God of War - Bobby Fischer at the peak of power: all the chess victories from his best year

Contents

1 Smyslov vs Fischer 3

2 Fischer vs Addison 17

3 Fischer vs Filip 27

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2 CONTENTS

Chapter 1

Smyslov vs Fischer

Fischer’s victim

Fischer first draw blood in the Interzonal Tournament from a former WorldChampion, Vasily Smyslov. Born in 1921, Smyslov learned to play chess at agesix, and enjoyed a long and fruitful career in chess, spanning over four decades.

According to Chessmetrics, his best performance (2824) was in the ZurichCandidates in 1953, the strongest Tournament of the 1950’s, where he scored64% vs 2719-rated opposition; and he remained the strongest player in the worldfrom mid 1954 to early 1958.

He failed to capture the World Championship in 1954 when he tied hismatch with Mikhail Botvinnik, but earned it in their second encounter in 1956.Smyslov lost the crown back to Botvinnik in a return match in 1958.

Among chess players, he is best remembered for his cheerful personality, hisability to make friends and his beautiful voice as an opera singer. For moreinformation on Smyslov and his awe-inspiring chess career, see Hooper andWhyld (1996, p.376-7).

The game

In the first round of the Interzonal at Palma de Mallorca, Fischer had madesome mistakes, and just managed to pull a draw against the rising Germangrandmaster (and papyrologist!) Robert Hubner (b. 1953).

After this unimpressive start, Bobby’s luck would turn, beginning with aspectacular win against a former World Champion.

“Russians vs Fischer,” provides a quote by Vasyukov that highlights thisgame as “of particular importance to both players” on two accounts: first, thiswas Fischer’s first game in Palma against a Soviet player; and second, bothFischer and Smyslov had good chances of qualifying for the Candidates, whichmade them “direct rivals” (Plisetsky and Voronkov, 2005, p.207).

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4 CHAPTER 1. SMYSLOV VS FISCHER

� Smyslov Round 2 - IZT Palma de Mallorca, November 10, 1970� Fischer Symmetrical English Opening, Closed Systems – A36

1. c4White aims to control the central d5square from the flank.

1. . . g6This move, preparing the fianchetto ofthe black-square bishop, introduces apermanent feature in Black’s kingsidepawn formation.

2. Nc3White develops its knight to an excel-lent square, where it reinforces the con-trol over d5, and covers another centralsquare, namely e4.

2. . . Bg7Black fianchettoes the bishop, whichnow has a magnificent view of the a1-h8 diagonal, and controls two centralsquares: d4 and e5.Black has delayed committing to apawn structure in the center, reserv-ing the option of pushing either the cor the e pawn at later time.

3. g3With this move, White prepare to fi-anchetto its own white-square bishopto g2, from which it will contribute tothe control of a long diagonal, and willadd pressure to the d5 square in par-ticular.

3. . . c5Black goes for a symmetrical pawnstructure in the center. Pushing e5 in-stead would have blocked the view ofthe bishop in g7.

4. Bg2White completes the fianchetto of thebishop, the purpose of the previousmove, bolstering its of control of thewhite squares of the center.

4. . . Nc6This move develops the knight to anexcellent square, and piles up pressureon d4 and e5, making the board sym-metrical again.In some openings, the initial symmetryof the board is broken for good in thefirst round of moves; in others, like thisone, it lasts a bit longer. By transposi-tion of moves, we have reached whatMCO-15 calls the Ultra-SymmetricalVariation of the English opening.

5. b3?!“A move one associates with Smyslov,”says Watson in his book on the sym-metrical English (1980, p.18).

Fischer

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Smyslov

5. b3?!

White prepares to fianchetto his otherbishop, to contest Blacks dominationof the black center squares.Smyslov’s pet variation, also a favorite

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of Larsen, is less popular than otheroptions like 5. Nf3, 5. e3 and even5. a3. It is not a bad move, in thesense that the resulting position hasbeen evaluated as equal for both play-ers. Yet precisely there lies its weak-ness.Soviet annotators (see “Russians vsFischer”) gave this move a ?! evalu-ation. We agree. The advantage ofhaving the first move gives White a lit-tle edge of innitiative that should keepBlack busy trying to achieve a balancefor the first dozen moves or so.In this game, White’s passive playhas resulted in such a balance beingreached rather early in the game. Af-ter the text, whatever edge White hadon account of the first move has evap-orated. And now it’s Black’s turn!

5. . . e6Black wants to develop its king-sideknight, without obstructing the viewits bishop has of the long black diag-onal. The text makes the e7 squareavailable to the knight, and preparesto support an eventual d5 pawn push.

6. Bb2Fulfilling the purpose of White’s previ-ous move. Now the black-squared bish-ops are facing each other, contendingfor the same territory. It is very likelynow that they will be exchanged.

6. . . Nge7Black develops its knight withoutblocking the bishop on g7. The moveadds pressure to d5, preparing thatsquare for an advance of the d pawn,in order to contest White’s control overthis square.

7. Na4?!What is the purpose of this move?

To get the knight out of the way ofWhite’s bishop and propose a tradeto its Black counterpart. But, hasn’tBlack spent two moves already fi-anchettoing that bishop? It is hardto see the point of investing two moremoves now in order to exchange it.

Fischer

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Smyslov

7. Na4?!

This move was also given a ?! eval-uation in “Russians vs Fischer”.

7. . . B×b2Black goes for the bargain and tradesbishops.

8. N×b2Black has to recapture immediately,since Black’s bishop is now threaten-ing to win the exchange by takingthe White rook. Notice that Blackemerged one tempo up in the trade ofthe fianchettoed bishops. Notice alsothat, after the recapture, the Whiteknight no longer controls the centersquares.

8. . . 0–0With a free tempo to spare, Blackmoves its King out of the center. Theweakness of the pawn formation infront of the castled King is less press-ing now that the enemy’s black-squarebishop is off the board.


Black acts wisely in castling. A kingleft in the center might become a lia-bility: both the knight on e7 and thepawn on e6 may have to mobilize soonto fight for d5, which would leave anuncastled king vulnerable in the mid-dle of the board.As the game proceeds, White will soonrealize it should have followed Black’sexample regarding the importance oftimely castling.

9. e3White is preparing a knight move sim-ilar to that of Black. White plans todevelop its knight to e2 and then pushthe d-pawn to contest Black’s controlof the central black squares.

9. . . d5Black loses no time in pushing for abreak in the d-file, supported by pawn,knight and queen.

10. c×d5Black decides to dissipate the tensionright away. A better idea was to hold itand develop the knight with 10. Ne2,after which Black’s capture 10. . . d×c4would only serve to bring the Whiteknight to a nice central position with11. N×c4.

