Chess Classics

Python Strategy
By

Tigran Petrosian

Quality Chess
www.qualitychess.co.uk

Contents
Biographical Data & Key to symbols used

Editors Foreword by Oleg Stetsko 5

Compilers Foreword by Eduard Shekhtman 6
The Logic of Talent by Nikolai Krogius 7
The Man I Knew by Svetozar Gligoric 10
A Journey Across the Street by Nikolai Tarasov 14

Selected Games
1
1945-1948
2
1949-1951
3
1952-1953
4
1954-1956
5 1957-1958
6 1959-1960
7 1961-1962
8 1963
9 1964-1965
10 1966
11 1967-1968
12 1969
13 1970-1972
14 1973-1974
15 1975-1978
16 1979-1982

21
31
51
68
92
117
148
166
196
207
231
241
272
314
327
350

Appendix Under the Microscope of the Computer by Karsten Mueller 369

Game Index
381
Name Index
384
Index of Openings
387
Petrosians Tournament and Match Results
388

Compilers Foreword
In December 1983 Tigran Petrosian finally decided to write a book. He agreed to do so when
urged by Viktor Chepizhnoi, the chess director of the Physical Culture and Sport publishing
house. Chepizhnois arguments were convincing, but the Champion already understood perfectly
well that the moment had come: he had already collected and classified practically all the games he
had ever played (they came to around two thousand). For roughly a quarter of them, annotations
had been written, albeit in a compressed (Informator-style) arrangement.
For this book Petrosian wanted to annotate roughly 30-40 more games; together with those
published earlier, these would constitute the nucleus of the work. But his life took a different
turn. Tigran Vartanovich had been feeling unwell for some time. His play was off form, his games
showed some strange kinds of errors, some inexplicable blunders. An examination showed that he
was incurably ill. His robust frame endured two operations and he returned home. New plans, the
desire to play, to write, to work... Up until his final moments he didnt realize he was dying. Word
came through that Petrosian had been admitted to the Interzonal Tournament. He asked his wife
Rona Yakovlevna to find out where and when it was going to be. He was already back in hospital,
his strength was giving out, but he refused to believe he would not get up again.
On Monday 13 August 1984, the ninth World Champion breathed his last.
The book that Tigran Vartanovich would have written might well have been quite different from
the one before you. I merely know that he did not want to alter anything in his old annotations,
which reflect the spirit of their time. He wished for chronology to be strictly observed...
From the most varied sources it was possible to collect an extensive amount of material, the
majority of it written by Petrosian himself. A number of games are annotated by his closest
assistants Isaak Boleslavsky and Igor Zaitsev, and also by some other Grandmasters. In what
follows, all games are annotated by Petrosian unless otherwise stated at the start of the game.
As a rule, Petrosians annotations were written hot on the heels of the games for bulletins,
special issues, magazines. In preparing this book he didnt want to adapt them to a present-day
format. Hence expressions like the investigations of the past few years must be taken as relating
to the time when the game in question was played. In some cases where the notes to games were
incomplete, the compiler or editor introduced some minor corrections, additions or alterations.
The introductory articles were written by people closely acquainted with Petrosian. Grandmasters
Nikolai Krogius and Svetozar Gligoric spent many pleasant hours with Tigran Vartanovich; they
took part in many chess battles together with him. Nikolai Tarasov was linked to Petrosian by
long years of friendship. They both put much effort and energy into reviving the publication of a
chess weekly. The first issue of 64 appeared in 1968. Petrosian became its first editor, and Tarasov,
a journalist by profession, took charge of the young editorial team.
I am sincerely indebted to Rona Yakovlevna Petrosian, who greatly helped in the collecting of
material for this book. I hope this account of the ninth World Champions contribution to chess
will make for interesting reading.
Eduard Shekhtman

