The Chess Mind

Were he still alive, Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian, the 10th World Chess Champion, would be 80 years old today. In a cruel irony, it was exactly 40 years ago - on Petrosian's 40th birthday, that he lost his title to Boris Spassky. A game from that match might be the topic of another week's lecture, but tonight we will of course look at a more successful performance by the enigmatic Armenian.



Petrosian was nicknamed "the boa constrictor" for the remarkable way in which he could suffocate even the greatest opponents over the chessboard. In an incredible number of games, Petrosian would gain a space advantage, eliminate the opponent's dynamic possibilities, and then squeeze the dried bones of the enemy position until they collapsed. Indeed, this style gave him a twofold gift. The first was his tremendous ability, and he'd have had that aside from any questions of style. But because his way of playing was so unusual, it posed a further problem for his opponents. They just couldn't figure out how to play against him! Both Botvinnik in 1963 and Spassky in 1966 complained about this after losing world championship matches to him, and it was only in 1969 that Spassky finally managed to get enough of a handle to overcome him and take the title.

Yet for six years, Petrosian was the champion, and was the first player since Alekhine in 1934 to win a title match as champion. Rather than looking at the 1966 match, however, we'll look at his first win in the 1963 match, against Botvinnik. He had lost the first game of the match, in part due to nervousness, but by game five he had himself under control. As the game left the opening and went almost immediately to an ending, Petrosian didn't seem to have very much. No one would have been surprised by a quick draw - but that's not how things worked out. As we'll see, Petrosian went on to win a masterpiece, one characteristic of his style. As you'll see, it was not only a beautiful and instructive game, but a humorous one as well - and I think that too is characteristic of his style. But see for yourself, and let me know if you agree.

But how to watch? I'm glad you asked, and am pleased to report that it's quite simple. Log on to the Playchess server tonight (Wednesday night at 9 p.m. ET, which is equivalent to 3 a.m. CET for those of you on the other side of the pond), go to the Broadcast room, and either look for Petrosian-Botvinnik under the Games tab or "Initiative" (that's me) under the Player tab. The show is free; hope to see you there!

Perhaps the recent Chinese Championship was somewhat overshadowed by Leon, Poikovsky and the Leko-Anand rapid match, but it was probably the most intriguing event of them all. In a GM-laden field with three players who have been over 2700 (one of whom, Wang Hao, was having the tournament of a lifetime), it was an untitled teenager [I've heard both 15 and 16 - did he have his birthday during the tournament?] who came from behind and won.

That youngster, Ding Liren, won the event with 8½/11 and a near-2800 TPR, defeating Wang Hao in the penultimate round to put a cap on an incredible tournament. He received a terrible gift in the last round (a forfeit win when his opponent showed up a couple of minutes late), but considering that he was undefeated and beat three of the four highest-rated players in the tournament, his success was no fluke.

On the assumption that this tournament was the first major success of a promising career, it's worth having a first look at his chess. For our show this week, we'll examine the game that decided the championship: his win over Wang Hao. Needing a win (he was 1½ points behind with just two rounds to play!) he didn't go head-hunting, but played healthy positional chess, taking what was offered and making progress a little at a time. It was a fine game, and an excellent example of how to play in such a situation.

To tune in and join in the fun, here's what to do:

(1) Log on to the Playchess server at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday night/3 a.m. CET Thursday morning.
(2) Go to the Broadcast Room.
(3) Select Ding Liren-Wang Hao from the Games tab or double-click on my nickname, Initiative, under the Players tab.
(4) Watch and enjoy!

Svetozar Gligoric (b. 1923) was for many years in the world’s elite – three times a Candidate, for starters – and had he not lost about six years of his life to the ravages of World War II, it’s conceivable that the ultimate crown would have been his. Even so, he was a great player whose contributions to the game’s theory and praxis were considerable.

Thanks to great players like Gligoric, our understanding of opening theory is far deeper than it would have been. Positions that might have been mysterious to masters 50 years ago now strike amateurs as if the right way to handle them were as obvious as the multiplication tables. Yet the depth of great players’ understanding is not only revealed by their having figured out for themselves what we have learned by their example, but also by what they do in positions that still haven’t been pre-packaged for the general public.

The game we’ll look at this week, Gligoric-Tolush (from a Leningrad team tournament in 1957), puts both qualities on display. At some moments of this fine game, Gligoric’s play is recognizable to all (or almost all) of us. While attractive and very well calculated, the way he prosecutes the attack in the middle game will have a familiar look to most of us. Maybe we couldn’t have finished the job ourselves, but it will all make good sense. The real trick in this game is the way Gligoric set things up. It doesn’t take all that long, but the way he gets there is a brilliant combination of logic in the opening and non-stereotyped thinking a few moves later. It is here above all that he demonstrates his class as a chess thinker.

Sound interesting? The details will be filled in tonight – Wednesday night – at 9 p.m. ET (or 3 a.m. CET Thursday morning, for my European viewers) on the Playchess server. To watch, log on at the appropriate time, go to the Broadcasts Room, and either double-click on my handle (“Initiative”) or on Gligoric-Tolush in the Games list. Hope to see you there!