10. . . N×d5The recapture gives Black the chanceto centralize the knight. At this point,the position is balanced, but Black iscalling the shots. Black’s king is saferand its pieces are somewhat more ac-tive.

11. Ne2White develops its knight without ob-structing the view of the fianchettoedbishop, and prepares to castle kingside.

11. . . b6Black figures out a way to develop thewhite-squared bishop, and at the sametime to supports the c5 pawn.

12. d4?This innocent-looking move, challeng-ing Black’s c5 pawn, is Smyslov’s firstserious mistake: it gives Fischer thechance to take some shots at the kingsitting on the center.

Fischer

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Smyslov

12. d4?

It is not an obvious one, though, tothe point that over twenty years later,a compilation of Fischer’s games an-notated by Smyslov himself and othersmakes no remarks about any downsideof this move.White’s best move here was 12. 0–0,tucking the king away from the cen-ter. But even if Smyslov didn’t wantto castle yet for any reason, a movelike 12. a3 would have avoided surren-dering the initiative to Fischer.Fischer now has to find a way to exploitthis subtle faux pas. The instinctiverecapture 12. . . c×d4 would help Whitecentralize his knight with 13. N×d4.

12. . . Ba6!Like a shark that smells blood from amile away, Fischer feels there is an op-portunity here and goes for the kill. In-

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stead of protecting the c5 pawn, Blackconcerns himself with winding up hisinnitiative.

Fischer

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Smyslov

12. . . Ba6!

White’s king should have castled whenit had the chance. From its new post,the bishop sets its telescopic sight onthe forehead of the white horse, whichis sitting anxiously on e2, and makesthe uncastled king uneasy.

13. d×c5Castling now would be a mistake:White loses a pawn after 13. 0–0? c×d414. e×d4 B×e2 15. Q×e2 Qf6, since thed4 pawn would be under the double at-tack of queen and knight.White deserves credit for having re-alized that the initiative now belongsto Black, and finding the best defense.The text move is a smart one, on twoaccounts.First, Black has the threat of13. . . B×d2, to which White wouldhave to respond with 14. Q×d2, forc-ing the queen to abandon the defenseof the d4 pawn.Second, Black also threatens to openthe c-file for his queenside rook by13. . . c×d4, so it makes sense to snatchthe c5 pawn preemtively.

13. . . Qf6!

Instead of recapturing the pawn, Blackretains the momentum with this greatmove, that develops the queen, con-nects the rooks, puts pressure on theweakened f2 square and threatens tocapture the unprotected knight on b2.

Fischer

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Smyslov

13. . . Qf6!

There is, nevertheless, another excel-lent square for the queen, possibly evenbetter: 13. . . Qe7 threatens the d4pawn, connects the rooks and preparesto centralize them with 14. . . Rac8 and15. . . Rfd8, assembling the big gunsalong the central columns.

14. Nc4The only way to protect the knight isto relocate it towards the center, whilethe White queen protects the rook.There is no other good defense. Theseemingly good 14. Nd4 allows Blackto shoo the horse away with 14. . . b×c515. N×c6 Q×b2 16. Rb1 Qf6 17. Rc1,recapturing the pawn and further en-ergizing Black’s initiative.

14. . . Nc3!Resisting the temptation of pulling

out the big gun with 14. . . Rfd8, Blackfinds the most energetic continuationfor its innitiative against the uncastledking. Do you see that knight on e2,ready to protect the king on a second’s


notice? He’s got to go.Fischer

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Smyslov

14. . . Nc3!

Bobby’s move is sharp because, bysending his own knight into the en-emy’s territory with a double attackon queen and knight, it forces Whiteto trade horses.A more passive move, like a rook ma-neuver, would give White some breath-ing room to castle or relocate the queento a c-square, preventing the knight ex-change.

15. N×c3In the best style of Capablanca,Smyslov takes the best and simplestcontinuation. A move like 15. Qc2,although equally strong, would bet-ter suit the labyrinthic style of alover of complications, like Alekhine.With best play, it could continue15. . . N×e2 16. B×c6 N×g3 17. h×g3Q×a1+ 18. Ke2 Qe5 19. B×a8 R×a820. c×b6 a×b6, where Black retains itsinitiative intact.

15. . . Q×c3+With the recapture, the queen estab-lishes herself on a magnificent square,where it exerts strong command ofWhite’s queenside.

16. Kf1

The king, in check, has to run for itslife, nevertheless choosing his escapesquare carefully. Moving instead to16. Ke2 would lose a pawn to a ma-neuver like 16. . . Rad8 17. Rc1 Qa518. Qc2 Nb4 19. Qb2 Q×c5.

Fischer

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Smyslov

16. Kf1

Blocking the check with the queen losesthe a1-rook immediately, while block-ing with 16. Nc2 allows 16. . . Ne5!, amove that bringings complications inwhich White cannot avoid losing mate-rial: i.e. 17. Bf1 Rfd8 18. B×a6 R×d219. Q×d2 Nf3+ 20. Ke2 N×d2.

16. . . Rfd8Black claims for itself the wide opend-column.

17. Qc1The queen, evicted from its initialsquare, makes an indecent proposal toBlack: I’ll trade you a displaced, in-active piece for a beautifully placed,dominating one.

17. . . B×c4+

Black decides the time to trade queenshas not come yet, and prefers to snatchWhite’s knight with a check.

18. b×c4

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The forced recapture comes with anundesireable gift for White: doubledpawns!

18. . . Qd3+Postponing the exchange of queens fora better time, Black goes after themonarch.

19. Kg1The king must take refuge in asquare that severely hampers its h1-rook’s prospects. Moving instead19. Ke1 would be suicidal, becauseof 19. . . Nb4 followed by 20. . . Nc2+,forking king and rook, and losing theexchange.

19. . . Rac8Black develops its last piece. The poordoubled pawns must be suspecting bynow that their future is not too bright.

Fischer

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Smyslov

19. . . Rac8

There is a dramatic contrast betweenBlack’s developed, magnificently cen-tralized rooks on open and semi-opencolumns, and White’s undevelopedrooks, still standing on their initialsquares, immobilized.

20. c×b6White decides to trade one of the dou-bled pawns while he still can.

20. . . a×b6To which Black has no objection, sinceit realizes the remaining pawn will beeasy pray to its knight.

21. Qb2White is parazyled by the dominatingpresence of Black’s queen. Before itcan do anything, White has to figureout a way to impose the exchange ofqueens. So, Smyslov devises a neat ma-neuver that will force Fischer to tradequeens, under penalty of losing the ini-tiative. It starts with the text move,but will require two more moves: oneto push forward the h pawn and an-other to bring the queen to f6.