Chapter 6
1959-1960
In January 1959 the capital of Georgia hosted the final of the 26th USSR Championship. It was
distinguished by an exceptionally strong field of contestants. This was the result of the special
conditions that had emerged in the Soviet chess organization. The point is that after many years
of Botvinniks hegemony, a period had begun in which in the World Champions own opinion
you could not name any one player who incontestably surpassed the rest. A further point is
that the star of Mikhail Tal was already shining brightly in the chess firmament. The winner of
the two preceding Soviet Championships and the Interzonal Tournament in Portoroz had given
brilliant displays of attacking chess. Would Tal succeed in winning gold in the Championship
of the Soviet Union for the third time running? The tournament in Tbilisi was to answer this
question, which indeed became a leading theme of the exciting struggle.
Petrosian coped splendidly with the task that faced him. Once again he went through
a tournament without a single loss, and this time he scored eight wins! In his new status as
Champion of the USSR, looking back on the past years work and the flood of emotions in
his little homeland, Petrosian gave a brief interview to a correspondent of the Moscow Chess
magazine.
Its a pleasant thing to be successful in my native city at the same time as upholding the
sporting honour of Moscow. I spent my childhood in Tbilisi; my early chess years were passed
here. The Muscovites as well as the Tbilisi fans were on my side. This gave me an edge over the
other contestants.
Over the past year Ive done a lot of work on my chess style, Ive been reconsidering my
approach to the game. In the 26th Championship I tried to play more aggressively than in
previous ones.
***
An assessment of his play published by the World Champion was encouraging and pleasant for
Petrosian. In an article On a Chessplayers Style, published in the magazine Ogonyok (The
Firebrand) right after the Tbilisi tournament, Botvinnik wrote:
Tigran Petrosians style to some extent recalls that of Capablanca, Flohr and perhaps Smyslov.
How is this to be explained, what do the styles of these players have in common? Chessplayers of
this type make use of their chief strength which is their superiority in the understanding of the
position. They accordingly strive to obtain positions where the time factor and the tactical element
are not of crucial importance, where they can construct plans that are based on a solid foundation
and lead to victory by stages of iron logic. With players in the Alekhine and Tal mould, on the

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118

other hand, everything resides in dynamics;

the time factor and combinative vision are
of decisive significance. I put everything in
inverted commas deliberately, since players of
this second type cannot be successful without
possessing good positional flair and technique,
just as those of the first type cannot do without
being astute and strong tacticians.
Naturally if Petrosian were solely a specialist
in the department of the positional struggle
without being a resourceful tactician at the
same time, he would not have been able to
gain such a convincing victory in Tbilisi!

GAME 46
Tigran Petrosian Jacob Yukhtman
Tbilisi 1959

1.d4 f6 2.c4 g6 3.c3 g7 4.e4 d6 5.e2

00 6.f3 e5 7.d5 a6
The knight can go to c5 not only from d7
but also from a6. This way it doesnt obstruct
the c8-h3 diagonal for the queens bishop.
8.g5 h6 9.h4 g5 10.g3 h5 11.d2
f4 12.00 c5 13.g4

13...a5?!

This move shows that Black is pinning all his

hopes on the strong position of the knight on
f4. Indeed the knights position on that square
appears unshakeable. If White exchanges on f4
with his bishop, it means granting a splendid
diagonal to Blacks bishop on g7 after the
e5-pawn recaptures. Some time later it was
found that instead of 13...a5 Black can play
13...xg4 14.xg4 h5! 15.f5 h4 16.xf4
exf4 17.f3 f6! (the only way not
17...f6??, and not 17...f6 18.g3 with advantage
to White) with possibilities of defence.
14.f3!
We can now trace the outline of Whites
subsequent actions. The bishop on g3 will
move away, handing the square to the g-pawn.
The knight on f4 will not be able to maintain
itself, and without it Black cannot count on
activity. For White, the plan is simple: he must
try to bring a knight to e3, from where f5 is
just one step away.
Examining the rest of this game, you will not
see a white knight on f5. Dont be astonished.
In practical chess, unrealized plans sometimes
play a greater role than those that are enacted
before your eyes.
14...cd3? 15.c2 c6 16.h1 h5 17.xc8
xc8

Chapter 6 1959-1960

119

18.a3!
An unobtrusive but important move. White
wants to exchange bishop for knight without
letting Black recapture with his e-pawn. Right
now, of course, 18.xf4 would be answered by
the intermediate move 18...b4. Then after
19.b3 exf4 White wouldnt even have the
modest satisfaction of snatching the b7-pawn,
since 20.a3 a6 21.xb7 would allow his
queen to be trapped by 21...c5 22.a7 a8.

employed by White wins virtually by force.

