Contents

1 Smyslov vs Fischer 3

2 Fischer vs Addison 17

3 Fischer vs Filip 27

1
2 CONTENTS
Chapter 1

Smyslov vs Fischer

Fischer’s victim
Fischer first draw blood in the Interzonal Tournament from a former World
Champion, Vasily Smyslov. Born in 1921, Smyslov learned to play chess at age
six, and enjoyed a long and fruitful career in chess, spanning over four decades.
According to Chessmetrics, his best performance (2824) was in the Zurich
Candidates in 1953, the strongest Tournament of the 1950’s, where he scored
64% vs 2719-rated opposition; and he remained the strongest player in the world
from mid 1954 to early 1958.
He failed to capture the World Championship in 1954 when he tied his
match 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, his
ability to make friends and his beautiful voice as an opera singer. For more
information on Smyslov and his awe-inspiring chess career, see Hooper and
Whyld (1996, p.376-7).

The game
In the first round of the Interzonal at Palma de Mallorca, Fischer had made
some mistakes, and just managed to pull a draw against the rising German
grandmaster (and papyrologist!) Robert Hübner (b. 1953).
After this unimpressive start, Bobby’s luck would turn, beginning with a
spectacular win against a former World Champion.
“Russians vs Fischer,” provides a quote by Vasyukov that highlights this
game as “of particular importance to both players” on two accounts: first, this
was Fischer’s first game in Palma against a Soviet player; and second, both
Fischer and Smyslov had good chances of qualifying for the Candidates, which
made them “direct rivals” (Plisetsky and Voronkov, 2005, p.207).

3
4 CHAPTER 1. SMYSLOV VS FISCHER

 Smyslov Round 2 - IZT Palma de Mallorca, November 10, 1970

 Fischer Symmetrical English Opening, Closed Systems – A36

4. Bg2
1. c4 White completes the fianchetto of the
White aims to control the central d5 bishop, the purpose of the previous
square from the flank. move, bolstering its of control of the
white squares of the center.
1. . . g6
This move, preparing the fianchetto of 4. . . Nc6
the black-square bishop, introduces a This move develops the knight to an
permanent feature in Black’s kingside excellent square, and piles up pressure
pawn formation. on d4 and e5, making the board sym-
metrical again.
2. Nc3 In some openings, the initial symmetry
White develops its knight to an excel- of the board is broken for good in the
lent square, where it reinforces the con- first round of moves; in others, like this
trol over d5, and covers another central one, it lasts a bit longer. By transposi-
square, namely e4. tion of moves, we have reached what
MCO-15 calls the Ultra-Symmetrical
2. . . Bg7 Variation of the English opening.
Black fianchettoes the bishop, which
now has a magnificent view of the a1- 5. b3?!
h8 diagonal, and controls two central “A move one associates with Smyslov,”
squares: d4 and e5. says Watson in his book on the sym-
Black has delayed committing to a metrical English (1980, p.18).
pawn structure in the center, reserv- Fischer
ing the option of pushing either the c
or the e pawn at later time. rZblkZns
opZpopap
3. g3 0ZnZ0ZpZ
With this move, White prepare to fi-
anchetto its own white-square bishop
Z0o0Z0Z0
to g2, from which it will contribute to 0ZPZ0Z0Z
the control of a long diagonal, and will ZPM0Z0O0
add pressure to the d5 square in par- PZ0OPOBO
ticular.
S0AQJ0MR
Smyslov
3. . . c5
5. b3?!
Black goes for a symmetrical pawn
structure in the center. Pushing e5 in- White prepares to fianchetto his other
stead would have blocked the view of bishop, to contest Blacks domination
the bishop in g7. of the black center squares.
Smyslov’s pet variation, also a favorite
 5

of Larsen, is less popular than other To get the knight out of the way of
options like 5. Nf3, 5. e3 and even White’s bishop and propose a trade
5. a3. It is not a bad move, in the to its Black counterpart. But, hasn’t
sense that the resulting position has Black spent two moves already fi-
been evaluated as equal for both play- anchettoing that bishop? It is hard
ers. Yet precisely there lies its weak- to see the point of investing two more
ness. moves now in order to exchange it.
Soviet annotators (see “Russians vs Fischer
Fischer”) gave this move a ?! evalu-
ation. We agree. The advantage of rZblkZ0s
having the first move gives White a lit- opZpmpap
tle edge of innitiative that should keep 0ZnZpZpZ
Black busy trying to achieve a balance
for the first dozen moves or so. Z0o0Z0Z0
In this game, White’s passive play NZPZ0Z0Z
has resulted in such a balance being ZPZ0Z0O0
reached rather early in the game. Af- PA0OPOBO
ter the text, whatever edge White had
on account of the first move has evap- S0ZQJ0MR
Smyslov
orated. And now it’s Black’s turn!
7. Na4?!

5. . . e6 This move was also given a ?! eval-

Black wants to develop its king-side uation in “Russians vs Fischer”.
knight, without obstructing the view
its bishop has of the long black diag- 7. . . B×b2
onal. The text makes the e7 square Black goes for the bargain and trades
available to the knight, and prepares bishops.
to support an eventual d5 pawn push.
8. N×b2
6. Bb2 Black has to recapture immediately,
Fulfilling the purpose of White’s previ- since Black’s bishop is now threaten-
ous move. Now the black-squared bish- ing to win the exchange by taking
ops are facing each other, contending the White rook. Notice that Black
for the same territory. It is very likely emerged one tempo up in the trade of
now that they will be exchanged. the fianchettoed bishops. Notice also
that, after the recapture, the White
6. . . Nge7 knight no longer controls the center
Black develops its knight without squares.
blocking the bishop on g7. The move
adds pressure to d5, preparing that 8. . . 0–0
square for an advance of the d pawn, With a free tempo to spare, Black
in order to contest White’s control over moves its King out of the center. The
this square. weakness of the pawn formation in
front of the castled King is less press-
7. Na4?! ing now that the enemy’s black-square
What is the purpose of this move? bishop is off the board.
6 CHAPTER 1. SMYSLOV VS FISCHER

