IM Jeremy Silman presents
THE STUDY OF MASTER GAMES Part IV A FEW PERSONAL FAVORITES
Like every other player , I followed Fischer ’ s career with a certain amount of awe . To me , it seemed like he had the will to win of an Alekhine , the technique of a Capablanca , and the finest opening preparation ever seen . He insisted on better playing conditions and prizes for the other grandmasters , crushed all his competition without mercy , won the World Championship , and then … quit . Mental illness ended his career and prevented him from crossing swords with a prime Karpov and , later , Kasparov . Such a pity ! In general , Fischer ’ s style was delightfully clear , so the following game is all the greater for the intense complications that both sides courted : Fischer and Larsen ( a wonderful gentleman and the greatest story teller I ’ ve ever met ) had both claimed to be the best Western player for many years ; now that difference of opinion would be settled with a head to head match . This first match game saw
both players fighting for the win from beginning to end . Proper notes would span many pages , so I ’ m only giving a minimal amount of information . In my opinion , this game is one of the greatest battles of all time . After losing it , Larsen more or less collapsed and went down a startling 6-0 . His confidence shattered , he was never the same player after that .
R Fischer -- Larsen Candidates Match , 1971 1 . e4 e6 [ The French Defense wasn ’ t a Larsen favorite , but Fischer had always had trouble against it , making it an excellent psychological choice .] 2 . d4 d5 3 . Nc3 Bb4 4 . e5 Ne7 5 . a3 Bxc3 + 6 . bxc3 c5 7 . a4 Nbc6 8 . Nf3 Bd7 9 . Bd3 Qc7 10.0 – 0 c4 11 . Be2 f6 12 . Re1 ! Ng6 13 . Ba3 [ Fischer sacrifices a pawn and Larsen , who feared nobody , refuses to back down .] 13 ... fxe5 14 . dxe5 Ncxe5 15 . Nxe5 Nxe5 [ Less good is 15 ... Qxe5 ?! 16 . Bxc4 Qxc3 17 . Bxd5 , with advantage for White .] 16 . Qd4 ! [ Fischer plays with his customary energy . Inferior is 16 . f4 ? Nc6 17 . Bg4 0 – 0 – 0 with good play for Black .] 16 ... Ng6 17 . Bh5 Kf7 !? [ Larsen continues to court danger in an effort to get the most out of the position for himself . On 17 ... 0 – 0 – 0 , White has both 18 . Qxa7 and 18 . a5 !?, in both cases with the superior chances .] 18 . f4 Rhe8 [ And not 18 ... Bc6 ? 19 . f5 exf5 20 . Re7 + Qxe7 21 . Bxe7 Kxe7 22 . Qxg7 +] 19 . f5 exf5 20 . Qxd5 + Kf6 [ Forced , since both 20 ... Be6 ? 21 . Rxe6 ! Rxe6 22 . Qxf5 + Rf6 23 . Qd5 + Re6 24 . Rf1 + and 20 ... Re6 21 . Qxf5 + Rf6 22 . Re7 + are unacceptable .] 21 . Bf3 [ A tremendous amount of analysis has been devoted to 21 . Bd6 , though it ’ s still not clear if that move is better than Fischer ’ s choice .] 21 ... Ne5 [ Thought to be best , though 21 ... Bc6 22 . Qd4 + Kg5 !? might deserve a look .] 22 . Qd4 Kg6 23 . Rxe5 ! [ This seems to be the only way to play for a win , though Fischer had to look very deeply to en-