But for a long time no satisfactory antidote to
it could be found.
10

18...cxd5 19.cxd5 c5 20.f2 g4 21.g3

g6
White would meet 21...fd3 with 22.xc5!.
Incidentally the simple 22.e3 is also good.

1.f3 f6 2.c4 g6 3.c3 g7 4.e4 00

5.d4 d6 6.e2 e5 7.d5 a6 8.g5 h6 9.h4
c5 10.d2 d7
An inaccuracy; 10...c7 at once is better.

22.fxg4 hxg4 23.e3

11.b5 e8
The defects of 10...d7 make themselves
felt already. The bishop has to withdraw to e8
because the straightforward 11...xb5 doesnt
stand up to criticism from the positional
viewpoint; after 12.cxb5 White acquires the
crucial strategic square c4 for the use of his
knight in perpetuity. On the other hand
after 11...e7 it would be hard for Black to
rid himself of the pin on the h4-d8 diagonal
and prepare the ...f7-f5 advance.

Blacks position is lost, and few players

in such a situation would be willing to wait
around for some stroke of luck.
23...b5 24.xb5 b6 25.a4!
White has an extra pawn as well as an
overwhelming position. This means the curtain
will soon come down.
25...a6 26.c4 f5 27.xf5 xf5 28.exf5
b7 29.g2 b3 30.cxd6 d7 31.f1
Black resigned. The reader should guard
against any impression that the system

GAME 47
Tigran Petrosian Anatoly Lutikov
Tbilisi 1959

12.a3 d7
Black makes this awkward move to escape
from the pin. A better move appears to be
12...c7, after which White should continue
with 13.c3 (there is no point in exchanging
knights, as the black queen would land on the
natural square c7), and if 13...a6 then 14.b4!.
13.g4 c7
But this time 13...h7 deserved preference,
with the positional threat of ...g7-f6-g5. In
reply, White intended 14.g3.
14.c3 a6 15.a4 c8
Black could of course shut down the
queenside with 15...a5, but White would still

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Python Strategy

have the possibility of taking the initiative on

the kingside, while Black would be deprived
of counterplay and effectively condemned to
passive defence.

16.h3!
This modest-looking move is a difficult
one to find, and deserves its exclamation
mark. White intends to transfer his queens
knight to e3. But to carry out this manoeuvre
he needs to free the square d1, and that in
turn requires protection to be given to the
g4-pawn. Moreover if Black subsequently
plays ...f7-f5, then after exchanges on f5
White will have the move g4 at his disposal.
A strong alternative to 16.h3 was 16.g5,
striving for a direct attack on the enemy kings
position.
16...b8 17.c2 d7 18.b3 b6 19.d1
White consistently pursues his plan without
being afraid of Blacks ...b6-b5.
19...b5 20.a5
A familiar device. White confines the black
queens knight, which has no suitable squares.
20...h8
A critical moment. Black could have played
20...bxc4 21.bxc4 b4, which doesnt look bad
on the face of it. But the white knight would

then alter its route: by playing 22.b2 and

23.d3 White could take the initiative on the
queenside. With the knight on d3, another
possibility would be opened up for him:
preparation, after g3, for f2-f4.
21.g3 g8 22.e3 e7
At this point it would have made more sense
to go in for 22...bxc4 23.bxc4 b4, although
even then, after 24.c3 and 25.c2, the rook
on b4 would be driven back.
23.h4
An immediate 23.b4 looked tempting.
However, this would be met by 23...f5! 24.bxc5
f4! 25.cxd6 fxe3 26.fxe3 (if 26.dxe7, then
26...exd2 27.xd2 f7, and Whites
seemingly formidable position is not as good
as all that) 26...cxd5 27.exd5 xd5, with
unclear and complex play.
23...e8
Black evidently supposes that all is quiet
on the battle front. Otherwise he would have
returned his knight to g8. White then planned
to continue with 24.00, and if 24...f6 then
25.xf6 xf6 26.f4! (26.b4! is also good)
26...e8 27.f5 g5 28.b4!.
24.b4!