Black acts wisely in castling. A king 11. . . b6

left in the center might become a lia- Black figures out a way to develop the
bility: both the knight on e7 and the white-squared bishop, and at the same
pawn on e6 may have to mobilize soon time to supports the c5 pawn.
to fight for d5, which would leave an
uncastled king vulnerable in the mid- 12. d4?
dle of the board. This innocent-looking move, challeng-
As the game proceeds, White will soon ing Black’s c5 pawn, is Smyslov’s first
realize it should have followed Black’s serious mistake: it gives Fischer the
example regarding the importance of chance to take some shots at the king
timely castling. sitting on the center.
Fischer
9. e3
White is preparing a knight move sim- rZbl0skZ
ilar to that of Black. White plans to o0Z0ZpZp
develop its knight to e2 and then push 0onZpZpZ
the d-pawn to contest Black’s control
of the central black squares. Z0onZ0Z0
0Z0O0Z0Z
9. . . d5 ZPZ0O0O0
Black loses no time in pushing for a PM0ZNOBO
break in the d-file, supported by pawn,
knight and queen. S0ZQJ0ZR
Smyslov
12. d4?
10. c×d5
Black decides to dissipate the tension It is not an obvious one, though, to
right away. A better idea was to hold it the point that over twenty years later,
and develop the knight with 10. Ne2, a compilation of Fischer’s games an-
after which Black’s capture 10. . . d×c4 notated by Smyslov himself and others
would only serve to bring the White makes no remarks about any downside
knight to a nice central position with of this move.
11. N×c4. White’s best move here was 12. 0–0,
tucking the king away from the cen-
10. . . N×d5 ter. But even if Smyslov didn’t want
The recapture gives Black the chance to castle yet for any reason, a move
to centralize the knight. At this point, like 12. a3 would have avoided surren-
the position is balanced, but Black is dering the initiative to Fischer.
calling the shots. Black’s king is safer Fischer now has to find a way to exploit
and its pieces are somewhat more ac- this subtle faux pas. The instinctive
tive. recapture 12. . . c×d4 would help White
centralize his knight with 13. N×d4.
11. Ne2
White develops its knight without ob- 12. . . Ba6!
structing the view of the fianchettoed Like a shark that smells blood from a
bishop, and prepares to castle kingside. mile away, Fischer feels there is an op-
portunity here and goes for the kill. In-
 7

stead of protecting the c5 pawn, Black Instead of recapturing the pawn, Black
concerns himself with winding up his retains the momentum with this great
innitiative. move, that develops the queen, con-
Fischer nects the rooks, puts pressure on the
weakened f2 square and threatens to
rZ0l0skZ capture the unprotected knight on b2.
o0Z0ZpZp Fischer
bonZpZpZ rZ0Z0skZ
Z0onZ0Z0 o0Z0ZpZp
0Z0O0Z0Z bonZplpZ
ZPZ0O0O0 Z0OnZ0Z0
PM0ZNOBO 0Z0Z0Z0Z
S0ZQJ0ZR ZPZ0O0O0
Smyslov
12. . . Ba6! PM0ZNOBO
White’s king should have castled when S0ZQJ0ZR
Smyslov
it had the chance. From its new post,
13. . . Qf6!
the bishop sets its telescopic sight on
the forehead of the white horse, which There is, nevertheless, another excel-
is sitting anxiously on e2, and makes lent square for the queen, possibly even
the uncastled king uneasy. better: 13. . . Qe7 threatens the d4
pawn, connects the rooks and prepares
13. d×c5 to centralize them with 14. . . Rac8 and
Castling now would be a mistake: 15. . . Rfd8, assembling the big guns
White loses a pawn after 13. 0–0? c×d4 along the central columns.
14. e×d4 B×e2 15. Q×e2 Qf6, since the
d4 pawn would be under the double at- 14. Nc4
tack of queen and knight. The only way to protect the knight is
White deserves credit for having re- to relocate it towards the center, while
alized that the initiative now belongs the White queen protects the rook.
to Black, and finding the best defense. There is no other good defense. The
The text move is a smart one, on two seemingly good 14. Nd4 allows Black
accounts. to shoo the horse away with 14. . . b×c5
First, Black has the threat of 15. N×c6 Q×b2 16. Rb1 Qf6 17. Rc1,
13. . . B×d2, to which White would recapturing the pawn and further en-
have to respond with 14. Q×d2, forc- ergizing Black’s initiative.
ing the queen to abandon the defense
of the d4 pawn. 14. . . Nc3!
Second, Black also threatens to open Resisting the temptation of pulling
the c-file for his queenside rook by out the big gun with 14. . . Rfd8, Black
13. . . c×d4, so it makes sense to snatch finds the most energetic continuation
the c5 pawn preemtively. for its innitiative against the uncastled
king. Do you see that knight on e2,
13. . . Qf6! ready to protect the king on a second’s
8 CHAPTER 1. SMYSLOV VS FISCHER
notice? He’s got to go.
Fischer
rZ0Z0skZ
o0Z0ZpZp
bonZplpZ
Z0O0Z0Z0
0ZNZ0Z0Z
ZPm0O0O0
PZ0ZNOBO
S0ZQJ0ZR
Smyslov
14. . . Nc3!
Bobby’s move is sharp because, by
sending his own knight into the en-
emy’s territory with a double attack
on queen and knight, it forces White
to trade horses.
A more passive move, like a rook ma-
neuver, would give White some breath-
ing room to castle or relocate the queen
to a c-square, preventing the knight ex-
change.
15. N×c3
In the best style of Capablanca,
Smyslov takes the best and simplest
continuation. A move like 15. Qc2,
although equally strong, would bet-
ter suit the labyrinthic style of a
lover of complications, like Alekhine.
With best play, it could continue
15. . . N×e2 16. B×c6 N×g3 17. h×g3
Q×a1+ 18. Ke2 Qe5 19. B×a8 R×a8
20. c×b6 a×b6, where Black retains its
initiative intact.
15. . . Q×c3+
With the recapture, the queen estab-
lishes herself on a magnificent square, Black decides the time to trade queens
where it exerts strong command of has not come yet, and prefers to snatch
White’s queenside. White’s knight with a check.
16. Kf1
The king, in check, has to run for its
life, nevertheless choosing his escape
square carefully. Moving instead to
16. Ke2 would lose a pawn to a ma-
neuver like 16. . . Rad8 17. Rc1 Qa5
18. Qc2 Nb4 19. Qb2 Q×c5.
Fischer
rZ0Z0skZ
o0Z0ZpZp
bonZpZpZ
Z0O0Z0Z0
0ZNZ0Z0Z
ZPl0O0O0
PZ0Z0OBO
S0ZQZKZR
Smyslov
16. Kf1
Blocking the check with the queen loses
the a1-rook immediately, while block-
ing with 16. Nc2 allows 16. . . Ne5!, a
move that bringings complications in
which White cannot avoid losing mate-
rial: i.e. 17. Bf1 Rfd8 18. B×a6 R×d2
19. Q×d2 Nf3+ 20. Ke2 N×d2.
16. . . Rfd8
Black claims for itself the wide open
d-column.
17. Qc1
The queen, evicted from its initial
square, makes an indecent proposal to
Black: I’ll trade you a displaced, in-
active piece for a beautifully placed,
dominating one.
17. . . B×c4+
18. b×c4
 9

