Tigran Petrosian
Soviet Armenian Grandmaster and World Chess Champion · Russia · Journalists · Lived 1929 to 1984 · aged 55
Tigran Petrosian is read about 419 times a day, in 67 languages.
A typical day, 30 days to 22 October 2026
The middle day of the days counted, so one week of news cannot move it. The line under it is the last 397 days, one point a day.
Something wrong?The ninth World Chess Champion played like a fortress. "Iron Tigran" built positions so airtight that opponents rarely found cracks, favoring safety over flash - a style that held the title from 1963 to 1969 and turned Armenia into a chess nation.
A life in dates
Also in Deutsch
Photos 7
Anefo 910-9356 Hoogovenschaaktoernooi
AM 5000 dram Ag 1999 Petrosyan b_tegen_Tigran_Petrosian_(rechts)%2C_Bestanddeelnr_931-7207.jpg?width=1200)
Jan Timman (links) tegen Tigran Petrosian (rechts), Bestanddeelnr 931-7207_10.jpg?width=1200)
Kazan Chess School, interior (2021-08-25) 10
Tigran Petrossian Statue, Aparan.jpg?width=1200)
Петросян Тигран Вартанович (конверт).JPG?width=1200)
Տիգրան Պետրոսյանի անվան Շախմատիստի կենտրոնական տուն (14)In their own words 4
, I have a weakness for any piece in excess of my opponent's numbers - from pawn to queen.
Chess is a game by its form, an art by its content and a science by the difficulty of gaining mastery in it. Chess can convey as much happiness as a good book or work of music can.
Some consider that when I play I am excessively cautious, but it seems to me that the question may be a different one. I try to avoid chance.
Awards
In their orbit
About this person
Tigran Petrosian was born in Armenia on 17 June 1929 and became a Soviet grandmaster known for defense so relentless it earned him a nickname in steel. He reached the World Championship candidates tournament eight times starting in 1953, finally taking the crown in 1963 by defeating Mikhail Botvinnik. He defended it successfully against Boris Spassky in 1966, then lost it back to Spassky three years later. For a decade he was either champion or contender in ten straight three-year cycles, and he won the Soviet Championship four times between 1959 and 1975. He died on 13 August 1984, having shown a generation that the most unbreakable attacks are the ones that never get launched.
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