World Chess Championship 1972

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Template:Short description Template:Good article Template:Infobox chess match

The World Chess Championship 1972 was a match for the World Chess Championship between challenger Bobby Fischer of the United States and defending champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union. The match took place in the Laugardalshöll in Reykjavík, Iceland, and has been dubbed the Match of the Century. Fischer became the first US-born player to win the world title. Fischer's win also ended, for a short time, 24 years of Soviet domination of the World Championship.

Fischer won the right to challenge for the World Championship after dominant performances during the qualification cycle, in which he defeated some of the world's leading players by unprecedented margins. The first game was played on JulyTemplate:Spaces11, 1972. The 21st and last game, begun on AugustTemplate:Spaces31, was Template:Chessgloss after 40 moves, with Spassky resigning the next day without resuming play. Fischer won the match 12½–8½, becoming the eleventh undisputed world champion. The match was covered in the United States on ABC's Wide World of Sports and by Shelby Lyman on WNET.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Qualification cycle

1970 Interzonal tournament

The Interzonal tournament was held in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, in November and December 1970. The top six players of the interzonal (shown in bold in the table below) qualified for the Candidates matches. Fischer had not qualified to play in this event, as he had not participated in the 1969 US Championship (Zonal). Pal Benko (and the reserve William Lombardy) gave up their spot, however, and FIDE President Max Euwe controversially allowed Fischer to participate instead.Template:Sfn<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

1970 Interzonal Tournament
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 Total Tiebreak
1 Template:Flagathlete – 0 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 18½
2 Template:Flagathlete 1 – ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 15 167.50
3 Template:Flagathlete 0 ½ – 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ 15 167.00
4 Template:Flagathlete ½ ½ 0 – ½ 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 15 155.25
5 Template:Flagathlete 0 1 ½ ½ – ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 1 14 146.50
6 Template:Flagathlete 0 0 0 0 ½ – 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 14 141.50
7 Template:Flagathlete ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 – ½ 0 1 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 0 13½ 149.75
8 Template:Flagathlete 0 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ – 1 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 13½ 141.00
9 Template:Flagathlete ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 – ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 13 146.75
10 Template:Flagathlete 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ – 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ 1 0 ½ 1 ½ 1 1 13 135.50
11 Template:Flagathlete 0 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 0 – ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 12½ 130.75
12 Template:Flagathlete 0 0 0 ½ 1 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ – 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 1 1 1 1 12½ 130.00
13 Template:Flagathlete 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 – 1 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 ½ 11½
14 Template:Flagathlete 0 ½ ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 – ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ ½ 10½
15 Template:Flagathlete 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ ½ ½ – 0 ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 1 ½ 1 10 105.75
16 Template:Flagathlete 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 1 – 1 ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 1 1 10 96.00
17 Template:Flagathlete 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 ½ 0 – ½ ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 1 9½
18 Template:Flagathlete ½ 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ – ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 1 9 98.50
19 Template:Flagathlete 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ – ½ 0 0 1 1 9 95.25
20 Template:Flagathlete 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ – ½ 1 ½ 0 8½ 91.50
21 Template:Flagathlete ½ 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 0 ½ 1 0 1 1 1 ½ – 0 0 1 8½ 88.75
22 Template:Flagathlete ½ ½ 0 0 0 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 1 1 1 0 1 – 1 ½ 8½ 85.25
23 Template:Flagathlete 0 0 ½ 0 0 0 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ ½ 0 ½ 1 0 – 1 6
24 Template:Flagathlete ½ ½ ½ 0 0 0 1 0 ½ 0 0 0 ½ ½ 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 ½ 0 – 5½

In early 1971, Portisch and Smyslov contested a six-game playoff in Portorož, Yugoslavia, for the reserve position for the Candidates Tournament. The match ended 3–3; Portisch was declared the winner because of a better tie-break score in the main tournament.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1971 Candidates matches

Petrosian, as the loser of the last championship match, and Korchnoi, as runner-up of the previous Candidates final, were seeded directly into the Candidates match stage, and were joined by the top six from the Interzonal. In the Petrosian–Hübner quarterfinal in Seville, Hübner withdrew from the match after a loss in the 7th game after several disputes with the organizers.<ref name="ChessGames Seville Candidates Quarterfinal 1971"/> The quarterfinals and semifinals matches were played as the best of 10 games. The final match was the best of 12 games.Template:Sfn

Fischer dominated the 1971 Candidates matches; his Template:Win-loss record victories over both Mark Taimanov and Bent Larsen were unparalleled at the Candidates level. His loss in game 2 of the Candidates Final versus Tigran Petrosian ended a 20-game winning streak.Template:Sfn

The first game of the finals started on September 30th, 1971. Fischer came with Larry Evans and Ed Edmondson as his Template:Chessgloss, while Petrosian arrived with Alexei Suetin and Yuri Averbakh.Template:Sfn

Template:8TeamBracket-info

Fischer's victory earned him the right to challenge reigning champion Spassky for the title.

