Tigran Petrosian

Petrosyan is not a tiger that pounces on its prey; rather, he is a python that strangles its prey, or a crocodile that waits for hours for the right moment to deliver a decisive blow… Petrosyan is an outstanding strategist with great combination power, he is not afraid of complications and believes in himself… If Petrosyan begins to combine a little, then it will be impossible to play chess with him

Among all our grandmasters, Petrosyan has the most original and original talent. Petrosyan has an amazing talent: he places his pieces so astutely that all attacks on them turn out to be as difficult as possible. This is a very subtle and rare style, and it is difficult to adapt to it. I failed to do so and lost a match to him in 1963. And Petrosyan is primarily concerned about safety, about depriving his opponent of the opportunity to attack. He does this artistically, without any tension, intuitively and quickly finding ways to neutralize the partner's aggressive plans. If Tal sacrifices a piece, take it. If Petrosian sacrifices a piece, don't take it

Petrosian bypassed the underwater reefs that his opponents set up, skillfully creating positions that required the ability to independently solve problems at the board. Debut preparation combined knowledge of theory and knowledge of human psychology. His ironic remarks about chess players who cannot take a step without the "Chess Informant" are known. He called them "children of the Informant". Perhaps, the ninth world champion was the most dangerous in counterattacks: sometimes he gave his partner the opportunity to show his aggressive aspirations, but then, taking advantage of his partner’s weaknesses in position, he himself went on the counterattack

Petrosyan is, of course, a phenomenal chess talent, he played so deeply and interestingly, sometimes finding ideas for his opponents that absolutely did not occur to them. He knew how to literally "smell" the danger, the threat from afar, which, perhaps, was one of his main features.» Petrosyan's style is very difficult to confuse with another. An amazing interaction of pieces, a fascinating, unhurried game, from which one could expect an explosion at any moment.» The subtlest positional chess player, defensive virtuoso, deep psychologist - this is a shield that is very difficult to break through. Petrosyan has the Capablanca technique, and Schlechter's sense of danger

Petrosian was a chess player with surprisingly subtle flair. Perhaps, for a professional, this is generally the greatest talent. Once Arkady Raikin said: “There are actors who are very popular among the actors themselves, but the public does not accept them at all, they are boring for the public. And among themselves, experts admire them. This, perhaps, applies to Petrosyan. Tigran Vartanovich was just such a chess player and, of course, he had a colossal tactical talent. He was, in general, a strategist, but a tactician by nature. It is to Petrosian's advantage that his opponents never know when he is suddenly going to play like Mikhail Tal

Petrosyan is good at seeing and eliminating danger 20 moves before it occurs! I was struck by Petrosyan's ability, having achieved an excellent position, all the time to find maneuvers that strengthen it. Of course, he is a very subtle player.

Petrosyan knew how to combine as well as Tal, but kept his gift, played purely positional.

Petrosian mastered the art of creating harmonious positions full of life on the board, in which, perhaps, the lack of external dynamics was compensated by colossal internal energy... It is precisely in the harmony of such seemingly incompatible components of chess strategy as, say, the positional sacrifice of an exchange and the use of minimal positional advantages , probably lies the secret of that enormous practical power, that deep penetration into the secrets of chess, which Tigran Vartanovich achieved ... Petrosyan's work contains a lot of valuable things that will help young people master the secrets of higher chess mastery.