Cross Table
No Name                   Feder  Rtg  Total  1    2    3    4    5    6    7    8    9   10   11

1  Vladimir Kramnik       RUS    2799 6.5    2:D  6:D  5:D  4:W  3:D  9:D 12:D  7:D 10:W  8:D 11:D   Bld 
                                      5.5    2:L  6:W  5:L  4:D  3:W  9:D 12:D  7:D 10:D  8:D 11:D   Rpd 

2  Viswanathan Anand      IND    2799 6.0    1:D  5:D  3:D  6:D  4:L 11:W 10:W  8:L  7:D  9:W 12:D   Bld
                                      5.0    1:W  5:W  3:D  6:L  4:W 11:D 10:L  8:D  7:L  9:L 12:D   Rpd

3  Veselin Topalov        BUL    2780 6.5    6:W  4:L  2:D  5:W  1:D 10:D  8:D 11:D  9:D 12:D  7:W   Bld
                                      5.5    6:D  4:W  2:D  5:D  1:L 10:D  8:L 11:W  9:D 12:W  7:L   Rpd

4  Alexander Morozevich   RUS    2765 6.5    5:D  3:W  6:D  1:L  2:W 12:W  7:W  9:D  8:L 11:D 10:D   Bld
                                      4.5    5:D  3:L  6:L  1:D  2:L 12:D  7:D  9:W  8:L 11:W 10:D   Rpd

5  Shakhriyar Mamedyarov  AZE    2760 4.5    4:D  2:D  1:D  3:L  6:L  8:D 11:D 10:L 12:L  7:W  9:W   Bld
                                      4.5    4:D  2:L  1:W  3:D  5:D  8:D 11:D 10:L 12:D  7:D  9:L   Rpd

6  Peter Leko             HUN    2753 6.0    3:L  1:D  4:D  2:D  5:W  7:D  9:D 12:W 11:D 10:D  8:D   Bld
                                      6.0    3:D  1:L  4:W  2:W  5:D  7:D  9:D 12:D 11:D 10:D  8:D   Rpd

7  Vasily Ivanchuk        UKR    2751 4.5   10:W  9:D 12:D 11:D  8:D  6:D  4:L  1:D  2:D  5:L  3:L   Bld
                                      6.5   10:D  9:W 12:L 11:W  8:L  6:D  4:D  1:D  2:W  5:D  3:W   Rpd

8  Levon Aronian          ARM    2739 6.5   12:D 11:D  9:D 10:D  7:D  5:D  3:D  2:W  4:W  1:D  6:D   Bld
                               Winner 8.0   12:W 11:W  9:L 10:W  7:W  5:D  3:W  2:D  4:W  1:D  6:D   Rpd

9  Boris Gelfand          ISR    2737 3.0   11:L  7:D  8:D 12:L 10:L  1:D  6:D  4:D  3:D  2:L  5:L   Bld
                                      6.0   11:D  7:L  8:W 12:D 10:D  1:D  6:D  4:L  3:D  2:W  5:W   Rpd

10 Magnus Carlsen         NOR    2733 6.0    7:L 12:W 11:W  8:D  9:W  3:D  2:L  5:W  1:L  6:D  4:D   Bld
                                      6.0    7:D 12:W 11:L  8:L  9:D  3:D  2:W  5:W  1:D  6:D  4:D   Rpd

11 Sergey Karjakin        UKR    2732 5.0    9:W  8:D 10:L  7:D 12:D  2:L  5:D  3:D  6:D  4:D  1:D   Bld
                                      4.5    9:D  8:L 10:W  7:L 12:W  2:D  5:D  3:L  6:D  4:L  1:D   Rpd

12 Loek van Wely          NED    2681 5.0    8:D 10:L  7:D  9:W 11:D  4:L  1:D  6:L  5:W  3:D  2:D   Bld
                                      4.0    8:L 10:L  7:W  9:D 11:L  4:D  1:D  6:D  5:D  3:L  2:D   Rpd

Medium Elo: 2752 <=> Cat: XXI 

Round 02 (pgn file) Round 03 (pgn file) Round 04 (pgn file) Round 05 (pgn file)
Round 06 (pgn file) Round 07 (pgn file) Round 08 (pgn file) Round 09 (pgn file) Round 10 (pgn file)
Round 11 (pgn file)