The forced recapture comes with an

undesireable gift for White: doubled 20. . . a×b6
pawns! To which Black has no objection, since
it realizes the remaining pawn will be
18. . . Qd3+ easy pray to its knight.
Postponing the exchange of queens for
a better time, Black goes after the 21. Qb2
monarch. White is parazyled by the dominating
presence of Black’s queen. Before it
19. Kg1 can do anything, White has to figure
The king must take refuge in a out a way to impose the exchange of
square that severely hampers its h1- queens. So, Smyslov devises a neat ma-
rook’s prospects. Moving instead neuver that will force Fischer to trade
19. Ke1 would be suicidal, because queens, under penalty of losing the ini-
of 19. . . Nb4 followed by 20. . . Nc2+, tiative. It starts with the text move,
forking king and rook, and losing the but will require two more moves: one
exchange. to push forward the h pawn and an-
other to bring the queen to f6.
19. . . Rac8
Black develops its last piece. The poor 21. . . Na5
doubled pawns must be suspecting by Fischer realizes the trade of queens is
now that their future is not too bright. now just a matter of time, and makes
Fischer the best use of it: he decides to cash
in some of the chips he has earned. If
0Zrs0ZkZ you look at the material balance on the
o0Z0ZpZp board, you will see that Black is a pawn
0onZpZpZ down: this is the pawn Fischer sac-
Z0O0Z0Z0 rificed some moves ago to bolster his
initiative.
0ZPZ0Z0Z Fischer
Z0ZqO0O0
PZ0Z0OBO 0Zrs0ZkZ
S0L0Z0JR Z0Z0ZpZp
Smyslov 0o0ZpZpZ
19. . . Rac8 m0Z0Z0Z0
There is a dramatic contrast between 0ZPZ0Z0Z
Black’s developed, magnificently cen- Z0ZqO0O0
tralized rooks on open and semi-open PL0Z0OBO
columns, and White’s undeveloped
rooks, still standing on their initial
S0Z0Z0JR
Smyslov
squares, immobilized.
21. . . Na5

20. c×b6 Now Black can recover that pawn,

White decides to trade one of the dou- without losing a bit of momentum.
bled pawns while he still can. The recapture starts with the text
10 CHAPTER 1. SMYSLOV VS FISCHER

move. What is so neat about this move

is that White has no way to stop Black 23. . . Qf5
from recovering the pawn. Not surprisingly, Black proposes the
For example, if White threatens trade.
the Black queen with 22. Bf1, Fischer
Black doesn’t even bother and goes
right ahead with the pawn recapture 0Zrs0ZkZ
22. . . N×c4, since after 23. B×d3 comes Z0Z0ZpZp
23. . . N×b2, and after the queen trade
Black has its initiative intact.
0o0ZpLpZ
If, on the other hand White wanted Z0Z0ZqZ0
to snatch a pawn of its own with 0ZnZ0Z0O
22. Q×b6, Black still captures with Z0Z0O0O0
22. . . N×c4. Threatened, the White
queen retreats to 23. Qb3 with a full
PZ0Z0OBZ
belly, in the hope of being traded S0Z0Z0JR
Smyslov
by its Black counterpart. But by
23. . . Qf5
then, the ebony lady has better plans:
23. . . Qf5, aiming at the weakened f2
square and threatening 24. . . Rd2. At 24. Q×f5
this point, Black’s dominance of the Which White accepts gladly. Now
center columns is imposing. Black has to decide which pawn it uses
to recapture the queen.
22. h4
White goes ahead with the maneuver 24. . . g×f5?!
that will force Black to trade queens. This is the wrong recapture. Hard-core
Going for 22. Qf6 right away would re- Bobby fans, looking at other annota-
sult in exactly the same position (since tions of this game, will criticize yours
after 22. . . N×c4 23. h4 we transpose truly for labeling this move as dubi-
to the game) or in one with a similar ous. After all, they will argue, nothing
exchange of queens (e.g. 22. . . Q×c4 bad was said about it in the books by
23. h4 Qc3 24. Q×c3 R×c3). Wade, Smyslov, and Kasparov.
22. . . N×c4 Fischer
Black gets back the pawn it lent White 0Zrs0ZkZ
on move 13.
Z0Z0ZpZp
23. Qf6 0o0ZpZ0Z
Finally, after three moves, White has Z0Z0ZpZ0
managed to put Black in a position 0ZnZ0Z0O
where trading queens is an offer he can-
not refuse. Now, playing to avoid the Z0Z0O0O0
trade would be a mistake: 23. . . Qd6 PZ0Z0OBZ
24. h5 Rc5 25. h×g6 f×g6 and Black’s S0Z0Z0JR
advantage goes up in smoke, leaving Smyslov
behind a totally neutral position. 24. . . g×f5?!

Yet the move is weak and amply de-
serves the ?! label, since it diminishes
Black’s initiative significantly. The
text move allows White to weaken
Black’s kingside pawn structure and
position its previously useless rook in
a precious central square: 25. h5! Rd2
26. Rh4 and the rook comes out of
hiding 26. . . Ne5 27. e4 f×e4 28. R×e4
and goes to occupy a central square,
from which it is hard to displace, i.e.
28. . . Rc5 29. a4 Kg7 30. Rb1 Nd7
31. Bf3 Rcc2 32. Bd1 Ra2 and the
White’s rook is still sitting majestically
in the center, while Black’s kingside
pawn structure now has two pawn is-
lands.
Better was 24. . . e×f5! 25. h5 and here
Black has two ways to frustrate the
centralization prospects of the White
rook. The first is to prevent it from
leaving the hole with 25. . . g5 26. e4
f×e4 27. B×e4, where the rook is still
in hiding and Black has its kingside
pawns in one piece. The second is to
let it come out 25. . . Ne5 26. Rh4 and
then trade it with 26. . . Rc2 27. Rd4
R×d4 28. e×d4 Ng4, where the rook is
gone and Black’s kingside pawn forma-
tion is strong and healthy.
25. h5!
Fischer
0Zrs0ZkZ
Z0Z0ZpZp
0o0ZpZ0Z
Z0Z0ZpZP
0ZnZ0Z0Z
Z0Z0O0O0
PZ0Z0OBZ
S0Z0Z0JR
Smyslov
25. h5!
11
In “Russians vs Fischer” and in Kas-
parov’s “My Great Predecessors, Vol
4”, this move is evaluated as dubious
(?!). Soltis (2003) gives it no criticism.
This notwithstanding, the ma-
ligned text move is actually not only
very good, but in fact, it is the only
continuation that allows White to cap-
italize on Black’s previous weak move.
Now, whether Smyslov was aware of
the profound merits of this move is
open to debate. His next move makes
us think he may have pushed the pawn
in a moment of lucky inspiration.
25. . . Rd2
White sends his rook to the seventh
rank. Another good move here was
25. . . Ne5, moving the horse out of the
way of the cannons.
26. Rc1?
This move is a mistake. White brings
its queenside rook into the action with
an inconsequential knight pin, consum-
ing a tempo required to develop the
kingside rook with 26. Rh4, which we
had presumed was the idea behind the
previous move.
Fischer
0ZrZ0ZkZ
Z0Z0ZpZp
0o0ZpZ0Z
Z0Z0ZpZP
0ZnZ0Z0Z
Z0Z0O0O0
PZ0s0OBZ
Z0S0Z0JR
Smyslov
26. Rc1?
It is this error that makes us think
Smyslov made the right 25th move for
the wrong reasons. Or he just changed
12 CHAPTER 1. SMYSLOV VS FISCHER

