The Manhattan Blitz Tournament 1971
The years 1970 to 1972 were the height of Bobby Fischer's career. In November-December 1970 he won the Interzonal Tournament in Palma de Mallorca with 18.5 points from 21 games, winning the last seven games. In May 1971 he then defeated Mark Taimanov 6-0 in the quarter-finals of the Candidates' Matches. A few weeks later, in the semi-finals of the Candidates, Fischer defeated Bent Larsen by the same 6-0 score, extending his winning streak to 19 games against some of the world's best players.
Chess fans in the USA followed the action with great excitement and with each success of Fischer chess became more and more popular in the USA.
14 E. 60 St. today
In New York, Fischer's chess club, the Manhattan Chess Club, had moved into new premises at 14 E. 60 St. and was considering how best to inaugurate the club's beautiful new home. Bobby Fischer, who was still in Denver after his victory over Larsen, was consulted by telephone. Fischer suggested a double-round blitz tournament, in which he himself would play. Fischer was not a great fan of blitz tournaments, but when he did take part it was with success, as in the famous Herceg Novi blitz tournament in 1970, which took place after the "Match of the Century USSR vs The Rest of the World". Fischer won the blitz tournament with 19.0/22, finishing 4.5 points ahead of Mikhail Tal, who was second with 14.5/22. Viktor Kortschnoi finished third with 14.0/22, half a point ahead of Tigran Petrosian, who scored 13.5/22.
The blitz tournament at the Manhattan Chess Club was scheduled for 8 August, which was not a particularly happy date as it clashed with the start of the well-funded U.S. Open in Ventura, California. A number of strong players preferred to start there.
Nevertheless, the field for the blitz tournament at the Manhattan Chess Club was impressive, with Grandmaster Robert Byrne, Marshall Chess Club Champion Andy Soltis, Manhattan Chess Club Champion Arthur Feuerstein, Edmar Mednis, Walter Shipman, George Kramer, Louis Levy, Dr Neil McKelvie, Alexander Kevitz, James Gore and Paul Brandts. And Bobby Fischer, of course, as the star of the show.
There was no doubt that Fischer would win the tournament. The only question was whether Fischer would deliver a "Fischer result", i.e. win all his games.
Before the tournament began, club president Rosser Reeves said a few words to the players and spectators and then opened the boards. As expected, Fischer ploughed through the field, picking up point after point. Fischer did not always stand well, but was always able to get out of awkward positions.
Sometimes the clock helped. Against Soltis and later against Shipman, however, Fischer was clearly losing. Unfortunately, the notation of Fischer's game against Soltis has not survived. In the course of the game Fischer, who was playing with Black, had to give his queen for a rook and a pawn, but when both sides were in severe time trouble Fischer managed to turn the tables.
Andrew Soltis later remembered:
I was invited and paired with him in the first round. I got a bad position out of the opening and wondered how I was going to avoid humiliation. But he overlooked a tactic and I won his queen for a rook. Nevertheless, I knew I was going to lose. Fischer had an aura that overwhelmed me. I took longer and longer to make simple moves. With seconds left -- this was before increments -- I began making illegal moves. This was worse than humiliating: Dozens of fans were watching me play illegal moves and losing. I resigned when he was about to queen a pawn."
Thanks to Soltis, the beginning of the game is known: 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Lc4 e6 7. Bb3 b5 8.O-O Be7 9. Bf3 Qd7!? 10. a4 b4 11. Na2 Bb7! with good play for Black (A.Soltis: "Confessions of a Grandmaster", p.73)
Against Shipman, Fischer had a won rook endgame, but then blundered his rook. The game was now clearly lost, but somehow Fischer managed to achieve a draw with his connected passed pawns. Due to the speed play in time trouble, the spectators were unable to record the end of the game.