1972 World Championship match

Background

The match was played during the Cold War, albeit during a period of increasing détente. The Soviet Chess School had a 24-year monopoly on the world championship title, with Spassky the latest in an uninterrupted chain of Soviet world chess champions stretching back to the 1948 championship.Template:Sfn The surrounding "American versus Russian" narrative within the Cold War context sparked much excitement throughout the world and an unprecedented increase in media coverage for any chess match.<ref name="BBC">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Fischer, an eccentricTemplate:Refn 29-year-old American, claimed that Soviet players gained an unfair advantage by agreeing to short draws among themselves in tournaments.Template:Refn In 1962, the American magazine Sports Illustrated and the German magazine Der Spiegel published Fischer's article "The Russians Have Fixed World Chess", in which he expounded this view.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Fischer himself rarely agreed to early draws.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Spassky faced enormous political pressure in the Soviet Union to win the match.Template:RefnTemplate:RefnTemplate:Refn While Fischer was often famously critical of his home country ("Americans want to plunk in front of a TV and don't want to open a book ..."), he too carried a burden of expectation because of the match's political significance.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> No American had achieved the world championship since the first champion, Wilhelm Steinitz, became a naturalized American citizen in 1888.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The unusually high public interest and excitement surrounding the match was so great that it was called the "Match of the Century",Template:RefnTemplate:Refn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> even though the same term had been applied to the USSR vs. Rest of the World match just two years before.Template:Refn

Spassky, the champion, had qualified for world championship matches in 1966 and 1969. He lost the world championship match to Tigran Petrosian in 1966.Template:Sfn In the 1969 cycle, he won matches against Efim Geller, Bent Larsen, and Viktor Korchnoi to win the right to challenge a second time,Template:Sfn then defeated Petrosian 12½–10½ to win the world title.Template:Sfn He is often said to have had a "universal style [...] involving an ability to play the most varied types of positions",Template:Sfn but Garry Kasparov notes that "from childhood he clearly had a leaning toward sharp, attacking play, and possessed a splendid feel for the initiative."Template:Sfn

Fischer, the challenger, was in dominant form. In the Candidates matches en route to becoming the challenger in 1972, he had beaten two grandmasters, Mark Taimanov and Bent Larsen, by perfect scores of 6–0, a feat not previously achieved in a Candidates match. In the Candidates final against Petrosian, Fischer won the first game, lost the second, drew the next three, then finished with four consecutive wins to win the match 6½–2½.Template:Sfn "No bare statement conveys the magnitude and impact of these results. ... Fischer sowed devastation."Template:Sfn From the last seven rounds of the Interzonal until the first game against Petrosian, Fischer won 19 games (plus 1 win on forfeit) without losing once, almost all against top grandmasters.Template:Sfn

Fischer also had a much higher Elo rating than Spassky.Template:Sfn On the July 1972 FIDE rating list, Fischer's 2785 was a record 125 points ahead of Spassky, the number two player whose rating was 2660.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Fischer's recent results made him the pre-match favorite.Template:RefnTemplate:RefnTemplate:Refn Other observers, however, noted that Fischer had never won a game against Spassky.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Before the match, Fischer had played five games against Spassky, drawing two and losing three.Template:Sfn

Spassky's Template:Chessgloss for the match were Efim Geller, Nikolai Krogius and Iivo Nei.Template:Sfn Fischer's was William Lombardy.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Snf His entourage also included lawyer Paul Marshall, who played a significant role in the events surrounding the match, and USCF representative Fred Cramer.Template:Sfn The match's arbiter was Lothar Schmid.Template:Sfn

World-class match play (i.e., a series of games between the same two opponents) often involves one or both players preparing one or two openings deeply, and playing them repeatedly throughout the match.Template:Refn Preparation for such a match also involves analyses of lines known to be played by the opponent. Fischer had been famous for his unusually narrow opening repertoire: for example, almost invariably playing 1.e4 as White, and as Black against 1.e4, almost always playing the Najdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defense.Template:SfnTemplate:Refn He surprised Spassky by repeatedly switching openings, and by playing openings that he had never, or only rarely, played before (such as 1.c4 as White, and Alekhine's Defense, the Pirc Defense, and the Paulsen Sicilian as Black).Template:Sfn Even in openings that Fischer had played before in the match, he continually deviated from the variations he had previously played, almost never repeating the same line.Template:Sfn

