ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024
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The 7th game of the Candidates Final 1971 between Bobby Fischer and Tigran Petrosian has been again and again hailed as a strategic masterpiece. After all, Fischer outplayed Petrosian, World Champion from 1963 to 1969 and one of the most resource defensive players of all time, with apparent ease.
Tigran Petrosian is waiting for Fischer to start the game.
Fischer's surprising move 22.Nxd7(?), which trades the "good" knight on c5 for the passive and theoretically "bad" bishop on d7, has fascinated generations of players and analysts.
From a practical point of view it has merit as White's strategy is now very clear: he will use the white-squared bishop to put Black under pressure – and Fischer liked to play and excelled in bishop vs knight endgames. In a practical game and with the clock ticking it is very difficult to hold Black's position after 22.Nxd7+.
However, most engines prefer the move 22.a4!, which increases White's pressure, restricts the scope of Black's bishop on d7 and keeps more pieces on the board. Zoran Petronijevic (Serbia), Charles Sullivan (USA), and many ChessBase readers have analysed this position deeply, and their analyses indicate that White is winning after 22.a4! while 22.Nxd7+ is objectively a mistake.
Zoran Petronijevic has analysed the position in particular depth, and here are his conclusions: