Tigran Petrosian

Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian (born 17 June 1929 in Tbilisi; died 13 August 1984 in Moscow) was an Armenian chess master who won the Chess World Championship from Mikhail Botvinnik in 1963. He successfully defended his title against Boris Spassky in 1966 but was defeated by Spassky in 1969. Petrosian was noted for his patient style of play through which he sought to weaken an opponent's position gradually. After losing his world title, he remained an active member of the USSR's Presidium of the Chess Federation. In 1968, he published his book Chess and Philosophy.