Prize negotiations and opening ceremony controversy

For some time, it seemed as though the match might not be played at all.Template:Sfn Shortly before the match, Fischer demanded that he and Spassky receive 30% of the box-office receipts, in addition to the agreed-upon prize fund of $125,000 (5/8 to the winner, 3/8 to the loser) and 30% of the proceeds from television and film rights.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Fischer agreed to play after British investment banker Jim Slater doubled the prize fund, and after much persuasion, including a phone call from Henry Kissinger (the US National Security Advisor).Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Fischer did not arrive in Iceland in time for the opening ceremony on July 1 required to determine the playing colors,Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn however, and FIDE President Max Euwe postponed the match by two days. Spassky, who appeared at the opening ceremony, refused to draw the colors by himself and asked FIDE to subject Fischer to a penalty, Fischer's Template:Chessgloss of the first game, and the Russian delegation insisted on an apology from both Fischer and the FIDE President. The FIDE President signed a document condemning the action of the Championship Challenger and admitting that the postponement "violated the FIDE rules" for "special reason". Fischer, on his part, wrote a letter of apology with his lawyer Paul Marshall. According to Marshall, in the first draft Fischer renounced his share of the prize money, but the draft wasn't publicly available, since it contained "things damaging to Bobby". In the letter, Fischer explained that his absence was caused by being "carried away by his petty dispute over money with Icelandic chess organizers", and asked for a favor to withdraw the forfeit penalty, saying it would put him at "tremendous handicap" and he "didn't believe that the world's champion desired such an advantage".Template:Sfn

After Spassky received the letter of apology on July 6, the Russian head of the State Sports Committee, Sergei Pavlov, told Spassky that he had every right to refuse to play the match and insisted he should return to Moscow. Spassky "politely and diplomatically" declined to follow the recommendation and said he would see the match through "despite Fischer's outrageous" conduct.Template:Sfn The match was again postponed until July 11, now initiated by Spassky as a "face-saving measure" to convince Pavlov that the honor of the Soviet Union had been preserved. Fischer agreed, cementing his condition to drop Spassky's demand for a forfeit.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Some commentators contended that Fischer was "playing a game of psychological warfare with Spassky, and his demands, his protest, his disappearance—all were calculated to unnerve the supposedly unflappable Russian."Template:Sfn

Regulations and results

The match was played as the best of 24 games, with wins counting 1 point and draws counting ½ point, and would end when one of the players scored 12½ points.<ref>FIDE Article 7, Rule 8, reproduced in Roberts, Schonberg, Horowitz & Reshevsky 1972, p. 204</ref> If the match ended in a 12–12 tie, the defending champion (Spassky) would retain the title.<ref>FIDE Article 7, Rule 6, reproduced in Roberts, Schonberg, Horowitz & Reshevsky 1972, p. 204</ref> The first time control was 40 moves in 2½ hours.<ref>FIDE Article 7, Rule 9b, reproduced in Roberts, Schonberg, Horowitz & Reshevsky 1972, p. 204</ref> Three games per week were scheduled.<ref>FIDE Article 7, Rule 9a, reproduced in Roberts, Schonberg, Horowitz & Reshevsky 1972, p. 204</ref> Each player was entitled to three postponements for medical reasons during the match.<ref>FIDE Article 7, Rule 10, reproduced in Roberts, Schonberg, Horowitz & Reshevsky 1972, p. 204</ref>Template:Sfn Games were scheduled to start on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday. If a game was adjourned, it was to be continued the next day. Saturday was a rest day.Template:Sfn Over the course of the match, the contestants moved their pieces nearly two thousand times.Template:SfnTemplate:Refn

Fischer insisted that a Staunton design chess set from Jaques of London be used. The chessboard had to be modified at Fischer's request.Template:Sfn The match was covered throughout the world. Fischer became a worldwide celebrity, described as the Einstein of chess. His hotel received dozens of calls each day from women attracted to him, and Fischer enjoyed reading the numerous letters and telegrams that arrived, whether with compliments or criticisms.<ref name="darrach19720811">Template:Cite magazine</ref> The day of the first game, Fischer arrived shortly after five o'clock, the scheduled starting time, due to heavy traffic.Template:Sfn

World Chess Championship Match 1972
Rating 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Points
Template:Flagathlete 2660 1 1 0 ½ 0 0 ½ 0 ½ 0 1 ½ 0 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 0 8½
Template:Flagathlete 2785 0 0 1 ½ 1 1 ½ 1 ½ 1 0 ½ 1 ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ ½ 1 12½
Running totals
Template:Flagathlete 2660 1 2 2 2½ 2½ 2½ 3 3 3½ 3½ 4½ 5 5 5½ 6 6½ 7 7½ 8 8½ 8½ 8½
Template:Flagathlete 2785 0 0 1 1½ 2½ 3½ 4 5 5½ 6½ 6½ 7 8 8½ 9 9½ 10 10½ 11 11½ 12½ 12½

Games

Template:AN chess

Game 1: Spassky–Fischer, 1–0 (Nimzo-Indian Main)

Template:Chess diagram Template:Em. At the beginning of play, Fischer was not present. Spassky played 1.d4 and pressed the clock, and nine minutes elapsed before Fischer arrived, shook hands with Spassky, and responded 1...Nf6.Template:Sfn The opening was a placid Nimzo-Indian Defense, and after 17...Ba4 the game was even (according to analysis by Filip).Template:Sfn After a series of piece exchanges it appeared to be a Template:Chessgloss ending, and no one would have been surprised if the players had agreed to a draw here.Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn

