Chess Strategy and Tactics: Tigran Petrosian's Amazing Games
What you'll learn
- Be able to see how to avoid losing chess games - especially useful if you really hate the pain of losing!
- Be able to use counterplay reduction plans and prophylaxis, overprotection and restraint to help ensure you do not lose
- Be able to see the dynamic pawn structures like Hanging Pawns in action
- Be able to understand more closed and semi-closed positions and their strategies
- Be able to play the Torre Attack - a relative of the London system through seeing Petrosian's amazing examples
- Be able to appreciate Petrosian's amazing tactical strength and almost cat-light ability to land on his feet from seemingly difficult positions
- Be able to see Tigran Petrosian as an exciting attack player - especially with the emphasis of this course on Petrosian's shorter wins :)
- Be able to see how one of the hardest players historically is so resourceful and tenacious in defence
- Be able to play "simple chess" and welcome queens coming off if no counterplay for opponent
- Be able to play the Black side of the winawer with Petrosian's pet move b6 instead of c5
- Be able to appreciate a World champion who persisted and was leading Kasparov 2 to zero before health issues and Kasparov later equalised their match record
- Be able to play super solid variations of the french defence which can neutralise even Mikhail Tal
- Be able to understand more the Nimozvichian concept of "Restrain, Blockade, Destroy"
- Be able to understand more the Nimzovichian concept of prophylaxis through mysterious rook moves, blockade, and overprotection
- Be able to understand more the concept of positional security in terms of handling threats even before they are conceived by opponent akin to installing alarms
- Be able to understand that Petrosian played original and interesting chess and a fair number of chess miniatures
- Be able to play the Petrosian variation against the King's indian defence which is also a favourite of Vladimir Kramnik
- Be able to value and appreciate the importance of solid openings even at faster time controls. Experience great french defence, caro-kann examples
- Be able to appreciate that despite Petrosian's quiet style, at his heart he was a major tactician
- Be able to appreciate a defensive use of tactics to create pitfalls and traps for opponents in promising positions
- Be able to appreciate some similarities in style and philosophy to Nimzovich who was one of his role models
- Be able to play for win like Petrosian without taking inappropriate risks
- Be able to appreciate the principle of flexibility - making the move you know is essential first to keep all other options open
- Be able to appreciate that often less pieces means less counterplay and less complexity
- Be able to appreciate the importance of pawn breaks especially when stakes are high in World championship match games
- Be able to appreciate how having fewer pawn islands can be an advantage and be used for example to reduce counterplay and get great knight placements
- Be able to appreciate the importance of the "follow up moves" - in terms of plans sometimes being more important than technically more correct moves
- Be able to appreciate that a central pawn island of 1 pawn when 3 pawn islands can shield a central knight from frontal pressure
- Be able to appreciate more Spassky's comment after losing in the 1966 World Championship match that Petrosian was "first and foremost a stupendous tactician"
- Be able to appreciate a more scientific angle on chess with less speculation to find "order and reason" on the chess board at least in a crazy world
- Be able to see how to play against and with different pawn structures
- Be able to neutralise tactical players more effectively by emulating Petrosian's opening choices and playing style to reduce opponent's counterplay
- Be able to see the strength of play behind an eight time candidate World champion and 6 year world champion
Requirements
- Know how the chess pieces move
Description
Immerse yourself in the strategic brilliance of Tigran Petrosian, often hailed as one of the most sophisticated World Chess Champions. Known for his expertise in exchange sacrifice, prophylaxis, and preventative strategies, Petrosian, aka "Iron Tigran", exhibited unparalleled consistency and resourcefulness, making him notoriously difficult to defeat.
This course delves into the world of Petrosian, highlighting his unique playstyle and extraordinary contributions to chess. Reputed as the 'first defender with a capital D' by Vladimir Kramnik, Petrosian's style has left a deep imprint on generations of players. Despite his affinity for draws, his exciting victories showcase a meticulously calculated and risk-free style, offering a refreshing approach to the game.
We carefully curate the most riveting victories from Petrosian's career, showcasing how the chessboard can be a place of logic and control, rather than luck and chance. Inspired by Nimzovich and Capablanca, Petrosian's style underlines the power of gradual advantage accumulation, reducing unnecessary risks, and maintaining control.
