Tiger tiger

Petrosian Move by Move is a new book published by Everyman Chess written by the Swedish international master Thomas Engqvist. The book consists of 60 closely annotated games, all wins, by Tigran Petrosian, world champion from 1963 to 1969 and an inspiration for the recent successes of the Armenian team, who have won the Olympiad gold medal on three occasions (2006, 2008 and 2012). Petrosian has a reputation for caution, and his victories were often described as pragmatic or even defensive. Engqvist takes a completely different view, depicting Petrosian as an artist of the chessboard, possessed of a quite idiosyncratic style. When he took risks they were strategic, rather than the type of overly sacrificial attack which at times bedevilled the games of Mikhail Tal, world champion from 1960 to 1961.
 
Engqvist’s notes to this game demonstrate that when Petrosian did go in for a sacrificial attack, he had worked it all out from the start with great precision, rather than relying on intuition or the kind of supercharged guesswork which was sometimes seen in the games of Tal or Spassky.
 
Andersen-Petrosian: Nimzowitsch Memorial, Copenhagen 1960; King’s Indian Defence
 
1 d4 Nf6 2 c4 g6 3 Nc3 Bg7 4 e4 d6 5 f3 c6 6 Be3 e5 7 d5 0-0 8 Qd2 cxd5 9 cxd5 a6 10 0-0-0 b5 11 Kb1 Nbd7 12 Rc1 The immediate 12 g4 looks more to the point. 12 … Nb6 13 Nd1 Nfd7 Black prepares the standard break … f7-f5. 14 g4 f5 15 gxf5 gxf5 16 Bd3 This natural move doesn’t anticipate the coming … Nc4 because of the tempo lost when exchanging on c4, so more logical is therefore 16 Nh3 or 16 Qg2. 16 … Nf6 17 Rc6 Nc4 18 Bxc4 bxc4 19 Nc3 19 Rxc4 is a better alternative which is confirmed by the forced variation 19 … fxe4 20 fxe4 Nxe4 21 Rxe4 Rf1 22 Ne2 Rxh1 23 Ng3 Rxd1+ 24 Qxd1, which leads to an even position. 19 … fxe4 20 fxe4 (see diagram 1) 20 … Nxe4 21 Nxe4 Rf1+ This is the logical move, but not the best. An even stronger move is 21 … Bf5, with the idea of 22 Rxc4 Rc8 and White can’t defend against the numerous threats like 23 … Rxc4 and 23 … Bxe4+ followed by 24 … Rf1+. 22 Kc2 Bf5 23 Qg2 (see diagram 2) 23 … Qh4 More exact is 23 … Qa5 putting pressure on d5 and a2 immediately. After 24 Rxc4 Qxd5 25 b3 Bxe4+ 26 Rxe4 Rf4!! Black
 
wins. The most important concept in the King’s Indian Defence are such ideas which have the purpose of opening up the diagonal for the King’s Indian bishop, particularly when the white king is located on the queenside. 27 Bxf4 leads to a forced win after 27 … Rc8+ 28 Kb2 exf4+ 29 Ka3 Qa5+ 30 Ra4 Qc5+ 31 Rb4 a5 32 Qb7 axb4+ 33 Ka4 Rc7 when White must give up his queen to avoid mate. 24 Rxc4 Qe1 Geometrically speaking, this is a wonderful manoeuvre with the queen from d8-h4-e1 and you can understand it was hard for Petrosian to resist it. 25 Kd3 Rb8 26 Qc2 Qa5 27 Bd2 Qxd5+ 28 Ke2 The most spectacular win now is 28 … Rxb2, with the mating idea 29 Qxb2 Qxc4+ 30 Ke3 Qxe4. 28 … Rf8 29 Nf3 White resigns