New York Times, New York, New York, Tuesday, June 20, 1972 - Page 80
Chess: Despite Petrosian's Record, He Is Only a Fischer Victim by Al Horowitz
Tigran Petrosian of the Soviet Union, the former world champion, has been a top-ranking player for more than 20 years, but he is probably best known to thousands of new chess fans around the world as Bobby Fischer's latest victim—the man whom Fischer defeated and so earned his forthcoming title match against Boris Spassky, the current champion.
Fischer beat Petrosian 6½-2½ in a match held last November in Buenos Aires. The match was tied at the end of five games, but Fischer won four in a row at the end.
Fischer's Style Analyzed
Fischer's previous victims have all remained silent about their dismal experiences against him, but Petrosian, in a long article in the Soviet journal 64, speaks freely about the encounter in Buenos Aires.
His comments about the haggling over the site of the match and about the play itself was strongly colored by his chagrin at the outcome. He also offers, however, an analysis of Fischer's style that, if not entirely objective, is at least a clue to the kind of coaching Spassky will receive before his match with the American challenger.
“Among top-ranking American players,” Petrosian writes, “the ones with the largest repertoires have, as a rule, the greatest chances for success. It is easier for one who has played the greatest variety of positions to cope with a new situation. Thus the player with the greatest number of openings should have the best chances.
“But in this respect,” he continues, “Fischer is unique. He plays the same variations again and again and with success. Only very seldom does he venture to play something novel, and then he is like a fish out of water. That he plays so surely and so quickly can probably be explained by the fact that he is so familiar with his pet variations. I myself always try to play systems that are little-analyzed.
“If we carefully review the games of the first half of the match, it is easy to see that in every one, with the exception of the first, Fischer was drawn into positions that are novel. I must also add that in the systems which the American knows thoroughly, he almost never commits a blunder.”
The implication of this last sentence is obviously that in positions Fischer does not know well, he blunders frequently, but this is hardly substantiated by the games themselves. How much credence Spassky lends to his compatriot's views remains to be seen.
Petrosian has played very little since his defeat by Fischer. The two games below are from his most recent tournament, held recently at Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, in which he finished second.
Tigran V Petrosian vs Vlastimil Hort
Bosna 15th (1972), Sarajevo BIH, rd 7, Mar-27
English Opening: Agincourt Defense. Wimpy System (A13) 1-0
Tigran V Petrosian vs Milan Matulovic
Bosna 15th (1972), Sarajevo BIH, rd 9, Mar-30
Dutch Defense: Leningrad Variation (A87) 1-0