Chapter 6 1959-1960
What is Black to do now? On 24...cxb4,
play continues: 25.c5! c8 (other moves are
even worse, for instance 25...dxc5 26.xc5,
or 25...c8 26.c6) 26.c6! (Better than
26.xe7 xe7 27.c6 e8, when breaching
Blacks position is not so easy for the moment.
Similarly after 26.cxd6 cxd5 27.dxe7 xc2
28.exf8= xf8 29.xc2 f4 or even, in
this line, 27...xe3 28.exf8= xf8 29.xc8
xc8 30.fxe3 the outcome of the struggle
is still far from clear, as White has difficulty
co-ordinating the actions of his pieces.)
26...xc6 27.dxc6 xc6, and in the resulting
position the three pawns are insufficient
compensation for a piece.
Black therefore endeavours to cover the
Achilles heel of his position the point d6.
24...c8 25.bxc5 dxc5 26.cxb5 xb5
White would answer 26...xb5 simply with
27.xc5.
27.xb5 xb5
Black would retain more practical chances of
successful defence after 27...xb5.
28.00 f5 29.f3 f7
It was essential to play 29...h5, trying to
create some counterplay on the kingside at any
cost.
30.dc4 b4
After this move Blacks position is hopeless, as
White carries out the indispensable regrouping
of his pieces with gain of tempo.
31.e1 b7 32.c3 h5
This is now merely a desperate gesture.
33.gxf5 gxf5 34.exf5 e4
A last attempt to confuse the issue.
35.h2

121

Another possibility of course was 35.fxe4

xc3 36.xc3 g7 37.h2 xe4 38.f6,
and White wins. But by this time all roads
lead to Rome.
35...exf3 36.xf3 d4 37.d3 f6 38.g1
h7 39.xf6 xf6 40.c3 f8 41.g6 f7
Here the game was adjourned.
42.g5
Black resigned without resuming. On
42...h6, the continuation would be 43.g6
f8 44.e5 with an easy win.
10

GAME 48
Tigran Petrosian Nikolai Krogius
Tbilisi 1959

1.d4 f6 2.f3 g6 3.c4 g7 4.c3 d5

5.g5
Nikolai Krogius is a good connoisseur of
theory. When playing him it is therefore
psychologically correct to choose variations
that have been less investigated. The move
in the game, though not new, is employed
comparatively rarely. That is why White
selected it.
5...e4 6.cxd5
White can also keep a slight edge with 6.f4.
6...xg5
A more complicated game results from
6...xc3 7.bxc3 xd5 8.e3. In that case the
harmonious development of Whites pieces
and his pawn trio in the centre ensure him
good prospects as was demonstrated in
Petrosian Filip, Bucharest 1953.
7.xg5 e6 8.f3 exd5 9.e3 00 10.d3
c6 11.00 e7 12.b4 f5?

122

Python Strategy

Blacks manoeuvre with ...c6-e7 is not bad

in itself, but it turns out that he is associating
it with the faulty idea of exchanging the lightsquared bishops after which White acquires
a large positional plus by simple means. Black
should have played 12...g4.
13.xf5 xf5

14.b5
It becomes clear that after 14.b5 and 15.b3
Black cannot do without playing ...c7-c6
sooner or later. But the Carlsbad pawn on
c6 will then be a weakness in his camp, and he
will constantly have to worry about it. The fact
that his bishop on g7 is practically shut out
of the game for a long time also plays a very
important role.
14...d6 15.b3 e7 16.fc1 h8?
The point of this move is hard to understand.
17.c2 h6
It emerges that after Blacks unnecessary
king move to h8 he is virtually compelled to
play 17...h6, as otherwise, after transferring his
rook from f8 to the queenside (as he must),
he would have to reckon with the unpleasant
threat of e3-e4 and a subsequent g5.
18.ac1 c6