21. . . Na5Fischer realizes the trade of queens isnow just a matter of time, and makesthe best use of it: he decides to cashin some of the chips he has earned. Ifyou look at the material balance on theboard, you will see that Black is a pawndown: this is the pawn Fischer sac-rificed some moves ago to bolster hisinitiative.

Fischer

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Smyslov

21. . . Na5

Now Black can recover that pawn,without losing a bit of momentum.The recapture starts with the text


move. What is so neat about this moveis that White has no way to stop Blackfrom recovering the pawn.For example, if White threatensthe Black queen with 22. Bf1,Black doesn’t even bother and goesright ahead with the pawn recapture22. . . N×c4, since after 23. B×d3 comes23. . . N×b2, and after the queen tradeBlack has its initiative intact.If, on the other hand White wantedto snatch a pawn of its own with22. Q×b6, Black still captures with22. . . N×c4. Threatened, the Whitequeen retreats to 23. Qb3 with a fullbelly, in the hope of being tradedby its Black counterpart. But bythen, the ebony lady has better plans:23. . . Qf5, aiming at the weakened f2square and threatening 24. . . Rd2. Atthis point, Black’s dominance of thecenter columns is imposing.

22. h4White goes ahead with the maneuverthat will force Black to trade queens.Going for 22. Qf6 right away would re-sult in exactly the same position (sinceafter 22. . . N×c4 23. h4 we transposeto the game) or in one with a similarexchange of queens (e.g. 22. . . Q×c423. h4 Qc3 24. Q×c3 R×c3).

22. . . N×c4Black gets back the pawn it lent Whiteon move 13.

23. Qf6Finally, after three moves, White hasmanaged to put Black in a positionwhere trading queens is an offer he can-not refuse. Now, playing to avoid thetrade would be a mistake: 23. . . Qd624. h5 Rc5 25. h×g6 f×g6 and Black’sadvantage goes up in smoke, leavingbehind a totally neutral position.

23. . . Qf5Not surprisingly, Black proposes thetrade.

Fischer

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Smyslov

23. . . Qf5

24. Q×f5Which White accepts gladly. NowBlack has to decide which pawn it usesto recapture the queen.

24. . . g×f5?!This is the wrong recapture. Hard-coreBobby fans, looking at other annota-tions of this game, will criticize yourstruly for labeling this move as dubi-ous. After all, they will argue, nothingbad was said about it in the books byWade, Smyslov, and Kasparov.

Fischer

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Smyslov

24. . . g×f5?!

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Yet the move is weak and amply de-serves the ?! label, since it diminishesBlack’s initiative significantly. Thetext move allows White to weakenBlack’s kingside pawn structure andposition its previously useless rook ina precious central square: 25. h5! Rd226. Rh4 and the rook comes out ofhiding 26. . . Ne5 27. e4 f×e4 28. R×e4and goes to occupy a central square,from which it is hard to displace, i.e.28. . . Rc5 29. a4 Kg7 30. Rb1 Nd731. Bf3 Rcc2 32. Bd1 Ra2 and theWhite’s rook is still sitting majesticallyin the center, while Black’s kingsidepawn structure now has two pawn is-lands.Better was 24. . . e×f5! 25. h5 and hereBlack has two ways to frustrate thecentralization prospects of the Whiterook. The first is to prevent it fromleaving the hole with 25. . . g5 26. e4f×e4 27. B×e4, where the rook is stillin hiding and Black has its kingsidepawns in one piece. The second is tolet it come out 25. . . Ne5 26. Rh4 andthen trade it with 26. . . Rc2 27. Rd4R×d4 28. e×d4 Ng4, where the rook isgone and Black’s kingside pawn forma-tion is strong and healthy.

25. h5!

Fischer

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Smyslov

25. h5!

In “Russians vs Fischer” and in Kas-parov’s “My Great Predecessors, Vol4”, this move is evaluated as dubious(?!). Soltis (2003) gives it no criticism.

This notwithstanding, the ma-ligned text move is actually not onlyvery good, but in fact, it is the onlycontinuation that allows White to cap-italize on Black’s previous weak move.Now, whether Smyslov was aware ofthe profound merits of this move isopen to debate. His next move makesus think he may have pushed the pawnin a moment of lucky inspiration.

25. . . Rd2White sends his rook to the seventhrank. Another good move here was25. . . Ne5, moving the horse out of theway of the cannons.

26. Rc1?This move is a mistake. White bringsits queenside rook into the action withan inconsequential knight pin, consum-ing a tempo required to develop thekingside rook with 26. Rh4, which wehad presumed was the idea behind theprevious move.

Fischer

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Smyslov

26. Rc1?

It is this error that makes us thinkSmyslov made the right 25th move forthe wrong reasons. Or he just changed


his mind halfway through the proceed-ings. After this point, the game is Fis-cher’s to lose.

26. . . Rc5If Black instead went to get himself apawn with 26. . . R×a2, White would beable to develop some counterplay with27. Rh4, putting the knight under dou-ble threat and prompting Black to de-fend with 27. . . b5, and then expandingon the kingside with 28. g4 Rc5 29. h6.Instead, Black continues with thestrongest move: unpin the knight byplacing the rook in a good square, pro-tected by the b6 pawn.

27. Rh4White would have been better off with27. a4, moving the pawn out of the en-emy rook’s line of fire.

27. . . Ne5The knight, uneasy under the aim oftwo rooks, jumps to a safer pastures,revealing an attack on the unprotectedWhite rook.

28. R×c5?

Fischer

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Smyslov

28. R×c5?

This move, seemingly a harmless ex-change of rooks, is the straw that broke

the camel’s back. Smyslov’s game, al-ready compromised, is now just be-yond salvation, since the b-pawn willbecome much stronger, and blood willhave to be spilled to stop it.

28. . . b×c5Fischer captures right away, miss-ing the stronger way to punishSmyslov’s mistake: the in-betweenmove 28. . . Rd1+, after which White’sbest way to prolong the game entailsallowing a vicious attack on his king:29. Kh2 b×c5 30. Ra4 Ng4+ 31. Kh3N×f2 harvesting a pawn, 32. Kh2 Rd233. Kg1 Ng4, and White’s kingsideis in shambles. If White attemptedto deflect the check with 29. Bf1, itwould lose material to 29. . . Nf3: e.g.30. Kg2 N×h4 loses the exchange,while 30. Kh1 b×c5 31. Rg4 R×f1+

32. Kg2 Ne2 loses a whole piece.

29. Ra4White sends the rook to support thethreatened a-pawn. Moving the pawnout of danger with 29. a4 fails to29. . . c4, where Black’s c-pawn, pro-tected by the knight and on its way topromotion, shuts the White rook outof the defense of its a-pawn.

