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[A.J.G.] (This was ... originally ... ) A BAG-lite game. January 10th, 2014.
{A new look at this classic and historic chess contest ... which, I
believe, won a brilliancy prize. Another thing that gave added impetus to this project was that one of my PCC students and I looked at this game on their laptop in the fall of 2013. (I bought a spiral-bound notebook and I recorded just about all of our observations.) Nearly 20 years has elapsed, (or - in some cases - even more time than this ...); since the first time that I began to use chess engines to examine this game ... they have become much stronger, (exponentially so); in the last 5-10 years. Due to this advancement in the overall technology, I thought it would be fun to take yet another look at it. (I will stick to the lines of the various chess engines.) ***************************************************************************************************************************************
Another under-appreciated fact was that, in 1956, Bobby Fischer
was a virtual nobody.
However, his opponent was one of
the top players in the USA ... and #65 in the whole world!!!!!
#1.) Samuel Reshevsky (2752)
[ Notice that Donald ... in those days ... was even higher rated than his (later) much more famous older brother!!!!!! ***************************************************************************************************************************************
I have analyzed the opening before, I don't think that theory has changed that much since I first examined this game. 1.Nf3 Nf6; 2.c4 g6; 3.Nc3 Bg7; 4.d4 0-0; 5.Bf4 d5; 6.Qb3 dxc4; ('!') 6...c7-c6; is the choice advocated by the new (CB) "Power-Book."
rnbq1rk1/ppp1ppbp/5np1/8/2pP1B2/1QN2N2/PP2PPPP/R3KB1R w KQ - 0 7
However, Fischer's move is much sharper and leads to a different type of game.
7.Qxc4 c6[]; ("Box." No choice.) One author actually criticized this move, (at the time that this game was first played); but the engines all agree that it was 100% best and/or forced.
8.e4 Nbd7; (Maybe - '!?') This is a solid move ... and I do not believe that there is anything fundamentally wrong with it. However, I have to agree with many of the engines that 8...b5; was a slightly more active move for Black.
r1bq1rk1/pp1nppbp/2p2np1/8/2QPPB2/2N2N2/PP3PPP/R3KB1R w KQ - 0 9
One thing that Fischer had in common with Morphy as that if you got caught with your King in the center, they both could whip up a nice attack ...
[ RR 8...b5; ('!') - Fritz 13. ]
9.Rd1, (Center.) Most engines prefer Be2, yet this move (also) places Black under a great deal of pressure here.
[ An interesting line would be: RR
9.e5!? Nb6!; (hmm)
( 9...Nd5!?; 10.Nxd5 cxd5;
10.Qc5!, (Best!?) ( RR 10.exf6!? Nxc4; 11.fxg7 Kxg7; 12.Bxc4 Bg4; "+/=" )
10...Nfd5; "~" (mostly unclear)
Now Black plays a pretty good move ... a young Bobby Fischer plays his Knight to the b6-square, in order to free his QB, with a gain of time. Some pundits (also) criticized this move as well, however, most engines confirm that it is ... (ABSOLUTELY!!!) the best move for Black in this particular position. 9...Nb6; ('!') 10.Qc5!, (Yes!) Many of the authors/pundits heavily criticized this move ... (at the time when this game was first played); ... as being grossly bad or simply completely inferior. (I have always liked it and many of the better engines - today - also choose Qc5 for White in this position.)
[ RR 10.Qb3!? Nh5!; 11.Be3 Be6!; 12.Qa3 Qd6!; "=" ]
Now many of the engines will want to play ...Be6; or even ...a5; here. Yet I greatly prefer Fischer's move ... simply because it greatly cranks up the heat/pressure in this game. 10...Bg4!; 11.Bg5!?, ('?!'/'?') White (also) plays a move with the deliberate intention of playing sharp and uncompromising chess. However, (today); there is no doubt that this move is an error, and allows a young Bobby Fischer a chance to play brilliantly.
I also wanted to share an interesting observation with you, and this is one you would not be aware of ... unless you have been using engines for more than 10-15 years. (At a minimum.) When the engines first came out, many of them wanted to play Bg5 here ... They also could think all day, and not discover anything wrong with Bg5. Now they immediately notice a fairly large downturn in the "scores" of the position and they also begin to see ...
r2q1rk1/pp2ppbp/1np2np1/2Q3B1/3PP1b1/2N2N2/PP3PPP/3RKB1R b K - 0 11
The stage is now set for some of the greatest tactical shots ever played by ANY chess prodigy!
[ >/= 11.Be2!, "+/=" ]
11...Na4!!; (Maybe - '!!!') (Super <nearly unbelievable?> chess!!!)
