Endgame riddle solved: Spassky could have drawn!

by Karsten Müller
1/31/2024 – Last week we asked you to help us solve a historical riddle. Game 3 of the 1972 match between Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky left many open questions and new discoveries to be made. Charles Sullivan, Wolfram Schön, Zoran Petronijevic helped Karsten Müller resolve the riddles — and it turns out that Spassky could have held a draw!

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The Match of the Century

The “Match of the Century” between World Champion Boris Spassky and his challenger Bobby Fischer took place in 1972 in Reykjavik, Iceland.

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 by winning the third encounter.

But could have Spassky escaped with a draw? According to the analyses sent by Charles Sullivan, with the assistance of Wolfram Schön, Zoran Petronijevic and other ChessBase readers, the game could have indeed ended in a draw.

The most controversial point was whether 34.Kf1!! draws, as Charles Sullivan had claimed from the start — and it turns out that White can defend the fortress against all attacks.

Spassky v. Fischer
Spassky played 34.Rxe4 - 34.Kf1 amazingly draws!

So the conclusions are (find full analysis in the dynamic replayer below):

  1. 14...Qh4? overpresses and 14...Ng4 is more or less equal.
  2. 15.Bd2? is too slow. 15.f3 wins.
  3. 22.Rae1? loses. Amazingly 22.e5!! still holds.
  4. 23...Re7? is a mistake. 23...Rac8! wins.
  5. 34.Rxe4? loses and 34.Kf1!! amazingly would have defended still.

Relive the match with a fantastic 14-part narration by Frederic Friedel: Part 1 ... Part 14

