Tigran Petrosian Memorial Tournament

Chessbase News, Germany
Dec 19 2004

18.12.2004 An international Internet chess tournament is taking
place, dedicated to the 75th anniversary of the birth of the 9th
world champion, Tigran Petrosian. Four teams, from Russia, China,
France and Armenia, are participating, with none of the players
leaving their places of residence. More…

Tigran Petrosian Memorial Internet Tournament
The six round tournament will take place each day from December 18-23
with games starting at 12:00 noon in Paris, 14:00 in St. Petersburg.
15:00 in Yerevan and 19:00 in Beijing.

Four boards will face-off each day, as in the Olympiad, with each
opponent facing his corresponding board representative. Each country
will face each of the other three countries two times for a total of
six rounds. Fischer time control will be used (1 hour 30 minutes plus
15 minutes added at move 40; 30 second increments are added after
every move).

The overall prize fund is $55,000 with the following breakdown: 1st
place $20,000, 2nd place $15,000, 3rd place $12,000, 4th place
$8,000. The games will not be counted toward players’ official
ratings.

Armenia (average rating: 2626) France (average rating: 2627)
GM Aronian 2675 GM Lautier 2682
GM Lputian 2634 GM Fressinet 2640
GM Sargissian 2611 GM Bauer 2622
GM Art. Minasian 2581 GM Nataf 2565

Russia (average rating: 2688) China (average rating: 2590)
GM Svidler 2735 GM Bu 2615
GM Dreev 2698 GM Ni 2611
GM Khalifman 2669 GM Zhang 2596
GM Zvjaginsev 2650 GM Wang 2536

Tigran Petrosian
Tigran Petrosian was a legendary chess champion, an Armenian hero,
and a creative genius. Nearly twenty years after his passing, FIDE
has named 2004 in his honor, and the Tigran Petrosian memorial
internet tournament held from December 18-23 online is the last in a
string of tournaments in 2004 around the world held in his honor.
The legacy of Petrosian is at the same time profound and
multifaceted.

To Armenians around the world and in Armenia alike, Petrosian
symbolized the overcoming of the struggles of a downtrodden nation, a
nation which survived Genocide, the horrors of Stalin, and global
dispersion to cheer their favorite son toward victory. For Armenians
everywhere he embodied achievement of excellence in the most
intellectual and competitive of games. The boy who was born in
Tiflis, embraced in Armenia, rose to the heights in Moscow, and loved
by his compatriots around the world. He was a unique figure in modern
Armenian history, and his relationship to Armenians around the world
was similarly distinctive. After he lost both parents before he was
16, he became the adopted son of Armenians everywhere. Though some of
his compatriots around the world had no particular understanding of
the game of chess, they would flock to his games in tournaments held
in the farthest reaches around the globe – from South America to
Europe, from the Soviet Union to the USA. Everywhere, Petrosian was
greeted with fanfare, exhilaration and cheer.

His chess style was enigmatic, misunderstood, underappreciated. He
died much too young, living life with passion and exuberance until
cancer took him away from us much too prematurely. Like any champion,
his legacy is immortal, his games are creations which will be loved
forever, and we are the lucky ones to have benefited from his genius.
For the generations of chess fans who emulate him to the millions of
Armenians who cherish his memory, we are proud and honored to offer
this tournament to all to enjoy.