1. e4
It's Fischer! What do you expect. His favorite opening move, "best by test". Opens for the Bishop, Queen, Knight, (and God forbid, King). Goes for the control of the center.
1... e5 Similarly, Black Opens with his King's pawn.
2. Nf3 Developing the Knight towards the center, clearing the bank rank for castling, and attacking the Black pawn.
2... Nc6 Developing a piece towards the center and protecting the pawn.
3. Bb5 Ruy Lopez. One of Fischer's specialties. Developing the Bishop. Attacking the defender of the pawn. He is ready to castle.
3... a6 Attacking the Bishop. Making him decide what he wants to do with the Bishop. Note that Black does not lose a pawn if White plays, BxN dxc6, Nxe5 because of ...Qd4.
4. Ba4 Gets away from the attack, still attacks the Knight on c6.
4... Nf6 Develops a piece towards the center, attacks the pawn on e4, and clears the back rank, preparing for castling himself.
5. O-O White castles, protecting the King and bringing the Rook into the game, leaving his pawn hanging. If Black takes the pawn, White can either play d4, or Re1 or Bxc6 in some order and he ends up with a long-lasting initiative.
5... Be7 Black goes for development instead of grabbing loose pawns. He is now ready to castle.
6. Re1 White protects his pawn. He is ready to take the Knight on c6 followed by taking the pawn on e5.
6... b5 Black closes the path of the Bishop to the Knight by attacking it with this pawn move.
7. Bb3 Bishop retreats, the focus of the attack will be along the new diagonal (unless the Bishop is taken out by moves like Na5 followed by Nxb3.) White exerts a lot of pressure on d5. This control builds up after Nc3 and the exchange of the d-pawn after d4.
7... O-O Protects the King and brings the Rook into the game.
8. c3 Preparing for d4 and also opening the way for the Bishop in case it is attacked by Na5.
8... d6 Opening for the Bishop on c8 (even though this blocks in the Bishop on e7), and also supports the pawn on e5. The Knight on c6 is free to go wherever Black wants without worrying about losing the pawn on e5. People have argued that it was bad strategy for Reshevsky to play the closed
9. h3 Prevents any piece from coming to g4 (especially the Bishop on c8). It may also be preparation for a move like g4 later on.
9... h6 Similarly, he prevents any piece from coming to g5. Gets ready for his own g5 later in the game.
10. d4 Going for the center. If Black exchanges pawns, White captures back with the c-pawn and has two central pawns. This move also opens the d2 square for the Bishop, Knight and Queen.
10... Re8 Bringing the Rook into play. Since the Bishop is closed in, it may be better to put in on f8 to help defend the King in case of an attack, and also allow the Rook to come into the game. The Rook defends the pawn on e5, but if Black initiates the exchange, (and the Bishop gets out of the way), you have the Knight on f6 and the Rook attacking the pawn on e4.
11. Nbd2 Developing a piece, defending the pawn on e4 in case of the exchanges mentioned above, but also the Knight may be headed to f5 or h5 via f1 and g3.
11... Bf8 The Bishop has gone back to Open the file for the Rook. As mentioned earlier, it may also help defend the King.
12. Nf1 There is the Knight manouvre. Targets may be f5 and h5 if it goes to g3, or f5 and d5 if it ends up on e3. (Of course, going to e3 immediately would lose a pawn ;-))
12... Bd7 Developing the last piece. One would wonder why not go to b7 with the Bishop since that side is already open. This move has several ideas behind it. First is to avoid the Queen exchanges after dxe5 dxe4, when White can exchange
13. Ng3 So.. the Knight is headed towards f5 and h5. going to f5 would exchange Blacks only active Bishop. This move prevents Black from playing Nh5, in case he wants to play the f-pawn. Of course he can still do it by going to h7.
13... Na5 Attacking the Bishop, but most of all, opening the way for the c-pawn.
14. Bc2 Fischer loved his King Bishop. I cannot remember what Fischer-game Kasparov was analyzing. It was from his "My greatest predecessors" series, and he mentioned that he could only remember one game in which Fischer won with his dark-squared Bishop. So here he goes again, protecting his light-squared Bishop. Actually, this Bishop move is essential to conducting a Kingside attack (in the Ruy Lopez and other openings). It nicely works with the Queen to create threats of mate against the opposing King.
14... c5 White appears to be ready to launch a kingside attack, Black needs to attack the center and may be go for a Queenside attack himself.