25th Morelia-Linares Tournament Friday 15th February - Friday 7th March 2008

                                                                 Viswanathan Anand         
          Image from www.chessclub.com                      Photo from www.chessclub.com

Internet Chess Club - Linares, Spain 2008
25th International Chess Tournament of Morelia-Linares

No Name			1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	Pts 

1  Aléxei Shirov      	x	1/2 	1/2 	1 	1/2 	1 	1/2 	0 	
   Rating 2755 Fed ESP	x	0	1/2	0	1/2	0	1/2	0	5.5
			  
2  Magnus Carlsen     	1/2 	x	1/2 	1 	1 	0 	1/2 	0 	  
   Rating 2733 Fed NOR	1	x      	0	1	1/2	1/2	1	1/2	8.0
			 
3  Peter Leko         	1/2 	1/2 	x 	0 	1/2 	1 	0 	0 	 
   Rating 2753 Fed HUN	1/2	1	x	0	1/2	1/2	0	1/2	5.5
			 
4  Veselin Topálov    	0 	0 	1 	x 	1 	1/2 	1 	1/2 	 
   Rating 2780 Fed BUL	1	0	1	x	0	1/2	1/2	1/2	7.5
			 
5  Levon Aronian      	1/2 	0 	1/2 	0 	x 	1/2 	1 	1 	
   Rating 2739 Fed ARM	1/2	1/2	1/2	1	x	1/2	1/2	1/2	7.5
			  
6  Teimour Radjabov   	0 	1 	0 	1/2 	1/2 	x 	1/2 	1/2 	 
   Rating 2735 Fed AZE	1	1/2	1/2	1/2	1/2	x	1/2	1/2	7.0
			 
7  Vassily Ivánchuk   	1/2 	1/2 	1 	0 	0 	1/2 	x 	1/2 	 
   Rating 2751 Fed UKR	1/2	0	1	1/2	1/2	1/2	x	1/2	6.5
			 
8  Viswanathan Anand  	1 	1 	1 	1/2 	0 	1/2 	1/2 	x 	
   Rating 2799 Fed IND	1	1/2    	1/2	1/2	1/2	1/2	1/2	x	8.5
			  
Medium Elo: 2755 <=> Cat: XXI  

All 56 games (pgn file)



Tribute to Bobby Fischer 9th March 1943 - 17th January 2008

I had just come home after round 6 of the New Zealand Major Open on Friday 18th January 2008 and saw the news - Bobby Fischer had passed away. He will be remembered as the most famous chess player of all time, a world champion who gave the game of chess world recognition. He was and still is the hero of a whole generation of youngsters from the 1970s. He was aged 64, or one year for every square on the chess board. Photo and article from www.bobby-fischer.net.

Robert James "Bobby" Fischer (born March 9, 1943), won the World Chess Championship on September 1, 1972 and lost the title when he failed to defend it on April 3, 1975. He is considered to be one of the most gifted chess players of all time and, despite his prolonged absence from competitive play, is still among the best known of all chess players.

Robert James Fischer was born in Chicago, Illinois at the Michael Reese Hospital by the banks of Lake Michigan on March 9th, 1943. His father Gerhardth Fischer was born in Berlin, Germany in 1909, he was a biophysicist. His mother was Regina Wender. They separated when Bobby was 2 years old, and Regina had custody of Bobby and his older sister Joan who was then 7 years old. She was a qualified registered Nurse and wanted to take a Master's Degree at New York University in Nursing Education. She decided to move to Brooklyn. It is there that the legend of the world's greatest Chess player begins.

On May 1949, Bobby and his sister Joan learned how to play the game with a Chess set given to them as a present. Both, six and eleven, learned the moves from the instructions that went with the set. Even as a six-year-old, Bobby became increasingly fascinated with Chess and enjoyed enough success in solving its complexities. By age seven, he was so thoroughly absorbed that his mother became worried. "Bobby isn't interested in anybody unless they play Chess and there just aren't many children who like it" she once said.

She also attempted to place an ad in the Brooklyn Eagle inquiring whether there might be other children of Bobby's age who would come and play Chess with him. On January 17, 1951 Bobby played a game against master Max Pavey who was giving a simultaneous exhibition and Bobby lost in 15 minutes. A few weeks later Bobby joined the Brooklyn Chess Club, headed by Mr. Carmine Nigro, President of the Brooklyn Chess Club and for the next few years he rarely missed a Friday evening.

