Fischer-Spassky - 50th Anniversary Exhibition

[Nick Ivell]

What about the chess though?

I've listed his weaknesses, but I always found his chess interesting and entertaining.

[MJMcCready]

When I was young I liked Leonard Stein much more than him. I never found his chess entertaining but I admired his will to win.

Although admittedly, I do kinda like this game.

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044267

[Nick Ivell]

Ah yes. Great game.

Worth noting though that Bobby in his prime never played KIA against strong players.

His Sozin was over-rated. Great for bashing patzers but he ran into all sorts of problems when irrational positions arose, typified by opposite-side castling.

[MJMcCready]

Could you link an example of that please?

[Nick Ivell]

Can't link but I cite Interzonal game v Larsen in 1970, as well as famous loss to Geller in 60MG.

[Roger de Coverly]

His Sozin was over-rated. Great for bashing patzers but he ran into all sorts of problems when irrational positions arose, typified by opposite-side castling.

As in his game with Larsen in the 1970 Interzonal.

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044314

[Nick Ivell]

Thank you Roger.

I think this lay at the root of Bobby's problems against the Winawer. He wasn't good in irrational positions.

[MJMcCready]

Well, he certainly got shot down in flames against it here.

https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044135

[Nick Ivell]

Agreed, and there are many other examples.

Part of the problem was an over-rating of the 2 bishops. Bobby loved having BxN played against him.

His favourite move was NxB. His Nxd7 in the Petrosian match has been over-praised; that move was just Bobby being Bobby!

[MJMcCready]

I don't think Fischer ever played 1. d4 did he? You couldn't get away with that in the modern game.

[MJMcCready]

Although to modify that remark we still have some players 2600+ who are known to be predominantly e4 players, Lucas Van Forest being an obvious example.

[Matt Mackenzie]

I don't think Fischer ever played 1. d4 did he? You couldn't get away with that in the modern game.

He got QP openings a few times by transposition - most notably in the 1972 match of course!

IIRC he once said that he disliked the QGD Exchange variation more than any other line, calling it "anti-chess" or similar.

[Nick Ivell]

He got a bad position with the Sozin in game 4 - he had been rumbled.

He had clearly prepared a line against Spassky's Tartakower, which actually wasn't that good. He was relying on lazy memory work from Boris, which in fact was the case.

18...Nf6 equalises in the over-praised game 6.

I must be coming across as anti-Fischer. In fact I am his greatest fan. I just got to know his strengths so well, that I started to look for his weaknesses!

[Matt Mackenzie]

If you want an over-praised WC effort, game 16 by Gazza in the late 1985 match is hard to beat.

A brilliancy from a totally unsound opening!

[Nick Ivell]

Agreed.

It's just that 1972 game 6 has been praised as a positional masterpiece.

Nice game, but in fact Boris forgot his prep (it wasn't as though Bb5 had never been played before), possibly not expecting a QGD.

He then proceeded to defend in a way so passive that no modern elite GM would contemplate.

In that sense chess has moved on.

All in all, Boris was way too compliant in this alleged masterpiece.

I far prefer game 13. That's my favourite, despite terrible play from Spassky again in the opening.