Endlessly alluring
The “Match of the Century” between World Champion Boris Spassky [pictured] and his challenger Bobby Fischer was due to start in the first days of July 1972 in Reykjavik, Iceland. Spassky, who had the backing of the mighty Soviet chess machine behind him (the title of World Chess Champion had been held by USSR citizens for twenty-four years), had arrived in the Icelandic capital well on time. But his opponent, the maverick US grandmaster Fischer, who was working essentially all on his own, sat in New York, unsatisfied with the conditions.
The Championship was to be a 24-game match in which the reigning champion had draw odds: if the match ended in a 12-12 tie, the title would remain with Spassky. Fischer’s Elo rating was 2785, 125 points higher than Spassky’s (2660). The prize fund was $125,000 – 5/8ths to the winner, 3/8ths to the loser.
After two traumatic games for Fischer at the outset, World Champion Spassky was leading 2-0 in the match. But then Fischer started to play and struck back: in the next eight games he scored 6½ points, chalking up a 6½-3½ lead. Games 8, 9 and 10 were quite spectacular.
Most chess enthusiasts know the outcome of the confrontation. In the end, Fischer became world champion after beating his Soviet rival by a 12½-8½ score.
Relive the match with a fantastic 14-part narration by Frederic Friedel: Part 1 ... Part 14
Fischer’s first win of the match
Charles Sullivan shared the following reflection about the third game of the game: “What do we remember about Fischer’s famous Game 3 win over Spassky in 1972? My memory is that Fischer made a bold foray (11...Nh5 and 14...Qh4), Spassky responded weakly, and Fischer pressed his advantage until he sealed ‘a crusher’ at move 41”.
Can you help us analyse the game in depth? Which mistakes did Fischer make, and how could Spassky have saved himself?
1.e4 | 1,184,215 | 54% | 2421 | --- |
1.d4 | 958,932 | 55% | 2434 | --- |
1.Nf3 | 286,327 | 56% | 2441 | --- |
1.c4 | 184,722 | 56% | 2443 | --- |
1.g3 | 19,884 | 56% | 2427 | --- |
1.b3 | 14,598 | 54% | 2428 | --- |
1.f4 | 5,953 | 48% | 2377 | --- |
1.Nc3 | 3,906 | 50% | 2384 | --- |
1.b4 | 1,790 | 48% | 2378 | --- |
1.a3 | 1,250 | 54% | 2406 | --- |
1.e3 | 1,081 | 49% | 2409 | --- |
1.d3 | 969 | 50% | 2378 | --- |
1.g4 | 670 | 46% | 2361 | --- |
1.h4 | 466 | 54% | 2382 | --- |
1.c3 | 439 | 51% | 2425 | --- |
1.h3 | 289 | 56% | 2420 | --- |
1.a4 | 118 | 60% | 2461 | --- |
1.f3 | 100 | 47% | 2427 | --- |
1.Nh3 | 92 | 67% | 2511 | --- |
1.Na3 | 47 | 62% | 2476 | --- |
Please, wait...
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 0-0 10.0-0 Re8 11.Qc2 Nh5 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 - Start an analysis engine:
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Spassky,B | - | Fischer,R | - | 0–1 | 1972 | A77 | World Championship 28th | 3 |
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Let endgame expert Dr Karsten Müller show and explain the finesses of the world champions. Although they had different styles each and every one of them played the endgame exceptionally well, so take the opportunity to enjoy and learn from some of the best endgames in the history of chess.
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