1.Nc3 g6 2.e4 c5 3.Nf3 Bg7 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nc6 6.Be3 d6 7.Bc4 Nf6 8.f3 0-0 9.0-0 Bd7 10.Qd2 a6 11.Rad1 Rc8 12.Bb3 b5 13.Nd5 Nxd5 14.exd5 Nxd4 15.Bxd4 Bxd4+ 16.Qxd4 a5 17.c3 a4 18.Bc2 Rc4 19.Qd2 b4 20.cxb4 Qb6+ 21.Kh1 Qxb4 22.Qxb4 Rxb4 23.b3 Rc8 24.Rd2 Rc3 25.Kg1 axb3 26.Bxb3 Ba4 27.Bxa4 Rxa4 28.Re1 Kf8 29.Rb2 Rc7 30.Rd1 Ra5 31.Kf2 Rcc5 32.Rbd2 Kg7 33.h3 Kf6 34.Ke3 Ke5 35.f4+ Kf5 36.g4+ Kf6 37.Ke4 Ra4+ 38.Ke3 Rc3+ 39.Rd3 Rxd3+ 40.Rxd3 Rxa2 41.Kf3 Ra4 42.Re3 h6 43.h4 Ra7 44.Rb3 Ra5 45.Rd3 Rc5 46.Ke4 Rc4+ 47.Kf3 47...Rc1 47...h5!+- 48.Re3 Rc7?! 49.Rb3 49.g5+!? hxg5 50.fxg5+ Kf5 51.Kg3 49...Rc5 50.Ke4 Rc1 51.Kf3? 51.g5+! 51...Rf1+ 52.Kg3 Re1 52...h5! 53.Kf3 Rg1 54.Re3 e6 55.dxe6 fxe6 56.Rd3 d5 57.Ra3 h5-+ 58.gxh5 gxh5 59.Ra8 Rg4 60.Rf8+ Ke7 61.Rh8 Rxh4 62.Kg3 Rh1 63.Kg2 Rh4 64.Kg3 Rh1 65.Kg2 Ra1? 65...Re1 66.Rxh5 Kd6 67.Kf2 Re4 68.Kf3 Kc5 69.Rh7 Kd4 70.Re7 Kd3-+ 66.Rxh5= Ra3 67.Kf2 Kd6 68.Rh8 d4 69.Rd8+ Kc5 70.Re8 Kd5 71.Re7? 71.Ke2= 71...Ra6?= 71...Re3! 72.Re8 Kd6 72...Kc4? 73.f5! e5 74.f6 Re4 75.f7 Rf4+ 76.Ke1 Rxf7 77.Rxe5= 73.Rd8+ Kc5 74.Re8 Kd5 75.Re7 Kc4 76.f5 e5 77.f6 Re4 78.Kg3 Rf4 79.f7 Kd5-+ 72.Kf3 Ra3+ 73.Ke2 Re3+ 74.Kf2? 74.Kd2= 74...Re4-+ 75.Kf3 Re1 76.Rd7+ 76.Kf2 Re3-+ 76...Kc4 77.Kf2 Re4 78.Kf3 Re3+ 79.Kf2 Kd3 80.Ra7 Re2+ 81.Kf3 Re3+ 82.Kf2 82...Rh3?? 82...Ke4-+ 82...e5-+ 83.f5 Ke4 84.f6 Rf3+ 83.Ra3+ Ke4 84.Rxh3 Kxf4 85.Rh4+ Ke5 86.Kf3 Kd5 ½–½
This was in fact the only half-point Fischer surrendered in the tournament, spoiling his "Fischer score" of 100% - all the other games were won by the future World Champion. Andrew Soltis came second with the equally outstanding score of 18:4. Third place went to Robert Byrne with 17.5:4.5. There was a big gap behind the first three. Arthur Feuerstein needed only 11 points, or 50%, to finish fourth.
After the tournament Fischer recorded some of his games, which were published by Chess Life in October 1971.
No other World Champion was more infamous both inside and outside the chess world than Bobby Fischer. On this DVD, a team of experts shows you the winning techniques and strategies employed by the 11th World Champion.
Grandmaster Dorian Rogozenco delves into Fischer’s openings, and retraces the development of his repertoire. What variations did Fischer play, and what sources did he use to arm himself against the best Soviet players? Mihail Marin explains Fischer’s particular style and his special strategic talent in annotated games against Spassky, Taimanov and other greats. Karsten Müller is not just a leading international endgame expert, but also a true Fischer connoisseur.
The Manhattan Chess Club, founded in 1877, was the second oldest chess club in the USA and, among other things, organised the famous 1924 tournament in New York. For some time the club was based in a building at 353 West 46th Street, which belonged to the American Chess Foundation. After the building was sold in 2000, the club was evicted. It stayed in a hotel for another two years, but then disbanded in 2002 for financial and organisational reasons.
Replay and check the LiveBook here |
Please, wait...
1.d4 g6 2.c4 Bg7 3.Nc3 Nf6 4.e4 d6 5.Be2 0-0 6.Nf3 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Ne1 Nd7 10.Nd3 f5 11.exf5 gxf5 12.f4 Ng6 13.Be3 Nf6 14.Qc2 Re8 15.fxe5 dxe5 16.Bg5 h6 17.Bxf6 Qxf6 18.Qb3 e4 19.Nf4 Nxf4 20.Rxf4 Qg5 21.Rff1 Qe3+ 22.Kh1 Qg5 23.c5 Kh8 24.Rad1 Be5 25.g3 Rg8 26.Nb1 f4 27.Rg1 f3 28.Bc4 Qh5 29.Qe3 Rxg3 30.Qxe4 Qxh2+ 0–1
- Start an analysis engine:
- Try maximizing the board:
- Use the four cursor keys to replay the game. Make moves to analyse yourself.
- Press Ctrl-B to rotate the board.
- Drag the split bars between window panes.
- Download&Clip PGN/GIF/FEN/QR Codes. Share the game.
- Games viewed here will automatically be stored in your cloud clipboard (if you are logged in). Use the cloud clipboard also in ChessBase.
- Create an account to access the games cloud.
Brandts,P | - | Fischer,R | - | 0–1 | 1971 | E98 | Manhattan blitz | |
Byrne,R | - | Fischer,R | - | 0–1 | 1971 | B90 | Manhattan blitz | |
Fischer,R | - | Brandts,P | - | 1–0 | 1971 | C98 | Manhattan blitz | |
Fischer,R | - | Byrne,R | - | 1–0 | 1971 | B57 | Manhattan blitz | |
Fischer,R | - | Feuerstein,A | - | 1–0 | 1971 | A07 | Manhattan blitz | |
Fischer,R | - | Gore,J | - | 1–0 | 1971 | C98 | Manhattan blitz | |
Fischer,R | - | Kramer,G | - | 1–0 | 1971 | C68 | Manhattan blitz | |
Fischer,R | - | Mednis,E | - | 1–0 | 1971 | C18 | Manhattan blitz | |
Fischer,R | - | Shipman,W | - | 1–0 | 1971 | C60 | Manhattan blitz | |
Fischer,R | - | Soltis,A | - | 1–0 | 1971 | B33 | Manhattan blitz | |
Gore,J | - | Fischer,R | - | 0–1 | 1971 | B92 | Manhattan blitz | |
Kevitz,A | - | Fischer,R | - | 0–1 | 1971 | D93 | Manhattan blitz | |
Mednis,E | - | Fischer,R | - | 0–1 | 1971 | B92 | Manhattan blitz | |
Shipman,W | - | Fischer,R | - | ½–½ | 1971 | B77 | Manhattan blitz | |
Please, wait...
More articles about Bobby Fischer...