In 1953, Bobby Fischer played his first Chess tournament at the Brooklyn Chess Club Championship when he was ten, he placed fifth. In 1955, Bobby score 4 ½ - 3 ½ in a Washington Square Park Swiss tournament. On May he scored three points in the U.S. Amateur Championship in Lake Mohegan, New York. He joined the Manhattan Chess club in June, 1955 and soon won the class C championship and the class B Championship.

He often was given the opportunity of playing against the Club's finest masters. Reshevsky gave a simultaneous blindfold exhibition in which Bobby competed and he was ecstatic when he defeated the Grandmaster. On July he won 2 games, drew 6 games, and lost 2 games at the U.S. Junior Championship in Lincoln, Nebraska. He took 3rd place in the U.S. Junior Speed Championship.

On March 1956, Bobby traveled with the Log Cabin Chess Club to Cuba and gave a simultaneous exhibition at the Capablanca Chess Club. His U.S.C.F. rating was published at 1726. On April he won the class A Championship at the Manhattan Chess Club. On May he played in the U.S. Amateur Championship in Asbury Park, New Jersey, winning three games, drawing two, and losing one. At thirteen, he was the youngest player in the event.

On July he took first place at the U.S. Junior Championship in Philadelphia with eight wins, one draw, and one loss. His U.S.C.F. rating in the event was 1830. At 13 years and 4 months, he was the youngest player to win the U.S. Junior Championship. A few weeks later he played in the 57th U.S. Open in Oklahoma City, winning 5 games, drawing 7 games and tied for 4th-8th place. On September he tied for 8th place at the Canadian Open in Montreal.

On October he took 8th place in the Rosenwald tournament in New York. His win against Donald Byrne (2530) won the brilliancy prize and has been called the game of the century. On November he tied for 2nd-5th place in the Eastern States Open in Washington, D.C. On December Bobby won the rapid transit play and took 4th place in the Manhattan Chess Club Championship.

On March 1957, Bobby played 2 games against former world champion Max Euwe in New York, drawing one and losing one. On April he won the New York Metropolitan League. In July he tied for sixth place at the New Western Open in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A few days later he played in the U.S. Junior Championship in San Francisco and took first place and another typewriter. He also won the U.S. Junior Speed Championship.

On August Bobby Fischer tied for 1st - 2nd at the 58th U.S. Open in Cleveland and won $750. His official USCF rating put him at 2231, making him the youngest player in the U.S. with a master's rating at that time, at age 14 years and 5 months. On September he won the New Jersey Open Championship. On December he won the North Central Open in Milwaukee. On January 10, 1958 Bobby Fischer at age 14 years and 9 months won the 1957 / 58 U.S. Championship and Zonal with 8 wins, 5 draws and no losses.

His USCF rating climbed to 2626. Except for Santa Monica 1966, Bobby Fischer would win every U.S. tournament he played in. In August he took 5th-6th at the Portoroz Interzonal and gained the Grand- master title. At the same time he became the world's youngest Candidate for the world championship at age 15 years, 6 months. On January 1959, Bobby Fischer again won the U.S. Championship with six wins and five draws.

Bobby Fischer later dropped out of school to become a professional Chess player. Fischer's academic records indicated an I.Q. of 180 with an incredibly retentive memory. On April 1959 he took 3rd-4th at Mar Del Plata, Argentina. On May he took 3rd-4th at Zurich, Switzerland behind Tal and Gligoric, with 8 wins, five draws, and two losses. On September he took 5th-6th at the Bled / Zagrev / Belgrade Candidates tournament, won by Mikhail Tal. Fischer's USCF rating was 2636, behind Reshevsky's 2693 rating.

On January 1960 again, Fischer won the U.S. Championship with 7 wins, 4 draws, and no losses. On April he tied for 1st-2nd with Boris Spassky at Mar Del Plata, Argentina, then took first place at Reykjavik, Iceland in October. On November he played board 1 for the United States at the Chess Olympiad in Leipzig, winning 10 games, drawing 6, and losing 2. His USCF rating was 2641.