Shockingly, Fischer played 29...Bxh2Template:ChesspuncTemplate:Refn as shown, a move that few players would consider in light of the obvious 30.g3, trapping the bishop.Template:Sfn In exchange for the lost bishop, Black is only able to obtain two pawns (see chess piece relative value). Gligorić, Kasparov and other commentators have suggested that Fischer may have miscalculated, having planned 30...h5 31.Ke2 h4 32.Kf3 h3 33.Kg4 Bg1, but overlooking that 34.Kxh3 Bxf2 35.Bd2 keeps the bishop trapped.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Anatoly Karpov suggested that Spassky was afraid of Fischer and wanted to show that he could draw with the white pieces, while Fischer wanted to disprove that as the game headed for a stale draw.Template:Sfn Owing to unusual features in the position, Fischer had good drawing chances despite having only two pawns for the bishop. Fischer Template:Chessgloss on move 56.Template:Refn

Template:Block indent

The game was played in two days. Spassky adjourned the game on his forty-first move, however, they didn't reach the official adjournment time of five hours, Spassky took a loss of thirty-five minutes on his clock. The game continued the next day, and "Fischer left the playing table for half an hour to protest the presence of the television cameras. Then he resigned on move 56. He told his second Lombardy that he had played too quickly because the cameras distracted him".Template:Sfn

The first game had 2,300 spectators.Template:Sfn

Game 2: Fischer forfeits

After the first game the match organizers removed the "towers" and the backstage camera, and "they've found a great new place for the cameras–completely invisible and inaudible." Fischer wasn't satisfied with the partial changes, saying he wanted "all cameras out" and refused to proceed to the hall. At the starting time of the game, the match chief arbiter Lothar Schmid walked onto the stage and started Fischer's clock. The challenger had 60 minutes to make his first move before the game resulted in a forfeit. Fischer didn't appear. At that time, Fischer told Icelandic Chess Federation President Gudmundur Thorarinsson that, "they forfeit me that's it I'm taking the next plane back home". Thirty minutes into the game, Chester Fox agreed to remove cameras for one game, "pending further discussion". When Fischer heard about it, he demanded to set the clock back to its original time before he would play. Schmid refused. Fridrik Olafsson, Icelandic Grandmaster and Fischer's friend, intervened twelve minutes before the forfeit, but Fischer continued insisting on his demands telling Olafsson "talk to me about everything but the match. I lost interest in it six months ago." Olafsson described his impression of the Fischer on the day as "not very coherent. He was quite upset and he said he thought that there was a conspiracy against him by the Icelandic Chess Federation, which he believed was a communist front."Template:Sfn

At 6 pm, an hour after the start of the game, Schmid stepped up to the playing table and stopped the clock, announcing that since Fischer had not appeared in the playing hall, according to rule five of the Amsterdam Agreement, he lost the game by forfeit. Bobby Fischer formally protested the forfeit, supported by FIDE Delegate Fred Cramer, writing a letter to Schmid and explaining his absence by the poor conditions in the playing hall (in particular the noise and distraction of the video and photo recording). He admitted to initially agreeing to the recording, aware that the organizers were informed about his conditions and "assured by all parties concerned that modern technology had progressed to such an extent that they could photograph him without the least disturbance". The letter was delivered by Fischer in the early hours of July 14 to Schmid's hotel room, and the match committee overruled Fischer's protest, based on FIDE regulations he was required to protest a given game within six hours after that game ended.Template:Sfn

Karpov speculated that this forfeited game was actually a masterstroke on Fischer's part, a move designed specifically to upset Spassky's equanimity.Template:Sfn

With the score now 2–0 in Spassky's favor, many observers believed that the match was over and Fischer would leave Iceland, and, indeed, Fischer looked to board the next plane out, only to be dissuaded by his second, William Lombardy.Template:Refn His decision to stay in the match was attributed by some to another phone call from Kissinger and a deluge of cablegrams.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Spassky agreed to play the third game in a small room backstage, out of sight of the spectators. According to Pal Benko and Burt Hochberg, this concession was a psychological mistake by Spassky.Template:Refn

Game 3: Spassky–Fischer, 0–1 (Modern Benoni)

Template:Chess diagram Template:Em. This game proved to be the turning point of the match. After 11.Qc2, Fischer demonstrated his understanding of the position with 11...Nh5Template:Chesspunc—a seemingly Template:Chessgloss move allowing White to shatter Black's Template:Chessgloss pawn structure, but Fischer's assessment that his kingside attack created significant Template:Chessgloss proved correct.Template:Sfn Surprised by Fischer's Template:Chessgloss, Spassky did not react in the best way. Instead of 15.Bd2, 15.Ne2!? was possible (Zaitsev),Template:Sfn or 15.f3 to prevent ...Ng4.Template:Sfn In particular, Spassky's 18th move, weakening the light squares, was a mistake.Template:Snf The game was Template:Chessgloss, and Spassky resigned the next day upon seeing that Fischer had sealed the best move, 41...Bd3+Template:Chesspunc It was Fischer's first-ever win against Spassky.Template:Sfn Template:Block indent Template:Clear

Game 4: Fischer–Spassky, ½–½ (Sicilian Sozin)

