Proffesionals knew how to lose

In late 2020, a professional chess game was played over the Internet between two teams, the Armenia Eagles and the Saint Louis Arch Bishops, which the Eagles won.

Unhappy with this result, a member of the Arch Bishops, Wesley So, publicly accused a member of the Eagles, Tigran L. Petrosian of having cheated during his game in order to achieve victory for his team[1].

Angered by the accusation, Tigran responded publicly in the most childish and unprofessional manner imaginable, going on a long angry rant in broken english in which he called Wesley various colorful names, invited him to play a game of chess against him in real life, and implied that any further public accusations would be settled in court.

This dramatic interaction caused the event organizers to closely examine the situation. Following an in-depth investigation, suspicious behavior was found in the Eagles games, which led to a reversal of the match results, giving both the victory and the cash prize to the Saint Louis Arch Bishops. Tigran Petrosian, now a confirmed cheater, was also handed a lifetime ban from the biggest online chess platform at the time[2].

This trush talkings

Tigran's response immediately became a classic copypasta in the chess community.

Below is a screenshot of Tigran's rant, followed by a text version which you can copy and paste at your leisure.

Some elements of this rant might seem strange or impossible to understand due to the amount of chess-specific vocabulary being used, but worry not, it does not really matter whether you understand the specifics or not. Just enjoy Tigran's wild ride.

Are you kidding ??? What the **** are you talking about man ? You are a biggest looser i ever seen in my life ! You was doing PIPI in your pampers when i was beating players much more stronger then you! You are not proffesional, because proffesionals knew how to lose and congratulate opponents, you are like a girl crying after i beat you! Be brave, be honest to yourself and stop this trush talkings!!! Everybody know that i am very good blitz player, i can win anyone in the world in single game! And "w"esley "s"o is nobody for me, just a player who are crying every single time when loosing, ( remember what you say about Firouzja ) !!! Stop playing with my name, i deserve to have a good name during whole my chess carrier, I am Officially inviting you to OTB blitz match with the Prize fund! Both of us will invest 5000$ and winner takes it all! I suggest all other people who's intrested in this situation, just take a look at my results in 2016 and 2017 Blitz World championships, and that should be enough... No need to listen for every crying babe, Tigran Petrosyan is always play Fair ! And if someone will continue Officially talk about me like that, we will meet in Court! God bless with true! True will never die ! Liers will kicked off...

Tigran Petrosyan is always play Fair?

When this event happened, most of the chess community seemed satisfied with Tigran's lifelong exclusion.

The "PIPI in your pampers" copypasta quickly became a staple of the AnarchyChess community, to the point where Tigran was turned into a local antihero. Some even believe that he never cheated, and have made a few attempts at rehabilitating his image by trying to prove his innocence[3].

Did Tigran really cheat? Most likely. But it's impossible to prove.


Instead of speculating on drama, here is a 2021 video of Tigran winning a chess game so hard that it causes his opponent to fall off his chair. Proving the point that Tigran always play Fair, he extends his hand gracefully, blessing his opponent with true. True will never die!

Sources & Links

[1] Cheating controversy at Pro Chess League by Chessbase

[2] Armenia Eagles disqualified from the CPL by chess.com

[3] People attempting to rehabilitate Tigran's image on Reddit