The David Beckham of Armenia

“David,” I said, pointing at myself. “Tigran,” he said, shaking my hand, “Tigran Petrosian.”

This seems a weird coincidence. In 1963, his namesake, Tigran Petrosian, had defeated Mikhail Botvinnik to take the world chess title.

For Westerners it was a case of one Soviet Man beating another. The Soviets used chess to demonstrate the superiority of communism over capitalism, and had created a highly efficient chess factory, churning out prodigies like sausages.

But that is not how they saw it in Armenia. For them, Petrosian was above all an Armenian.

National obsession

Tens of thousands of people gathered in Opera Square in the capital Yerevan, to watch the games being displayed on giant boards, as the moves were relayed from Moscow.

The result led to an outpouring of patriotic fervour. That same year, John F Kennedy was assassinated.

“In America everyone can remember where they were when Kennedy was shot,” one man tells me. “Here in Armenia, everyone of a certain age can recall the exact moment Petrosian became world champion.”

From that moment on, chess became a national obsession.

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