Full analysis

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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 Spassky plays a new move in this position. If 11.a4 Ne5 12.Qc2 (Gligoric-Fischer, Palma de Mallorca 1970), Jan Timman ("Fischer World Champion!" [1972] co-authored by Max Euwe) speculates that Fischer might have been planning Nh5 . Robert Byrne ("Both Sides of the Chessboard" [1974]) writes: "The alternative, preferred by Gligoric, Petrosian and me, is 11.f3 , to forestall all counterplay against the [e-pawn] and to release the knights from defensive duty as soon as possible." However, Gligoric, in his book of the match ("Fischer Vs. Spassky" [1972]), says that 11.f3 is "weaker" than 11.a4. 11...Nh5 "Already 2-0 down in the match, Fischer caused another sensation by playing a controversial idea, simply allowing his kingside pawns to be shattered." (John Emms, "The Most Amazing Chess Moves of All Time" [2000]) 12.Bxh5 gxh5 13.Nc4 White could maintain a slight advantage after 13.a4 f5 14.Nf3 Ne5 15.Ng5 13...Ne5 14.Ne3 Qh4? Fischer's move is too optimistic, but sometimes fortune favors the brave. Byrne, Gligoric, Andrew Soltis ("Bobby Fischer Rediscovered" [2003]) , and Cyrus Lakdawala ("Fischer Move by Move" [2015]) all give this move with an exclamation point. But Tibor Karolyi ("Fischer-Spassky 1972" [2022]) soberly writes, "Objectively it is not the best move, but on the other hand the risk will pay off." Stockfish recommends 14...Ng4 15.f3 Nxe3 16.Bxe3 Bd7 and "Black's position looks playable" (Karolyi). 15.Bd2? Euwe and Timman call this move "feeble." Ludek Pachman ("Decisive Games in Chess History" [1972]) stated, "This move shows that Spaskii has under-estimated the dangers facing him." As Pachman said, "the correct continuation is" 15.f3! Ivo Nei ("Both Sides of the Chessboard") agreed. Surprisingly, Stockfish evaluates this position as strongly favoring White. In fact, Stockfish shows that White's positional advantage is winning. f5 Also losing is 15...Ng6 16.Nc4 Qe7 17.a4 Bd7 18.Kh1 h4 19.h3 Rf8 20.Nb5 Bxb5 21.axb5 Qd7 22.Ne3 Qxb5 23.Re1 Be5 24.Nf5 Kh8 25.Qf2 Qd7 26.Bg5 f6 27.Bh6 Bg3 28.Nxg3 hxg3 29.Qxg3 Rg8 30.f4 Qf7 31.Qc3 Nf8 32.Re2 Rg6 33.Bg5 Nd7 34.Bh4 Rg7 35.Be1 Qh5 36.Qd3 b6 37.Qa6 Qh6 38.Bd2 Qh5 39.Ra3 Rf8 40.Rae3 Qh4 41.Rf3 Qh5 42.Rff2 Rfg8 43.Qa4 Qe8 44.Qxa7+- 16.Kh1! Euwe and Timman give 16.Nxf5 Bxf5 17.exf5 Qd4+ 18.Kh1 but Stockfish sees the equalizing move Qd3!