his mind halfway through the proceed- the camel’s back. Smyslov’s game, al-
ings. After this point, the game is Fis- ready compromised, is now just be-
cher’s to lose. yond salvation, since the b-pawn will
become much stronger, and blood will
26. . . Rc5 have to be spilled to stop it.
If Black instead went to get himself a
pawn with 26. . . R×a2, White would be 28. . . b×c5
able to develop some counterplay with Fischer captures right away, miss-
27. Rh4, putting the knight under dou- ing the stronger way to punish
ble threat and prompting Black to de- Smyslov’s mistake: the in-between
move 28. . . Rd1+, after which White’s
fend with 27. . . b5, and then expanding
on the kingside with 28. g4 Rc5 29. h6.best way to prolong the game entails
Instead, Black continues with the allowing a vicious attack on his king:
strongest move: unpin the knight by 29. Kh2 b×c5 30. Ra4 Ng4+ 31. Kh3
placing the rook in a good square, pro-N×f2 harvesting a pawn, 32. Kh2 Rd2
tected by the b6 pawn. 33. Kg1 Ng4, and White’s kingside
is in shambles. If White attempted
27. Rh4 to deflect the check with 29. Bf1, it
White would have been better off with would lose material to 29. . . Nf3: e.g.
27. a4, moving the pawn out of the en- 30. Kg2 N×h4 loses the exchange,
emy rook’s line of fire. while 30. Kh1 b×c5 31. Rg4 R×f1+
32. Kg2 Ne2 loses a whole piece.
27. . . Ne5
29. Ra4
The knight, uneasy under the aim of
White sends the rook to support the
two rooks, jumps to a safer pastures,
threatened a-pawn. Moving the pawn
revealing an attack on the unprotected
out of danger with 29. a4 fails to
White rook.
29. . . c4, where Black’s c-pawn, pro-
tected by the knight and on its way to
28. R×c5? promotion, shuts the White rook out
Fischer of the defense of its a-pawn.
0Z0Z0ZkZ 29. . . c4
Z0Z0ZpZp This passed pawn has great expecta-
0o0ZpZ0Z tions, and is walking towards them,
Z0S0mpZP with the help of knight and rook.
0Z0Z0Z0S 30. h6
Z0Z0O0O0 An inconsequential diversion done in
PZ0s0OBZ desperate times. The naı̈ve threat is
Z0Z0Z0J0 31. Ra8m.
Smyslov At this point, everything is lost,
28. R×c5? and Smyslov knows it. He’s just play-
ing in the hope that Fischer may blun-
This move, seemingly a harmless ex- der. But in late 1970, Fischer was in
change of rooks, is the straw that broke top form, so the rest of the game is the
 13

Chronicle of a death foretold. Threatening to capture the pawn.

Fischer Take a look at the material balance
on the board, and you will realize
0Z0Z0ZkZ that both colors have equal material.
Z0Z0ZpZp However, Black has a strong initiative,
0Z0ZpZ0O worth well over two pawns.
Z0Z0mpZ0 In other words, Black has earned the
right to capture two pawns without
RZpZ0Z0Z compensation for White. This means
Z0Z0O0O0 that, if White wants to capture one
PZ0s0OBZ pawn, then Black will capture three.
Z0Z0Z0J0 And if White captures two, then Black
will capture four!
Smyslov
Pay attention to the following seven
30. h6
moves, during which six pawns will be
captured: two by White and four by
30. . . Kf8 Black. It is very instructive to witness
The king avoids the mate threat with how Fischer converts his initiative into
the ease of a hummingbird dodging a a material advantage.
sleepy elephant.
32. . . R×a2
31. Ra8+ The a-pawn, abandoned to its fate by
Intrascendent check, which actually the wandering White rook, is captured
helps White bring his king to the cen- by Black, who had earned it a long
ter. time ago.

31. . . Ke7 33. Bf1?!

Fischer Fischer

RZ0Z0Z0Z 0ZRZ0Z0Z
Z0Z0jpZp Z0Z0jpZp
0Z0ZpZ0O 0Z0ZpZ0O
Z0Z0mpZ0 Z0Z0mpZ0
0ZpZ0Z0Z 0ZpZ0Z0Z
Z0Z0O0O0 Z0Z0O0O0
PZ0s0OBZ rZ0Z0O0Z
Z0Z0Z0J0 Z0Z0ZBJ0
Smyslov Smyslov
31. . . Ke7 33. Bf1?!

With so few pieces left on the board, Smyslov wants to capture the c4 pawn.
the king in the center is no longer a li- But Caissa, the goddess of chess, is
ability, and becomes a powerful piece. unforgiving: if you capture what you
have not rightfully earned, you’ll have
32. Rc8 to give it back.
14 CHAPTER 1. SMYSLOV VS FISCHER

Better resistance is put up by acti- This and the next one are a funny
vating the king with 33. Kf1. The pair of moves. It’s like Smyslov is try-
text’s attempt at capturing material ing to help Bobby keep his c4 pawn,
gives time, and thus more strength, to and Bobby insists in trading as many
Black’s innitiative. pawns as possible.
Fischer
33. . . Rc2
Offering protection to the passed c4 0ZRZ0Z0Z
pawn. Z0Z0jpZp
0Z0ZpZ0O
34. Kg2 Z0Z0ZpZ0
White tries to give its king some activ-
ity by bringing it out of the cave.
0ZpZ0ZnZ
Z0Z0O0O0
34. . . Ng4!? 0ZrZ0O0Z
Black’s strongest continuation here Z0Z0ZBJ0
was to let his passed pawn live, Smyslov
and bring its king into action with 35. Kg1
34. . . Kf6.
White need not be shy here: better was
Fischer to capture right away with 35. B×c4,
0ZRZ0Z0Z despite the check when the rook comes
to snatch the f2 pawn.
Z0Z0jpZp
0Z0ZpZ0O 35. . . R×f2
Z0Z0ZpZ0 Despite the second chance Smyslov
0ZpZ0ZnZ gave Fischer to change his mind and
protect again the passed pawn with
Z0Z0O0O0 the stronger 35. . . Ne5, Fischer pushes
0ZrZ0OKZ forward the pawn trade, knowing that
Z0Z0ZBZ0 White’s game is either way beyond sal-
Smyslov vation.
34. . . Ng4!?
36. B×c4
However, Fischer is confident of the White has to go along with Black’s
superiority of his position and decides plans.
to simplify things by trading pawns:
he relieves the knight from defending 36. . . Rf3
the c4 pawn and sends it to attack Fischer wants to cash in all his chips
the overstretched pawn in h6 and the and goes for the e3 pawn.
increasingly gloomy f2 pawn, which
just so happens to be the support of 37. Kg2
White’s whole kingside pawn struc- A necessary, protocolar move that can-
ture. not stop the innevitable capture of the
e3 pawn.
35. Kg1
 15