On January 1961, Bobby again won the U.S. Championship with 7 wins, 4 draws, and no losses. On July he started a match with Sam Reshevsky and tied it with 2 wins, 7 draws, and 2 losses. "I am going to win the World Championship," he predicted to American journalist Robert Cantwell. On March 1962 he won the Interzonal in Stockholm with 13 wins, 9 draws, and no losses. This was the first interzonal that a Soviet player did not take first place.

On May he took fourth place at the Curacao Candidates tournament, won by Petrosian. On October he played board one for the United States at the Chess Olympiad in Varna, Germany and scored 8 wins, 6 draws, and 3 losses. His USCF rating was 2687. On January 1963, Bobby won the U.S. Championship with six wins, four draws, and one loss (Edmar Mednis). He announced he was boycotting FIDE tournaments until the Russians stopped fixing Chess.

On July Bobby Fischer won the Western Open in Bay City, Michigan. On September he won the New York State Open with a perfect score of 7 wins, no draws, no losses. On November he was to play four hundred opponents at once in an exhibition, but it was postponed because of President Kennedy's assassination. His USCF rating was 2685. On January 1, 1964 Bobby Fischer won the U.S. Championship with a perfect score of 11 wins. He then began a nation- wide simultaneous exhibition for the rest of the year.

The first international rating list was published by Arpad Elo in 1964. The top two players were Fischer and Petrosian at 2690. His USCF rating was 2734. On August 1965, he participated in the 4th Capablanca Memorial in Cuba by playing through a teletype machine at the Marshall Chess Club in New York. He tied for 2nd-4th with 12 wins, 6 draws, and 3 losses. On December he won the U.S. Chess Championship with 8 wins, 1 draw, and 2 losses. Fischer's USCF rating climbed to 2734.

On July 1966, Bobby took 2nd place at the Piatigorsky Cup in Santa Monica, behind Spassky. In November he played Board 1 for the U.S. at the 17th Chess Olympiad in Havana, scoring 14 wins, 2 draws and 1 loss. In December he won the U.S. Championship with 8 wins, 3 draws, and no losses. This was his 8th U.S. Championship title. On April 1967, Bobby took 1st place at Monaco. In August he won at Skopje, Yugoslavia.

In October Bobby Fischer participated in the Sousse Interzonal, but withdrew after leading the event with 7 wins and 3 draws. His USCF rating was 2762. On July 1968 he took first place at Netanya, Israel. In September he took first place at Vinkovci, Yugoslavia. In 1969 Bobby finished his book, "My 60 Memorable Games." He played Board 1 in a New York Metropolitan League and won. On April 1970, he played Board 2 in the USSR vs Rest of the World match in Belgrade, beating Petrosian with two wins and 2 draws.

He then went on to Herceg Novi, Yugoslavia and won the unofficial world 5 minute Championship with 17 wins, 4 draws, and 1 loss. After the tournament he called off from memory all of the moves from his 22 games, involving over 1,000 moves. In May he took 1st at Rovinj/Zagreb. In August he took 1st place at Buenos Aires. On September he played Board 1 for the U.S. at the 19th Olympiad in Siegen, Switzerland.

On November, Pal Benko gave up his spot at the Palma de Mallorca Interzonal so that Fischer could play. Bobby won the event with 15 wins, seven draws, and 1 loss. Fischer won the Chess Oscar for 1970, 1971, and 1972. On June 1971, Bobby Fischer defeated Mark Taimanov with 6 wins, no draws, no losses in the Candidates quarterfinals in Vancouver, Canada. On July he defeated Bent Larsen also with a perfect 6-0 score in the Candidates semi-final in Denver, Colorado. His performance rating was 3060.

On August Bobby won the Manhattan Chess Club 5-minute blitz with 21 wins and 1 draw. On September, Bobby defeated Tigran Petrosian with 5 wins, 3 draws, and 1 loss in Buenos Aires for the Candidates finals. He now became challenger for the world Championship. His USCF rating was at its peak of 2825. On July 11, 1972 he began his match with Boris Spassky in Reykjavik, Iceland for the world championship.

On September 1, 1972 Bobby became world champion after winning 7 games, drawing eleven games, and losing three games (1 on forfeit). Fischer received $160,000 for his efforts and another $40,000 in royalties. Bobby Fischer's last published USCF rating was 2810. His FIDE rating was 2785. On April 3, 1975 Bobby Fischer forfeited his title as world Chess Champion to Anatoly Karpov without playing a single Chess game since winning the world championship.