Template:Chess diagram Template:Em. The chief arbiter, ensuring the players would proceed to play the third game, appealed to Spassky "as a sportsman" to agree to play in a backstage room without cameras and audience. Spassky agreed, but only for one game. Fischer already booked all three flights that would take him from Reykjavik back to New York City, but was persuaded to "give it [the match] a trial" with newly established conditions.Template:Sfn

Fischer, as White, played the Sozin Attack against Spassky's Sicilian Defense. Spassky sacrificed a pawn, and after 17...Bxc5+ had a slight advantage (Nunn).Template:Sfn Spassky developed a strong kingside attack, but failed to convert it into a win,Template:Sfn the game ending in a draw. Template:Block indent Template:Clear

Game 5: Spassky–Fischer, 0–1 (Nimzo-Indian Hübner)

Template:Chess diagram Template:Em. Game 5 was another Nimzo-Indian, this time the Hübner Variation: 4.Nf3 c5 5.e3 Nc6 6.Bd3 Bxc3+ 7.bxc3 d6.Template:Sfn Fischer rebuffed Spassky's attempt to attack; after 15...0-0 the game was even (Adorján).Template:Sfn Fischer obtained a blocked position where Spassky was saddled with weak pawns and his Template:Chessgloss had no prospects.Template:Sfn After 26 moves, Spassky blundered with 27.Qc2Template:Chesspunc, and resigned after Fischer's 27...Bxa4!, as shown. After 28.Qxa4 Qxe4, Black's dual threats of 29...Qxg2Template:ChessAN and 29...Qxe1# would decide; alternatively, 28.Qd2 (or 28.Qb1) Bxd1 29.Qxd1 Qxe4 30.Qd2 a4 wins.Template:Sfn

Template:Block indent

Thus Fischer had drawn level (the score was now 2½–2½), although FIDE rules stipulated that the champion retained the title if after 24 games the match ended in a tie.<ref>FIDE Article 7, Rule 8, reproduced in Roberts, Schonberg, Horowitz & Reshevsky 1972, p. 204</ref>

After game 5, Fischer hinted to Lombardy about a surprise he had in store for game 6.Template:Refn Template:Clear

Game 6: Fischer–Spassky, 1–0 (QGD Tartakower)

Template:Chess diagram Template:Em. Before the match began, the Soviet team that had been training Spassky debated about whether Fischer might play an opening move different from his usual 1.e4.Template:Refn

Fischer played 1.c4 (instead of 1.e4) for the third time in a serious game.Template:Refn With 3.d4 the game transposed into the Queen's Gambit Declined, surprising many who had never seen Fischer play the White side of that opening.Template:Sfn

Spassky played Tartakower's Defense (7...b6), his favorite choice in many tournaments and a line with which he had never lost.Template:Sfn After 14.Bb5Template:Chesspunc (introduced in Furman–Geller, Moscow 1970), Spassky responded with 14...a6Template:Chesspunc. Geller had previously shown Spassky 14...Qb7Template:Chesspunc, the move with which Geller later beat Jan Timman at Hilversum 1973,<ref name="Marovićp.130">Template:Cite book</ref> but Spassky apparently forgot about it.Template:Refn Fischer's 20.e4! – "the key move of the game" – struck at Black's center and left Spassky with no good alternatives.Template:Refn After Spassky's 20...d4, "the pawns have no hope of further advance and the white bishop is unimpeded."Template:Sfn After 21.f4, Fischer had the upper hand (Hort).Template:Sfn After 26.f5, White started "steadily gaining momentum".Template:Sfn

Template:Block indent

After this game, Spassky joined the audience in applauding Fischer's win.Template:Sfn This astounded Fischer, who called his opponent "a true sportsman".Template:R

"Lombardy was ecstatic: 'Bobby has played a steady, fluent game, and just watched Spassky make horrendous moves. Spassky has not met a player of Bobby's genius and caliber before, who fights for every piece on the board; he doesn't give in and agree to draws like the Russian grandmasters. This is a shock to Spassky.Template:' "Template:Sfn

According to C.H.O'D. Alexander: "This game was notable for two things. First, Fischer played the Queen's Gambit for the first time in his life in a serious game; second, he played it to perfection, the game indeed casting doubt on Black's whole opening system."Template:Sfn

The win gave Fischer the lead (3½–2½) for the first time in the match.Template:Sfn Template:Clear

Game 7: Spassky–Fischer, ½–½ (Sicilian Najdorf)

Template:Chess diagram Template:Em. Spassky played 1.e4 for the first time in the match.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Fischer defended aggressively with his favorite Poisoned Pawn Variation of the Najdorf Sicilian, and after 17...Nc6 had the upper hand (Gipslis).Template:Sfn He consolidated his extra pawn and reached a winning endgame, but then played carelessly, allowing Spassky to salvage a draw.Template:Sfn In the final position, Fischer had two extra pawns but had to execute a draw by perpetual check in order to escape being checkmated by Spassky's two rooks and knight.Template:Sfn Template:Block indent Template:Clear

Game 8: Fischer–Spassky, 1–0 (English Symmetrical)