= 19.Qxd3 Nxd3 etc. 16...b6 After 16...a6 White could be forced to play the Exchange down for about 30 moves before his pawns win the game: 17.a4 b6 18.Nxf5 Bxf5 19.exf5 Qc4 20.Qd1 Qd4 21.Ne4! Qxd1 22.Rxd1 Ng4 23.Kg1 Bd4+ 24.Kf1 Nxh2+ 25.Ke2 Ng4 26.Rxd4‼ (Giving up the Exchange is easy for Stockfish!) cxd4 27.Kd3 Ne3 28.Bxe3 dxe3 29.Rh1 Re5 30.Rxh5 Rxd5+ 31.Kxe3 Ra5 32.g4 Rxa4 33.Rh6 Rb4 34.Nf6+ Kg7 35.g5 Rh8 36.Nh5+ Kf7 37.Rf6+ Ke7 38.Re6+ Kd7 39.Nf6+ Kc6 40.Re7 Rf8 41.Rxh7 Rxb2 42.Rh1 Rc2 43.Rg1 Kb7 44.Rd1 Kc6 45.Kf4 a5 46.Ne4 d5 47.Nd2 a4 48.g6 Kd7 49.Ne4 Rg2 50.Ng5 Rg8 51.Nh7 Kd6 52.Nf6 Rf8 53.Ng4 a3 54.g7 Rg8 55.f6+- Rc2 55...Ke6 56.Re1+ Kf7 57.Kf5 Rxg7 58.Re7+ Kf8 59.Rxg7 a2 60.Ra7+- 56.f7 Rcc8 57.fxg8Q Rxg8 58.Nh6 Rxg7 59.Nf5+ Kc5 60.Nxg7+- Also failing is 16...Rf8 Stockfish continues 17.Nxf5! Bxf5 18.exf5 Qc4 19.Rd1 Rae8 20.b3 Qh4 21.Ne4 Ng4 22.g3 Qxh2+ 23.Qxh2 Nxh2 24.f6 Nxf3 25.fxg7 Rf7 26.Nf2 Re2 27.Rf1 Kxg7 28.Bf4 Nd2 29.Bxd2 Rxd2 30.Ne4 Rxf1+ 31.Rxf1 Rxd5 32.Rf6 Re5 33.Rf4 Rd5 34.Kg2 b6 35.Kf2 a6 36.Rf3 b5 37.Rf6 Re5 38.Rf4 Rd5 39.Rf3 h6 40.Ke2 c4 41.bxc4 bxc4 42.Nc3 Rd4 43.Ke3 Rg4 44.Nd5 c3 45.Nxc3 h4 46.gxh4 Rxh4 47.Rf2 Rh1 48.Ne4 Rd1 49.Ng3 Kg6 50.Rf4 Re1+ 51.Kf3 h5 52.Ra4 Rd1 53.Rxa6 Rd3+ 54.Kg2 Rd2+ 55.Kg1 Rd5 56.Ne4 Kf5 57.Nxd6++- (White wins, EndgameTables) 17.a4 Rb8 Very interesting endgames ensue after 17...Bd7 18.Nxf5 Bxf5 19.exf5 Qc4 20.Bg5 h6 This leads to a difficult game of rooks vs queen. or Black can choose a variation which White will win despite tripled pawns: 20...Qd3 21.Rac1 Qxc2 22.Rxc2 Nf7 23.Bf4 Be5 24.g3 Bxf4 25.gxf4 (tripled pawns!) Nh6 26.f6 Kh8 27.Ne4 Rf8 28.Re1 Nf5 29.Kg2 Rae8 30.Rcc1 h6 31.Kh3 Kh7 32.Re2 Rb8 33.b4 Rf7 34.Rb2 Rd8 35.Rc3 a5 36.bxc5 bxc5 37.Rcb3 Rfd7 38.Rb1 Rf8 39.Rb6 Ne3 40.Rb7 Rxb7 41.Rxb7+ Kg6 42.Rd7 Nxd5 43.Rxd6 Nxf4+ 44.Kg3 Ne2+ 45.Kf2 Nf4 46.Ra6 c4 47.Rxa5 c3 48.Nxc3 Rxf6 49.Ne4 Rc6 50.Ke3 Ng2+ 51.Kd3 Nf4+ 52.Kd2 Rc4 53.Ke3 Ng2+ 54.Kd3 Rc1 55.Ra6+ Kf5 56.Rxh6 Nf4+ 57.Kd4 Ne6+ 58.Ke3 Ra1 59.Ng3+ Ke5 60.Rxh5+ Kf6 61.Rh6+ Ke5 62.Ne4 Ra3+ 63.Kd2 Nd4 64.Nc3 Nxf3+ 65.Kd3 Rb3 66.Rh3 Kf4 67.Kc4 Rb8 68.a5 Ne5+ 69.Kc5 Rc8+ 70.Kb6 Nc4+ 71.Kb7 Nd6+ 72.Ka7 Rc6 73.a6 Kg5 74.Rd3 Nc8+ 75.Kb7 Rb6+ 76.Kxc8+- (EndgameTables) 21.f6 Qd3 22.Qc1 Qg6 23.Bh4 Bxf6 24.Bxf6 Qxf6 25.Ne4 Qg6 26.Qc3 Re7 27.Rae1 Rf8 28.h3 Rg7 29.Re2 Nd7 30.f4 Nf6 