29. . . c4This passed pawn has great expecta-tions, and is walking towards them,with the help of knight and rook.

30. h6An inconsequential diversion done indesperate times. The naıve threat is31. Ra8m.

At this point, everything is lost,and Smyslov knows it. He’s just play-ing in the hope that Fischer may blun-der. But in late 1970, Fischer was intop form, so the rest of the game is the

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Chronicle of a death foretold.

Fischer

0Z0Z0ZkZZ0Z0ZpZp0Z0ZpZ0OZ0Z0mpZ0RZpZ0Z0ZZ0Z0O0O0PZ0s0OBZZ0Z0Z0J0

Smyslov

30. h6

30. . . Kf8The king avoids the mate threat withthe ease of a hummingbird dodging asleepy elephant.

31. Ra8+Intrascendent check, which actuallyhelps White bring his king to the cen-ter.

31. . . Ke7Fischer

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Smyslov

31. . . Ke7

With so few pieces left on the board,the king in the center is no longer a li-ability, and becomes a powerful piece.

32. Rc8

Threatening to capture the pawn.Take a look at the material balanceon the board, and you will realizethat both colors have equal material.However, Black has a strong initiative,worth well over two pawns.In other words, Black has earned theright to capture two pawns withoutcompensation for White. This meansthat, if White wants to capture onepawn, then Black will capture three.And if White captures two, then Blackwill capture four!Pay attention to the following sevenmoves, during which six pawns will becaptured: two by White and four byBlack. It is very instructive to witnesshow Fischer converts his initiative intoa material advantage.

32. . . R×a2The a-pawn, abandoned to its fate bythe wandering White rook, is capturedby Black, who had earned it a longtime ago.

33. Bf1?!Fischer

0ZRZ0Z0ZZ0Z0jpZp0Z0ZpZ0OZ0Z0mpZ00ZpZ0Z0ZZ0Z0O0O0rZ0Z0O0ZZ0Z0ZBJ0

Smyslov

33. Bf1?!

Smyslov wants to capture the c4 pawn.But Caissa, the goddess of chess, isunforgiving: if you capture what youhave not rightfully earned, you’ll haveto give it back.


Better resistance is put up by acti-vating the king with 33. Kf1. Thetext’s attempt at capturing materialgives time, and thus more strength, toBlack’s innitiative.

33. . . Rc2Offering protection to the passed c4pawn.

34. Kg2White tries to give its king some activ-ity by bringing it out of the cave.

34. . . Ng4!?Black’s strongest continuation herewas to let his passed pawn live,and bring its king into action with34. . . Kf6.

Fischer

0ZRZ0Z0ZZ0Z0jpZp0Z0ZpZ0OZ0Z0ZpZ00ZpZ0ZnZZ0Z0O0O00ZrZ0OKZZ0Z0ZBZ0

Smyslov

34. . . Ng4!?

However, Fischer is confident of thesuperiority of his position and decidesto simplify things by trading pawns:he relieves the knight from defendingthe c4 pawn and sends it to attackthe overstretched pawn in h6 and theincreasingly gloomy f2 pawn, whichjust so happens to be the support ofWhite’s whole kingside pawn struc-ture.

35. Kg1

This and the next one are a funnypair of moves. It’s like Smyslov is try-ing to help Bobby keep his c4 pawn,and Bobby insists in trading as manypawns as possible.

Fischer

0ZRZ0Z0ZZ0Z0jpZp0Z0ZpZ0OZ0Z0ZpZ00ZpZ0ZnZZ0Z0O0O00ZrZ0O0ZZ0Z0ZBJ0

Smyslov

35. Kg1

White need not be shy here: better wasto capture right away with 35. B×c4,despite the check when the rook comesto snatch the f2 pawn.

35. . . R×f2Despite the second chance Smyslovgave Fischer to change his mind andprotect again the passed pawn withthe stronger 35. . . Ne5, Fischer pushesforward the pawn trade, knowing thatWhite’s game is either way beyond sal-vation.

36. B×c4White has to go along with Black’splans.

36. . . Rf3Fischer wants to cash in all his chipsand goes for the e3 pawn.

37. Kg2A necessary, protocolar move that can-not stop the innevitable capture of thee3 pawn.

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37. . . R×e3Black is now two pawns ahead in mate-rial and with a healthy innitiative. Thethreat now is to capture the h6 pawn.

38. Rh8Black makes sure that Black’s intendedcapture of the h6 pawn in the nextmove will be a trade, by preparing tosack the h7 pawn in exchange.

Fischer

0Z0Z0Z0SZ0Z0jpZp0Z0ZpZ0OZ0Z0ZpZ00ZBZ0ZnZZ0Z0s0O00Z0Z0ZKZZ0Z0Z0Z0

Smyslov

38. Rh8

38. . . N×h6Black takes a pawn.

39. R×h7White takes a pawn, and is still twodown. The less material there is onthe board, the more significant the dif-ference in material becomes.

39. . . Ng4The horse gets out of the sight of thecannon. Black’s pawn majority in thekingside is overwhelming, and Whitehas no counterplay whatsoever.

40. Bb5The begining of an ackward series ofmoves trying to do something with aworthless bishop.Smyslov is now playing out of pride, orjust to tire Fischer for the benefit of his

camarades, because there is nothing tofight for here.

40. . . Rb3Fischer challenges Smyslov to find agood square for his bishop.

41. Bc6“How about this one?”

41. . . Rb2+“How about I check your king?”

42. Kg1The white monarch is now isolated, un-able to protect the g3 pawn. Run-ning to a less marginal square, such as42. Kf1, might have been slightly bet-ter.

42. . . Ne5Black insists: “What is it that you’regoing to do with that bishop?”

43. Ba8It’s very hard to find any good squarefor it, so Smyslov (who for some reasonhas kept playing a totally lost game)decides to tuck it away in the corner.

43. . . Rb8“Where you gonna put it now, Vasily?”

44. Bh1The sight of the bishop and the kingcuddling together in a corner is pa-thetic. Smyslov resigned after thismove, without waiting for 44. . . Rb3!45. Kf1 R×g3, where - as Massenet’sCid would say - tout est bien fini!.

0 : 1For other annotations of this game, seeSmyslov et al (1993, p.132-4), Kas-parov (2004, p.357-8), Soltis (2003,p.371-3), Wade and O’Connell (1973,p.399).


