„I don’t believe in psychology. I Believe in good moves.“ – Bobby Fischer
Jeremiah F. Donovan vs Robert James Fischer, King’s Indian Defense, Orthodox Variation, E94
57th US Open, 1956., Oklahoma City
This is the first video in the series about the greatest chess player of all time. I will cover 50 games played throughout his career (from 1956. To 1972.) and follow his progress as a chess player. The first game is his brilliant victory over Donovan from 1956., when he was just 13 years old. It was played only a few months before “the game of the century” in which he humiliated Byrne.
He played his signature King’s Indian Defense in an uncommon fashion, making slight inaccuracies every now and then, but so did his opponent. Then he went on the offensive. He started transferring all his pieces to the kingside, starting with the thematic maneuver Nh5-f4 and his opponent got more and more cramped. Engine-wise, though, Bobby’s position was lost! With perfect defense, white could have survived and won, since Fischer’s queenside rook and bishop were out of play, but it was humans playing. Bobby sacrificed a piece, Donovan took it, and that was the beginning of the end. A series of highly aggressive moves by Fischer, which required perfect, “only move” defense, which white didn’t do. And Donovan was never a GM, he was rated about 2100 at his peak, so his lack of defensive skills was not surprising.
Bobby won easily after a relentless attack. He simply converted into a winning endgame an exchange up. It wasn’t Bobby’s most precise game, and his swift evolution leading to much more “grandmaster-like” play in the Interzonal a few years later will alter his style slightly. However, he will manage to keep the most important aspect of his chess genius – willingness to risk and the desire to win at all costs. And as his positional skills increased, this combination become a deadly weapon no one was ready for. Stay tuned for chapter II about Bobby Fischer! Coming up soon!
Game Moves:
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. e4 d6 5. Nf3 O-O 6. Be2 Nbd7
7. O-O e5 8. h3 c6 9. Be3 Qe7 10. Qc2 a6 11. a4 Re8 12. dxe5
dxe5 13. a5 Nh5 14. Rfd1 Nf4 15. Bf1 Nf8 16. c5 N8e6 17. Na4
Ng5 18. Nxg5 Qxg5 19. Kh2 Be6 20. g3 Bh6 21. gxf4 exf4 22. Bc1
Qh4 23. Ra3 Rad8 24. Rad3 Rxd3 25. Rxd3 Bg7 26. b3 f5 27. Rf3
fxe4 28. Qxe4 Bf7 29. Qc2 Re1 30. Bc4 Qg5 31. Bxf7+ Kf8
32. Rg3 fxg3+ 33. fxg3 Qxc1 34. Qxc1 Rxc1 35. Be6 Re1 36. Bc8
Re2+ 37. Kh1 Re7 38. Kg2 Ke8 39. h4 Kd8 40. Bg4 Re3 0-1