31.Nxd6 Nxd5 32.Qe5 Nc7 33.Rd2 Ne8 34.f5 Qf6 35.Qd5+ Kh7 36.Ne4 Qe7 37.Qd3 Nf6 38.Re2 Qd7 39.Qc2 Kh8 40.a5 Nxe4 41.Rxe4 Qd5 42.f6 Rgf7 43.Ref4 bxa5 44.b3 a6 45.R4f2 Rg8 46.Re1 Qg5 47.Re6 Qg6 48.Qd2 Qb1+ 49.Re1 Qg6 50.Qxa5 Qg3 51.Qd2 Qg5 52.Qd3 Qg3 53.Qf5 Rgf8 54.Ref1 Rxf6 55.Qxf6+ Rxf6 56.Rxf6 Qxb3 57.Rxh6+ Kg8 58.Rxa6 Qd3 59.Raa1 Kg7 60.Rac1 Kg6 61.Rf4 Qd5 62.Rcf1 Qd8 63.Rf8 Qd6 64.Rg8+ Kh6 65.Rc8 Qa6 66.Rcf8 Kg6 67.R8f3 c4 68.R3f2 c3 69.Rc1 Qb7 70.Rxc3 Qb1+ 71.Kh2 Qb8+ 72.Kg1 Qb1+ 73.Rf1 Qe4 74.Kh1 Kg5 75.Rcf3 Qe5 76.Rc1 Qd6 77.Rfc3 Qe7 78.Rc4 Qh7 79.Rf1 Qh8 80.h4+ Kg6 81.Rc6+ Kg7 82.Rc5 Kh6 83.Rff5 Qb8 84.Rxh5++- (EndgameTables) 18.Rb1 Nf7 19.Bd2 Be5 20.g3 Qh3 21.Ne2 fxe4 22.fxe4 Qd7 23.Rbe1 b5 24.a5 b4 25.b3 Qe7 26.Nf4 Bxf4 27.Rxf4 Ne5 28.Nf5 Bxf5 29.Rxf5 Rf8 30.Rg5+ Ng6 31.Bf4 Rbe8 32.e5 dxe5 33.Rexe5 Qf7 34.Rxe8 Qxe8 35.Kg2 h4 36.Qd3 Qf7 37.d6 Kh8 38.Bc1 hxg3 39.hxg3 Nh4+ 40.Kh3 Qe6+ 41.Rg4 Ng6 42.Qc4 Qf6 43.Qe2 Qxd6 44.Bh6 Rg8 45.Kh2 Qf6 46.Re4 Ne5 47.Bf4 Ng4+ 48.Kg2 Qc6 49.Kg1 a6 50.Re6 Qd7 51.Re7 Qd5 52.Qb2+ Qd4+ 53.Qxd4+ cxd4 54.Rd7 Rf8 55.Rxd4 Rf5 56.Bc7 Ne3 57.Rxb4 Kg8 58.Rb7 Rf7 59.Rb8+ Rf8 60.Rb6 Rf1+ 61.Kh2 Rf2+ 62.Kh3 Rf5 63.g4 Rc5 64.Rb8+ Kf7 65.Rb7 Ke6 66.Bb6 Rb5 67.Rxh7 Nd5 68.Ra7 Rxb3+ 69.Kh4 Rb4 70.Rxa6 Kf7 71.Ra7+ Ke6 72.Bd8 Kd6 73.Kh5 Rb8 74.Bb6 Rh8+ 75.Kg6 Rg8+ 76.Rg7 Re8 77.Kh6 Rh8+ 78.Kg5 Nb4 79.Rf7 Nd5 80.Kf5 Rh3 81.Rg7 Rf3+ 82.Kg5 Kc6 83.Rg6+ Kb5 84.Rd6 Nb4 85.Kh5 Rh3+ 86.Kg6 Rf3 87.g5 Nc6 88.Rf6 Rg3 89.Re6 Nb4 90.Rd6 Rf3 91.Kh5 Nc6 92.g6 Rg3 93.Rd5+ Ka6 94.Bd8 Rg2 95.Bf6 Nb4 96.Rd6+ Kb5 97.g7 Kc5 98.Rd8 Nc6 99.Re8 Kb4 100.Bg5 Na7 101.Re4+ Kxa5 102.g8Q+- (EndgameTables) 15...Ng4 16.Nxg4 hxg4 17.Bf4 Qf6 18.g3?! Gligoric wrote that Spassky's move "makes a lasting weakness out of his e5-pawn." Nei added that "the white squares around the White king are now chronically weak." An active alternative, and one reminiscent of the young Spassky, is 18.Qa4! Re7 19.g3 Bd7 20.Qa5 h5 21.a4 Chances are equal after b6 or 21...h4 22.Qc7 Bb5 23.Qxd6 Bxf1 24.Kxf1 Qxd6 25.Bxd6 Rd7 26.e5= 22.Qa6 Bc8 23.Qb5 Bb7 24.a5 bxa5 25.Rxa5 h4 26.Qe2 Qg6 27.gxh4 Bxc3 28.bxc3 Rxe4 29.Qd2 a6 30.Bg3= Often cited as an improvement is 18.Bg3 and Stockfish rates it equal: Bd7 19.f4 h5 20.e5 Qh6 21.Qf2 f5 22.Rad1 dxe5 23.fxe5 Bxe5 24.Bxe5 Rxe5 25.Qxc5 h4 26.Qc7 Qb6+ 27.Qxb6 axb6 28.a4= According to Karolyi, Smyslov gave 18.Qd2 and Stockfish also plays