Template:Chess diagram Template:Em. Fischer again played 1.c4 (an English Opening), soon transposing to another opening similar to game 6. After 14...a6 the game was even.Template:Sfn Spassky sacrificed an exchange, playing 15...b5Template:Chesspunc "under dubious conditions" and giving up his rook for White's bishop. After Spassky made his 19th move, Nd7, his position further deteriorated—"a terrible mistake which allowed White to win back his pawn, leaving Black with a completely lost position". Fischer won, putting him ahead 5–3.Template:Sfn

Template:Block indent Template:Clear

Game 9: Spassky–Fischer, ½–½ (QGD Semi-Tarrasch)

Template:Chess diagram Template:Em. After game 8 Spassky took time off, citing an illness, which delayed game 9 by two days. The opening transposed to the Semi-Tarrasch Defense of the Queen's Gambit Declined. Fischer then played a Template:Chessgloss of 9...b5!. After 13...0-0 the game was even (Parma).Template:Sfn Several exchanges followed, as the game proceeded to a quiet draw after just 29 moves. Template:Block indent Template:Clear

Game 10: Fischer–Spassky, 1–0 (Ruy Lopez Breyer)

Template:Chess diagram Template:Em. Fischer played the Ruy Lopez, an opening on which he was considered an expert.Template:Sfn After a balanced opening, Spassky's 25...Qxa5Template:Chesspunc gave Fischer the upper hand (25...axb5Template:Chesspunc 26.Rxb5 Ba6 gives Spassky a better chance; Gligorić). Fischer responded by initiating a dangerous attack on Spassky's king with 26.Bb3Template:Chesspunc (Matanović),Template:Sfn suddenly placing Black in a critical situation.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Spassky sacrificed the exchange for a pawn, reaching a sharp endgame where his two connected passed pawns gave almost sufficient compensation for Fischer's small Template:Chessgloss advantage.Template:Sfn Spassky then had chances to draw, but played inexactly, and Fischer won the game with precise play.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn Template:Block indent Template:Clear

Game 11: Spassky–Fischer, 1–0 (Sicilian Najdorf)

Template:Chess diagram Template:Em. As in game 7, game 11 opened with the Sicilian Najdorf and Fischer played his favorite Poisoned Pawn Variation. Spassky responded with the startling 14.Nb1 (given Template:Chesspunc by many annotators at the time), retreating his knight to its starting position.Template:Sfn Although later analysis showed that the game would maintain Template:Chessgloss if Black responded correctly, Fischer was unprepared for the move and did not find the optimal reply.Template:Sfn If Fischer had instead played 15...Ne7Template:Chesspunc then 16.N1d2!? and the game is unclear (Gipslis).Template:Sfn After inferior defense by Fischer, Spassky trapped Fischer's queen to reach a winning position, at which point Fischer resigned. It was Spassky's first win since games 1 and 2; for Fischer it was the only time in his career that he lost using the Poisoned Pawn variation in a competitive game.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Template:Block indent Template:Clear

Game 12: Fischer–Spassky, ½–½ (QGD Neo-orthodox)

Template:Chess diagram Template:Em. As in game 6, Fischer's opening 1. c4 transposed into the Queen's Gambit Declined. A quiet game followed. After 19.Be4Template:Chesspunc, analysts gave Fischer a slight advantage (Yudovich),Template:Sfn but by 24...a5 the game was even again (Polugaevsky).Template:Sfn Neither player was able to find an advantage, and after 55 moves they reached an opposite-colored bishops endgame. Although Spassky had an extra pawn (four against Fischer's three), they could not make progress, and agreed to a draw. Template:Block indent Template:Clear

Game 13: Spassky–Fischer, 0–1 (Alekhine's Defense Modern)

Template:Chess diagram Template:Em. Fischer avoided the Sicilian Defense, with which he had lost game 11, opting for Alekhine's Defense. After 8...a5Template:Chesspunc 9.a4Template:Chesspunc (9.c3Template:Chesspunc and Black is only slightly better; Gligorić) dxe5 10.dxe5 Na6! 11.0-0 Nc5, Fischer had the upper hand (Bagirov).Template:Sfn The game swung one way, then another, and was finally adjourned at move 42 with Fischer having an edge in a sharp position but no clear win. The Soviet team's analysis convinced them that the position was drawn. Fischer stayed up until 8 a.m. analyzing it (the resumption being at 2:30 p.m.). He had not found a win either, but managed to win a complicated pawns-versus-rook endgame after Spassky missed a relatively simple draw with 69.Rc3+. Spassky's seconds were stunned, and Spassky himself refused to leave the board for a long time after the game was over, unable to believe the result. He remarked, "It is very strange. How can one lose with the opponent's only rook locked in completely at g8?"Template:Sfn

Lombardy noted the shock that Spassky was in after he resigned:<ref name="Enigma"/>

While Fischer dashed for his car, Spassky remained glued to his seat. A sympathetic Lothar Schmid came over, and the two shifted the pieces about with Boris demonstrating his careless mistakes. The two were left wondering how Bobby could have squeezed a win from a position which a night of competent analysis by a renowned Soviet team had showed to be a guaranteed draw.