15. b3 Black could have played b4 next move, and White could not meet it with c4 as the pawn could be captured by the Knight. So in a way, b3 enables c4 in case of ...b4. The move also prevents Nc4 when Black would attack the dark-squared Bishop if developed on b2 or e3. It appears White is giving himself the options of joining the attack through b2, or even going to a3 with the Bishop to attack the d6 pawn after pawn exchanges.
15... Nc6 The Knight returns to c6 after releasing the pawn. It adds pressure to d4 and adds protection to e5.
16. Be3 Developing the last minor piece. Adding support to the d4-square. x-ray attack to c5. Similar to Bd7, the Queen can come behind the Bishop and attack the h-pawn.
16... cxd4 Black decides to relieve the tension. I am not sure why. He accepts a backward pawn on d6. What else was there to play? But may be he sees that after cxd4, the Knight can go to b4 attacking the Bishop on c2... but the Bishop can just retreat to b1, followed by a3 and the Bishop goes back to c2 if need be.
17. cxd4 he has to take back the pawn.
17... Nb4 Knight attacks the Bishop on c2.
18. Bb1 The Bishop is needed for a Kingside attack. It is more powerful than the Knight that is attacking it, so why allow the exchange?
18... a5 Trying to liquidate the Queenside - may be something will come out of it. He is also opening a spot for the Knight to land if attacked. The Rook on a8 can then come to c8 without being blocked by the Knight.
19. a3 Attacking the Knight. He may also bring the a-Rook into the game via a2 to c2 or d2 or e2.
19... Na6 Knight retreats to a6, not c6, to avoid blocking the c-file. Black gets to the c-file quicker with his Rooks.
20. Bd3 The Bishop comes back into the game with an attack on the pawn. The White Queen can come to e2 to support the Bishop attack on the pawn. That's something to remember about Chess... it is always changing, you gain some you give some. Black had created a spot on a6 for the knight to land after being chased by a3, but in the process he removed the support for the b5 pawn. Now that pawn can become a weakness.
20... Qc7 Not sure about this move. I think Rc8 was better. May be Reshevsky 'feared" a4 which would have taken advantage of the Knight-wthout-support on a6. But that could be countered by Nb4. How about Qb8? to support the b5 pawn if it needs extra support. May be it is bad because the Queen no longer supports the a5 pawn?
21. Qe2 Fischer goes for the b-pawn. He also opens a way for the King's Rook to come to the Queenside for an attack there.
21... Qb7 Protecting the b-pawn. That could have been accomplished in one move by going to b8 instead of c7 earlier. May be he didn't want to block the connection between the Rooks?
22. Rad1 I am surprised by this move. I thought the Rook on e1 would come to c1, but that would start piece exchanges. This Rook move leaves the pawn on a3 without support. It is not yet attacked, but it can be attacked by the Bishop on f8 after pawn exchanges. The Rook indirectly attacks the Bishop on d7 when the file is clear.
22... g6 May be he is preparing for a push like h5
23. Qb2 Providing protection to the pawns, but mainly attacking the e5 square. White can win a pawn.
23... Qb8 Providing protection to e5. I guess I am vindicated; 20...Qb8 seems to have been a better move.
24. Bb1 Preparing to trade places with the Queen at a moment's notice: Queen in front supported by the Bishop behind it threatening a check(mate) - at some point in the future. I guess Fischer had seen that the Queen would end up on b8 leaving the Bishop on d7 supported by the Knight on f6. The Knight has no support.
24... Kh7 May be supporting the pawns and ...??? I don't know. All I can see is that now the g-pawn is "pinned". If the b1-h7 diagonal is blasted open, White moves like Nh5 would be possible. Now the f-pawn is not defended. Of course it is not attacked. But when you leave several pieces unsupported, something you treasure can leave the board without compensation.
25. dxe5 After so long, the pawns are exchanged. Why now? Because Fischer can benefit from the situation. See the next couple of moves.
25... dxe5 Black has to take back.
26. Nxe5 Temporarily sacrifices his Knight to gain a pawn. If [26...Qxe5 27.Bd4 followed by 28.Bxf6]
26... Rxe5 ??He has to take back or address the attack on the Bishop by the Knight and Rook. Does he have to take with the Rook? I think this is a blunder. I think better was 27...Qxe5 as explained above when Black would be down a pawn. Now he will be down the exchange plus a pawn.
