Tigran Petrosian (Tbilisi, Georgia, 17 June 1929 – Moscow, 13 August 1984) was World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969.
He was born to Armenian parents, and brought up in the capital of Armenia, Yerevan.ᵖ¹⁰³ Before his chess career, he was a street cleaner.

Petrosian got the USSR national master title in 1947, and his chess improved rapidly when he moved to Moscow that year.
By coming second in the 1951 USSR championship he qualified for the FIDE Interzonal tournament in Stockholm next year.
There, he qualified for the World Championship Candidates tournament in Zurich 1953.
He came fifth, and was awarded the title of International Grandmaster.ᵖ²⁹⁹
Years followed when he made no visible progress, and others had the chance to challenge for the world title.
Vasily Smyslov and Mikhail Tal both won the world title, yet lost it back to Botvinnik in return matches.
At last, in 1962, Tigran won the Candidates tournament, and became the new challenger to Botvinnik.
Petrosian also won the very strong Soviet Championship four times, in 1959 (Tbilisi), 1961 (Moscow), 1969 (Moscow), and 1975 (Yerevan).ᵖ¹¹⁸
Tigran Petrosian (Tbilisi, Georgia, 17 June 1929 – Moscow, 13 August 1984) was World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was born to Armenian parents, and brought up in the capital of Armenia, Yerevan.ᵖ¹⁰³ Before his chess career, he was a street cleaner.
Petrosian got the USSR national master title in 1947, and his chess improved rapidly when he moved to Moscow that year. By coming second in the 1951 USSR championship he qualified for the FIDE Interzonal tournament in Stockholm next year. There, he qualified for the World Championship Candidates tournament in Zurich 1953. He came fifth, and was awarded the title of International Grandmaster.ᵖ²⁹⁹
Years followed when he made no visible progress, and others had the chance to challenge for the world title. Vasily Smyslov and Mikhail Tal both won the world title, yet lost it back to Botvinnik in return matches. At last, in 1962, Tigran won the Candidates tournament, and became the new challenger to Botvinnik. Petrosian also won the very strong Soviet Championship four times, in 1959 (Tbilisi), 1961 (Moscow), 1969 (Moscow), and 1975 (Yerevan).ᵖ¹¹⁸
Tigran Petrosian