An Entertaining Bobby Fischer Game

 

     During his heyday Bobby Fischer was generally acknowledged as the greatest player of all time. His play was brilliant, creative, daring, etc., etc. and few players could beat him. 

     In the Candidates’ matches leading up his defeating Boris Spasskyy by a score of 12.5-8.5 in the 1972 World Championship match, Fischer annihilated Mark Taimanov and Bent Larsen with a perfect 6-0 score. Former World Champion Tigran Petrosian did a little better...Fisch crushed him with a 6.5-2.5 score. 

     In 1975, Fischer abdicated his throne to Anatoly Karpov. The prior year FIDE voted in favor of Fischer's 10-win proposal for World Championship matches, but rejected the 9–9 clause as well as the possibility of an unlimited match. In response, Fischer refused to defend his title. 

     This is just my opinion, but I think Fischer was afraid to face Karpov. I think that because during the 1984 Karpov-Kasparov match for the World Championship, in two interviews with a Philippine radio station, Fischer voiced the opinion that the games were prearranged with the aid of computers. To me this indicates that Fischer understood neither computers nor the games. 

     The chess programs of that era could not compete with Masters. In a match that took place in February of 1996, the monster computer Deep Blue became the first chess program to win a game against a world champion under regular time controls. Kasparov won three and drew two of the following five games, beating Deep Blue by 4–2 in the match. 

     At the time of the K-K match in 1984, the SciSys Explorer table top chess program was being sold for under $80 (under $250 today) and it was promised to play at a 1550 level at 40 moves in 2 hours or your money would be refunded.

     SARGON was introduced at the 1978 West Coast Computer Fair where it won the first computer chess tournament held strictly for microcomputers, with a score of 5–0. Former World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik played a game against Sargon in 1983 at Hamburg; he won in 37 moves. 

     Correspondence GM Robin Smith published his Modern Chess Analysis in 2004 and at that time chess engines could still be beaten by Masters. 

     The point is, Fischer’s claim that the K-K match games, whether prearranges or not, most certainly did not involve any help from computers as Fischer claimed.

     In the first New York State Open held in Poughkeepsie over the Labor Day weekend inj 1963, Bnobby Fischer made a clean sweep. Arthur Bisguier, James Sherwin, Joseph Richman and Matthew Green finished behind Fischer in the 58-player field with 5.5-1.5 scores. 

     Here’s the Fischer-Bisguiser encounter. Fischer’s 26th move was praised as a beautiful winning move, but anybody (say, for instance, me) with a strong chess engine can see it was a lemon. 

 