27. Bf4 Of course. Fischer will now be up the exchange.
27... Qb7 [27...Bd6 28.Rxd6 Qxd6 29.BxR followed by 30.BxN would be bad for Black.] This is the thing about leaving pieces unprotected. If the Knight on f6 was protected by a pawn or Bishop, things would not be so bad. At the same time, you cannot have your Bishop that's attacked by a Rook supported by a Knight that can be easily attacked. If the Knight is chased away or captured, the Bishop is a goner.
28. Bxe5 White takes the Rook with an attack on the Knight on f6.
28... Ne8 Runs away from the attack.
29. Ne2 Shifting positions. The Knight is going to join the attack on the Black King. I thought White would want to move the Bishop from e5 so that the Bishop on b1 can join the attack after the pawn moves. May be it's slower than the moves played.
29... Nc5 "A Knight on the side of the board is a shame." - i guess removing it from the side of the board. Attacking e4 and b3. The Knight may also be shifting to the Kingside to protect his majesty.
30. Nf4 Not sure whether he is attacking g6 or he wants to go to d5 and then f6 to exchange one of the King's defenders. Moves like this are hard to deal with... you wonder where you opponent is headed. You react one way, he goes the other way! He also opens the file for the Rook to protect the pawn on e4.
30... b4 Trying to create something on the Queenside. A constant theme in Chess.
31. a4 Fischer say no to discussing the Queenside!
31... Bc6 Pressure on the e-pawn.
32. Nd5 Blocking the attack on e4. But may shift to the Kingside.
32... Nd7 Attacking the Bishop and strengthening the defense on f6.
33. Bd4 Running away from the attack and also preventing the Knight from coming to c5. The Bishop is controlling most of the landing squares for both Knights.
33... Ng7 Heading to e6 to attack the Bishop again?
34. Bd3 Headed to c4 to attack f7?
34... Ne6 Attacking the Bishop on d4.
35. Bc4 x-ray to f7.
35... Re8 Black appears to have consolidated his defenses.
36. Bf6 Take me if you can! Since Black was attacking the Bishop, White puts it where it would be "poisonous" to do so. [36...Nxf6 37.NxN+ Kh8 38.Nxe8+]
36... Nec5 Attacking the pawn on e4 with the support of the Rook.
37. Qc2 Protecting the attacked pawn.
37... Ne6 After forcing the Queen to move to c2, the Knight returns home.
38. Ba1 The Bishop would like to trade places with the Queen: Queen in front, Bishop behind it, threatening to mate!
38... Qa7 Had to play something without impacting the position negatively. Now the Bishop on c6 is not supported by anything. May be he is intending to play Bc5 to attack f2?
39. Kh1 White moves away from the pin. He is now ready to play f4 if need be to soften Black's position.
39... Bg7 Cancelling out the possibility of Bishop-Queen battery.
40. Bxg7 It appears forced. Simplification sometimes favors the losing side. Sometimes it favors the winning side. In this case, it is hard to tell. I would say, temporarily, it has favored Black as his Bishop was not doing much.
40... Nxg7 He has to take back. [If King takes, Queen can give check. Why waste time?]
41. Bb5 Double attack on the Bishop (by Bishop and Rook). Fischer is going to simplify further. Here he is not just simplifying for the sake of it. He is creating a passed pawn with the exchanges that ensue.
41... Bxb5 Black had no choice.
42. axb5 White has to take back.
42... Rb8 Attacking the isolated pawn.
43. Qc6 Protecting the pawn. Attacking the Knight with the support of the Rook (if the Knight moves from d5). Actually, White threatens to win a piece by taking the Knight with his Queen and then playing Nf6+ forking King and Queen.
43... Ne8 Defending the f6-square and any tricks associated with it.
44. e5 At long last, the e-pawn joins the attack.
44... Nf8 Defending against e6. He can go to e6 next move, blocking the file.
45. Nf6+ Exchanging more pieces. Eliminating one more defender.
45... Nxf6 Forced, otherwise he would lose a piece.
46. exf6 Has to take back. The Queen has to stay where she is to protect the pawn on b5.
46... Rb6 Attacking the Queen.
The game was adjourned. Reshevsky did not resume play. He lost because he did not show up. He made Fischer wait to win the game as long as Fischer had made him wait to start the game! Hope you enjoyed it!
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