Chapter 2

Fischer vs Addison

Fischer’s victim

Fischer’s second victim at Palma de Mallorca was a fellow American. WilliamGrady Addison, born in Baton Rouge (Louisiana) in 1933, had served in the USmilitary and moved to San Francisco, where he took his game from the modestlevel of Expert into that of an International Master.

He played along with Fischer on the US team that won the silver medalat the Havana 1966 Oympiad, and won second place in the 1969 US ChessChampionship. Since the US is a FIDE Zone, Addison qualified automaticallyfor the 1970 Interzonal Tournament. After Palma, Addison represented the USagain in the 1974 Tel Aviv Olympiad, scoring a respectable 7.5 out of 9 (83%).

Despite being still on the ascent, Addison retired from tournament play inthe early 1970s to go into the banking business. He had just reached his peakFIDE rating (2490) and was inches away from becoming a Grandmaster.

He passed away in 2008, a month shy of his 75th birthday. Fellow chessplay-ers remember him fondly as a very nice man, with a vibrant passion for the thegame of chess and its Asian sibling, the game of Go.1

The game

After crushing a former World Champion to fine powder in the previous round,Fischer must have gone into this game against a fellow American player as ifinto a relaxation spa. Addison was a strong player by US standards, but not aparticularly frightening one when compared to the Soviets, which were at thetime Fischer’s only true contenders.

Addison’s choice of opening reveals something about his state of mind. De-spite all his purported rejection of line memorization, Fischer was neverthelessa force to be reckoned with regarding chess openings. In previous encounters,

1The main source of this information is the obituary published by the United States ChessFederation, particularly the moving contribution by IM John Donaldson.

17

18 CHAPTER 2. FISCHER VS ADDISON

Addison had followed Bobby’s staple 1.e4 with an assortment of replies: 1...c6(Caro-Kann) in the 1957 US Open, 1...c5 (Sicilian) in the 1962 US Champi-onship, and 1...e5 (into a Ruy Lopez Exchange) in the 1966 US Championship.Only this last one had given him a draw.

Yet for their battle in Palma, Addison decided to throw the opening theoryout the window, choosing a very unlikely opening, known as the Centre Counteror Scandinavian, and within it a seldom played variation. Fischer, never oneto shy away from real chess (as opposed to just replaying theoretical openinglines), greeted Addison’s choice with “a wide smile” (Brady, 1989, p.176).

� Fischer Round 3 - IZT Palma de Mallorca, November 11, 1970� Addison Centre Counter Defence (Scandanavian) – B01

1. e4No surprise here: Fischer’s predilectionfor 1.e4 is legendary.

1. . . d5This stears the opening into the Cen-tre Counter defense. Instead of meet-ing White’s e4 challenge head on withe5, or from the flank with c5, the Scan-dinavian, as this opening is also called,seeks to defuse the presure on the cen-ter before it is even built.It is not the most aggressive reply, andmaybe because of that also not themost frequent: in very general terms,players of 1.e4 can expect to meet theScandinavian slightly over 4% of thetime.Its mainline results in an acceptableposition for Black, with the added ad-vantage that most of White’s theo-retical knowledge on the “big gun”replies to 1.e4, such as the Sicilian, RuyLopez, Caro-Kann and French, is allbut worthless after this move.

2. e×d5The almost universal continuation byWhite is to capture immediately.Black, in turn, has two alternativesto recapture the white pawn. One is

to bring out the knight with 2. . . Nf6,investing two moves in the recapture.The obvious disadvantage is the extratempo for White, which comes on topof the privilege of the first move.

2. . . Q×d5The other, more popular option, is torecapture with the queen. It wouldseem like this recapture is more effi-cient, since it only takes one move. Butthe queen is easily shooed away.

3. Nc3The knight develops with a tempo,since the threatened queen has to relo-cate. Not to give up the whole tempo,in the mainline Black tries to keep thequeen active somewhere in the board:3. . . Qa5 is the big favorite, after whichBlack has a decent game, and Whitehas to work to materialize an advan-tage.

3. . . Qd8?!A much less aggressive retreat, whichwe appraise as dubious, a guilty indul-gence for which without doubt yourstruly will be critizised. This move isold as chess itself: Lucena reports itin a game from 1485 (Plaskett, 2004,p.30).

19

Venerable as it may be, this is an in-ferior continuation. By tucking thequeen away from the pesty attacks ofminor pieces, Black puts its opponenttwo tempos ahead: a white piece hasbeen developed, yet it is again time forWhite to move.This is a rare position. An 1.e4player can expect to meet it, generallyspeaking, only about once every eighthundred games. Fischer himself onlyfaced it twice in his life, including thisone. Before this game against Addison,Bobby was in this position in a gameagainst the Austrian chess player andbotanist Karl Robatsch (1928-2000) inthe 1962 Olympiad in Varna.

4. d4The best continuation by White, seek-ing control of the center with theremaining central pawn, and freeingthe queenside bishop. Developing thequeenside pieces will be particularlyimportant if White plans to castlequeenside, now that his oponent hasa kingside pawn majority. But Whiteretains both castling options open, aswe shall see.

4. . . Nf6Natural development for the knight,a move that possibly heralds Black’sintentions to castle kingside, with-out fianchettoing the kingside bishop.When players castle in opposite sidesof the board, usually violent attacksfollow, the victor being the one thatreaches the other guy’s jugular first.Another interesting and strong contin-uation, 4. . . g6 to fianchetto the bishop,fell into undeserved disrepute after Ro-batsch was grind to a fine powderby Fischer himself in the 1962 VarnaOlympiad. Yet the situation for Blackafter this alternative move is no worse

than that after the text.

5. Bc4

This development of the kingsidebishop contributes to White’s controlof the central d5 square, which couldbecome a post for the knight. It alsoputs pressure on the sensitive f7 squareand brings White one move closer tocastling kingside, if he so decides.

Some eager annotators (e.g. Smyslov)have given this move an exclamationpoint, suggesting it is an excellentmove of Fischer’s own harvest. Suchpraise, however, is better reserved forthe first player to make a given movein tournament play, in this case Benkoas we shall see.

5. . . Bf5

Developing the bishop. Yet betteris to develop it to 5. . . Bg4, disturb-ing White’s kingside, or even to pusha pawn: 5. . . c6, challenging White’scontrol of the d5 square.

6. Qf3

The best move here, activating thequeen with a threat to the hangingbishop. White fears not 6. . . B×c2, be-cause of 7. Q×b7.

This time it is Wade that give thismove an exclamation point, suggest-ing again that Fischer gets the credit.Again the punctuation is misplacedhere, since Benko played this before.