Former World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik said this game made a particularly strong impression on him. He called it "the highest creative achievement of Fischer". He resolved a Template:Chessgloss opposite-colored bishops endgame by sacrificing his bishop and trapping his own rook. "Then five passed pawns struggled with the white rook. Nothing similar had been seen before in chess".Template:Sfn

David Bronstein said, "Of all the games from the match, the 13th appeals to me most of all. When I play through the game I still cannot grasp the innermost motive behind this or that plan or even individual move. Like an enigma, it still teases my imagination."Template:Sfn Template:Block indent

When Spassky and Fischer shook hands, many in the audience thought they had agreed to a draw, thinking that 75.Rf4 draws. But 75...Rxd4! 76.Rxd4 Ke2 wins; 75.Be5 Rd1 76.Kxb3 Re1 also wins for Black.Template:Sfn

The next seven games (games 14 through 20) were drawn. Spassky chose safe lines that Fischer was unable to break, and Fischer was unable to increase his 3-point lead.Template:Sfn

The off-the-board antics continued, including a lawsuit against Fischer for damages by Chester Fox, who had filming rights to the match (Fischer had objected to what he said were noticeable camera noises, and the Icelandic hosts had reluctantly – they were to share in film revenues along with the two contestants – removed the television cameras),<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> a Fischer demand to remove the first seven rows of spectators (eventually, three rows were cleared),<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> and Soviet claims that Fischer was using chemicals and electronic devices to 'influence' Spassky, resulting in an inconclusive Icelandic police sweep of the hall.<ref name="BBC"/> Template:Clear

Game 14: Fischer–Spassky, ½–½ (QGD Harrwitz)

Template:Chess diagram Template:Em. The game was postponed at Spassky's request.Template:Sfn Fischer was again White in a Queen's Gambit Declined. After 18.Be5Template:Chesspunc (18.Nxb6 Qxb6 19.Be5 and Fischer keeps a slight advantage; Gligorić) Bxa4Template:Chesspunc 19.Qxa4 Nc6! Spassky had the upper hand (Karpov).Template:Sfn Fischer blundered a pawn on move 21. Spassky blundered it back on move 27, however, and the game settled into a 40-move draw.Template:Sfn Template:Block indent Template:Clear

Game 15: Spassky–Fischer, ½–½ (Sicilian Najdorf)

Template:Chess diagram Template:Em. Fischer returned to the Najdorf Sicilian, but played the main line rather than the Poisoned Pawn Variation with which he had lost game 11. At move 13, Fischer sacrificed a pawn for Template:Chessgloss, which Spassky accepted. After 19.c3, Spassky had the upper hand (Gipslis).Template:Sfn After 28...Rd7 the game was even, but when Spassky took a second pawn with 29.Qxh5Template:Chesspunc it allowed Fischer a very strong attack.Template:Sfn Spassky, on the brink of disaster, "found miraculous replies while in time pressure" and Fischer was only able to achieve a draw by threefold repetition after 43 moves.Template:Sfn Two years later, Yugoslav grandmaster Dragoljub Velimirović improved on Spassky's play with the piece sacrifice 13.Bxb5Template:Chesspunc, winning a crushing victory in Velimirović–Al Kazzaz, Nice Olympiad 1974.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>See also Template:Cite web But see Template:Cite web</ref> Black in turn later improved on Fischer's 12...0-0-0 with 12...b4.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Template:Block indent Template:Clear

Game 16: Fischer–Spassky, ½–½ (Ruy Lopez Exchange)

Template:Chess diagram Template:Em. Fischer played the Exchange Variation of the Ruy Lopez, a favorite line of his.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> After 17...Rfe8 the game was equal (Gipslis).Template:Sfn Spassky defended well, and after a tactical flurry in the endgame, ended up with the nominal advantage of an extra pawn in a rook ending known to be an easy Template:Chessgloss.Template:Sfn Although a draw could have been agreed after move 34,Template:Sfn Spassky "used his symbolic Template:Chessgloss advantage for a little psychological torture", prolonging the game until move 60 before agreeing to a draw.Template:Sfn Template:Block indent Template:Clear

Game 17: Spassky–Fischer, ½–½ (Pirc Defense)

Template:Chess diagram Template:Em. Fischer played the Pirc Defense for the first time in his career.Template:Sfn After 18...Qc7 the game was unclear (Parma).Template:Sfn The game ended in a draw by the threefold repetition rule.Template:Sfn Template:Block indent Template:Clear

Game 18: Fischer–Spassky, ½–½ (Sicilian Rauzer)

Template:Chess diagram Template:Em. The game opened with a Richter–Rauzer Attack. After 19...Ne5 the game was equal (Matanović, Ugrinović).Template:Sfn Like game 17, the game ended in a draw by threefold repetition. Template:Block indent Template:Clear

Game 19: Spassky–Fischer, ½–½ (Alekhine's Defense)

