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[Event "Third Rosenwald Trophy"]
[Site "New York, NY USA"]
[Date "1956.10.17"]
[Round "8"]
[White "Byrne, Donald"]
[Black "Fischer, Robert James"]
[Result "0-1"]
[Annotator "David Hayes"]
[BlackElo "0"]
[ECO "D92"]
[TimeControl "0"]
[WhiteElo "0"]
{ Donald Byrne (1930-1976) was a strong American chess master at the time of
this game. He won the 1953 U.S. Open Championship. He also represented the
United States in the 1962, 1964, and 1968 Chess Olympiads. He became an
International Master in 1962. Robert "Bobby" Fischer (1943-2008) was at this
time 13 years old and a promising junior player. Later, he had a meteoric
rise, winning the 1957 U.S. Open on tiebreaks, winning the 1957-58 U.S.
Championship and all seven later championships in which he played, qualifying
for the Candidates Tournament and becoming in 1958 the world's youngest
grandmaster at the age of 15. He won the world championship in 1972. He is
considered to be one of the greatest chess players who ever lived.|In this
game, Fischer demonstrates sparkling tactical innovation. Byrne, after a
standard opening, makes a seemingly minor mistake on move 11, losing a tempo
by moving the same piece twice. Fischer strikes with a series of tactical
sacrifices, culminating in a queen sacrifice on move 17. Byrne captures the
queen, but Fischer gets much more material for it (a rook, two bishops, and a
pawn). At the end, Fischer's pieces coordinate well to force checkmate, while
Byrne's queen sits useless on the far side of the board. } 1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. d4 O-O 5. Bf4 { More common is e4, but Bryne knows that Fischer
is very good playing against standard lines of the King's Indian Defense. } 5... d5 { With this move, the game has transposed into the Grunfeld Defense. } 6. Qb3 dxc4 { Fischer captures from the inside out and weakens his center, but draws
white's queen to a square where it is exposed to attack. } 7. Qxc4 c6 8. e4 Nbd7 9. Rd1 Nb6 10. Qc5 { Qb3 is better. The white queen is a little too
exposed. } 10... Bg4 11. Bg5 { White is behind in development. 11. Be2 followed by
12. O-O was necessary. Now Fischer unleashes his tactical skill. } 11... Na4 12. Qa3 ( { White can try: } 12. Nxa4 Nxe4 13. Bxe7 Qc7 14. Bd6 Nxd6 15. Be2 Rfe8 16. Nc3 Bxf3 17. gxf3 Nf5 18. Ne4 Qf4 19. Qc4 b5 20. Qxc6 Rac8 21. Qxb5 Nxd4 22. Qd3 Rc2 23. Rd2 Rxd2 24. Nxd2 Rxe2+ 25. Qxe2 Nxe2 26. Kxe2 Qe5+ 27. Kd1 Qxb2 28. Re1 Qa1+ 29. Ke2 Qxa2 { Black wins with a large material advantage. } ) 12... Nxc3 13. bxc3 Nxe4 { Black offers to sacrifice the exchange to open the e-file
to get at white's king. } 14. Bxe7 Qb6 15. Bc4 { White finally realized his
need to develop and castle. } ( { White can try: } 15. Bxf8 Bxf8 16. Qb3 Nxc3 17. Qxb6 ( { White dare not try: } 17. Qxc3 Bb4 ) 17... axb6 18. Rd2 Bb4 19. Rb2 Nxa2+ 20. Kd1 Bc3 21. Rc2 Ra3 22. Bc4 Nb4 23. Rc1 b5 24. Be2 Na2 25. Rc2 Bf5 26. Ne5 Bxc2+ 27. Kxc2 Nb4+ 28. Kb1 Ra1# ) 15... Nxc3 16. Bc5 ( { White can try: } 16. Qxc3 Rfe8 17. O-O Rxe7 { Black is a whole pawn and a solid position up. } ) 16... Rfe8+ 17. Kf1 Be6 { If this is the game of the century, then 17...Be6 must be the
move of the century. Fischer offers his queen in exchange for a fierce attack
with only his minor pieces. } 18. Bxb6 ( { White can try: } 18. Bxe6 Qb5+ 19. Kg1 Ne2+ 20. Kf1 Ng3+ 21. Kg1 Qf1+ 22. Rxf1 Ne2# ) ( { White can also try: } 18. Qxc3 Qxc5 19. dxc5 Bxc3 20. Bxe6 Rxe6 { Black wins with a large material
advantage. } ) 18... Bxc4+ 19. Kg1 Ne2+ 20. Kf1 Nxd4+ { This tactical line of play,
where a king suffers repeated discovered checks, is sometimes called a
windmill or winmill. } 21. Kg1 Ne2+ 22. Kf1 Nc3+ 23. Kg1 axb6 24. Qb4 Ra4 { Protecting the bishop and gaining time to capture the rook on d1. } 25. Qxb6 Nxd1 26. h3 Rxa2 27. Kh2 Nxf2 28. Re1 Rxe1 29. Qd8+ Bf8 30. Nxe1 Bd5 { A move
that greatly limits the white queen's scope. } 31. Nf3 Ne4 32. Qb8 b5 { Every
piece and pawn of the black camp is defended. The white queen has nothing to
attack. } 33. h4 { You can almost feel white's pain when making moves like
this. What else can white do? } 33... h5 34. Ne5 Kg7 35. Kg1 Bc5+ { Fischer's mating
net is closing round white's king. } 36. Kf1 Ng3+ 37. Ke1 Bb4+ 38. Kd1 Bb3+ 39. Kc1 Ne2+ 40. Kb1 Nc3+ 41. Kc1 Rc2# 0-1