Traps, Tricks & Mistakes: Seasoned Master

This post is a collaboration with Mr Andrew Crosby who is an expert in chess gambits.
Andrew usually plays them in his games with great success. In addition, he is an active member of our virtual Chess.com club taking part in our online tournaments and matches.
.


Young chess players enjoy games with brilliant attacks and unexpected piece sacrifices. On the other hand, they tend to consider games with positional manoeuvring as boring, most likely because young players have yet to master the technique of positional play. This premise provides the background to today’s game.

Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian (1929-1984) was a Soviet GM and World Champion in the period 1963-1969. Because of his almost impenetrable defensive playing style, his contemporaries nicknamed him “Iron Petrosian”. The importance of safety and prophylactic play (inspired by Nimzowitsch) dominate many of his games. This style of play made him highly successful in avoiding defeats but was criticised as dull. However, it concealed the deep and cunning aspects of his play.

Two very different styles clashed in today’s game. The eighteen year old prodigy Kasparov’s attacking abilities against the refined defensive technique of the fifty two year old seasoned champion. Kasparov skillfully conducts the game probing for for weaknesses in his opponent’s position. He gained a long-lasting initiative and built a strong attack. However, Petrosian was able to resist his impulsive opponent. Enjoy the game which includes some of Kasparov’s own comments:

Why didn’t Kasparov win that game with his crushing attack which was confirmed by the post-match analysis? Mainly because he underestimated Petrosian’s defensive resources. He got into time trouble and was unable to find the decisive responses to Petrosian’s resilient moves. This game proved to be Petrosian’s last famous victory, a miraculous escape against the young Kasparov.


If you enjoy chess but are unable to attend a local club, then join our virtual Chess.com club. On our site, we regularly play online tournaments and team matches. There is also Blitz every last Saturday in the month. More than 720 members enjoy that chance and new players join every week. There are new tournaments for the coming months that need players! Join now! Limited slots!

You may also like...