Template:Chess diagram Template:Em. The second Alekhine's Defense of the match, the game ended in a draw after 40 moves. After 18...Bg5Template:Chesspunc, Gligorić commented "a queer situation has arisen with many tactical possibilities for both sides."Template:Sfn After 19.Bh5 the position was unclear (Bagirov).Template:Sfn After 37...a6, C.H.O'D. Alexander wrote: "A miracle; after all the excitements – two piece sacrifices by White and the counter-sacrifice of a rook by Black – the players have reached a completely equal endgame with no chances for either side."Template:Sfn Template:Block indent Template:Clear

Game 20: Fischer–Spassky, ½–½ (Sicilian Rauzer)

Template:Chess diagram Template:Em. Another Richter–Rauzer, after 13...Nxd2 the game was equal (Matanović, Ugrinović),Template:Sfn but it promised to be a "keen fight when both kings castled on opposite wings". Spassky outplayed Fischer and got a better position, and Fischer "eschewed complications, for the first time clearly content to play for a draw with White".Template:Sfn Fischer headed for a Template:Chessgloss endgame but Spassky twice avoided a draw by threefold repetition.Template:Sfn After 54 moves, Fischer made an incorrect claim of threefold repetition, but Spassky agreed to a draw anyway.Template:Sfn Template:Block indent Template:Clear

Game 21: Spassky–Fischer, 0–1 (Sicilian Taimanov)

Template:Chess diagram Template:Em. The 21st and the last game of the match. Fischer used a line of the Sicilian that he had never before played as Black, and further surprised Spassky with a Template:Chessgloss on move eight by accepting an isolated pawn and obtaining, as a compensation, "good play for his pieces on the central squares".Template:SfnTemplate:SfnTemplate:Sfn After 14...Qxf6 the game was equal (Taimanov).Template:Sfn Spassky played badly in the endgame, and the game was adjourned with a big advantage for Fischer. Fischer's 40th move was not the best, however; he should have played 40...Kg4Template:Chesspunc before ...h5 (his actual 40th move). Had Spassky Template:Chessgloss 41.Kh3! (preventing ...Kg4), he would have had drawing chances. Instead he sealed 41.Bd7Template:Chesspunc, which would have permitted Black to win with 41...Kg4 followed by Template:Chessgloss his h-pawn.Template:Sfn On SeptemberTemplate:Spaces1, the day scheduled for resumption of the game, arbiter Lothar Schmid informed Fischer and the audience that Spassky had resigned the game by telephone, making Fischer the winner of the match.Template:Sfn FIDE President Max Euwe expressed disappointment that Spassky did not go to the playing hall to congratulate Fischer.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Template:Block indent

The final score was 12½–8½ in favor of Fischer, making him the eleventh world champion. Spassky won three games (including the forfeit in game 2), Fischer won seven games, and there were eleven draws.Template:Sfn Template:Clear

Aftermath

Fischer's victory made him an instant celebrity. Upon his return to New York,Template:Sfn a Bobby Fischer Day was held.Template:Refn He was offered numerous product endorsement offers worth millions of dollars, all of which he declined.<ref>Larry Evans, in Müller 2009, p. 13.</ref> He appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with American Olympic swimming champion Mark Spitz.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Fischer also made television appearances on a Bob Hope special and The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson.<ref name="Cavett">Template:Cite news</ref> But the games in this match proved to be his last public competitive games for two decades.Template:Refn

Fischer had, prior to the match, felt that the first-to-12½-points format was not fair, since it encouraged whoever was leading to play for draws instead of wins. He himself adopted this strategy in the match: after having taken a comfortable lead, he drew games 14–20. With each game, he coasted closer to the title, while Spassky lost a chance to fight back. This style of chess offended Fischer. Instead he demanded the format be changed to that used in the very first World Chess Championship, between Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort, where the winner was the first player to score 10 wins, with draws not counting. In case of a 9–9 score, the champion would retain title, and the prize fund split equally.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> A FIDE Congress was held in 1974 during the Nice Olympiad. The delegates voted in favor of Fischer's 10-win proposal, but rejected the 9–9 clause as well as the possibility of an unlimited match.Template:Sfn In response, Fischer refused to defend his title. Anatoly Karpov, who had fought his way through the 1975 candidates tournament, was declared World Champion by forfeit.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>Template:Sfn

Seventeen years later, Fischer entered negotiations with sponsors willing to fund a match under his proposed format, settling on a bid from Yugoslav millionaire Jezdimir Vasiljević. Fischer insisted that since he had not been defeated in a match, he was still the true world champion. He further claimed that all the games in the FIDE-sanctioned World Championship matches, involving Karpov and his challengers Korchnoi and Kasparov, had prearranged outcomes.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He then challenged Spassky (tied for 96th–102nd on the FIDE rating list at the time) to a rematch, leading to the 1992 Fischer–Spassky match.

See also

Footnotes

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Notes

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References

Template:World Chess Championships Template:Bobby Fischer Template:Chess Template:Soviet Union–United States relations

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