37. . . R×e3 camarades, because there is nothing to

Black is now two pawns ahead in mate- fight for here.
rial and with a healthy innitiative. The
threat now is to capture the h6 pawn. 40. . . Rb3
Fischer challenges Smyslov to find a
38. Rh8 good square for his bishop.
Black makes sure that Black’s intended
capture of the h6 pawn in the next 41. Bc6
move will be a trade, by preparing to “How about this one?”
sack the h7 pawn in exchange.
Fischer 41. . . Rb2+
“How about I check your king?”
0Z0Z0Z0S
Z0Z0jpZp 42. Kg1
0Z0ZpZ0O The white monarch is now isolated, un-
Z0Z0ZpZ0 able to protect the g3 pawn. Run-
ning to a less marginal square, such as
0ZBZ0ZnZ 42. Kf1, might have been slightly bet-
Z0Z0s0O0 ter.
0Z0Z0ZKZ
Z0Z0Z0Z0 42. . . Ne5
Black insists: “What is it that you’re
Smyslov
going to do with that bishop?”
38. Rh8

43. Ba8
38. . . N×h6 It’s very hard to find any good square
Black takes a pawn. for it, so Smyslov (who for some reason
has kept playing a totally lost game)
39. R×h7 decides to tuck it away in the corner.
White takes a pawn, and is still two
down. The less material there is on 43. . . Rb8
the board, the more significant the dif- “Where you gonna put it now, Vasily?”
ference in material becomes.
44. Bh1
39. . . Ng4 The sight of the bishop and the king
The horse gets out of the sight of the cuddling together in a corner is pa-
cannon. Black’s pawn majority in the thetic. Smyslov resigned after this
kingside is overwhelming, and White move, without waiting for 44. . . Rb3!
has no counterplay whatsoever. 45. Kf1 R×g3, where - as Massenet’s
Cid would say - tout est bien fini!.
40. Bb5 0:1
The begining of an ackward series of For other annotations of this game, see
moves trying to do something with a Smyslov et al (1993, p.132-4), Kas-
worthless bishop. parov (2004, p.357-8), Soltis (2003,
Smyslov is now playing out of pride, or p.371-3), Wade and O’Connell (1973,
just to tire Fischer for the benefit of his p.399).
16 CHAPTER 1. SMYSLOV VS FISCHER
Chapter 2

Fischer vs Addison

Fischer’s victim
Fischer’s second victim at Palma de Mallorca was a fellow American. William
Grady Addison, born in Baton Rouge (Louisiana) in 1933, had served in the US
military and moved to San Francisco, where he took his game from the modest
level of Expert into that of an International Master.
He played along with Fischer on the US team that won the silver medal
at the Havana 1966 Oympiad, and won second place in the 1969 US Chess
Championship. Since the US is a FIDE Zone, Addison qualified automatically
for the 1970 Interzonal Tournament. After Palma, Addison represented the US
again 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 in
the early 1970s to go into the banking business. He had just reached his peak
FIDE 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 the
game 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 if
into a relaxation spa. Addison was a strong player by US standards, but not a
particularly frightening one when compared to the Soviets, which were at the
time 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 nevertheless
a force to be reckoned with regarding chess openings. In previous encounters,
1 The main source of this information is the obituary published by the United States Chess

Federation, 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 theory
out the window, choosing a very unlikely opening, known as the Centre Counter
or Scandinavian, and within it a seldom played variation. Fischer, never one
to shy away from real chess (as opposed to just replaying theoretical opening
lines), 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

to bring out the knight with 2. . . Nf6,

1. e4 investing two moves in the recapture.
No surprise here: Fischer’s predilection The obvious disadvantage is the extra
for 1.e4 is legendary. tempo for White, which comes on top
of the privilege of the first move.
1. . . d5
This stears the opening into the Cen- 2. . . Q×d5
tre Counter defense. Instead of meet- The other, more popular option, is to
ing White’s e4 challenge head on with recapture with the queen. It would
e5, or from the flank with c5, the Scan- seem like this recapture is more effi-
dinavian, as this opening is also called, cient, since it only takes one move. But
seeks to defuse the presure on the cen- the queen is easily shooed away.
ter before it is even built.
It is not the most aggressive reply, and 3. Nc3
maybe because of that also not the The knight develops with a tempo,
most frequent: in very general terms, since the threatened queen has to relo-
players of 1.e4 can expect to meet the cate. Not to give up the whole tempo,
Scandinavian slightly over 4% of the in the mainline Black tries to keep the
time. queen active somewhere in the board:
Its mainline results in an acceptable 3. . . Qa5 is the big favorite, after which
position for Black, with the added ad- Black has a decent game, and White
vantage that most of White’s theo- has to work to materialize an advan-
retical knowledge on the “big gun” tage.
replies to 1.e4, such as the Sicilian, Ruy
Lopez, Caro-Kann and French, is all 3. . . Qd8?!
but worthless after this move. A much less aggressive retreat, which
we appraise as dubious, a guilty indul-
2. e×d5 gence for which without doubt yours
The almost universal continuation by truly will be critizised. This move is
White is to capture immediately. old as chess itself: Lucena reports it
Black, in turn, has two alternatives in a game from 1485 (Plaskett, 2004,
to recapture the white pawn. One is p.30).