19.a4
White didnt want to exchange pawns
at once, as after 19.bxc6 bxc6 20.a4 (or
20.e2) 20...b8 Black would obtain some
counter-chances. White therefore strives to
improve his position to the maximum, making
a series of useful moves to this end. Should
Black exchange pawns himself on b5, a chronic
weakness on d5 will be the result.
19...ab8 20.g3
White has no reason to hurry. A loophole for
his king will be essential in any case.
20...h7 21.c5 fd8
White now wins a pawn by force. However,
Black would also have a very difficult position
after 21...b6 22.d3 cxb5 23.xb5 fc8
24.xc8 xc8 25.xc8 xc8 26.f4 e7
27.e8.
22.bxc6 bxc6 23.a4 f6 24.g2
Of course 24.e5 was also playable, picking
up one of the pawns at once.
24...a8
Its a sorry state of affairs when you have to
make moves like this, but there is no other way
to defend the a-pawn.
25.b7 e8 26.a5 g5

Chapter 6 1959-1960
Finally recognizing that the c6-pawn is
doomed, Black tries to work up at least some
play on the kingside.
27.h3
There was no particular need for this move,
but White wants to win in complete comfort.
27...f5 28.xc6 e4 29.c5 f5 30.c2
xc6 31.xc6 f4
Black desperately exerts himself to create at
least a semblance of counterplay, but Whites
pieces are superbly placed and he has nothing
to fear.
32.exf4 gxf4 33.g4 xd4

The bishop has come to life at last. Perhaps

things arent all that bad for Black? The next
few moves prove that they are. The black
pieces are thrown back, and White achieves a
completely won position.
34.d2 g7 35.e1 a4 36.xd5 xe1
37.xe1 f8 38.f3
A triumph of centralization! Even the black
queen has no move of any use.
38...h8 39.c7 a6 40.b7 g8 41.h4
Black resigned.
10

123

Python Strategy

208

GAME 75
Boris Spassky Tigran Petrosian
Moscow (7) 1966

In the process of a tournament struggle, when

the play abounds in fine psychological nuances,
the following stratagem is possible though not
without its dangers. Play an opening that your
opponent has thoroughly studied, in the hope
that by fighting against his own weapon he
will be struggling not only with real dangers
but also partly with imaginary ones. Spassky
adopted this approach against me a few times
in the course of our World Championship
matches. It was only natural that he should not
neglect the variation we are going to see now.
1.d4 f6 2.f3 e6 3.g5
Someone commented that this choice of
variation was inviting Petrosian to play in the
yard of the house where he had grown up.
3...d5 4.bd2 e7 5.e3 bd7 6.d3 c5
7.c3 b6

Dont go looking for a contradiction between

this move and what I recommended in the
notes to Petrosian Liublinsky (game 8).
Black has no objection to a knight invading

on e5, on condition that he himself has not yet

castled. On the other hand there is no better
square for the queens bishop than b7. So with
a choice of two good moves, I decided to play
the one that Spassky, probably, was not very
much expecting.
8.00 b7 9.e5 xe5 10.dxe5 d7
11.f4
White is following a familiar path. The pawn
is transferred to e5, and the dark-squared
bishop is retained for the coming fight. But
there is one very big but. Black has not yet
castled, and this, at bottom, denies White
any prospects for using his e5-pawn as an
active instrument. On the contrary, Whites
advanced post becomes an object of attack.
However much the commentators might have
raged afterwards, it would have been more
sensible to steer the game into a placid channel
by exchanging bishops on e7, following
with f2-f4, and renouncing ambitious
plans.
11...c7
A more resolute line was 11...g5 12.g3 h5,
forcing 13.h3 after which Blacks position is
highly attractive.
12.f3 h6!
A reminder that the attack with the g- and
h-pawns has not been removed from the
agenda.
13.g3 g5! 14.b4!?
A good sign. By offering a pawn sacrifice,
White is virtually admitting that he is already
displeased with the course of the struggle,
the character of the play. For Black, there is
no sense in accepting the pawn sacrifice and
handing the initiative to his opponent. After
14...cxb4 15.cxb4 xb4 16.d4, Backs extra
pawn would be unable to play a serious part for
a long time to come, while Whites attacking

Chapter 10 1966
chances involving a queen sortie to g4 or
h5, the occupation of the c-file by a rook, and
a possible advance of the f-pawn would be
more than substantial. Of course if Black had
no other, more active plan, then he could take
the pawn and try to demonstrate that he had a
perfectly defensible position.
14...h5

