The Game Spassky Applauded — Bobby Fischer vs Boris Spassky, 1972

Bobby Fischer vs Boris Spassky

World Championship, Reykjavík · 1972 · 1–0

Fischer opens 1.c4 for the first time in his life, and forty-one moves later the man he is playing for the title joins the audience in applauding.

The game, move by move

1. c4 c4 — and not e4 Fischer had opened with the king’s pawn in almost every serious white game of his life. He plays this in the sixth game of a world championship match.
1… e6 e6
2. Nf3 The knight out
2… d5 d5
3. d4 d4 — a Queen’s Gambit after all
3… Nf6 The knight out
4. Nc3 The second knight
4… Be7 Be7
5. Bg5 The bishop to g5
5… O-O Black castles
6. e3 e3
6… h6 h6
7. Bh4 The bishop to h4
7… b6 b6 — the Tartakower Black plans Bb7 and a long diagonal. The bishop gets to b7 by way of e6 instead, and then it is taken.
8. cxd5 Taken on d5
8… Nxd5 The knight recaptures
9. Bxe7 The bishops come off on e7
9… Qxe7 The queen recaptures
10. Nxd5 And the knights come off
10… exd5 Recaptured with the pawn

11. Rc1 The rook to c1
11… Be6 Be6 — the bishop that is exchanged It has nowhere better. Nine moves later a knight takes it and the pawn that recaptures is the weakness the game is won on.
12. Qa4 The queen to a4
12… c5 c5
13. Qa3 The queen to a3
13… Rc8 The rook to c8
14. Bb5 The bishop to b5
14… a6 a6
15. dxc5 The pawns come off on c5
15… bxc5 Recaptured
16. O-O White castles
16… Ra7 The rook to a7
17. Be2 The bishop back to e2
17… Nd7 Nd7
18. Nd4 The knight to d4, at the bishop
18… Qf8 The queen to f8
19. Nxe6 The knight takes e6 — the whole plan A knight for a bishop, and what it leaves behind is a black pawn on e6 with no pawn beside it that can ever defend it. Fischer spends the next twenty moves on that one square.
19… fxe6 The pawn recaptures — the weakness is fixed

20. e4 e4
20… d4 d4, past it
21. f4 f4
21… Qe7 The queen to e7
22. e5 e5, taking f6 away
22… Rb8 The rook to b8
23. Bc4 The bishop to c4, at e6
23… Kh8 Kh8
24. Qh3 The queen to h3
24… Nf8 Nf8, defending
25. b3 b3
25… a5 a5
26. f5 f5 — the file opens And it opens onto the pawn on e6 with a rook and a bishop already looking that way.
26… exf5 Taken
27. Rxf5 The rook recaptures on f5
27… Nh7 Nh7
28. Rcf1 The second rook to f1
28… Qd8 The queen to d8
29. Qg3 The queen to g3
29… Re7 The rook to e7
30. h4 h4
30… Rbb7 The rook to b7
31. e6 e6 — the pawn goes in A white pawn on e6, past everything, and it is the square Black’s own pawn stood on for twelve moves.
31… Rbc7 The rook to c7
32. Qe5 The queen to e5
32… Qe8 The queen to e8
33. a4 a4
33… Qd8 The queen back to d8
34. R1f2 The rook to f2
34… Qe8 The queen to e8 again
35. R2f3 The rook to f3
35… Qd8 And the queen back to d8 Eight half-moves of White improving and Black waiting. Spassky’s queen goes d8, e8, d8, e8 because every other move loses something.
36. Bd3 The bishop to d3
36… Qe8 Qe8

37. Qe4 The queen to e4 — everything in place
37… Nf6 Nf6, the only move
38. Rxf6 The rook takes it — a rook for a knight And it is not a sacrifice: the pawn that recaptures opens the g-file and the second rook comes to the same square.
38… gxf6 Taken
39. Rxf6 And the second rook takes on f6
39… Kg8 Kg8
40. Bc4 The bishop back to c4, at e6 and f7
40… Kh8 Kh8
41. Qf4 Qf4 — and Black resigned The queen steps to f4 and the mate on h6 and f8 cannot both be stopped. Spassky had twenty-eight legal moves, played none of them, and applauded. So did the hall.

Qf4 attacks the pawn on h6, the rook on c7 and the pawn on d4.

White gave up a rook, a bishop, 2 knights and 3 pawns; Black lost 2 bishops, 2 knights and 4 pawns.