A young Bobby does not miss his chance to play a (very good) surprise move in this position.
r2q1rk1/pp2ppbp/2p2np1/2Q3B1/n2PP1b1/2N2N2/PP3PPP/3RKB1R w K - 0 12
I will also note that almost none of the students - that I ever studied this game with - will ever pick this move and will usually play something mundane like 11...Re8; in this particular position.
12.Qa3[], (Best/box/forced.)
Again, Byrne plays the best move here, yet many authors slammed Byrne for playing his Queen to "an inferior square" at this juncture in this game.
[ White gets into more trouble with the capture on a4 ...
( Another possibility was: RR
13.Qb4!? a5;
14.Qxe7 Nxg5;
( Even worse would be:
16...Bxf3;
(Pawn-structure.)
(Back to the main line of this whole variation.)
Black's next move appears to strengthen White's center, but even in chess, appearances can be >>> (sometimes ... very) deceiving. 12...Nxc3!; 13.bxc3, Nxe4!; Fischer does not hesitate to sacrifice. Meanwhile Byrne must either meet the challenge here ... or slink away in defeat.
r2q1rk1/pp2ppbp/2p3p1/6B1/3Pn1b1/Q1P2N2/P4PPP/3RKB1R w K - 0 14
I wonder if Byrne was a little embarrassed here? C'mon, think about it! He has only played 13 moves ... and he is already in trouble! ******************************************************************************************************************************************************************** Now all the engines like Be3 or Bf4 for White. (But Black would still be much better.) 14.Bxe7!? Qb6!; (Sharpest.) According to several engines, 14...Qd5; might be best here for Black. Yet this tame and uninspiring play would NOT have resulted in one of the most memorable chess games ever played!!! (I would even venture this opinion at this point: if Fischer had played 14...Qd5; ... today, no one would even care about this particular game!)
[
The computer - which is not hampered by emotions or any predetermined prejudice -
15.Bxf8 Bxf8;
16.Qb3 Qxb3;
17.axb3 Re8;
18.Ra1!?,
( Even worse is: </= 18.Bc4 Bxf3; 19.gxf3 Nxc3+;
"-/+"
18...Bxf3!;
19.gxf3 Ng3+;
20.Be2 Nxe2!;
21.Kd2 Nf4;
22.Rhe1 Ra8!; "+/-"
White's next move, while being identified as best by just about all of the chess engines ... is also kind of sad!
15.Bc4 Nxc3!; 16.Bc5!, (Desperado?)
Once again, this move ... which might have been best or forced for White ...
r4rk1/pp3pbp/1qp3p1/2B5/2BP2b1/Q1n2N2/P4PPP/3RK2R b K - 0 16
One might think that White was slowly gaining the upper hand in this game.
[
RR
16.Qxc3?! Rae8;
17.Qe3[] Qc7;
18.Bxf8 Qa5+;
*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** Fischer's next move is both subtle and magnificent, I also feel that it is somewhat under-appreciated. 16...Rfe8+!!; (Artistry!!!)
The excellence of this move should not be under-estimated.
Really great chess isn't about just dry technique and perfect moves on the chess-board ...
[ RR 16...Nb5!, - Fritz 13. (On a small, perhaps weaker tablet/laptop.) ]
17.Kf1[], (100% forced.) Byrne had no choice here ... no real choice at all.
r3r1k1/pp3pbp/1qp3p1/2B5/2BP2b1/Q1n2N2/P4PPP/3R1K1R b - - 0 17
Now ... ... ... the stage has been set and all of the actors are in place.
[
Worse/inferior was: </= 17.Kd2? Ne4+;
18.Kc2 Qc7!; "-/+"
Now Fischer plays one of the most amazing moves of the whole of the 20th Century. 17...Be6!!; (Maybe - '!!!' ... or even '17...Be6!!!!') The shot heard round the (chess) world ... ... ...
I also cannot help but mention that R. Fine awarded this move FOUR exclams in his book!!!!
[ Black can still lose here ... as the following variation clearly proves:
19.Qb3+ Be6;
20.Ng5+
Kg8; 21.Nxe6 Qa5?;
(Hmmm.)
(Prior to the advancement of computer engines, this natural
22.Nd8+! Kh8;
23.Nf7+
Kg8; 24.Nh6+ Kh8;
25.Qg8+ Rxg8;
18.Bxb6, (Swallows - the bait?) Byrne grabs the BQ, but by now "The Donald" did not really have a good alternative here.
[ The machine prefers:
RR
18.Qxc3 Qxc5!;
19.dxc5 Bxc3; "-/+" ************************************************************************
Another "comical" variation would have to be:
[The only reason that I give this line here is that it is (IMO) very rare
Now we see a very unusual tactical sequence here: 18...Bxc4+; 19.Kg1 Ne2+!; 20.Kf1 Nxd4+!; 21.Kg1 Ne2+; 22.Kf1 Nc3+!; 23.Kg1 axb6; (Really - '!')
