The Game of the Century

The game, move by move

Grünfeld

1. 1. Nf3 A quiet first move
2. 1… Nf6 The same
3. 2. c4 The other flank pawn
4. 2… g6 Preparing the bishop
5. 3. Nc3 Out
6. 3… Bg7 The Grünfeld bishop It will sit on this diagonal for the whole game and it is pointing at the corner White’s king ends up nowhere near.
7. 4. d4 The centre, at last
8. 4… O-O Black castles Eight half-moves in and Fischer, thirteen years old, has a completely normal position.
9. 5. Bf4 The bishop out
10. 5… d5 Hitting the centre
11. 6. Qb3 The queen to b3
12. 6… dxc4 Taken
13. 7. Qxc4 The queen recaptures White has the better centre and a queen doing a lot of the work. That queen is about to spend six moves not defending anything.
14. 7… c6 A pawn to c6

The queen wanders

1. 8. e4 A big centre
2. 8… Nbd7 The knight out
3. 9. Rd1 A rook to d1
4. 9… Nb6 The knight hits the queen
5. 10. Qc5 The queen to c5 Deep in Black’s position and increasingly alone. Every piece White has is on the queenside; the king is not castled.
6. 10… Bg4 The bishop out
7. 11. Bg5 The bishop pins
8. 11… Na4 The knight offers itself The move that starts it. The knight offers itself to hit the queen, and taking it costs White the c3 pawn and the centre with it.
9. 12. Qa3 The queen to a3
10. 12… Nxc3 Taking the knight
11. 13. bxc3 Recaptured
12. 13… Nxe4 And the pawn falls Black has a knight on e4 in the middle of the board and White has a queen on a3 looking at nothing.
13. 14. Bxe7 Taking a pawn with the bishop It also opens the file the black rook is about to use.
14. 14… Qb6 The queen to b6 Attacked, defended once, and about to be left there.

The queen, offered

1. 15. Bc4 The bishop to c4
2. 15… Nxc3 Another pawn
3. 16. Bc5 Attacking the queen again Bc5 hits b6 a second time. Everything now depends on what Black does about a queen that cannot move.
4. 16… Rfe8+ Check, from the rook Black ignores the queen and checks instead — which is the first sign that the queen was never the subject.
5. 17. Kf1 The king to f1 Forced, and it is the square the whole finish is built on: this king will not be castled and will not be safe again.
6. 17… Be6 The move nobody saw The most famous move of the twentieth century. Black leaves the queen to be taken, and gets a bishop, a knight, a rook and every open line on the board for her.
7. 18. Bxb6 The queen, taken White has no choice worth having: declining loses more.
8. 18… Bxc4+ Check, and the bishop is won back
9. 19. Kg1 The king back to the corner
10. 19… Ne2+ Check, from the knight

Three pieces for a queen

1. 20. Kf1 And back to f1
2. 20… Nxd4+ Taking the centre pawn, with check
3. 21. Kg1 Back again
4. 21… Ne2+ The same check again The same square twice. Fischer repeats to gain time on the clock and to make White commit the king.
5. 22. Kf1 f1 again
6. 22… Nc3+ And back to c3
7. 23. Kg1 g1
8. 23… axb6 Taking the bishop back The dust settles: Black has a rook, two bishops and a knight for the queen, and White has nothing coordinated at all.
9. 24. Qb4 The queen to b4
10. 24… Ra4 The rook to a4 Quiet and horrible: the rook holds the knight and stops the white queen from ever getting back.
11. 25. Qxb6 Taking a pawn
12. 25… Nxd1 And a rook falls
13. 26. h3 A pawn
14. 26… Rxa2 The rook takes a2
15. 27. Kh2 The king shuffles
16. 27… Nxf2 And f2
17. 28. Re1 A rook, at last
18. 28… Rxe1 Traded off
19. 29. Qd8+ Check
20. 29… Bf8 Blocked with the bishop

Grinding it home

1. 30. Nxe1 The knight recaptures
2. 30… Bd5 The bishop to d5 Black is now simply winning and the rest is a matter of not making a mistake — which a thirteen-year-old does not.
3. 31. Nf3 The knight out
4. 31… Ne4 The knight to e4
5. 32. Qb8 The queen wanders
6. 32… b5 A pawn
7. 33. h4 A pawn
8. 33… h5 A pawn
9. 34. Ne5 The knight to e5
10. 34… Kg7 The king steps out
11. 35. Kg1 The king steps back
12. 35… Bc5+ Check, and the hunt starts From here it is eleven consecutive black moves and the white king is driven from g1 to b1.
13. 36. Kf1 f1
14. 36… Ng3+ Check, from the knight

g1 to b1

1. 37. Ke1 e1
2. 37… Bb4+ Check, from the bishop
3. 38. Kd1 d1
4. 38… Bb3+ Check, from the other bishop
5. 39. Kc1 c1
6. 39… Ne2+ Check, from the knight
7. 40. Kb1 b1 — the last file
8. 40… Nc3+ Check again The knight returns to c3 for the fourth time in the game, and this time it is mate next move.
9. 41. Kc1 Back to c1
10. 41… Rc2# Checkmate The rook lands on c2 and the king is walled in by his own pawns. Twenty-four moves after the queen was given away, and Fischer was thirteen.