In 1977 Bobby Fischer played 3 games against the MIT Greenblatt computer program. He turned down $250,000 to play one Chess game at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas and $3 million to play in a tournament in the Philippines. In 1978 Bobby Fischer filed a $3.2 million lawsuit against the publishers of a magazine critical of the Worldwide Church of God. He claimed the writers taped his conversations without his consent. He then accused the church of reneging on their promise to finance the lawsuit.

On May 26, 1981, Fischer was arrested in Pasadena under suspicion of a bank robber. He was stopped by a police officer who said he fit the description of a bank robber. Fischer refused to answer some questions as was arrested. In 1982 Fischer published, "I WAS TORTURED IN THE PASADENA JAILHOUSE." He used the pseudonym Robert James. In 1987 the House of Representatives passed House Resolution Bill 545 recognizing Fischer as the world Chess Champion.

In 1988 Bobby patented the Fischer digital Chess clock which adds two minutes per move. On September 1, 1992, Bobby Fischer came out of his 20 year retirement and gave a press conference in Yugoslavia. He pulled out an order from the U.S. Treasury Department warning him that he would be violating U.N sanctions if he played Chess in Yugoslavia. He spit on the order and now faces ten years in prison and a $250,000 fine if he returns to the U.S.

In addition, he must forfeit his $3.65 million to the U.S. Treasury and forfeit 10% of any match royalties earned. On September 30, Bobby Fischer began his rematch with Boris Spassky in Sveti Stefan, Yugoslavia. The match was organized by banker Jedzimir Vasiljevic. On November 11, Fischer won the match with 10 wins, 5 losses, and 15 draws. He received $3.65 million for his winnings and Spassky received $1.5 million.

The match used the new Bobby Fischer Chess clock. In 1996 Bobby traveled to Argentina to promote his random Chess, where you set up the pieces in a random manner. This would take away the book knowledge of regular Chess. The President of FIDE offered Fischer $100,000 and a piece of land in the Kalmyk Republic in redress for copyright violations by former Soviet publishers.

Death
Bobby Fischer had been suffering at length from an undisclosed illness. He stayed at a Reykjavík Landsspítali hospital in October and November 2007, but he returned home gravely ill in December apparently rejecting any further Western medicine. On January 17, 2008, he died from kidney failure at the age of 64 in his home in Reykjavík.

Match of the Century

Background
Photo and article from www.bobby-fischer.net. The match was played at the height of the Cold war. For a long time, the Soviet chess system had had a monopoly on the game at the highest level. Fischer, the highly eccentric young American, on the other hand, had been outspoken in his criticism of the system. For instance, he believed that USSR players gained an unfair advantage by agreeing to short draws among themselves in tournaments. Endowed with a fierce fighting spirit and a hater of agreed draws, Fischer had campaigned against this practice. He viewed the Soviets as hypocrites. The expectations on Spassky were enormous because for the Soviets, chess was part of the political system, part of life. While Fischer was no patriot ("Americans want to plunk in front of a TV and don't want to open a book..."), he too carried the burden of expectation because of the political significance of the match.

Fischer was extremely shy of the press. He didn't make it to Iceland for the opening ceremony. For a long time it looked doubtful that the match would be played at all, for it was proving impossible for FIDE to accommodate Fischer's myriad demands, such as banning television cameras and a 30% share of the revenue from spectators. He opposed Spassky's proposals simply because they were Spassky's, and would at times be confounded when his rival's wishes happened to coincide with his own. Fischer's behavior was full of self-contradictions. He badly wanted to play the match, but would let it fall apart over apparently trivial issues. Finally, after a surprise doubling of the prize fund and much persuasion, Fischer acquiesced. Many commentators, particularly from the USSR, have suggested that all this was part of Fischer's plan to "psych out" Spassky. Fischer's supporters say that winning the World Championship was the mission of his life, and that he simply wanted the setting to be perfect for it when he took the stage.

Spassky's seconds for the match were Efim Geller, Nikolai Krogius and Ivo Kei. Fischer's was William Lombardy. His entourage also consisted of lawyer Paul Marshall, whose role in the events of the following months would not be insignificant, and USCF representative Fred Cramer, who could best be termed 'complainer' in the light of events to follow. The match referee was Lothar Schmid, without whose extraordinary patience and resourcefulness the match would never have gotten underway.

