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Tigran Petrosian, USSR, 1963-69

Petrosian is considered by many to be one of the greatest players of all time. To many of his opponents, he was considered invincible.

Both of Petrosian's parents died in W.W.II, and he spent much of his youth working to keep his remaining family together. He consoled himself with chess, but his development was not meteoric as one might expect.

His teacher taught him to regard the game deeply and to always remember the principles of Capablanca and Nimzowitsch. He held these views almost fanatically, especially the idea of preventing one's opponent whenever and whenever possible.

His style of play was almost never overwhelming, but it was always convincing. His games were demonstrations of pure technique. As a world champion, his results in important tournaments were mediocre. After he lost his title, however, the quality of his games improved.