- BornJune 17, 1929, Tbilisi, Georgia
- DiedAugust 13, 1984, Moscow
- CountrySoviet Union
- World champion1963–1969
- In the line of championsNo. 9 of 18
- Highest rating2645 (July 1972)
FIDE's official lists (from July 1971)
The road to the title
Petrosian was born in Tbilisi, Georgia, to Armenian parents. He became a grandmaster in 1952 and won the Soviet championship four times. In 1962 he won the Candidates tournament on Curaçao, and the following year he beat Mikhail Botvinnik 12½–9½.
The title matches
| Year | Against | Result | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1963 | Mikhail Botvinnik | 12½–9½ (+5 −2 =15) Won the title | Moscow |
| 1966 | Boris Spassky | 12½–11½ (+4 −3 =17) Kept the title | Moscow |
| 1969 | Boris Spassky | 10½–12½ (+4 −6 =13) Lost the title | Moscow |
How he played
Petrosian played cautiously and was a master of defense. He lost very rarely, but when an opponent made the smallest mistake he could take over.
His trademark was the exchange sacrifice: he gave a rook for a bishop or knight, not to attack, but to take control of important squares and make his own pieces stronger.
The matches against Spassky
As the reigning champion, Petrosian beat Boris Spassky in 1966, 12½–11½. No reigning champion had won a title match since Alekhine beat Bogoljubov in 1934. Three years later they met again, and this time Spassky won, 12½–10½.
Afterward
Petrosian kept playing at the top and stayed in the race for the title for more than a decade after that. He died in Moscow in 1984.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Tigran Petrosian
- Store norske leksikon: Tigran Vartanovitsj Petrosjan
- Chess.com: Tigran Petrosian
- OlimpBase: the title matches 1963–1969 and FIDE's rating lists
- PGN Mentor: the title matches' games and the 1962 Candidates tournament
The facts on this page come from the sources above, checked against each other. Where the sources disagree, only what they agree on is given. The match results are also checked against the games themselves.
Updated November 8, 2026