Before the match, Fischer hadn't won a single game against Spassky. Of their five encounters, Spassky had won three and two had drawn. However, in the Candidates matches en route to becoming challenger, Fischer had demolished such stalwarts as Mark Taimanov and Bent Larsen 6-0 (with no draws), and had won four games in a row in his match against former world champion Tigran Petrosian. He was, therefore, considered pre-match favorite.

Fischer's disastrous start
In game 1, after regular exchanges in a placid Nimzo-Indian, the position in the diagram on the left was reached after 29. b5. No one knows what went on in Fischer's mind when he blundered with 29... Bxh2? (see algebraic chess notation) in this rather lifeless position. Every chess beginner learns that the rook pawn is poisoned for the Bishop. Could Fischer really have missed 30. g3 h5 32. Ke2 h4 33. Kf3 h3 34. Kg4 Bg1 35. Kxh3 Bxf2 36. Bd2, trapping the bishop? Karpov has suggested that the reason was overconfidence. 29... Bxh2 would become Fischer's most famous move. Surprisingly, Fischer had good drawing chances with two pawns for the Bishop but he bungled again before adjournment. He resigned on move 56.

Fischer failed to turn up for the second game and lost by forfeit.

This was apparently due to another disagreement about cameras. With the score now 2-0, most observers believed that the match was over and Fischer would leave Iceland. Surprisingly, he did not, which some attribute to a phone call from Henry Kissinger and a deluge of telegrams in his support. Due to his sporting spirit and respect and sympathy for Fischer, Spassky agreed to play the third game in a small room backstage, out of sight of the spectators. This turned out to be a huge psychological blunder by Spassky.

The turning point
In Lombardy's words:
When Bobby arrived, Boris was, as usual, seated at the table. Bobby did not sit down but went around inspecting the television equipment, and at this point Boris betrayed indignant agitation. Bobby tested the remote-control camera for possible sources of noise. Schmid watched the proceedings and became anxious. He felt the match once more was in jeopardy. Schmid took Bobby by the arm in an effort to get him to the playing table. Bobby brushed off Schmid's entreaties. "The American grandmaster permitted himself great liberty in his remarks, which were very disagreeable to hear," Spassky said later. Finally satisfied with the camera, Bobby settled down for the match.

It would be the turning point of the match.

After 1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 e6 3. Nf3 c5 4. d5 exd5 5. cxd5 d6 6. Nc3 g6 7. Nd2 Nbd7 8. e4 Bg7 9. Be2 O-O 10. O-O Re8 11. Qc2, Fischer demonstrated his acute intuitive feel for the position with 11... Nh5! It violates a whole bunch of opening rules-of-thumb, but in this position Fischer's assessment that his kingside attack trumps the disadvantages of the move is correct.

Spassky continued in the passive style that he had employed in game 1 and which indeed had characterized his play ever since he ascended the chess throne. He lost after

12. Bxh5 gxh5 13. Nc4 Ne5 14. Ne3 Qh4 15. Bd2 Ng4 16. Nxg4 hxg4 17. Bf4 Qf6 18. g3 Bd7 19. a4 b6 20. Rfe1 a6 21. Re2 b5 22. Rae1 Qg6 23. b3 Re7 24. Qd3 Rb8 25. axb5 axb5 26. b4 c4 27. Qd2 Rbe8 28. Re3 h5 29. R3e2 Kh7 30. Re3 Kg8 31. R3e2 Bxc3 32. Qxc3 Rxe4 33. Rxe4 Rxe4 34. Rxe4 Qxe4 35. Bh6 Qg6 36. Bc1 Qb1 37. Kf1 Bf5 38. Ke2 Qe4+ 39. Qe3 Qc2+ 40. Qd2 Qb3 41. Qd4 Bd3+ 0-1.

Fischer had won his first game ever against Spassky.

After this game, Fischer's sprits improved. Spassky, on the other hand, stopped believing in himself.

In the fourth game, Spassky employed the Sicilian as Black. He sacrificed a pawn in the opening and backed by some impressive home analysis, gained a strong attack, but failed to convert it into a win.