Hits the WQ and does not leave D. Byrne a lot of choices.
24.Qb4 Ra4!; (Covers c4.) Maybe - "24...Ra4!!" This last hit on the Queen is the last refinement that Bobby Fischer had to have foreseen when starting this combination. ******************************************************************************************************************************************* Now Black wins material.
4r1k1/1p3pbp/1pp3p1/8/rQb5/2n2N2/P4PPP/3R2KR w - - 0 25
Fischer had to have foreseen just about all the consequences of this whole tactical landslide.
Now the WQ is almost completely out of options ... all that is left (for White) is to "grub" one Pawn ... 25.Qxb6 Nxd1; 26.h3 Rxa2!; I like this ... and so does Houdini. (I was analyzing this game with a friend on his laptop at a local book-store just a few days ago, and his computer chose playing the Bishop to d5, instead of the text move.)
4r1k1/1p3pbp/1Qp3p1/8/2b5/5N1P/r4PP1/3n2KR w - - 0 27
Now - in just a few moves - Black will begin an "all-out" King hunt.
[ RR 26...Bd5; - Fritz 13. (On a newer laptop.) ]
The rest of the game really needs no further commentary ...
27.Kh2 Nxf2;
28.Re1
Rxe1; 29.Qd8+ Bf8[]; 30.Nxe1 Bd5!; Of course, White is quite lost here.
1Q3b2/5pk1/2p3p1/1p1bN2p/4n2P/8/r5PK/8 w - - 0 35
Now Black is prepared to finish this historic contest by hunting down the WK. *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** White's next move was probably deliberate, (Nd3 would have slightly prolonged the game).
35.Kg1!? Bc5+!; (Best.) 36.Kf1!? Ng3+; 37.Ke1 Bb4+!?;
38.Kd1 Bb3+;
1Q6/5pk1/2p3p1/1p2N2p/1b5P/1bn5/2r3P1/2K5 w - - 0 42
Donald Byrne could have resigned, but he gallantly allowed the mate to occur on the board, which further adds to the charm of this epic struggle. "The GAME of The Century!" - GM Hans Kmoch
[ Also possible was: 41...Ba3#. ]
Copyright (c) A.J. Goldsby, 2014. All rights reserved.
0 - 1 For further reference
So that you will understand what I am saying in this game ... I have thousands of files on my computer, many have nick-names or acronyms. "BAG-lite" comes from a file that was originally supposed to be "Briefly Annotated Games." (B.A.G.) I could never get a game to come out with a serious reduction of the amount of words/work that went into it, so I came up with another file called "B.A.G. - lite." Needless to say, these games are also annotated in detail, I do not seem to be able to crank out a game quickly anymore. I
originally intended to quickly bash this game
out and then post it on the "Chess Games" website
... but that never happened either. (For whatever reason.)
Note: It is (now) March 20th, (2014); and I am almost finished with this web page. This means I have been working on this project now for almost 6-8 months, although I must admit the work has been "stop-and-go." And I am almost through with all the diagrams, I think that I can post this page later on today. "Thoughts and reflections"Tuesday;
March 25th, 2014: (See http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1008361,
for more.) #1.) Donald Byrne wasn't that strong of a player. (In fact, he was easily in the top 5 in the USA, and around # 65 in the world!) #2.) Fischer's play wasn't good, his opening was rather poor. (Several masters opined this - in various books and magazines, criticizing moves like ...Nbd7. Fischer's play was extremely good, <and also VERY CREATIVE!!!!> as my analysis clearly shows.) #3.) The combination wasn't sound. (I don't know where this myth got started, but I have heard masters repeat this at big tournaments like the U.S. Open and the World Open. Again, the computers find NO REFUTATION of Fischer's concept, whatsoever!!!!!) #4.) "With better play, Byrne might have defended his position." (Again - I have heard this many times. It's one thing when a lower-rated player says it, but when a Master says it, you want to find out why. Again - I blame the books and media, they unfairly criticized some of Byrne's moves, like Qc5 and Qa3., etc. In actuality, Byrne only made one real mistake, <Bg5> and it certainly seemed plausible, and it was only refuted by a THUNDERCLAP ... followed by several strokes of pure genius.) #5.) Other games - by prodigies like Jose Raul Capablanca - were/are better and hold up better under analysis. (I think that my web pages on this game speak for themselves ... and show this game to be ... nothing less than an absolute masterpiece and a work of chess art on the chessboard.) The
analysis for this page was prepared with the excellent program,
ChessBase
10.0. The HTML was polished with several different tools and programs, (mostly FP) ... the text was checked for spelling with MS Word..
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