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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 ensure that all the tactics worked.] 23...Qxe5 [Not 23...Rxe5?? 24.Bd6.] 24.Qxd7 Rad8 [Who is attacking whom? Naturally, 24...Qxc3? 25.Qd6+ Kg5?? (better is 25…Qf6 though 26.Rd1 clearly favors White) 26.h4+ Kxh4 27.Qf4 is mate.] 25.Qxb7 Qe3+ [Reams of lines have appeared in an effort to see if 25...Qxc3 was better than the check. Passing by most of White’s tries, it now seems that 26.Qb1! suffices to give White an edge.] 26.Kf1 [Of course, 26.Kh1? Qe1+ leads to a backrank mate.] 26…Rd2! [A very threatening move that Fischer had to have taken into consideration when he played 23.Rxe5. Losing is 26...Qxc3?? 27.Bb2, while 26...h6 27.Qc6+ Kh7 28.Qxc4 is very good for White.] 27.Qc6+ Re6 28.Bc5!

[The point of Fischer’s play. The resulting Queen versus a Rook and two Bishops will favor White. 28.Qc5?? would have failed to 28…Rf2+ 29.Kg1 Rxf3+.] 28...Rf2+ [Larsen didn’t like the look of 28...Qe5 since 29.Qc8 with the idea of Bd4 would have been very strong.] 29.Kg1 Rxg2!+ 30.Kxg2 Qd2+ 31.Kh1 Rxc6 32.Bxc6 Qxc3 33.Rg1+ Kf6 34.Bxa7 [White intends to push his a-pawn, supported by the two powerful Bishops, down the board.] 34…g5 35.Bb6 Qxc2 36.a5 Qb2 37.Bd8+ Ke6 38.a6 Qa3 39.Bb7 Qc5 [White appears to be winning since his a-pawn is hard to stop while the light-squared Bishop prevents any checks on the a8-h1 diagonal.] 40.Rb1 c3 41.Bb6, 1-0. The passed a-pawn had its way. After 41…c2 42.Re1+ Qe5 43.Rxe5+ Kxe5 44.a7 (of course, simpler is 44.Be3) 44…c1=Q+ 45.Bg1 and nothing can be done about a8=Q when White would be two Bishops up.

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