Petrosian – Learning from the Master

by Efstratios Grivas
8/14/2024 – Tigran Petrosian was a very conservative player. On the other hand he could see tactics and combinations far in advance, so he went about countering them before even his opponents smell anything! Chess trainer GM Efstratios Grivas has always told his students to study the games of the former World Champion and try to understand what he had seen and why he chose his moves. Here is part two of his lesson.

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Petrosian – Learning from the Master (part one)

Development refers to improving a chess piece at the beginning of a game, generally by opening the way towards the centre of the board and possibly bringing it out towards the centre of the board. The pieces on the back row begin the game in a very limited state, mostly unable to move or unable to move to many different places. A simplistic guide should be:

  1. Move your pieces out from their starting squares to prepare for battle.
  2. Occupy and attack central squares (e4, e5, d4, and d5).
  3. Improve your position by deploying all your pieces to more powerful positions.

Neglecting development might lead to unfortunate situations. We can learn a lot about that by a cautious and defensive giant of chess history.

Petrosian's style of play often led to draws, especially against other players who preferred to counterattack. Nonetheless, his patience and mastery of defence made him extremely difficult to defeat. In fact he was considered to be the hardest player to beat in the history of chess. He was undefeated at the 1952 and 1955 Interzonals, and in 1962 he did not lose a single tournament game. His consistent ability to avoid defeat earned him the nickname ‘Iron Tigran’. Future World Champion Vladimir Kramnik called him ‘the first defender with a capital D’.

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 criticised 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 Gligoric 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 games 7 and 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 Mihail Tal’ (MikhailTal was known as the most aggressive attacker of his era). 

Early Years

As a young junior, Petrosian played more aggressively, as the following games can prove:

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MoveNResultEloPlayers
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1.d4 Nf6 2.Nf3 e6 3.c4 d5 4.Nbd2 c5 5.e3 Nc6 6.a3 Bd6 7.dxc5 Bxc5 8.b4 Be7 9.Bb2 0-0 10.Bd3 dxc4 11.Nxc4 a6 (D)
12.Qc2! White is in no hurry to castle, as Black should have not too many problems after 12.0-0 b5 13.Nce5 Nxe5 14.Nxe5 Bb7= Degerman,L-Nielsen,P Hinnerup 1995. 12...h6? The text is simply bad. Black should avoid 12...Bxb4+?! 13.Ke2! Be7 14.Rad1 Bd7 15.g4! , but rather opt for 12...Bd7 13.Rd1 Rc8 14.Qb1 . 13.0-0 Logical, but I would have opted for 13.Rd1 Bd7 14.g4!± . 13...b5 (D)
14.Bxf6! A nice, positional combination. Bxf6 15.Rad1 Bd7 15...bxc4? 16.Bh7+ Kh8 17.Rxd8 Rxd8 18.Be4+- , is out of the question. 16.Bh7+ Kh8 17.Be4?! (D)
White could gain a small but stable advantage after 17.Rxd7! Qxd7 18.Nb6 Qb7 19.Nxa8 Ne7! 20.Be4 Nd5 21.Bxd5 exd5 22.Qc7 Qxa8 23.Rc1 . 17...Nxb4? A miscalculation. There was nothing wrong with 17...bxc4! 18.Bxc6 Bxc6 19.Rxd8 Rfxd8 20.Qxc4 Bb5 21.Qe4 Bxf1 22.Kxf1 Rac8 23.g4∞ . 18.axb4 Rc8 Black thought that he would regain the piece, but this isn't the case... 19.Rxd7! Qxd7 20.Nb6 20.Nb6 Black resigned, as after Rxc2 20...Qc7 21.Nxc8 Qxc2 22.Bxc2 Rxc8 23.Be4+- 21.Nxd7 Rfc8 22.Bxc2 Rxc2 23.Nxf6 gxf6 24.Rb1+- , too much material have been lost.
1–0
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Petrosian,T-Kotkov,Y-1–01946D30URS-Ch U18
Kotov,A-Petrosian,T-1–01949D36URS-Ch1
Petrosian,T-Tolush,A-1–01950D35URS-Ch2
Fridstein,G-Petrosian,T-0–11951C08Moscow-Ch
Petrosian,T-Kotov,A-0–11952B50Match/Training Team1-Team2
Bilek,I-Petrosian,T-0–11961B88ECU-Ch tt4
Tal,M-Petrosian,T-0–11962C13FIDE-Wch Ct8
Petrosian,T-Rodriguez Vargas,O-1–01970D45Olympiad7
Petrosian,T-Ree,H-1–01971A29Hoogovens12
Philippe,G-Petrosian,T-0–11972E63Olympiad4
Petrosian,T2610Rantanen,Y24601–01979A98Keres Memorial9
Nunn,J2590Petrosian,T26051–01982B10Interpolis7

Afterlife

Tigran Petrosian was a very conservative player, but on the other hand he could see tactics and combinations far in advance, so he was simply destroying them, before even his opponents smell of them! I am always telling my students to study the games of Petrosian and try to understand what he had seen and why he chose his moves. Maybe you feel that this is a bit boring, but do not forget that we talk about a World Champion!


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Efstratios (30.03.1966) is a highly experienced chess trainer and chess author. He has been awarded by the International Chess Federation (FIDE) the titles of International Chess Grandmaster, FIDE Senior Trainer, International Chess Arbiter and International Chess Organiser.

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