In the past, White had continued witha knight development move: back in1911, Bilek played 6. Nge2 againstPokorny; while in 1915, Pleasantsplayed 6.Nf3 against Fox, a move mir-rored in 1924 by Morrison playing Ew-ing.


Addison

rm0lka0sopo0opop0Z0Z0m0ZZ0Z0ZbZ00ZBO0Z0ZZ0M0ZQZ0POPZ0OPOS0A0J0MR

Fischer6. Qf3

Fast forward to 1970. Pal Benko,who took third place in the 1969 USChess Championship and qualified forthe Palma Interzonal, and whose ticketto Palma had been ceded to Fischer(a generous sacrifice that was com-pensated with two thousand dollars)had reached the exact same positionagainst the very same Bill Addisonjust a few months earlier, in June1970, at an international tournamentin Caracas, better remembered as theone where the future World ChampionAnatoly Karpov attained his Grand-master Title.In Caracas 1970, Benko played 6. Qf3!.Here the exclamation is well deserved,since Benko was the first to play thisexcellent move in competition, a movemuch stronger than the alternativesand at the time a contribution to open-ing theory.Irrespective of whether Fischer, whoknew Benko and Addison from the USchess circuit and was an avid consumerof chess literature of all types with aphotographic memory for chess posi-tions, knew of that game, for the sakeof annotation the exclamation markbelongs to Benko.

6. . . Qc8

As in Caracas, Addison defends thethreatened bishop.

7. Bg5?!Here Bobby embarks into uncharteredterritory for the first time in this game,and gets an exclamation mark fromSmyslov.

Addison

rmqZka0sopo0opop0Z0Z0m0ZZ0Z0ZbA00ZBO0Z0ZZ0M0ZQZ0POPZ0OPOS0Z0J0MR

Fischer7. Bg5?!

However, the move does not improveover Benko’s continuation: 7. Bf4?!,since both give up part of the initiativeinherited from Black’s weak opening.The strongest continuation is 7. Nge2!,activating the knight and preparing tocastle kingside.

7. . . B×c2!Black captures a pawn, not to retain amaterial advantage, but as a way to de-prive White from the option of castlingqueenside, possibly because Black as-pires to castle kingside, and hopes thatthe both kings castling on the samewing will lead to a more paced game.In a possible case of “annotation byresult”, Smyslov evaluates this moveby Addison as bad. Yet it is by farthe best way to capitalize on White’slukewarm seventh move, bringing somebalance back to the position.

21

Addison

rmqZka0sopo0opop0Z0Z0m0ZZ0Z0Z0A00ZBO0Z0ZZ0M0ZQZ0PObZ0OPOS0Z0J0MR

Fischer7. . . B×c2!

8. Rc1The bishop, a thorn in White’s queen-side, is shooed away by the rook.

8. . . Bg6The best retreat for the bishop, whichrelocates to a safe, positionally valu-able square, with a nice view of a cen-tral diagonal.

9. Nge2This seemingly passive move is actu-ally the most aggressive continuation,the only one that retains White’s ini-tiative. The knight develops to a goodsquare and puts White one move closerto castling kingside.

9. . . Nbd7Black brings the remaining knight intoaction without blocking the c pawn,which may be pushed soon. Anotherworthy continuation was 9. . . c6 rightaway, contending the d5 square andpreventing a queenside incursion of thewhite knight.

10. 0–0White shields the king and brings therook out of hiding. Other good alter-natives were starting a kingside pawn

attack with 10. h4, or sending theknight to exert pressure on the queen-side with 10. Nb5.

10. . . e6Fighting for d5. Slightly better mighthave been 10. . . c6, which not only at-tacks d5, but also keeps the knight outof b5.

11. B×f6?!Bobby goes for a simplification here,trading an excellent bishop for a knightthat is providing protection to theblack king.

Addison

rZqZka0soponZpop0Z0ZpAbZZ0Z0Z0Z00ZBO0Z0ZZ0M0ZQZ0PO0ZNOPOZ0S0ZRJ0

Fischer11. B×f6?!

Yet the trade was unnecessary, andeven counterproductive, since it givesaway some initiative. Stronger was tokeep piling on pressure on the kingsidewith 11. Nf4, which puts the bishop inan uncomfortable position.

11. . . g×f6?Smyslov criticizes this move, andrightly so. This is the wrong recap-ture. It puts Black immediately on thedefensive, weakening the king’s shelterand giving up the opportunity to cas-tle.The right defense was 11. . . N×f6. Af-ter 12. d5 e5 13. Nb5 Bc5 14. d6,Black can castle and return the pawn


with 14. . . 0–0 15. N×c7, reaching abalanced position.

Addison

rZqZka0soponZpZp0Z0ZpobZZ0Z0Z0Z00ZBO0Z0ZZ0M0ZQZ0PO0ZNOPOZ0S0ZRJ0

Fischer11. . . g×f6?

12. d5!This move is justly praised by Smyslov.White advances a pawn to a majesticcentral square, with no less than threepieces protecting it.

12. . . e5Black cannot trade with 12. . . e×d5?,because White would start an attackwith 13. N×d5.

13. Bb5?!Addison

rZqZka0soponZpZp0Z0Z0obZZBZPo0Z00Z0Z0Z0ZZ0M0ZQZ0PO0ZNOPOZ0S0ZRJ0

Fischer13. Bb5?!

Bobby’s pin of the knight is actually aweak move, since it has no immediatethreat and allows Black some counter-play on the kingside with 13. . . f5!.

The most aggresive move here was tostart a pawn attack right away with13. h4!.

13. . . Be7Luckily for Fischer, Addison misses thestunning 13. . . f5!, and makes insteada lackluster bishop development move,that allows White to keep its initiativeintact.

14. Ng3Brings the knight to a square fromwhere it dominates the kingside, par-alizes the black bishop and threatensa push of the h pawn. This move alsoopens a central column for the rooks.Also good was to bring the kingsidecannon to the d column right awaywith a pawn sacrifice: 14. d6! B×d615. Rfd1.

14. . . a6Black forces the unpinning of theknight.

15. Bd3!Addison

rZqZkZ0sZponapZppZ0Z0obZZ0ZPo0Z00Z0Z0Z0ZZ0MBZQM0PO0Z0OPOZ0S0ZRJ0

Fischer15. Bd3!

Wade sings the praises of this retreat,and we agree with his assessment. Ind3 the bishop is untouchable, since acapture with 15. . . B×d3? would createan unsightly gap in the g column.

23

15. . . Qd8

A passive move: the queen relocatesto get some activity and protect thebishop, while Black waits for White toreveal its attack. Yet better was togive the queen some kingside visibil-ity while activating the knight on thequeenside, with 15. . . Nb6.