Petrosian's legacy goes beyond his lifetime, with his triumphs celebrated in numerous memorial tournaments worldwide. His extraordinary achievements include his victories in two World Championship matches against Botwinnik and Spassky, four Soviet Championship titles, match wins against notable players like Kasparov, Fischer, Karpov, and an impressive overall performance in Olympiad play.
This course prioritizes Petrosian's shorter wins and essential games to offer you a comprehensive understanding of his depth and positional wisdom. Join us in this journey to uncover the secrets of Petrosian's resilient and strategic play, and learn to imbue your games with a touch of 'Iron Tigran' brilliance.
Who this course is for:
- All chess players
Instructor
- 4.6 Instructor Rating
- 2,763 Reviews
- 13,787 Students
- 33 Courses
Tryfon Gavriel, also known as "Kingscrusher" on the Internet. I am a FIDE Candidate Master (CM), and British Regional Chess Master, and run a popular Youtube channel for many years with over 114k+ Subs as of 2021 and a Silver Button Award.
I have done many shows on commercial chess servers. I am also the Webmaster of the correspondence-style chess server Chessworld which emphasizes game quality and research.
Playing experience
Over 35 years of playing activity both online and offline. Peak ICC blitz rating of 2625 (18-Jun-1999). Peak ICC 5 min auto-pairing of 2383 (29-Jun 2012). ECF Grading peak classical: 212 (A) ECF. Peak Rapid rating: 217 (C).
Lichess marathon top 10 finishers in 4 marathons so far. Top 50 finisher in 8 marathons so far. Top 100 finisher in 4 marathons so far. And top 500 in 2 marathons so far. Won quite a few tournaments at lichess - in fact giving me 3rd rank overall behind Lance5500 and papasi in a recent detailed statistical blog analysis titled "Lichess Marathon Statistics".
One of my earliest Over-the-board achievements in Chess was winning the Lloyds Under 18 national UK tournament in 1989. My trophy was awarded to me by Grandmaster and Ph.D. Mathematician Dr John Nunn.
Teaching experience
I have done teaching in Schools and also have done teaching online with several Lichess students on a regular basis, and have a very good coaching rating at lichess.
Other experiences
Played twice in the main British Chess championship. Many of my Youtube viewers claim big rating increases after watching my videos.
Best skills
I particularly love attacking chess, chess tactics, and combinations, and it is probably no accident that my "Complete Guide to Chess Tactics" has been a best-seller shortly after its release here at Udemy.
In general, I will try and give you greater enthusiasm for the game and in particular the dynamic attacking, aggressive tactical aspects of playing chess. My favorite heroes are mainly Attacking style tactical players: Paul Morphy, Alexander Alekhine, Mikhail Tal, Bobby Fischer, and Garry Kasparov. if you want to be a dynamic aggressive attacking style player, I may be able to encourage you and find you relevant resources on that path. The dynamic aggressive attacking players were particularly strong tactically and would often trade off pawn structure neatness and material to try and checkmate the opponent's kings. Checkmate does win the game :) They were masters of finishing combinations naturally as they sought to reduce the king's safety of the opponent in various ways including bringing the King out for often beautiful mating combinations.
Chess Openings
In terms of concrete openings to make use of potentially teaching here at Udemy through courses. I like King-Attacking aggressive openings even with the black pieces like the King's Indian Defence to 1.d4 which my heroes Fischer, Kasparov, and Tal made use of extensively.
As White, I sometimes like Solid openings on such as the London System. I also like provocative openings like the Knight's Tango systems to encourage weaknesses from opponents.
I am also at faster time controls especially, particularly fond of aggressive openings and gambits. For example, the Smith-Morra Gambit vs the Sicilian Defence, and other gambits can be used aggressively even with the black pieces such as the Albin Counter Gambit. Gambits vary of course in soundness and it is important to teach what "ticks many boxes" for use in various time controls. Also, I like surprising opponents with openings such as the Nimzo-Larsen attack, the King's Indian Attack, The London System, and Queen's Knight attack system 1. Nc3, all of which I have courses for here at Udemy.
In the search for the ideal courses to provide you, I like to search within myself for my core strengths and passions within the passion of Chess.
I truly hope you enjoy my courses and they improve your chess and your enjoyment of chess generally - and life generally :)