Sidebar: Years ago I got stung when I bought Bobby Fischer 1955-1960 that was supposed to be annotated by Smyslov, Tal, Yudasin and Tukmakov. The book was published in 1962 and there was a very short prologue by Botviinik (who else?) and the games were printed in Informant style. For readers unfamiliar with the Informants, think of a book with 371 games that look like computer generated analysis.
Bobby Fischer, His Approach to Chess was published in 1996 and I believe Agur is a fairly low rated master from Israel, but this is a book that none other than Jeremy Silman called a classic. It’s an examination of the middlegame Fischer-style. Agur covers P-structures, piece placement, material, time, strategy, tactics and a whole bunch of other stuff and he attempts to discuss Fischer’s games from the standpoint of those subjects.
In discussing tactics, Agur observed that as Fischer matured, the level of sophistication of tactical motifs grew. Agur wrote, “When a players no longer falls back on tactics to solve sharp positional problems and resorts to tactical measures only when they are objectively the most appropriate mean to do that, his combinations are likely to gain depth and beauty...they are the most logical, incisive and often elegant ways to conclude a game...”
Fischer’s opponent in the following game was the Argentine IM Samuel Schweber (July 16, 1936 - January 1, 2017). In the 1955 World Junior Championship in Antwerp he finished 9th. Schweber played in several Argentine chess championships, his best results being 2nd in 1963, 3rd in 1965, 2nd in 1968, 3rd-4th in 1969 and 1980. He played for Argentina in five Olympiads with good results. In the game Fischer plays with great perspicacity as seen in his R-maneuvering followed by one of his most elegant sacrifices.
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| Schweber |
Nobody had a chance against Fischer in this tournament; after 12 rounds he had 11 wins and a draw and clinched first with three rounds to go. Second place was taken by a 24-year-old untitled player named Vladimir Tukmakov who went on to enjoy considerable success in the 70s and 80s. The third place finisher, Oscar Panno, also enjoyed one of the best successes of his career.
Of the other American players only Reshevsky could consider the tournament a success especially at the age of 59. He drew 13 games, many short draws, and his 4 wins were against bottom finishers. Bisguier was, as was sometimes the case, unsteady; in several games he stood well, but then faltered. Against the players who finished above him he scored only one win, lost five and drew five.
It’s my belief that Bisguier was a better player than his overall results would indicate. Never one to shirk from risks, he sometimes eschewed the safe in favor of the risky. His away from the board fun loving lifestyle probably affected his results, too. And, it appears that there was plenty of things to do in Buenos Aires besides play chess.
I remember at the US Championship held in the sleepy college town of Oberlin, Ohio when, before the start of the tournament, Bisguier asked a couple of guys, “Where can you get a drink around here?” When informed they didn’t sell alcohol in town and the nearest place was several miles away, he pulled out his wallet, handed them some money and told them to go get him a fifth of Jack Daniels.
The 49-year old ex-world champion Smyslov with one win (against Szabo) and 16 draws, even though a few were hard fought, was no longer a serious threat. For 17-year-old Henrique Mecking the tournament was a disappointment because he had hoped for a GM score, but did not come close. The highlight of the tournament for him was being the only player to have an advantage against Fischer, but he couldn’t manage to win. He did, however, earn the IM title and finished ahead of five GMs. Hungarian star Laszlo Szabo was unrecognizable with seven losses, more than anyone else except the two tailenders.
For more details on this tournament see the article at Chess Talk.
1) Fischer 15.0-2.0
2) Tukmakov 11.5-5.5
3) Panno 11.0-6.0
4-6) Gheorghiu, Najdorf and Reshevsky 10.5-6.5
7) Smyslov 9.0-8.0
8-9) Mecking and Quinteros 8.5-8.5
10-11) Damjanovic and O'Kelly 8.0-9.0
12-13) Bisguier and Szabo 7.5-9.5
14) Garcia 7.0-10.0
15) Rubinetti 6.5-10.5
16-17) Rossetto and Schweber 5.5-11.5
18) Agdamus 2.5-14.5
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