Tigran Petrosian
| Tigran Petrosian | |
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Tigran Petrosian in 1975
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| Full name | Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian |
| Country | Soviet Union |
| Born |
June 17, 1929 Tiflis, Georgian SSR, Soviet Union (present-day Tbilisi, Georgia) |
| Died | August 13, 1984 (aged 55) Moscow, Soviet Union |
| Title | Grandmaster (1952) |
| World Champion | 1963–69 |
| Peak rating | 2645 (July 1972) |
Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian (Russian: Тигра́н Варта́нович Петрося́н; Armenian: Տիգրան Պետրոսյան; June 17, 1929 – August 13, 1984) was a Soviet Armenian Grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his almost impenetrable defensive playing style, which emphasised safety above all else.
Petrosian was a Candidate for the World Championship on eight occasions (1953, 1956, 1959, 1962, 1971, 1974, 1977 and 1980). He won the World Championship in 1963 (against Mikhail Botvinnik), successfully defended it in 1966 (against Boris Spassky), and lost it in 1969 (to Spassky). Thus he was the defending World Champion or a World Championship Candidate in ten consecutive three-year cycles. He won the Soviet Championship four times (1959, 1961, 1969, and 1975).
Petrosian is widely known for popularizing chess in Armenia.
Petrosian was born to Armenian parents on June 17, 1929 in Tiflis, Georgian SSR (modern-day Georgia). As a young boy, Petrosian was an excellent student and enjoyed studying, as did his brother Hmayak and sister Vartoosh. He learned to play chess at the age of 8, though his illiterate father Vartan encouraged him to continue studying, as he thought chess was unlikely to bring his son any success as a career. Petrosian was orphaned during World War II and was forced to sweep streets to earn a living. It was about this time that his hearing began to deteriorate, a problem that afflicted him throughout his life. In a 1969 interview with Time magazine, he recalled:
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