15.h4
Also after the natural 15.h3, White would
be unable to hold on to his e5-pawn in view
of the advance of Blacks g-pawn, which would
be inevitable sooner or later. Just now, Black is
not tempted by the variation 15...g4 16.g5
xe5 17.b5.
15...gxh4 16.f4
For the moment, White has secured the
defence of the e5-pawn.
16...000!
A characteristic moment in the game. The
players have extracted the maximum from the
forces already developed, but the rooks are
still out of play, and finding a place for them
is the top priority. Viewed in this light, the
fact that stands out is that by capturing on h4
Black has secured the g-file for a rook. Spassky
appears not to have grasped this feature of the

209

position, as otherwise, for better or worse, he

would have exchanged on c5, so as to open
the b-file if Black recaptured with the pawn.
On the other hand if a black piece appeared
on c5, White could send his a-pawn into
battle.
17.a4?

17...c4!
When the game was over, I discovered
that this move had astonished those present.
Indeed its drawback is obvious: the d4-square
becomes the property of the white pieces. But
only in name, I would add. White cannot
derive any benefit from stationing his queen
or, let us say, a rook on this square. What of
the knight, a piece which is especially well
placed on blockade squares of this type? In the
present case the knight is denied the possibility
of going to d4, as it is occupied first and
foremost with defending the e5-pawn. Thus
Blacks hands are freed for operations in the
g-file. Examining the way the game continues
from here, we should not forget about one
threat that is constantly in the air the threat
to bring Blacks bishop to g7, winning what
is not the pride but the weakness of Whites
position, his pawn on e5.
18.e2?

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Python Strategy

White had the excellent move 18.f5!

available. If Black were to snap at the bait
with 18...exf5 19.e6 d6 20.xd6 xd6
21.exd7 xd7, he would emerge two pawns
up but that is when White would play
22.d4! and stand at any rate no worse. In that
position the difference in strength between the
bishop and knight would be great, and Blacks
pawn weaknesses would be irreparable. The
most intriguing thing is that Spassky saw
18.f5 and demonstrated it immediately after
the game was over. Nevertheless he decided
against transferring his bishop to h3 (should
Black decline to capture on f5). On h3 the
bishop would be rather unaesthetically placed,
resembling some odd kind of overgrown
pawn. Yet it would be fulfilling an important
function as the defender of the pawn
on g2.
18...a6!
Properly speaking, this unobtrusive move
contains the essence of Blacks plan. Now
no matter how White handles his a- and
b-pawns, he will not be able to open lines on
the queenside. This means that from now on
the game will be played with only one pair of
goal-posts.
19.h1 dg8 20.g1 g4 21.d2 hg8
22.a5 b5 23.ad1 f8 24.h2 xe5
25.xg4 hxg4 26.e4
The idea of 26...dxe4 27.xe5 xe5
28.d8# can hardly be called a trap it is too
obvious. Whites last move can therefore be
regarded as an attempt to open at least some
file or other for a rook.
26...d6 27.e3 d7 28.xd6 xd6
29.d4
It looks as if some serious hopes have arisen
for White the g4-pawn is threatened.
29...e5 30.d2 f5!

31.exd5
Here 31.exf5 f6 32.h6 was a shade
better. But even so, with 32...d8 followed
by 33...h8, Black would maintain a superb
attacking position. We may note that the
threat to push the d-pawn in conjunction with
...h4-h3 would be hanging over White like the
sword of Damocles. Now at least the bishop
on b7 is shut out.
31...f4 32.e4 f6 33.f5 b8 34.f3
A cute variation is 34.e6 xe6 35.dxe6
e4, threatening 36...xf2 and 37...g3#!
34...c8 35.b1 g3 36.e1 h3 37.f1 h8
38.gxh3 xh3 39.g1 xf1 40.xf1 e4
41.d1 g4 42.fxg4 f3 43.g2
Unhappy rook! It was no use to its own
army, and now in despair it sacrifices itself
without rescuing anything.
43...fxg2
White resigned.
01