it out to equality: Bd7 19.a4 a6 20.a5 Qg6 21.f3 h5 22.Kh1 Rab8 23.fxg4 hxg4 24.Qd3 Bxc3 25.bxc3 Rxe4 26.Qg3 Rbe8 27.Bxd6 Re3 28.Qf2 Rxc3 29.Rae1 Rxe1 30.Qxe1 Qd3 31.Qf2 Qf5 32.Qe1 Re3 33.Qc1 Qd3 34.Bxc5= 18...Bd7 19.a4 b6 20.Rfe1 a6 21.Re2?! "Looking for his best chance to break through with e4-e5," writes Gligoric. Making a little noise on the queenside with 21.Ra3 was better: Qg6 22.Qe2 Reb8 Black doesn't get much from 22...Bf6 23.Rb3 Reb8 24.Ra3 Bh8 25.Qc4 Bd4 26.Rb3 Rb7 27.Ra3 h5 28.Qe2 Rbb8 29.Rb3 Kh7 30.Qd3 Bg7 31.Ra3 23.Qd2 h5 24.Qd3 Bd4 25.Rb3 and if Black grabs the pawn with Bxc3 26.Rxc3 Bxa4 then Stockfish gives 27.h4 gxh3 28.e5 Qxd3 29.Rxd3 Bb5 30.Rde3 dxe5 31.Rxe5 f6 32.Re6 Re8 33.Bc7 Bd7 34.Re7 Rxe7 35.Rxe7 Bf5 36.d6 Kf8 37.Bxb6 Re8 38.Bxc5 Rxe7 39.dxe7+ Kf7 40.Ba3= 21...b5 As several commentators have noted, White now wants to play e4-e5, but no one has found a way to make that happen. 22.Rae1? Pachman writes: "Now White has his first threat in the game--the breakthrough e4-e5, which, if successful, would be a great achievement. Unfortunately for him, the threat is easily countered." But deep tactical resources exist and Spassky, in reality, could have played the bold 22.e5‼ dxe5 23.Be3 c4 24.Bc5 Rec8 25.Ba3 Qg6 26.Qd2 Rcb8 27.Ne4 bxa4 28.Rae1 h5 29.Be7‼ Rb5 30.Nd6 f6 Also interesting is 30...Rb3 31.Qa5 Kh7 32.Nxc4 Bb5 33.Qc7 h4 34.gxh4 Re8 35.Re4 Bxc4 a radical attempt is 35...g3 36.hxg3 Rxg3+!? 37.fxg3 Qxg3+ 38.Kh1 Qh3+ 39.Kg1 Rc8 40.Qb6 Qg3+ 41.Kh1 Bxc4 42.Qe3 Qxe3 43.R4xe3 Bxd5+ 44.Kg1 e4 45.Rd1 Bb3 46.Rd2 Rc2 47.Rxc2 Bxc2 48.Re2 Bd3 49.Rf2 Bd4 50.Bf6! Ba7 51.Kg2 Kg6 52.Bc3 Bxf2 53.Kxf2 Kf5 54.Ke3 Bc2 drawish. 36.Rxc4 Qf5 37.Bg5 Rxb2 38.Rf1 a3 39.d6 a2 40.Rcc1 Rb1 41.d7 Rg8 42.d8Q Rxd8 43.Qxd8 a1Q 44.Rxb1 Qfxb1 45.Rxb1 Qxb1+ 46.Kg2 and Stockfish cannot find a win for Black. 31.Qc1! While thinking about White's 22nd move in this variation, Stockfish for a long time thought that this position is won for Black after Rb4 However, Stockfish eventually captures lightning with In the end, Stockfish settled on the drawish variation 31...Rxd5 32.Qxc4 Be6 33.Qc6 Rb8 34.Qxa6 Qd3 35.Nc4 Bc8 36.Qxa4 Bd7 37.Qa7 Re8 38.Ne3 Rd4 38...Rxe7 39.Nxd5 Qxd5 39.Bc5 Ra4 40.Qb7 Qb5 41.Qxb5 Bxb5 42.Rc2 Rea8 43.Ba3 R4a7 44.Rc5 Rb7 45.Rec1 Be2 46.h3 Bf3 47.hxg4 hxg4 48.Nf5 Rd7 49.Rc7 Rxc7 50.Rxc7 Bf8 51.Rc3 Rd8 52.Rc1 Rd2 53.Bxf8 Kxf8 54.b4 Rb2 55.Ne3 