Venerable as it may be, this is an in-
ferior continuation. By tucking the
queen away from the pesty attacks of
minor pieces, Black puts its opponent
two tempos ahead: a white piece has
been developed, yet it is again time for
White to move.
This is a rare position. An 1.e4
player can expect to meet it, generally
speaking, only about once every eight
hundred games. Fischer himself only
faced it twice in his life, including this
one. Before this game against Addison,
Bobby was in this position in a game
against the Austrian chess player and
botanist Karl Robatsch (1928-2000) in
the 1962 Olympiad in Varna.
4. d4
The best continuation by White, seek-
ing control of the center with the
remaining central pawn, and freeing
the queenside bishop. Developing the
queenside pieces will be particularly
important if White plans to castle
queenside, now that his oponent has
a kingside pawn majority. But White
retains both castling options open, as
we shall see.
4. . . Nf6
Natural development for the knight,
a move that possibly heralds Black’s
intentions to castle kingside, with-
out fianchettoing the kingside bishop.
When players castle in opposite sides
of the board, usually violent attacks
follow, the victor being the one that
reaches 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 powder
by Fischer himself in the 1962 Varna
Olympiad. Yet the situation for Black
after this alternative move is no worse
19
than that after the text.
5. Bc4
This development of the kingside
bishop contributes to White’s control
of the central d5 square, which could
become a post for the knight. It also
puts pressure on the sensitive f7 square
and brings White one move closer to
castling kingside, if he so decides.
Some eager annotators (e.g. Smyslov)
have given this move an exclamation
point, suggesting it is an excellent
move of Fischer’s own harvest. Such
praise, however, is better reserved for
the first player to make a given move
in tournament play, in this case Benko
as we shall see.
5. . . Bf5
Developing the bishop. Yet better
is to develop it to 5. . . Bg4, disturb-
ing White’s kingside, or even to push
a pawn: 5. . . c6, challenging White’s
control of the d5 square.
6. Qf3
The best move here, activating the
queen with a threat to the hanging
bishop. White fears not 6. . . B×c2, be-
cause of 7. Q×b7.
This time it is Wade that give this
move an exclamation point, suggest-
ing again that Fischer gets the credit.
Again the punctuation is misplaced
here, since Benko played this before.
In the past, White had continued with
a knight development move: back in
1911, Bilek played 6. Nge2 against
Pokorny; while in 1915, Pleasants
played 6.Nf3 against Fox, a move mir-
rored in 1924 by Morrison playing Ew-
ing.
20 CHAPTER 2. FISCHER VS ADDISON
Addison
rm0lka0s
opo0opop
0Z0Z0m0Z
Z0Z0ZbZ0
0ZBO0Z0Z
Z0M0ZQZ0
POPZ0OPO
S0A0J0MR
Fischer
6. Qf3
Fast forward to 1970. Pal Benko,
who took third place in the 1969 US
Chess Championship and qualified for
the Palma Interzonal, and whose ticket
to Palma had been ceded to Fischer
(a generous sacrifice that was com-
pensated with two thousand dollars)
had reached the exact same position
against the very same Bill Addison
just a few months earlier, in June
1970, at an international tournament
in Caracas, better remembered as the
one where the future World Champion
Anatoly 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 this
excellent move in competition, a move
much stronger than the alternatives
and at the time a contribution to open-
ing theory.
Irrespective of whether Fischer, who
knew Benko and Addison from the US
chess circuit and was an avid consumer
of chess literature of all types with a
photographic memory for chess posi-
tions, knew of that game, for the sake
of annotation the exclamation mark
belongs to Benko.
6. . . Qc8
As in Caracas, Addison defends the
threatened bishop.
7. Bg5?!
Here Bobby embarks into unchartered
territory for the first time in this game,
and gets an exclamation mark from
Smyslov.
Addison
rmqZka0s
opo0opop
0Z0Z0m0Z
Z0Z0ZbA0
0ZBO0Z0Z
Z0M0ZQZ0
POPZ0OPO
S0Z0J0MR
Fischer
7. Bg5?!
However, the move does not improve
over Benko’s continuation: 7. Bf4?!,
since both give up part of the initiative
inherited from Black’s weak opening.
The strongest continuation is 7. Nge2!,
activating the knight and preparing to
castle kingside.
7. . . B×c2!
Black captures a pawn, not to retain a
material advantage, but as a way to de-
prive White from the option of castling
queenside, possibly because Black as-
pires to castle kingside, and hopes that
the both kings castling on the same
wing will lead to a more paced game.
In a possible case of “annotation by
result”, Smyslov evaluates this move
by Addison as bad. Yet it is by far
the best way to capitalize on White’s
lukewarm seventh move, bringing some
balance back to the position.
 21

Addison attack with 10. h4, or sending the

rmqZka0s knight to exert pressure on the queen-
opo0opop side with 10. Nb5.

0Z0Z0m0Z 10. . . e6
Z0Z0Z0A0 Fighting for d5. Slightly better might
0ZBO0Z0Z have been 10. . . c6, which not only at-
Z0M0ZQZ0 tacks d5, but also keeps the knight out
of b5.
PObZ0OPO
S0Z0J0MR 11. B×f6?!
Fischer Bobby goes for a simplification here,
7. . . B×c2! trading an excellent bishop for a knight
that is providing protection to the
8. Rc1 black king.
The bishop, a thorn in White’s queen- Addison
side, is shooed away by the rook.
rZqZka0s
8. . . Bg6 oponZpop
The best retreat for the bishop, which 0Z0ZpAbZ
relocates to a safe, positionally valu- Z0Z0Z0Z0
able square, with a nice view of a cen- 0ZBO0Z0Z
tral diagonal.
Z0M0ZQZ0
9. Nge2 PO0ZNOPO
This seemingly passive move is actu- Z0S0ZRJ0
ally the most aggressive continuation, Fischer
the only one that retains White’s ini- 11. B×f6?!
tiative. The knight develops to a good Yet the trade was unnecessary, and
square and puts White one move closer even counterproductive, since it gives
to castling kingside. away some initiative. Stronger was to
keep piling on pressure on the kingside
9. . . Nbd7 with 11. Nf4, which puts the bishop in
Black brings the remaining knight into an uncomfortable position.
action without blocking the c pawn,
which may be pushed soon. Another 11. . . g×f6?
worthy continuation was 9. . . c6 right Smyslov criticizes this move, and
away, contending the d5 square and rightly so. This is the wrong recap-
preventing a queenside incursion of the ture. It puts Black immediately on the
white knight. defensive, weakening the king’s shelter
and giving up the opportunity to cas-
10. 0–0 tle.
White shields the king and brings the The right defense was 11. . . N×f6. Af-
rook out of hiding. Other good alter- ter 12. d5 e5 13. Nb5 Bc5 14. d6,
natives were starting a kingside pawn Black can castle and return the pawn
22 CHAPTER 2. FISCHER VS ADDISON

with 14. . . 0–0 15. N×c7, reaching a The most aggresive move here was to
balanced position. start a pawn attack right away with
Addison 13. h4!.

rZqZka0s 13. . . Be7

oponZpZp Luckily for Fischer, Addison misses the
0Z0ZpobZ stunning 13. . . f5!, and makes instead
Z0Z0Z0Z0 a lackluster bishop development move,
that allows White to keep its initiative
0ZBO0Z0Z intact.
Z0M0ZQZ0
PO0ZNOPO 14. Ng3
Z0S0ZRJ0 Brings the knight to a square from
where it dominates the kingside, par-
Fischer
11. . . g×f6? alizes the black bishop and threatens
a push of the h pawn. This move also
opens a central column for the rooks.
12. d5!
Also good was to bring the kingside
This move is justly praised by Smyslov.
cannon to the d column right away
White advances a pawn to a majestic
with a pawn sacrifice: 14. d6! B×d6
central square, with no less than three
15. Rfd1.
pieces protecting it.
14. . . a6
12. . . e5
Black forces the unpinning of the
Black cannot trade with 12. . . e×d5?,
knight.
because White would start an attack
with 13. N×d5.
15. Bd3!
13. Bb5?! Addison
Addison
rZqZkZ0s
rZqZka0s ZponapZp
oponZpZp pZ0Z0obZ
0Z0Z0obZ Z0ZPo0Z0
ZBZPo0Z0 0Z0Z0Z0Z
0Z0Z0Z0Z Z0MBZQM0
Z0M0ZQZ0 PO0Z0OPO
PO0ZNOPO Z0S0ZRJ0
Z0S0ZRJ0 Fischer
15. Bd3!
Fischer
13. Bb5?! Wade sings the praises of this retreat,
Bobby’s pin of the knight is actually a and we agree with his assessment. In
weak move, since it has no immediate d3 the bishop is untouchable, since a
threat and allows Black some counter- capture with 15. . . B×d3? would create
play on the kingside with 13. . . f5!. an unsightly gap in the g column.
 23