The fifth game was another Nimzo-Indian, and Spassky continued his passive style of play. After some aimless wood-pushing, he got into the position in the diagram on the left. Perhaps his game was lost anyway, but he gifted it to Fischer on a platter with 27. Qc2?? Bxa4 0-1.

After this game, Fischer was in a positively upbeat mood. He had drawn level, and although FIDE rules stipulated that the champion retained the title if the match ended in a tie, the effect of the fiasco of the first two games had been wiped out. He was confident of winning the match.

The juggernaut continues
In the sixth game, for the first time in his life, Fischer opened with 1. c4, nullifying Spassky's extensive opening preparation. Yet again, Spassky played passively. After 1. c4 e6 2. Nf3 d5 3. d4 Nf6 4. Nc3 Be7 5. Bg5 O-O 6. e3 h6 7. Bh4 b6 8. cxd5 Nxd5 9. Bxe7 Qxe7 10. Nxd5 exd5 11. Rc1 Be6 12. Qa4 c5 13. Qa3 Rc8 14. Bb5 a6 15. dxc5 bxc5 16. O-O Ra7 17. Be2 Nd7 18. Nd4 Qf8 19. Nxe6 fxe6 20. e4 d4 21. f4 Qe7 22. e5 Rb8 23. Bc4 Kh8 24. Qh3 Nf8 25. b3 a5 26. f5, White had a crushing attack.

The game continued 26... exf5 27. Rxf5 Nh7 28. Rcf1 Qd8 29. Qg3 Re7 30. h4 Rbb7 31. e6 Rbc7 32. Qe5 Qe8 33. a4 Qd8 34. R1f2 Qe8 35. R2f3 Qd8 36. Bd3 Qe8 37. Qe4 Nf6 38. Rxf6 gxf6 39. Rxf6 Kg8 40. Bc4 Kh8 41. Qf4 1-0

After this game, Spassky joined the audience in applauding Fischer's win. Psychologically, he had already lost the match. He would later reluctantly refer to this game as the best of the match.

Game 7 was drawn, despite Fischer being two pawns ahead. In game 8, Fischer again played 1. c4, this time an English opening. Spassky gave up an exchange for little compensation, and it is unclear whether it was a sacrifice or a blunder. Fischer won, and he was ahead 5-3.

Spassky took a time-out before game 9. By now Fischer's psychological battle was proving impossible for him to handle. The ninth game ended in a draw in only 29 moves. The players' behavior, however, provided for much entertainment, with Fischer rocking back and forth in his chair and Spassky imitating him, which one spectator described as "two dead men dancing". At this point the Soviet establishment asked him to return to Moscow and claim the match by default. At considerable risk, Spassky refused. Fischer won the tenth game, in a sharp Ruy Lopez opening, a favorite of his. Spassky pulled one back in the next game with an opening novelty in the Poisoned Pawn variation of the Sicilian Najdorf. The twelveth was drawn. The 13th game swung one way, then another, and was finally adjourned with Fischer having an edge in a sharp position but no clear win. The Soviet team's analysis convinced them that the position was clearly drawn. Fischer stayed up until 8 am the following morning analyzing it (the resumption being at 2.30 pm.) He hadn't found a win either. Amazingly, he managed to set traps for Spassky, who fell into them and lost. Spassky's seconds were stunned, and Spassky himself refused to leave the board for a long time after the game was over, unable to believe the result.