[Event "New York State Open, Poughkeepsie"] [Site "Poughkeepsie, NY USA"] [Date "1963.09.02"] [Round "?"] [White "Robert Fischer"] [Black "Arthur Bisguier"] [Result "1-0"] [ECO "C59"] [Annotator "Stockfish 16"] [PlyCount "57"] [EventDate "1963.??.??"] {C59: Two Knights Defense} 1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Nf6 4. Ng5 d5 5. exd5 Na5 6. Bb5+ c6 7. dxc6 bxc6 8. Be2 h6 {All standard moves so far. Where should the N go? Most often it retreats to f3.} 9. Nh3 {This is an odd looking move that dates all the way back to Steinitz and it's odd that it's not a bad one!} Bc5 ( 9... Bxh3 {This gives white the two Bs and the semi-open g-file which he can, hopefully, use to generate a K-side attack. Therefore, black usually refrains from taking it, but he need not do so.} 10. gxh3 Qd4 (10... Bc5 {is better.} 11. O-O (11. Rg1 {turns out to be a mistake.} Ne4 12. Bf3 Bxf2+ {is winning for black.}) 11... O-O 12. Nc3 Nb7 13. Bf3 Nd6 {White should now play 14.d3 with equal chances; taking the offered P gives black the initiative.} 14. Bxc6 Rc8 15. Bg2 Nf5 16. d3 Nh4 {with an active position.}) 11. O-O Bd6 12. d3 Rd8 13. c3 Qh4 {Taborov,B (2450)-Shianovsky,V (2295) Kiev 2003. The chances are balanced.}) 10. O-O O-O 11. d3 Bxh3 {The temptation is too much; Bisguier was never afraid of complications. The safe positional option was repositioning the N with ...Nb7-d6} (11... Nd5 12. c4 Bxh3 13. cxd5 Bf5 14. Be3 Qxd5 { This interesting position occurred in Socko,M (2462)-Batsiashvili,N (2417) Plovdiv BUL 2014. Does black have sufficient compensation for the P? Practically speaking he probably does.}) 12. gxh3 Qd7 {Now, should white give back the extra P?} 13. Bf3 {A good diagonal for the B and certainly more active than defending the P.} (13. Kg2 Nd5 14. Nc3 Rad8 15. Nxd5 cxd5 16. f4 f6 17. c3 Nc6 18. Qa4 {Socko,B (2643)-Pavasovic,D (2590) Austria 2009. White has an active position, but black's is quite solid.}) (13. Bg4 {is possible. After} Nxg4 14. hxg4 {He could also take with the Q.} f5 {Black has active play, but the position is technically even.}) 13... Qxh3 14. Nd2 Rad8 15. Bg2 Qf5 { Safer would have been 15...Qe6} 16. Qe1 (16. Qf3 {was an interesting alternative because after} Qxf3 17. Bxf3 {black is tied to the defense of his c-Pawn and white seizes the initiative.} Nd5 18. Rb1 Bd4 19. b4 Nb7 20. c4 Nc3 21. Rb3 Nxa2 22. Bb2 Bxb2 23. Rxb2 Nc3 24. Bxc6 {with a promising position.}) 16... Rfe8 {For his part white has some hope of generating an attack using his light squared B and the g-file, but for the moment his Q is uncomfortably positioned opposite black's R.} 17. Ne4 {This attacks the N on a5 and enables him to eliminate black's N on f6 lest it head for f4 via d5.} Bb6 (17... Nxe4 { loses a piece.} 18. dxe4 Qg4 19. Qxa5) 18. Nxf6+ Qxf6 19. Kh1 c5 {Black could recentralize his N with ...Nb7-d6, but instead Bisguier prefers to centralize it on the more active square d4. Actually, not a bad decision at all. The down side is that it blocks his B. Hiwever, the B may at some point get back into the game by relocating to c7 from where it attacks h2.} 20. Qc3 (20. Qe4 { is more active.} Rd4 21. Qf3 Qxf3 22. Bxf3 {with equal chances.}) 20... Nc6 21. f4 Nd4 {Bisguier has achieved an active position and has every reason to be satisfied with his game. His Rs are centralized and the threat is ...Ne2} 22. Qc4 Qg6 23. c3 {The N is just too well placed on d4 and so it has to go.} Nf5 { 23...Nc2 leads to tactical play that should favor black, but it would require precise play... something that would be very difficult to do OTB.} 24. fxe5 { Even though this opens up the e0file and allows black's R to reach the second rabk, it's a tremendous move by Fischer.} (24. Re1 {looks tempting, but after} Qh5 25. fxe5 Ng3+ 26. Kg1 Ne2+ {white comes under a crushing attack.} 27. Kh1 +++++Rxe5 28. Bf4 Nxf4 29. Qxf4 Bc7 30. Rxe5 Bxe5 31. Bf3 Qh3 32. Bg4 Bxf4 33. Bxh3 Rxd3 {and even with Bs of opposite colors black wins the ending. They were lengthy games, but black scored 5 out of 5 in Shootouts.}) 24... Rxe5 25. Bf4 Re2 {Things look grim for Fischer...Bisguier has a R on the 2nd rank and his Q and N look menacing.} 26. Be4 {This position is extremely critical...for both sides! The move Fischer played was praised as being innovative and as one that saves the game. Not true! It is, in fact, inferior to the correct 26.Bf3, but unfortunately for Bisguier he failed to find the right move and loses quickly.} (26. Bf3 {This is the correct move. Now after} Rxb2 27. Rae1 Qf6 {and only now} 28. Be5 Qe6 29. Qg4 g6 {Oddly enough there is no effective discovered attack on black's Q, so...} 30. c4 Rxa2 31. Bc3 Qd6 {and white should be content to repeat moves after 32.B35 because if, say...} 32. Bg2 Qxd3 33. Bf6 Rf8 34. Bd5 Kh7 35. Be4 Qd6 36. Qf4 Qxf6 37. Bxf5 Qxf5 38. Qxf5 gxf5 39. Rxf5 {Black is winning.}) 26... Rxb2 {[%mdl 8192] This move is quite natural, but it loses immediately.} (26... Re8 {This prevents the B from going to e5 and so now life is bright for black.} 27. Bf3 Ne3 28. Bxe3 R8xe3 29. Rg1 (29. Qg4 Qxg4 30. Bxg4 Rxb2 {with a won ending.}) 29... Rxh2+ 30. Kxh2 Bc7+ 31. Kh1 Qd6 32. Rg2 Rxf3 { A difficult position. Black only has B+P against a R, but his position is preferable, but in Shootouts white scores +0 -3 =2, so his position is not without some resources.}) 27. Be5 {White is clearly winning. The N and f7 are under attack,and there is nothing black can do.} Re8 (27... Qe6 {fails...} 28. Rxf5 Qxc4 29. dxc4 Rdd2 30. Bd5 Rf2 31. Rxf7 Rxf7 32. Rf1 Re2 33. Rxf7 Rxe5 34. Re7+) 28. Rxf5 (28. Bxf5 Qg2#) 28... Rxe5 29. Rxe5 {Black resigned.} (29. Rxe5 Rxh2+ (29... Qd6 30. Re8+ Qf8 31. Rxf8+ {wins}) 30. Kxh2 Qd6 31. d4 Bc7 32. Kg1 {White wins...for example} Qd7 33. Qd5 Qg4+ 34. Kf2 g6 35. Re8+ Kg7 36. Rg1 Qh4+ 37. Ke2 {WHite mates in 12.} Bg3 38. dxc5 Qg4+ 39. Kd3 h5 40. Rf1 Bf2 41. Qe5+ f6 42. Re7+ Kh6 43. Qxf6 Qg3+ 44. Kc4 Bd4 45. cxd4 Qg4 46. Bxg6 Qe6+ 47. Rxe6 h4 48. Qxh4+ Kg7 49. Qh7#) 1-0