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