Kf7 56.Kf1 Rxb4 57.Ke1 32.Qe3‼ As German GM Jonas Lampert discovered, White has a magical draw after At first, Stockfish could find nothing better than 32.Nxc4 Bh6 33.Qc2 Bf5 34.Qc3 Rb3 35.Qa5 Bd3 36.Qxa4 Rab8 37.Qc6 Bxe2-+ 32...Rb3 32...Rb5 33.Qc1! Rxd5 transposing into the line beginning 31...Rxd5 33.Qc5 c3 34.bxc3 a3 35.Qc7‼ Rb1 36.Rxb1 Qxb1+ 37.Kg2 a2 38.Qxd7 a1Q 39.Re1‼ Qxe1 40.Qe6+ Kh8 41.Nf7+ Kh7 42.Qf5+ Kg8 43.Nh6+ Bxh6 44.Qe6+ Kh7 45.Qf5+ Kh8 46.Bxf6+ Bg7 46...Kg8 47.Qg6+ Kf8 48.Qxh6+ Ke8 49.Qg6+ Kd7 50.Qf7+ Kc8 51.Qe6+ Kb7 52.Qc6+ Kb8 53.Qb6+= 47.Bxg7+ Kxg7 48.Qg5+= (GM Jonas Lampert). The previous consensus opinion is here represented by Timman: "Spassky has also seen that e4-e5 cannot be forced through with 22.axb5 axb5 23.Rxa8 Rxa8 24.e5 , when Black would play Ra1+ 25.Kg2 25.Nb1 or 25.Nd1 are strongly met by Qf5 25...dxe5 26.Rxe5 b4! and now 27.Ne4 fails to Qa6! , forcing White to withdraw his knight to the first rank after all and securing Black's advantage." 22...Qg6 23.b3 Re7? Of the original commentators, probably only Jan Timman correctly noted the weakness of this move: "In my opionion Fischer's only slip in the entire game. I regard this move as inaccurate, since it allows White to block the active queenside pawn phalanx almost by force." The best line was shown by Karolyi: 23...Rac8! 24.axb5 If 24.Qd2 c4! leads to a win, according to Stockfish 24...axb5 25.Qd3 b4 26.Nb5 Bxb5 27.Qxb5 Bc3 Stockfish continues 28.Rc1 Ra8 29.e5 dxe5 30.Be3 Red8 In a losing position, White has a "hail Mary" variation that almost succeeds: 31.Bxc5 White can lose in a "normal" way: 31.Qxc5 Qf5 32.Rec2 Qf3 33.d6 Rac8 34.Qb6 Qd5 35.d7 Qxd7 36.Qf6 Rc6 37.Qh4 Rd6 38.h3 gxh3 39.Kh2 Qe6 40.Rxc3 bxc3 41.Rxc3 Qf5 42.Rc4 Rb8 43.Qe4 Qxe4 44.Rxe4 f6 45.Kxh3 Kf7-+ 31...Rxd5 32.Qb7 Rdd8 33.Bxb4 Rab8 34.Qxb8 Rxb8 35.Bxc3 f6 36.Bxe5 fxe5 37.Rxe5 Rxb3 For Black to win this position, he needs to carefully maneuver until he reaches something like the position I am now going to set up. (Ignore "moves" starting from here-->>) 38.Rf1 h5 39.Re3 Rb2 40.Ra3 Kg7 41.Ra7+ Kh6 42.-- Kg5 43.-- Qf5 44.-- Qd5 45.-- Rd2 (This is the last "move" to ignore. The position has been constructed.) 46.