Addison

15. . . Qd8 rZ0lkZ0s

A passive move: the queen relocates Zpo0apZ0
to get some activity and protect the pm0Z0obZ
bishop, while Black waits for White to Z0ZPoBZp
reveal its attack. Yet better was to
give the queen some kingside visibil-
0Z0ZNZ0O
ity while activating the knight on the Z0Z0ZQM0
queenside, with 15. . . Nb6. PO0Z0OPZ
Z0S0ZRJ0
16. h4 Fischer
18. Nce4!?
Finally, Bobby makes his move. The
The best move here was the positional
pawn push claims more space in the
18. Rfd1, overprotecting the d5 pawn
kingside and announces the beginning
as the spearhead of White’s central
of hostilities.
domination. Yet Fisher goes for the
fireworks, chosing a slightly less solid,
16. . . h5 yet by far more interesting vein: relo-
Black fears the white pawn reaching cating the knight towards the kingside.
h5 and bothering its bishop. Yet a The d5 pawn cannot be touched, as we
stronger defense was put by doubling shall see.
the pressure on the enemy bishop with
16. . . Nc5. 18. . . N×d5?
Naı̈vely, Addison eats the forbidden
pawn, and in doing so gives the game
17. Bf5 away to Fischer.
Protected by queen and knight, the Addison
bishop goes to bully the enemy knight,
a good defender of the king. rZ0lkZ0s
Zpo0apZ0
17. . . Nb6 pZ0Z0obZ
The knight moves out of the attack Z0ZnoBZp
of the bishop and into the queenside, 0Z0ZNZ0O
hoping for some counterplay there and Z0Z0ZQM0
making menacing grimaces to the d5 PO0Z0OPZ
pawn.
Z0S0ZRJ0
Fischer
18. Nce4!? 18. . . N×d5?
Both Smyslov and Wade give this move Black’s right defense here was to
an exclamation mark. We appraise it simply redeploy the knight through
differently, as an interesting move, yet 18. . . Nc8.
not necessarily the strongest continua-
tion. 19. Rfd1
24 CHAPTER 2. FISCHER VS ADDISON

Black’s previous move allows White to
unleash an attack, which is started by
the text move, pinning the knight to
the queen. Any other move fails to cap-
italize on Black’s error.
However, this is a capture, not an ex-
change: White is taking what is right-
fully his. The rook is immune, because
if Black recaptures, a violent attack on
the king would follow.

19. . . c6 21. . . c×d5?

Defending the knight. Addison had to return the material
with 21. . . Qd4, protecting the bishop
20. Nc3 from an imminent seventh rank incur-
Revealing a double discovered attack sion by the white rook. Yet by hold-
of queen and knight on the black ing to the material advantage, Black is
horse which, still chewing the recently now totally lost. The remaining moves
snatched pawn, is already feeling the are a demonstration by Fisher on how
effects of the poison. to kill the fight bull.

20. . . Qb6 22. N×d5

The horse is lost. The question facing
Addison now is what’s the best way
to weather the coming storm. This
queen move, threatening the b2 pawn,
is not the best defense. Much bet-
ter was to trade down weapons with
20. . . B×f5, or to give the rook some
air with 20. . . a5.
21. R×d5!
Addison
Capturing the pawn is secondary:
White brings the knight to the cen-
ter to put pressure on the defending
bishop, while attacking the queen and
opening the central columns.
22. . . Q×b2?
Addison’s final mistake. Instead,
22. . . Qd4 was called for, protecting
the bishop in order to last longer. The
game was beyond salvation either way.

rZ0ZkZ0s 23. Rb1

ZpZ0apZ0 Nothing can stop this rook from reach-
plpZ0obZ ing the seventh rank now.

Z0ZRoBZp 23. . . Q×a2

0Z0Z0Z0O Her majesty gives way while having a
Z0M0ZQM0 last meal.
PO0Z0OPZ 24. R×b7
Z0S0Z0J0 The bishop, the king’s shield, is about
Fischer
to fall under fire from rook and knight.
21. R×d5!
Saving it would require giving up the
We join Smyslov and Wade in giving whole queen with 24. Q×d5, and sub-
this move an exclamation mark. It mitting the king to the combined at-
would seem that White, already two tack of rook and queen.
pawns down in material, is sacrificing As opposed to White’s active pieces,
the exchange. Black’s are merely ornamental. The

black king is wide open to the attack,
and defeat is just a matter of mechan-
ics. In this utterly lost position, there
is nothing left, so Addison resigned.
1:0
For other annotations of this game,
25
see Smyslov et al (1993, p.134-5), and
Wade and O’Connell (1973, p.399).
This annotation was last updated on
July 12, 2009. The present text is a
work in progress, and feedback is wel-
come: roberto@mit.edu.
26 CHAPTER 2. FISCHER VS ADDISON
Chapter 3

Fischer vs Filip

Fischer’s victim
Miroslav Filip was born in Prague in 1928. He was champion of Czechoslovakia
three times (1950, 1952 and 1954) and became a Grandmaster in 1955, the same
year he became the first Czech ever to reach the Candidates. He was a candidate
again in 1962, where he defeated the former World Champion Mikhail Tal in a
memorable game. He represented his country in a dozen consecutive Olympiads
between 1952 and 1974. In 1978, he became an International Arbiter. He passed
away at the age of 80 in Prague in 2009. For more information on Filip and his
chess career, see Hooper and Whyld (1996, p.135).

The game
After an unusual double-fianchetto opening by Fischer, the game circles back
into a variation of the English Opening. Accurate play from both sides keeps
the position in a tense equilibrium well after two dozen moves. Yet a series of
mistakes 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

the realization that at this point there

1. b3
Brady notes this was only the second
time Bobby used this opening move in
serious play. The heart of Fischer’s fu-
ture opponents must have sunk a lit-
tle bit on account of this move, with
was nothing predictable about Bobby’s
opening repertoire.
This move is known, among other
names, as the Larsen Opening, after
the Danish GM Bent Larsen, which
we will meet later in Volume 2 of this

27
28 CHAPTER 3. FISCHER VS FILIP

work. The hypermodern idea behind it 5. Bg2

can be traced back to the revolution- Completing the fianchetto and prepar-
ary Nimzowitsch: fianchetto the queen ing to castle.
bishop and control the center from
afar, without occupying it. That’s why 5. . . 0–0
this opening is often also called the Black castles, bringing the rook out
Nimzo-Larsen Attack. The term at- of hiding and putting the king behind
tack just refers to the fact that it is a the protecting shield of the kingside
series of moves initiated by White, just pawns.
as Defense refers to moves initiated by
Black. 6. 0–0
White follows suit and castles right
1. . . d5 away.
This is known as the Classical Varia-
tion of the Nimzo-Larsen. A more pop- 6. . . c5
ular response is the so-called Modern With the king safely tucked away on
Variation, 1. . . e5. Both are solid and the kingside, Black claims space on the
full of options for both players. queenside with a pawn phalanx.

