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Bobby Fischer
Fischer hunts Petrosian’s king in the 1970 match of the USSR against the Rest of the World.
The idea
Fischer hunts Petrosian’s king on the open d-file, Belgrade 1970.
- Black’s king stands on d8, and the d-file is open.
- From f5 the bishop watches d7 and c8.
- Then the rook checks from d1, and a piece that blocks on d7 falls.
In a game: When the enemy king is in the open, cover its escape squares, then check.
How the lesson begins
Bobby Fischer was born in Chicago in 1943 and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. At 14 he won the championship of the United States. In 1971 he won two Candidates matches 6–0 and then beat Tigran Petrosian, and in 1972 he beat Boris Spassky in Reykjavik to become world champion. In 1975 he did not defend the title, and it passed to Anatoly Karpov without a game.
Here is a game from Belgrade, 1970, where the USSR played the Rest of the World. Fischer has White against Petrosian.
A Caro-Kann. Black’s king walks to f8 instead of castling, and Fischer pushes the f-pawn at it. Later the king goes on to d8.
- 1. e4 c6 2. d4 d5 3. exd5 cxd5 4. Bd3 Nc6 5. c3 Nf6 6. Bf4 Bg4 7. Qb3 Na5 8. Qa4+ Bd7 9. Qc2 e6 10. Nf3 Qb6 11. a4 Rc8 12. Nbd2 Nc6 13. Qb1 Nh5 14. Be3 h6 15. Ne5 Nf6 16. h3 Bd6 17. O-O Kf8 Black’s king goes to f8.
- 18. f4 Be8 19. Bf2 Qc7 20. Bh4 Ng8 21. f5 The f-pawn moves up to f5.
- 21... Nxe5 22. dxe5 Bxe5 23. fxe6 The pawn takes on e6.
- 23... Bf6 24. exf7 Bxf7 25. Nf3 Bxh4 26. Nxh4 Nf6 27. Ng6+ Bxg6 28. Bxg6 Ke7 29. Qf5 Kd8 The king goes to d8.
- 30. Rae1 Qc5+ 31. Kh1 Rf8 32. Qe5 Rc7 33. b4 Qc6 34. c4 dxc4 Black takes on c4, and the d-file is open.
Find the move
Black’s king stands on d8. Move the bishop to a square where it watches d7 and c8, next to the king.
A hint
The bishop on g6 can step back along its diagonal.
Show the answer
35. Bf5
35.Bf5 Now a rook check on the d-file is coming, and a black piece that blocks on d7 can be taken.