-- Now Black is ready to strike: h4 47.gxh4+ Kxh4 48.Rh7+ Kg5 49.Rg7+ Kh6 50.Ra7 Qd4 51.Ra5 Rb2 52.Ra3 Kg5 53.Re3 Rb7 54.Rfe1 Rh7 55.Rb1 Rf7 56.Rb5+ Kh4 57.Rbe5 Qd1+ 58.Re1 Qf3 59.Rf1 Qf6 60.Re3 Qb2 61.Re6 Qd2 62.Re5 Qd4 63.Re3 Rf3 64.Rfe1 Kh3 65.R1e2 Qf4-+ 24.Qd3 Rb8 25.axb5?! Karolyi notes that White equalizes after 25.Qd2! Stockfish agrees and gives b4 26.Nd1 Rbe8 27.e5 dxe5 28.Bg5 f6 29.Be3 Bf5 30.Bxc5= 25...axb5 26.b4 c4 27.Qd2?! After this move, White's position will be so passive and his prospects so miserable that previous analysis has failed to find the saving resource (see move 34). A better way for White to lose a pawn is 27.Qe3! Rbe8 28.Ra2 Bxc3 29.Qxc3 Rxe4 30.Rf1 Re2 and White is able to maintain good activity and a fairly easy draw: 31.Ra6 Qd3 32.Qf6 Qxd5 33.Rxd6 Qf5 34.Qd4 Be6 35.Qd1 Re4 36.Rd8 Rxd8 37.Qxd8+ Kg7 38.f3 gxf3 39.Rxf3 Qf6 40.Qd2 Kg6 41.Re3 Qd4 42.Qxd4 Rxd4 43.Re5 Bd7 44.Rg5+ Kf6 45.Rc5 Rd3 46.Kf2 Rb3 47.Rd5 Ke7 48.Re5+ Kd8 49.Bg5+ Kc7 50.Bf4 Kb6 51.Bd2 Rb2 52.Ke1 Rb1+ 53.Kf2 Rb3 54.Be3+ Kb7 55.Bd2 c3 56.Be1 c2 57.Rc5 Bf5 58.Rxb5+ Kc6 59.Rc5+ Kd7 60.Bd2 Be4 61.Rc4 f5 62.Ke1 Bd3 63.Rc5 Ke6 64.Kf2 Be4 65.Ke2 h5 66.Bf4 Rxb4 67.h4= and White draws. 27...Rbe8 28.Re3 Credit to Karolyi for finding 28.Kf1 -- the best move in this position. He also correctly advocates for Kf1 at moves 29 and 31. 28...h5 29.R3e2 Kh7 Fischer is not sure if winning a pawn is enough; he ends up repeating the position. He could have played 29...Bxc3 now, but decides to think a little more. 30.Re3 Kg8 Fischer realized that the king stood better on g8. In fact, as Timman points out, White comfortably holds the game if Black wins a pawn right now: 30...Bxc3 31.Qxc3 Rxe4 32.Rxe4 Rxe4 33.Rxe4 Qxe4 34.Qf6! ( Qxd5 35.Qxd6 Qf5 36.Qh6+ Kg8 37.Qg5+= )(Timman and Euwe). 31.R3e2 Bxc3 Karolyi writes, "Fischer finally wins the pawn, which proves decisive." But Spassky is not finished yet! 32.Qxc3 Rxe4 33.Rxe4 Rxe4 34.Rxe4? The final error. Stockfish discovers that Spassky could have held because of bishops of opposite color: 34.Kf1‼ Rxe1+ also futile is 34...Bf5 35.Qa1 Rxe1+ 36.Kxe1 Bc2 37.Qd4 Bb3 38.f3 gxf3 39.Kf2 Bc2 40.Kxf3 Qg4+ 41.Kf2 Qh3 42.Kg1 Bd3 43.Qf2 Qg4 44.Bd2 Kf8 45.Bc3 Be4 46.Qf4 Qd1+ 47.Kf2 Qxd5 48.Bf6 Ke8 49.Qg5 Qxg5 50.Bxg5 c3 51.Ke3 Bh7 52.Bf6 c2 53.Kd2 Kd7 54.Bg5 Ke6 55.h4 d5 56.Bf4 d4 57.Kc1 Kd5 58.Kb2 Be4 59.Bh6 Kc4 60.Bd2 Bf5 61.Be1 Kd3 62.Kc1 Be6 63.Bd2 Bc4 64.Bg5 Kc3 65.Bd2+ Kb3 66.Be1 Be2 67.Bf2 d3 68.Be1= 35.Kxe1 Qe4+ 36.Kd1 Qxd5+ 37.Kc1 Bf5 38.Bh6 Qe5 39.Qxe5 dxe5 40.Bd2 Be4 41.Be1 f6 42.Bc3 h4 43.Bb2 Kg7 44.Kd2 Kg6 45.Ke3= Thanks to Wolfram Schön and Zoran Petronijevic who confirmed parts of this analysis. 