1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Bc4 Nb6 6. Bb3 Bg7 7. Nbd2 O-O 8. h3 a5 9. a4 dxe5 10. dxe5 Na6 11. O-O Nc5 12. Qe2 Qe8 13. Ne4 Nbxa4 14. Bxa4 Nxa4 15. Re1 Nb6 16. Bd2 a4 17. Bg5 h6 18. Bh4 Bf5 19. g4 Be6 20. Nd4 Bc4 21. Qd2 Qd7 22. Rad1 Rfd8 23. f4 Bd5 24. Nc5 Qc8 25. Qc3 e6 26. Kh2 Nd7 27. Nd3 c5 28. Nb5 Qc6 29. Nd6 Qxd6 30. exd6 Bxc3 31. bxc3 f6 32. g5 hxg5 33. fxg5 f5 34. Bg3 Kf7 35. Ne5+ Nxe5 36. Bxe5 b5 37. Rf1 Rh8 38. Bf6 a3 39. Rf4 a2 40. c4 Bxc4 41. d7 Bd5 42. Kg3 Ra3+ 43. c3 Rha8 44. Rh4 e5 45. Rh7+ Ke6 46. Re7+ Kd6 47. Rxe5 Rxc3+ 48. Kf2 Rc2+ 49. Ke1 Kxd7 50. Rexd5+ Kc6 51. Rd6+ Kb7 52. Rd7+ Ka6 53. R7d2 Rxd2 54. Kxd2 b4 55. h4 Kb5 56. h5 c4 57. Ra1 gxh5 58. g6 h4 59. g7 h3 60. Be7 Rg8 61. Bf8 h2 62. Kc2 Kc6 63. Rd1 b3+ 64. Kc3 h1=Q 65. Rxh1 Kd5 66. Kb2 f4 67. Rd1+ Ke4 68. Rc1 Kd3 69. Rd1+ Ke2 70. Rc1 f3 71. Bc5 Rxg7 72. Rxc4 Rd7 73. Re4+ Kf1 74. Bd4 f2 0-1

The endgame
The next seven games were drawn. Fischer, with a three point lead, was content to inch towards the title, and Spassky seemed resigned to his fate. The off-the-board antics continued to be as interesting as they ever were, and included a lawsuit against Fischer for damages by Chester Fox, who had filming rights to the match (Fischer had objected to the camera team, forcing Fox to sell his rights), a Fischer demand to remove the first seven rows of spectators, and Spassky's claims that Fischer was using electronic and chemical devices to 'control' him, resulting in an Iceland police sweep of the hall. The 21st was the final game. Spassky played badly in the endgame and the game was adjouned with a big advantage for Fischer. Spassky resigned the game by telephone, which Fischer made a big fuss about, but could finally be convinced that the rules allowed it.

The final score was 12.5 - 8.5 in favour of Fischer.

1972 B Spassky vs R Fischer Game 1 1-0 Score Fischer 0 Spassky 1

1972 R Fischer vs B Spassky Game 2 0-1 Score Fischer 0 Spassky 2

1972 B Spassky vs R Fischer Game 3 0-1 Score Fischer 1 Spassky 2

1972 R Fischer vs B Spassky Game 4 1/2-1/2 Score Fischer 1.5 Spassky 2.5

1972 B Spassky vs R Fischer Game 5 0-1 Score Fischer 2.5 Spassky 2.5

1972 R Fischer vs B Spassky Game 6 1-0 Score Fischer 3.5 Spassky 2.5

1972 B Spassky vs R Fischer Game 7 1/2-1/2 Score Fischer 4 Spassky 3

1972 R Fischer vs B Spassky Game 8 1-0 Score Fischer 5 Spassky 3

1972 B Spassky vs R Fischer Game 9 1/2-1/2 Score Fischer 5.5 Spassky 3.5

1972 R Fischer vs B Spassky Game 10 1-0 Score Fischer 6.5 Spassky 3.5

1972 B Spassky vs R Fischer Game 11 1-0 Score Fischer 6.5 Spassky 4.5

1972 R Fischer vs B Spassky Game 12 1/2-1/2 Score Fischer 7 Spassky 5

1972 B Spassky vs R Fischer Game 13 0-1 Score Fischer 8 Spassky 5

1972 R Fischer vs B Spassky Game 14 1/2-1/2 Score Fischer 8.5 Spassky 5.5

1972 B Spassky vs R Fischer Game 15 1/2-1/2 Score Fischer 9 Spassky 6

1972 R Fischer vs B Spassky Game 16 1/2-1/2 Score Fischer 9.5 Spassky 6.5

1972 B Spassky vs R Fischer Game 17 1/2-1/2 Score Fischer 10 Spassky 7

1972 R Fischer vs B Spassky Game 18 1/2-1/2 Score Fischer 10.5 Spassky 7.5

1972 B Spassky vs R Fischer Game 19 1/2-1/2 Score Fischer 11 Spassky 8

1972 R Fischer vs B Spassky Game 20 1/2-1/2 Score Fischer 11.5 Spassky 8.5

1972 B Spassky vs R Fischer Game 21 0-1 Score Fischer 12.5 Spassky 8.5



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