2. Bb2 7. c4
The natural continuation to the open- White fears not 7. d×c4 because af-
ing move: the bishop controls the cen- ter 7. . . b×c4 8. Nc6 d3 White ends up
ter from a distance. with a beautiful pawn formation that
occupies the center without obstruct-
2. . . Nf6 ing its pieces.
Black develops a piece, controls the Filip
center and prepares to castle kingside.
rmbl0skZ
3. Nf3 opZ0apop
White does the same.
0Z0Zpm0Z
3. . . e6 Z0opZ0Z0
Supporting the d5 pawn, and opening 0ZPZ0Z0Z
a development channel for the kingside ZPZ0ZNO0
bishop.
PA0OPOBO
4. g3 SNZQZRJ0
Fischer
White prepares a double fianchetto,
7. c4
and will likely castle kingside soon af-
terwards. By transposition, we have reached
a position of the English Opening,
4. . . Be7 known as the Neo-Catalan Declined
Black expedites the kingside castling, (ECO code A14). This position, a very
developing the bishop to a non- balanced one with no clear edge for ei-
commital square. ther side, had never been reached by
Fischer before in tournament play.
 29

Although here it was reached via the retreat 9. . . Qd6, Black would get dou-
Nimzo-Larsen attack, it can be reached bled pawns with 10. N×c6 b×c6 and the
via the English as follows: 1. c4 e6 queenside pawn structure is gone.
2. Nf3 d5 3. g3 Nf6 4. Bg2 Be7
5. 0–0 0–0 6. b3 c5 7. Bb2. 9. Nc3
Developing a piece and hinting at a fu-
7. . . Nc6 ture trade of knights on d5. Fischer
Black develops a minor piece to an ex- knows that, if Black trades immedi-
cellent square, with a threat: 8. . . d4, ately with 9. . . N×c3, White would get
planting a supported pawn in a very the d column: 10. d×c3, and now the
uncomfortable square for White. black queen has to move aside with
10. . . Qc7 or go for a murder-suicide
8. c×d5 against the white queen, in which case
The strongest continuation, trading a white rook would happily take the
pawns to remove the posibility of a d- open column.
pawn push.
9. . . Bf6
Filip Black delays the knight trade on d5.
rZbl0skZ Now taking right away with 10. N×d5?!
would be counter productive on ac-
opZ0apop count of 10. . . B×d2 11. Rb1 (to save
0ZnZpm0Z the rook) 11. . . e×d5 12. R×b2, and
Z0oPZ0Z0 once the dust has settled, Black has
0Z0Z0Z0Z turned the tide in his favor: better
control of the center, better queenside
ZPZ0ZNO0 pawn structure, and pieces with better
PA0OPOBO prospects.
SNZQZRJ0
Fischer 10. Qc1
8. c×d5 Before trading the knight, White must
protect the hanging bishop, and this is
This capture is much better than try- the best way to do it.
ing to stop the push of the d pawn with
8. d4, which has the downside of giv- 10. . . b6
ing Black the chance to capture with Improving the structural health of the
8. . . d×c4, which after 9. b×c4 leaves queenside and opening a window for
White’s queenside pawns in bad shape: the bishop.
an isolated pawn in a2 and a weak
pawn in c4. 11. N×d5
White finally gets rid of the central-
8. . . N×d5 ized black knight and gives his bishop
This recapture is at least as good as a beautiful diagonal.
the alternative 8. . . e×d5, if not better.
Out of the question is 8. . . Q×d5?, on 11. . . e×d5
account of a discovered bishop attack The only way to recapture. The alter-
on the queen with 9. Ne5: after the native 11. . . Q×d5 loses immediately to
30 CHAPTER 3. FISCHER VS FILIP

12. Ne5, with a discovered attack on it leads to a neutral position where no

the queen and, through X-rays, on the side has an edge.
bishop, after which Black cannot pre- Smyslov assesses the text move as in-
vent a significant loss of material. teresting (e.g. !?), yet presents the al-
ternative recapture 14. N×d4 as prefer-
12. d4 able. We agree, as this course gives
Although rated as merely interesting White a small edge. With best play,
(!?) by Smyslov, this is a solid move the game would continue: 14. . . c×d4
and the best continuation. White tem- 15. Qd1 Re8 16. B×d4 B×d4 17. Q×d4.
porarily sacrifices a pawn, to trade If 17. . . B×e2 then simply 18. B×d5.
down minor pieces, and give his major
pieces more activity. 14. . . c×d4
The right recapture. The alterna-
12. . . Ba6 tive 14. . . B×d4 15. N×d4 c×d4 has no
Before taking the sacrificed pawn, point, as it gives up for no reason the
Black develops the last minor piece, advantage of the two bishops.
with an attack on the hanging e pawn.
15. Qa3
13. Re1 .
White defends the pawn and central-
15. . . Bb7
izes the rook.
Wade ?. Smyslov ?!.
13. . . N×d4
16. Rad1
Black has to accept the temporary sac- .
rifice.
16. . . Be7
14. B×d4!? .
Filip
17. Qa4
rZ0l0skZ .
o0Z0Zpop
bo0Z0a0Z 17. . . Qe8
Z0opZ0Z0 .

0Z0A0Z0Z 18. Q×d4

ZPZ0ZNO0 .
PZ0ZPOBO
S0L0S0J0 .
18. . . Rc8
Fischer
14. B×d4!?
19. Qf4
Wade gives this move an exclamation .
mark and presents it, citing Filip’s
analysis, as “the only way of preserving 19. . . Bf6
any initiative”. Yet with perfect play .
 31

27. . . Qc5
20. Nd4 .
.
28. b4
20. . . Be5 .
Smyslov !?.
28. . . Qe7
21. Qe3 .
.
29. e3
21. . . g6 .
.
29. . . h5
22. Nb5 .
Smyslov !?.
30. a3
22. . . Q×b5 .
Wade ?. Smyslov ?.
30. . . Kh7
23. Q×e5 Smyslov ?!.
.
31. B×d5
23. . . Rfe8 .
.
31. . . B×d5
24. Qb2 .
.
32. R×d5
24. . . Rc5 .
.
32. . . Qe4
25. h4 .
.
33. Rd8
25. . . Rec8 .
.
33. . . Qf3
26. Rd2 Smyslov !?.
.
34. Kh2
26. . . Rc3 Smyslov !.
.
34. . . R8c4
27. Red1 Smyslov ?!.
.
35. R1d7
32 CHAPTER 3. FISCHER VS FILIP

Smyslov !. .

35. . . g5 38. . . Rc8

Smyslov ?. .

36. Rf8 39. Rdd5

. .
36. . . Kg6
39. . . Kh6
.
.
37. Rg8+
. 40. Rdf5
.
37. . . Kh7 1:0
. For other annotations of this game,
see Smyslov et al (1993, p.135-6), and
38. R×g5 Wade and O’Connell (1973, p.399).