chess-The Oxford Companion to Chess - First Edition by David Hooper & Kenneth Whyld

asainst iAENrscn nr the 1840s. Sergei S. Uruso!
(182?-9?) i. 1853 (+2-2) and r859 (+13=1-7),
andllyas. shunov (1819-81) in 1862 (+4 2),but
he never plated thc lcading nasters oI Westero
Europe. An ablc a.alyst. he assisled Jacnisch in
rhe dcvclopmeni of lhe Peffoll Dcfence and other
openingvariations. Pefioff did nottullyretne until
1863. IIe rhen nade a trip to Pans. rnd in the
sunmei Fent ro Dieppe wbere he happcned to
neer a London Chess Club Plarer. D. M. Salter.
As a result they played over 200 games at odds ol
pa$n andtwomoves. salterdesc bedhimastall,
$irhabroad forehead and large greyeyes- addine
that 'goodness and sagacity d{elt on hh face .
Besideshis nicknane the Rlssia. Bou.donnais'
Petoffsas also called the Northem Philidoa. but
ol thc coincidence ol initiahl
Pe,dliirs The Cahe of chess (1824). thc second
book on chcss in the Rusianlanguaee,owednuch
to ptrr rDoR. This handbook, of{hich 300 coties
were printed, consisls of five Partsr I beginaeas
adviceanddennidons;II la*s, a lew short games,
and289 maxims lor playersl lll the openings and
liclitious ganes iron Philidor's bookr lV olhcr
openingsi v endgames, puzles, and problems.
Largely a compiladon irom .arlier Nriters, PeL
roffi book hadlilrle influcnce on lhe deleLopnenl
ollhe gane. Alacsimile reprinloi6,000@pies$as
published in 19?7. He also wrote some a icles
cntitlcd Scenes lrona Chcs-playeasLiIe (1844),
a series th.t was iranslaled manv lines, and a
PETROFF DEFEICE. 5,15. also called the Russian
Defence. Altbough dating lron LUCTNA rhh de'
fence {as not rhoughl satisiaclory for Black until
rAENrscI published an extensive anaiysn in thc
French m Euite Le Polohatle. Apnl 1842. Allcr 3
Nxes PEnoFr discove.ed the true worth ol cozlot
3 d6: he a.d Jaenisch examined lhis mole
rhorouEhly, and it supplanlcd the older m6!es 3
... Nxe4 (Lucena) and 3... Oe7 (Ruy'.6P.2).
Jaenisch ioplies rhal Pel.offwas the ablcr aDalysi,
dnd rhe name seems aPpropriatc. The deience
scrued its turn in rhe lli4os (to avoid the scorcn
c^irBr) and in thc 1850s Go aloid tnc sPANrsr
opExrNc). It nrt occured in a wond Champion
ship match in 1969 whenplaycdby pElRostAN. and
has been played by ! few orher erandmasle4
including (ARrcv. bur has never achicvcd wide
populadry (Sce hDDER MArri s.HLt.drERl
PDTROSYAN. T'GR,\N VARTANOVICH
(1929- ), Sovier player, International Grandmaste.
(19s2), wond champion 1963 9. Hewasborn
in Tbilisi oi Arnenian parents.'lhcy taught hin
draughts and backglmmo. wben he was 4 and he
believed thcsc eames se.e excellent Preparation
lor chess which he leamed a llw yca( latcr. Hh
pare.ts died betore he sas l6 and needing to help
the resr ol rhe hnily he took his fatheas job d
PE'T'ROSYAN 247
careakcr olan omcerJ hone. He lbundconsota-
11on in chess and soon beBan to sin lunior evcnts
and local chanpionships. ln 1946 hc aent on hh
ownlolileatYereva.. havi.gbeetrlouchedby the
enrhusiasm olArmenian supportersvhen he {ent
thcre io play, and three years latcr he moved to
Moscow. There he won thc City championshiP in
1951. cane second (+8:7-2) equaL with cErLEn
alter GRrs in the USSR ChanPionship latcr thai
ycar. and took seond Place (+7=13) equal with
rArM^\o! alter (orov in thc Salisjdbadeninterzon
aI1952. The you.eest ol15 cNDrDAra, he took
litrb place (+6=18-4) ar Nenhausen-zurich 1953.
onc of the strongesl four tournanents held uP to
thar tine. Tbese achicvements placed hiF among
the world's best seven or eigbt playcn
A\ if he h:d dme roo far too lasl his career
seemed ro pause.ln hisnext interzonal, Cdleborg
1955, c.tegory 12. be came Iourth (+5=15) and
qualll]ed for the cateEor! 15 Candidates tourna
;ent. AmsterLlam 1956. in whicb he sored
+3=13 2 .nd sharcd third place. There sas
almosr a repeat Frlomance in the .ext championship
.ycle: he shared third place i. ihe
Pon.roi inrep.n.l 1958. afld came thnd
(+7:17 ,l) in the lollowins Candidaks rour.ament.
?etrosyan was, howeler, naking advanccs
on the home lront. He rvon the Moscos Championship
oI 1956 and had oulstanding .esnlrs in
lonr consecutive USSR championships, all about
catesory 12 or 13:1958, second (+5=12) afterrALi
1959. fist (+8=11):1960, seNnd (+10:?-2)
cqual sith Geller atter (oRc!^-ori aDd 1961.6rst
(+9=9 1). 411he Srockbolm inte.zonal 1962 he
scored +8=14. shared second Place, andbecanc a
Candidaie for the four$ linei thcn, at Cumaao
1962 (abour curegory 16), hc took nrsl place
(+8=19) and .r last be.amc chaileneer.
His *orld championship match against Boflr\-
Nr( loot placc in 1963. and aitera struggle lasting
1vo nonrhs Petrosyan lvon the titlc (+5=15-2).
Hc paid libute 1o BoLBLAvs(y\ 'invaluable belp'
as trainer and second. During his chanPiodship
yelrs Petrosyan conpeled in seven sftonc inleinationat
lournanents: he DlaYed as a champion
shonid at Los Angeles 196! (about caresory 1s)-
sonng +4=9 I ro tie vith Keres tor li6l Prize.
bul his only olhcrnBt plae *as al Buenos Aircs
1964. when he scored +8=9andshared theiclory
xith Keres. In 1966 hc mer his fi6t challenSer,
spAssn. By sinnins (+1=17 3), Pebosyan
becamc rhe nst world champion sincc rErNrrz lo
delear his closen rival in natcb pia, In 1968 he
won the Moscos Ciampionship (+6=9) lor ihe
lhnd imc. In 1969, neeting Spassky aganr,
Peh.sv:n l{rst , nrlch lhat cnded on his lorrieth
bnthd;,y (17 Junelr latc.thatyearheagainronlhe
UssR championship (+6:16),.fter a play-off in
rhlch hc dereat€d rolucaEvsn (+2:3-0.
Petrosyan was selected as Candidate lor the nelt
iwo chanpionship cy.les, and behad no difnculty
qualilyi.g subs cque n t ly i bu t he was le s succcsstul
in rhc Candidates natches: in l9rl hc defeated