16. h4

Finally, Bobby makes his move. Thepawn push claims more space in thekingside and announces the beginningof hostilities.

16. . . h5

Black fears the white pawn reachingh5 and bothering its bishop. Yet astronger defense was put by doublingthe pressure on the enemy bishop with16. . . Nc5.

17. Bf5

Protected by queen and knight, thebishop goes to bully the enemy knight,a good defender of the king.

17. . . Nb6

The knight moves out of the attackof the bishop and into the queenside,hoping for some counterplay there andmaking menacing grimaces to the d5pawn.

18. Nce4!?

Both Smyslov and Wade give this movean exclamation mark. We appraise itdifferently, as an interesting move, yetnot necessarily the strongest continua-tion.

Addison

rZ0lkZ0sZpo0apZ0pm0Z0obZZ0ZPoBZp0Z0ZNZ0OZ0Z0ZQM0PO0Z0OPZZ0S0ZRJ0

Fischer18. Nce4!?

The best move here was the positional18. Rfd1, overprotecting the d5 pawnas the spearhead of White’s centraldomination. Yet Fisher goes for thefireworks, chosing a slightly less solid,yet by far more interesting vein: relo-cating the knight towards the kingside.The d5 pawn cannot be touched, as weshall see.

18. . . N×d5?Naıvely, Addison eats the forbiddenpawn, and in doing so gives the gameaway to Fischer.

Addison

rZ0lkZ0sZpo0apZ0pZ0Z0obZZ0ZnoBZp0Z0ZNZ0OZ0Z0ZQM0PO0Z0OPZZ0S0ZRJ0

Fischer18. . . N×d5?

Black’s right defense here was tosimply redeploy the knight through18. . . Nc8.

19. Rfd1


Black’s previous move allows White tounleash an attack, which is started bythe text move, pinning the knight tothe queen. Any other move fails to cap-italize on Black’s error.

19. . . c6Defending the knight.

20. Nc3Revealing a double discovered attackof queen and knight on the blackhorse which, still chewing the recentlysnatched pawn, is already feeling theeffects of the poison.

20. . . Qb6The horse is lost. The question facingAddison now is what’s the best wayto weather the coming storm. Thisqueen move, threatening the b2 pawn,is not the best defense. Much bet-ter was to trade down weapons with20. . . B×f5, or to give the rook someair with 20. . . a5.

21. R×d5!Addison

rZ0ZkZ0sZpZ0apZ0plpZ0obZZ0ZRoBZp0Z0Z0Z0OZ0M0ZQM0PO0Z0OPZZ0S0Z0J0

Fischer21. R×d5!

We join Smyslov and Wade in givingthis move an exclamation mark. Itwould seem that White, already twopawns down in material, is sacrificingthe exchange.

However, this is a capture, not an ex-change: White is taking what is right-fully his. The rook is immune, becauseif Black recaptures, a violent attack onthe king would follow.

21. . . c×d5?Addison had to return the materialwith 21. . . Qd4, protecting the bishopfrom an imminent seventh rank incur-sion by the white rook. Yet by hold-ing to the material advantage, Black isnow totally lost. The remaining movesare a demonstration by Fisher on howto kill the fight bull.

22. N×d5Capturing the pawn is secondary:White brings the knight to the cen-ter to put pressure on the defendingbishop, while attacking the queen andopening the central columns.

22. . . Q×b2?Addison’s final mistake. Instead,22. . . Qd4 was called for, protectingthe bishop in order to last longer. Thegame was beyond salvation either way.

23. Rb1Nothing can stop this rook from reach-ing the seventh rank now.

23. . . Q×a2Her majesty gives way while having alast meal.

24. R×b7The bishop, the king’s shield, is aboutto fall under fire from rook and knight.Saving it would require giving up thewhole queen with 24. Q×d5, and sub-mitting the king to the combined at-tack of rook and queen.As opposed to White’s active pieces,Black’s are merely ornamental. The

25

black king is wide open to the attack,and defeat is just a matter of mechan-ics. In this utterly lost position, thereis nothing left, so Addison resigned.

1 : 0

For other annotations of this game,

see Smyslov et al (1993, p.134-5), andWade and O’Connell (1973, p.399).

This annotation was last updated onJuly 12, 2009. The present text is awork in progress, and feedback is wel-come: [email protected].


Chapter 3

Fischer vs Filip

Fischer’s victim

Miroslav Filip was born in Prague in 1928. He was champion of Czechoslovakiathree times (1950, 1952 and 1954) and became a Grandmaster in 1955, the sameyear he became the first Czech ever to reach the Candidates. He was a candidateagain in 1962, where he defeated the former World Champion Mikhail Tal in amemorable game. He represented his country in a dozen consecutive Olympiadsbetween 1952 and 1974. In 1978, he became an International Arbiter. He passedaway at the age of 80 in Prague in 2009. For more information on Filip and hischess career, see Hooper and Whyld (1996, p.135).

The game

After an unusual double-fianchetto opening by Fischer, the game circles backinto a variation of the English Opening. Accurate play from both sides keepsthe position in a tense equilibrium well after two dozen moves. Yet a series ofmistakes from Filip in moves 26, 34 and 36 take him to the slaughter house,where Fisher fillets the Czech king into neat New York steak cuts.

� Fischer Round 4 - IZT Palma de Mallorca, November 13, 1970� Filip English Neo-Catalan Declined, via Nimzo-Larsen Classic – A14

1. b3

Brady notes this was only the secondtime Bobby used this opening move inserious play. The heart of Fischer’s fu-ture opponents must have sunk a lit-tle bit on account of this move, with

the realization that at this point therewas nothing predictable about Bobby’sopening repertoire.

This move is known, among othernames, as the Larsen Opening, afterthe Danish GM Bent Larsen, whichwe will meet later in Volume 2 of this

27

28 CHAPTER 3. FISCHER VS FILIP

work. The hypermodern idea behind itcan be traced back to the revolution-ary Nimzowitsch: fianchetto the queenbishop and control the center fromafar, without occupying it. That’s whythis opening is often also called theNimzo-Larsen Attack. The term at-tack just refers to the fact that it is aseries of moves initiated by White, justas Defense refers to moves initiated byBlack.

1. . . d5This is known as the Classical Varia-tion of the Nimzo-Larsen. A more pop-ular response is the so-called ModernVariation, 1. . . e5. Both are solid andfull of options for both players.

2. Bb2The natural continuation to the open-ing move: the bishop controls the cen-ter from a distance.

2. . . Nf6Black develops a piece, controls thecenter and prepares to castle kingside.

3. Nf3White does the same.

3. . . e6Supporting the d5 pawn, and openinga development channel for the kingsidebishop.

