Master Class Vol. 13:  Tigran Petrosian

Tigran Petrosian became the 9th world champion in the history of chess after defeating title holder Mikhail Botvinnik in their match in 1963. Six years later, in 1969, he lost the title to Boris Spassky. But Petrosian remained one of the best players in the world for a long time, paticipating several times the Wch cycle. In his games, the native-born Armenian excelled by a very correct playing style, avoiding tactical swindles and aspiring success through superior strategy. Proverbial were Tigran Petrosian’s defense skills. Considered a master of prophylaxis, he sensed dangers long before they actually became acute on the board. In his prime, Petrosian was almost invincible.

If you want to improve your strategic skills and your defensive techniques, there just is no better teacher than Tigran Petrosian. Admired as a folk hero in Armenia, he has been emulated by many players there making the country a leading chess nation. Let our authors (Yannick Pelletier, Mihail Marin, Karsten Müller and Oliver Reeh) introduce you into the world of Tigran Petrosian.

• Video running time: 6 h (English)

• All Petrosian games, short biography

• Petrosian Powerbook: The opening repertoire of the 9th world champion as a variation tree

• Tactics training with 98 Petrosian games: 285 training questions, max. 615 points

System requirements:

Minimum: Pentium III 1 GHz, 1 GB RAM, Windows 7, DirectX9 graphic card with 256 MB RAM, DVD-ROM drive, Windows Media Player 9 and internet connection for program activation. Recommended: PC Intel Core i7, 2.8 GHz, 4 GB RAM, Windows 7 / 8 or 10, DirectX10 graphic card (or compatible) with 512 MB RAM or better, 100% DirectX10 compatible sound card, Windows Media Player 11, DVDROM drive and internet connection for program activation.