Tigran Petrosian Memorial Tournament

by ChessBase
12/18/2004 – An international Internet chess tournament is taking place, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the birth of the 9th world champion, Tigran Petrosian. Four teams, from Russia, China, France and Armenia, are participating, with none of the players leaving their places of residence. More...

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Tigran Petrosian Memorial Internet Tournament

The six round tournament will take place each day from December 18-23 with games starting at 12:00 noon in Paris, 14:00 in St. Petersburg. 15:00 in Yerevan and 19:00 in Beijing.

Four boards will face-off each day, as in the Olympiad, with each opponent facing his corresponding board representative. Each country will face each of the other three countries two times for a total of six rounds. Fischer time control will be used (1 hour 30 minutes plus 15 minutes added at move 40; 30 second increments are added after every move).

The overall prize fund is $55,000 with the following breakdown: 1st place $20,000, 2nd place $15,000, 3rd place $12,000, 4th place $8,000. The games will not be counted toward players' official ratings.

Armenia (average rating: 2626)   France (average rating: 2627)
GM Aronian
2675
  GM Lautier
2682
GM Lputian
2634
  GM Fressinet
2640
GM Sargissian
2611
  GM Bauer
2622
GM Art. Minasian
2581
  GM Nataf
2565
 
Russia (average rating: 2688)   China (average rating: 2590)
GM Svidler
2735
  GM Bu
2615
GM Dreev
2698
  GM Ni
2611
GM Khalifman
2669
  GM Zhang
2596
GM Zvjaginsev
2650
  GM Wang
2536

Tigran Petrosian

Tigran Petrosian was a legendary chess champion, an Armenian hero, and a creative genius. Nearly twenty years after his passing, FIDE has named 2004 in his honor, and the Tigran Petrosian memorial internet tournament held from December 18-23 online is the last in a string of tournaments in 2004 around the world held in his honor.
The legacy of Petrosian is at the same time profound and multifaceted.

To Armenians around the world and in Armenia alike, Petrosian symbolized the overcoming of the struggles of a downtrodden nation, a nation which survived Genocide, the horrors of Stalin, and global dispersion to cheer their favorite son toward victory. For Armenians everywhere he embodied achievement of excellence in the most intellectual and competitive of games. The boy who was born in Tiflis, embraced in Armenia, rose to the heights in Moscow, and loved by his compatriots around the world. He was a unique figure in modern Armenian history, and his relationship to Armenians around the world was similarly distinctive. After he lost both parents before he was 16, he became the adopted son of Armenians everywhere. Though some of his compatriots around the world had no particular understanding of the game of chess, they would flock to his games in tournaments held in the farthest reaches around the globe - from South America to Europe, from the Soviet Union to the USA. Everywhere, Petrosian was greeted with fanfare, exhilaration and cheer.

His chess style was enigmatic, misunderstood, underappreciated. He died much too young, living life with passion and exuberance until cancer took him away from us much too prematurely. Like any champion, his legacy is immortal, his games are creations which will be loved forever, and we are the lucky ones to have benefited from his genius. For the generations of chess fans who emulate him to the millions of Armenians who cherish his memory, we are proud and honored to offer this tournament to all to enjoy.


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