34...Qxe4 35.Bh6 Qg6 36.Bc1 Qb1 37.Kf1 Bf5 38.Ke2 Qe4+ 39.Qe3 Qc2+ 40.Qd2 In their separate 1972 books, Timman and Gligoric both thought White's move a blunder, and Kasparov ("My Great Predecessors IV" [2004]) endorsed that view. However, the Stockfish computer program sees a forced mate for Black in about 45 moves. As for Timman's specific variation of 40.Ke1 c3 41.Qg5+ Bg6 42.Qe3 , Stockfish gives f6! 43.Ba3 Be4 44.Qe2 Qb1+ 45.Qd1 Qb2! 46.f3 gxf3 47.Bxb2 cxb2 48.Kf2 b1Q 49.Qxb1 Bxb1 50.Kxf3 Kf7-+ 40...Qb3 41.Qd4 Timman and Gligoric continued to see some hope for White, if he had played 41.Ke1. Stockfish gives a possible finish as 41.Ke1 c3! 42.Qd4 Kh7 43.Qf6 Bg6 44.Qxd6 c2 45.Qf4 Qxd5 46.Qh6+ Kg8 47.Qd2 Qe4+ 48.Qe3 Qxb4+ 49.Kf1 Qc4+ 50.Kg1 Qd3 51.Bb2 Qd1+ 52.Kg2 Kh7 53.Bc1 Qd5+ 54.Kg1 Be4 55.Qh6+ Kg8 56.Qd2 Qxd2 57.Bxd2 Bd3 58.Kg2 Be2 59.Be3 f6 60.Kg1 Kf7-+ . The participation of the Black king wins the day. 41...Bd3+ "I sealed a crusher!" Fischer said of this sealed move. When Spassky saw the move the next day, he resigned. Stockfish constructs the finish to be 41...Bd3+ 42.Ke1 Qxb4+ 43.Kd1 Qb3+ 44.Ke1 b4 45.Bb2 c3 46.Qxd3 Qxb2 47.Qe3 c2 48.Qg5+ Qg7 49.Qxg7+ Kxg7 50.Kd2 b3 51.Kc1 Kf6 52.Kd2 Ke5 53.Kc1 Kxd5 54.Kd2 Ke4 55.h4 gxh3 56.g4 Kd4 57.Ke2 h2 58.Kf3 c1Q 59.gxh5 h1Q+ 60.Kg4 Qg2+ 61.Kh4 Qcg5# 0–1
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WhiteEloWBlackEloBResYearECOEventRnd
Spassky,B-Fischer,R-0–11972A77World Championship 28th3

Endgames of the World Champions from Fischer to Carlsen

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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Karsten Müller is considered to be one of the greatest endgame experts in the world. His books on the endgame - among them "Fundamentals of Chess Endings", co-authored with Frank Lamprecht, that helped to improve Magnus Carlsen's endgame knowledge - and his endgame columns for the ChessCafe website and the ChessBase Magazine helped to establish and to confirm this reputation. Karsten's Fritztrainer DVDs on the endgame are bestsellers. The mathematician with a PhD lives in Hamburg, and for more than 25 years he has been scoring points for the Hamburger Schachklub (HSK) in the Bundesliga.

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