Notable Games
Tigran Petrosian
12 celebrated games · 702 in the full archive
◈The games that made the legend
Reshevsky – Petrosian · 1953 · ½–½
Zürich Candidates 1953 — Petrosian's 25...Re6!!, sacrificing the exchange to plant a knight on d5, is the most famous positional exchange sacrifice ever taught. Reshevsky returned the exchange for a draw, but the idea became Petrosian's signature.
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Petrosian – Pachman · 1961 · 1–0
Bled 1961 — proof the "Iron Tigran" could attack: the queen sacrifice 19.Qxf6+!! tears open Pachman's king and a 21-move miniature ends in an inescapable mating net (21.Bg7).
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Petrosian – Tal · 1962 · 1–0
Curaçao Candidates 1962 — Petrosian grinds down former World Champion Mikhail Tal in a long English, on his way to winning the tournament that earned him the title match.
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Petrosian – Botvinnik · 1963 · 1–0
Game 5 of the 1963 world-championship match — Petrosian's first win over Botvinnik levelled the score and set the tone for the match that made him the ninth World Champion.
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Petrosian – Spassky · 1966 · 1–0
Petrosian's "World Championship Immortal." Defending his title against Spassky in 1966, he gives up both rooks (21.Ne3, 24.Rxf4) against the King's Indian and mates with queen, bishop and knight — 30.Qh8+.
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Larsen – Petrosian · 1966 · 0–1
Havana Olympiad 1966 — a textbook positional exchange sacrifice: 14...Rxe5! hands Larsen the exchange for a dominating pawn centre, which Petrosian converts with the black pieces.
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Petrosian – Estrin · 1968 · 1–0
Moscow Championship 1968 — a rare Petrosian sprint: rook sacrifices on h7 and h6 blow open Estrin's king in a 26-move attacking miniature.
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Petrosian – Spassky · 1969 · 1–0
Their 1969 rematch — Petrosian answers Spassky's Nimzo-Indian with a sharp central break, then a forcing knight tour (Nb7–d8–c6–e5–g6) wins material.
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Petrosian – Fischer · 1971 · 1–0
Buenos Aires 1971 — in Game 2 of the Candidates final, Petrosian ended Bobby Fischer's historic run of 20 consecutive wins over the world's best players.
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Petrosian – Gligoric · 1972 · 1–0
San Antonio 1972 — against King's Indian expert Gligorić, Petrosian sacrifices the exchange with 30.Re6! to install a passed pawn on e6 and a dominating knight.
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Petrosian – Karpov · 1973 · 1–0
41st USSR Championship, 1973 — Petrosian outmanoeuvres the 22-year-old Anatoly Karpov in a Queen's Indian, two years before Karpov became World Champion.
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Kasparov – Petrosian · 1981 · 0–1
Tilburg 1981 — at 52, Petrosian schools the 18-year-old Garry Kasparov, patiently working the queenside to beat the teenager who would soon rule the chess world.
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