Petrosyan, Tigran Vartanovich

Tigran Vartanovich Petrosyan, Petrosyan also spelled Petrosian, (born June 17, 1929, Tbilisi, Georgia, U.S.S.R.—died August 13, 1984, Moscow, Russia), Soviet Armenian chess master who won the world championship from Mikhail Botvinnik in 1963, defended it successfully against Boris Spassky in 1966, and was defeated by Spassky in 1969. Petrosyan’s play, subtle and tirelessly patient, was designed to weaken an opponent’s position gradually rather than to crush it at a single blow. Against masters of comparable strength, he played a great many drawn games.

Petrosyan was made a chess master in 1947. He was educated at Yerevan Teachers’ College in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic and continued postgraduate study in philosophy there after becoming world chess champion. He received a number of decorations for his achievements, and he remained an active member in the Presidium of the Chess Federation of the U.S.S.R. In 1968 Petrosyan published Chess and Philosophy.