"Ivan" wrote in message
om...
How come he always drew chess games with his opponents except for the
rare times when he won or lost?

I think this guy has to be the weakest chess player ever to become
world champion. Botvinnik was quite old by the time he played
Petrosian for the world championship and Tigran was lucky that he was
young.

Tigran had probably the worst childhood of any major player - he was
supporting a large family at the age of 14. This may have contributed to a
conservative, success-driven style.
You should also remember that his match with Botvinik was the first match he
had played.
Also, as the Oxford Companion to Chess points out, he was the first champion
to successfully defend his title to his strongest challenger.
His score in chess olympics is quite superb; I think it's something like +97
=12 -1. That's from memory.

I think you have to be a very very strong player to fully appreciate his
games. I only understand them a little, but I think the best ones are great!

Here is one of my favourite games of his - admittedly it is a draw but it is
not boring, and Tigran missed a win.
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1106728
You need Java
Alan