4. g3White prepares a double fianchetto,and will likely castle kingside soon af-terwards.

4. . . Be7Black expedites the kingside castling,developing the bishop to a non-commital square.

5. Bg2Completing the fianchetto and prepar-ing to castle.

5. . . 0–0Black castles, bringing the rook outof hiding and putting the king behindthe protecting shield of the kingsidepawns.

6. 0–0White follows suit and castles rightaway.

6. . . c5With the king safely tucked away onthe kingside, Black claims space on thequeenside with a pawn phalanx.

7. c4White fears not 7. d×c4 because af-ter 7. . . b×c4 8. Nc6 d3 White ends upwith a beautiful pawn formation thatoccupies the center without obstruct-ing its pieces.

Filip

rmbl0skZopZ0apop0Z0Zpm0ZZ0opZ0Z00ZPZ0Z0ZZPZ0ZNO0PA0OPOBOSNZQZRJ0

Fischer7. c4

By transposition, we have reacheda position of the English Opening,known as the Neo-Catalan Declined(ECO code A14). This position, a verybalanced one with no clear edge for ei-ther side, had never been reached byFischer before in tournament play.

29

Although here it was reached via theNimzo-Larsen attack, it can be reachedvia the English as follows: 1. c4 e62. Nf3 d5 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Be75. 0–0 0–0 6. b3 c5 7. Bb2.

7. . . Nc6Black develops a minor piece to an ex-cellent square, with a threat: 8. . . d4,planting a supported pawn in a veryuncomfortable square for White.

8. c×d5The strongest continuation, tradingpawns to remove the posibility of a d-pawn push.

Filip

rZbl0skZopZ0apop0ZnZpm0ZZ0oPZ0Z00Z0Z0Z0ZZPZ0ZNO0PA0OPOBOSNZQZRJ0

Fischer8. c×d5

This capture is much better than try-ing to stop the push of the d pawn with8. d4, which has the downside of giv-ing Black the chance to capture with8. . . d×c4, which after 9. b×c4 leavesWhite’s queenside pawns in bad shape:an isolated pawn in a2 and a weakpawn in c4.

8. . . N×d5This recapture is at least as good asthe alternative 8. . . e×d5, if not better.Out of the question is 8. . . Q×d5?, onaccount of a discovered bishop attackon the queen with 9. Ne5: after the

retreat 9. . . Qd6, Black would get dou-bled pawns with 10. N×c6 b×c6 and thequeenside pawn structure is gone.

9. Nc3Developing a piece and hinting at a fu-ture trade of knights on d5. Fischerknows that, if Black trades immedi-ately with 9. . . N×c3, White would getthe d column: 10. d×c3, and now theblack queen has to move aside with10. . . Qc7 or go for a murder-suicideagainst the white queen, in which casea white rook would happily take theopen column.

9. . . Bf6Black delays the knight trade on d5.Now taking right away with 10. N×d5?!would be counter productive on ac-count of 10. . . B×d2 11. Rb1 (to savethe rook) 11. . . e×d5 12. R×b2, andonce the dust has settled, Black hasturned the tide in his favor: bettercontrol of the center, better queensidepawn structure, and pieces with betterprospects.

10. Qc1Before trading the knight, White mustprotect the hanging bishop, and this isthe best way to do it.

10. . . b6Improving the structural health of thequeenside and opening a window forthe bishop.

11. N×d5White finally gets rid of the central-ized black knight and gives his bishopa beautiful diagonal.

11. . . e×d5The only way to recapture. The alter-native 11. . . Q×d5 loses immediately to


12. Ne5, with a discovered attack onthe queen and, through X-rays, on thebishop, after which Black cannot pre-vent a significant loss of material.

12. d4Although rated as merely interesting(!?) by Smyslov, this is a solid moveand the best continuation. White tem-porarily sacrifices a pawn, to tradedown minor pieces, and give his majorpieces more activity.

12. . . Ba6Before taking the sacrificed pawn,Black develops the last minor piece,with an attack on the hanging e pawn.

13. Re1White defends the pawn and central-izes the rook.

13. . . N×d4Black has to accept the temporary sac-rifice.

14. B×d4!?

Filip

rZ0l0skZo0Z0Zpopbo0Z0a0ZZ0opZ0Z00Z0A0Z0ZZPZ0ZNO0PZ0ZPOBOS0L0S0J0

Fischer14. B×d4!?

Wade gives this move an exclamationmark and presents it, citing Filip’sanalysis, as “the only way of preservingany initiative”. Yet with perfect play

it leads to a neutral position where noside has an edge.Smyslov assesses the text move as in-teresting (e.g. !?), yet presents the al-ternative recapture 14. N×d4 as prefer-able. We agree, as this course givesWhite a small edge. With best play,the game would continue: 14. . . c×d415. Qd1 Re8 16. B×d4 B×d4 17. Q×d4.If 17. . . B×e2 then simply 18. B×d5.

14. . . c×d4The right recapture. The alterna-tive 14. . . B×d4 15. N×d4 c×d4 has nopoint, as it gives up for no reason theadvantage of the two bishops.

15. Qa3.

15. . . Bb7Wade ?. Smyslov ?!.

16. Rad1.

16. . . Be7.

17. Qa4.

17. . . Qe8.

18. Q×d4.

18. . . Rc8.

19. Qf4.

19. . . Bf6.

31

20. Nd4.

20. . . Be5Smyslov !?.

21. Qe3.

21. . . g6.

22. Nb5Smyslov !?.

22. . . Q×b5Wade ?. Smyslov ?.

23. Q×e5.

23. . . Rfe8.

24. Qb2.

24. . . Rc5.

25. h4.

25. . . Rec8.

26. Rd2.

26. . . Rc3.

27. Red1.

27. . . Qc5.

28. b4.

28. . . Qe7.

29. e3.

29. . . h5.

30. a3.

30. . . Kh7Smyslov ?!.

31. B×d5.

31. . . B×d5.

32. R×d5.

32. . . Qe4.

33. Rd8.

33. . . Qf3Smyslov !?.

34. Kh2Smyslov !.

34. . . R8c4Smyslov ?!.

35. R1d7


Smyslov !.

35. . . g5Smyslov ?.

36. Rf8.

36. . . Kg6.

37. Rg8+.

37. . . Kh7.

38. R×g5

.

38. . . Rc8.

39. Rdd5.

39. . . Kh6.

40. Rdf5.

1 : 0For other annotations of this game,see Smyslov et al (1993, p.135-6), andWade and O’Connell (1973, p.399).

Documents

God of War - Bobby Fischer at the peak of power: all the chess victories from his best year