pasaulio šachmatų čempiono, meistro Tigrano Petrosiano kova.

A chess battle between lithuanian politician, intellectual, author, music and culture historian Vytautas Landsbergis and World Chess Champion Tigran Petrosian.

[blacklotus-bloog]

Sebbene possa sembrare strano a molti, in generale io consideroche negli scacchi si basa tutto sulle tattiche. Se uno pensa alla strategia come ad un blocco di marmo, allora le tattiche sono lo scalpello col quale il maestro opera, nel creare lavori di arte scacchistica.

.

.

.

TIGRAN PETROSIAN

[rfsnyder]

TIGRAN PETROSIAN

[kavkasia]

Ex-Soviet Chess Headcanons

I’ve been watching The Queen's Gambit and it made me want to write out some of my thoughts on the major chess playing nations of the former USSR.

For context, chess was an incredibly popular pastime in the USSR. During the 20th century, the country became the most dominant chess nation in the world and the government worked very hard to maintain that dominance as a way to prove themselves as intellectually superior. Due in part to the government’s efforts, several Soviet republics became big names in the chess world.

1. Russia

The undisputed chess king who has been playing the game for centuries. Your confidence will be obliterated if you play a match against him.

He is the winner of 95% of the games against the other ex-Soviet republics.

During the Cold War, he would play games against the other Soviet republics to test their skills—and he does not hold back with his critique.

He is an all-around brilliant tactical and positional chess player.

He also has an excellent poker face.

When he had the opportunity to do so, he enjoyed attending parts of USSR Chess Championships.

2. Ukraine

Chess has long existed in Ukraine, and as a player she is incredibly skilled!

She can be quite intense when she plays serious games, and this intensity can also appear in casual games too if things get competitive.

She has had the pleasure of beating Russia more than once.

She actually prefers a game of football over a game of chess.

3. Armenia (OC)

An excellent player. He has been playing for centuries, but the Soviet era was the time when he became notably skillful in the game.

As a strategy, he tends to play more defensively and wait for an opportunity to present itself.

Even if it is a friendly game against someone much less skilled, he refuses to ever go easy on his opponents.

He will not shut up about Tigran Petrosian once you get him started.

4. Azerbaijan (OC)

Another very strong chess nation who is on par with Armenia. She also played chess prior to being a part of the USSR, but the late 1960s was when she started sharpening her skills.

Her style of chess is quite aggressive and overwhelming.

You can tell she is a sore loser when you see her get beaten by certain nations.

She is very proud of Garry Kasparov despite the fact he isn’t even Azerbaijani.

Prior to her time with Russia, she would get destroyed by Iran in games of shatranj.

5. Georgia (OC)

He isn’t the strongest player when compared to everyone above. Georgia isn’t a patzer by any means though, he just falls in a weird area where he isn’t as strong as Azerbaijan and Armenia but is still more skilled when compared to the ex-Soviet republics ranked below him.

It’s really easy to see when he is having a tough time because his poker face will start cracking immediately.

He is more likely to go easy on lady nations in casual games (at least until he realizes he’s put himself in a difficult situation by doing so).

He hates playing against Russia because continually losing to him hurts his pride (if they were playing a game of nardi instead he would be much more inclined because at least with that he stands a chance).

[ownproperties]

Use the Chess Perspective to Navigate Life

Having a chess perspective to life can give you a big advantage over regular folks.

But have you ever paused and wondered – how can you use your chess perspective in different areas of life?

That’s precisely what you’re going to discover in this article.

Let’s jump right in!

1.  Developing a sharp sense of empathy

At Victorious Chess Academy, we show the games of 2 world champions, Anatoly Karpov and Tigran Petrosian, to teach students an important chess concept.

That concept is prophylaxis! It’s a skill to foresee your opponent’s threats, plans, and strategies well in advance.

Any good player can add this skill into their game.

In life too, you can use the prophylaxis of chess to understand the other party’s world view. Whether it’s a disagreement with a friend or resolving a conflict, striving to see the situation from the other party’s point of view can lead to more effective communication.

It also enables empathy, reduces conflicts, and fosters stronger relationships.

2.  Learning from painful setbacks and failures

As a chess player, you’ll understand that losing a game isn’t a failure. Rather, it’s an opportunity for growth. You can analyze your games, especially losses, find out your mistakes and learn.

Over a long time, this is how improvement happens.

You can apply this same approach when faced with life’s setbacks. Instead of viewing setbacks as insurmountable, see them as learning opportunities.

Bad grades in exams means there are subjects you didn’t understand that well. So you need to pay attention next time you study them.

For a majority of people, they don’t go through this ‘setback training’ that most chess players face. So by adopting a chess perspective here, you’re equipping yourself with the tools to bounce back from setbacks more effectively than normal folks.

3.  Adapting to change fast

World’s top 10 in chess in 1990 looked very different from the world top 10 in 1995.

You might wonder why? In his excellent book, ‘My Great Predecessors’ Kasparov shared an interesting reason behind that.

Chessbase, a database software, had just been launched during that time. And it drastically changed how chess was studied.

Those who adopted the new technology entered the top 10. Those who didn’t were thrown out of it.

The same thing applies in life. Technology and skilled people move fast. And to stay on top of your game, you need to adapt to change. And adapt fast.

So stay sharp, and don’t be afraid of embracing new ideas and technologies.

Final thoughts

Life, like chess, is full of challenges. But with a chess perspective, you can confidently navigate much of what life throws at you and prepare yourself for success.

Just remember to apply what you learn from chess into your life. 🙂