Chess exam, matches against chess legends - you vs. Bobby Fischer 9780975476109, 0975476106

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Chess Exam and Training Guide (CE) and Chess exam and Training Guide: Tactics (CET) What others have said about the

"Western players, even those who become quite strong, often have holes in their game because they didn't develop systematically. Exactly how to fix these problems and build a strong foundation isn't so easy. Until now there was no diagnostic tool, but IM lgor Khmelnitsky, who learned the fundamentals in his native Ukraine, has filled this gap with his new book Chess Exam and Training Guide. I believe this book will prove helpful for students and teachers who want to get an objective idea of their strengths and weaknesses and how to correct them;"- John Donaldson, International Master, director of Mechanics' Institute Chess Club "I have often met Igor Khmelnitsky over the chess board throughout the last decade. He always impressed me with his understanding of the fine intricacies of the game. Now the secret is revealed. Read this book ( C!I) and learn how the different aspects of the game strategy and tactics and knowledge of the endgame - come together to make a good all-around player. With patience and dedication you can travel down the same road."- Alex Yermolinsky, Grandmaster, former US champion and a member of the US Olympic team. " . . .I am happy to add my endorsement . . . there is a huge demand for this type of thing ( CE) and Khmelnitsky meets it much better than most" - Jonatban Rowson, Grandmaster, New in ChPr

( CE) is a delightful surprise" - Lubomir Kavalek, Grandmaster, Washington Post

"

"(CB) . . . . In addition to showing my weaker areas, also very helpful was a list of specific books and software products to use to help me improve. I highly recommend taking the test."- Paul Clift, Class A " ... Chess Exam and Training Guide offers you an exciting

opportunity to accurately check your chess level using an amazing collection of classical and modem examples. Great explanations

help you to improve your tactic and strategic understanding while your work your way through the Test part of the book. The Training Guide part is your golden opportunity of getting the most useful and practical advices . . . training and book recommendations" - Boris Alterman, Grandmaster, former advisor to Garry Kasparov, 13th World Chess Champion, advisor to DeepJunior program. "(CET) ... The thing that makes Khmelnitsky's books so good, as I mentioned above, is his eye for great material. All of the positions he selects are interesting . . . each turn of the page brings a new adventure . "- Michael Jeffreys, Chessville. com .

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"If you are in the under-2200 category and would like to know how to economize your limited training time, then Chess Exam and Training Guide is for you. It's simply one of the best instructional books I've read in years. It's a labor of love, so don't let this one pass you by." - Baldomero Garcia, ChessCafe. com "This test (CE) is the next best thing to having your personal chess coach!"- Dr. Ivan Misner, founder and CEO ofBNI International, best-selling author, co-author of Masters ofSuccess "What sets this book (CE) apart from other chess quiz books or multiple choice books is both the varied level of difficulty of the positions and also the informative statistics showing the distribution of answers by players at all levels." - Dan Heisman, Master, Coach, Author of A Parent's Guide to Chess, host of The Renaissance Man on Chess.fm "With innovative methodology Chess Exam and Training Guide: Tactics, aspires to rise a cut above other books in this genre .. . I love the creative and novel approach to quizzing, but the greatest strength of the book is the selection of positions. The variation of themes is impressive ... The selections of positions and posing of questions is skillfully done that every page is a learning experience. . "- Joel Benjamin, Grandmaster, former US champion, Chess Life and US Chess Online .

"(CE) . . . the training ideas and book recommendations are right on the money. . " - Alex Shabalov, Grandmaster .

Chess Exam: Matches against Chess Legends

You vs. Bobby Fischer Play the match, rate yourself, improve your game!

Lessons in Tactics and Strategy from the Games of the 11th World Champion

lgor Khmelnitsky, International Chess Master

Published by: IamCoach Press PO Box60088

King of Prussia, PA 19406 http: I fwww.lamCoach.com

For ordering information see page 192

Copyright © 2009 lgor Khmelnitsky All Rights Reserved. Images - courtesy of Jupiterlmages, a division of

Jupitermedia Corporation (www.ClipArt.com)

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. ISBN: 978-0-9754761-0-9 Library of Congress Control Number: 2009937335

Printed in the United States of America

Contents About the Author. .. .. . .. . . .. . 7 Preface - a Note to the Reader .. .. .. . . ...9 About Robert James Fischer .... . . ... 11 Warning- Disclaimer. . . . . .... ... . .. 14 Chess Symbols . . ... .. . ..... ..... . .. . 15 Acknowledgements .. . .. .. . .. . . . . . .. 16 The Warm-Up. ... ... ... . . . . .. .. . . .18 Final Comments: How to Take the Exam . . .. . 27 Matches .....

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Match 1- Games

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Match 2 -Games 13 - 24...........................................57 Match 3- Games 25- 36...........................................83 Match 4- Games 37- 48.........................................109 Match 5- Games 49- 60.........................................135

Rating Tables Introduction

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Afterword: What is the Next Step? Appendix:

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Training Tips and Recommendations

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Bonus Match .... . . . . . 173 10 tips: What to do when facing a much higher rated player 176 "Sudden Death" Tiebreaker. . . .. . . . .177 ......

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Index of Fischer's opponents. .. . .. ..... Games from the Matches .. .. . . . . . .

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Chess Exam: You vs. Fischer

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About the Author

Igor Khmelnitsky earned the title of International Chess Master in 1990 after a convincing victory in the 1 51 Leonid Stein Memorial in L'viv, Ukraine. Khmelnitsky is a winner of many national and international tournaments in Ukraine, Russia, Germany, Yugoslavia, Croatia,Bulgaria, and the United States. At various points during his career, he has defeated many of the game's best players- including Lev Alburt,Boris Alterman, ViorelBologan, Roman Dzindzichashvili, Vasily Ivanchuk, Alexander lvanov, Oleg Romanishin, Alexander Shabalov, Evgeniy Sveshnikov, Patrick Wolff, and Alex Yermolinsky. Overall, Khmelnitsky has defeated over 30 different Grandmasters. He has participated in the Ukrainian National Championship; he has also played three times in the U.S. National Championship. Khmelnitsky is also a very experienced coach. His first high profile coaching experience was in 1986, when he served as a coaching assistant for the Ukrainian national junior team. Several members of that team went on to become successful Grandmasters (Vassily lvanchuk,Boris Alterman, MikhailBrodsky, Andrey Maksimenko and others ... ). Later Khmelnitsky assisted various leading Ukrainian players, including Yury Kruppa (now Grandmaster) and Women Grandmaster Lidia Semenova, a challenger for the World Championship Title.

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Igor Khmelnitsky

Since moving to the United States in 1991, Khmelnitsky has been coaching in the Philadelphia area, as well as on-line. His students come from all over the world and include players of all levels, ranging from novices to masters. Khmelnitsky has published comments, annotated games, and articles in various chess publications, including the most prestigious periodicals:

Chess Informant, New in Chess, ChessBase, 64, Chess Life, and Chess Today. He is also the founder and publisher of the two popular chess websites www.IamCoach.com and www.ChessExam.com. Khmelnitsky's first book-

Chess Exam and Tr�ining Guide (© 2004,

lamCoach Press) was extremely well received by readers and reviewers alike. The book won the prestigious Cramer award forBest ChessBook from the Cramer Committee and the Chess Journalists of America. It is now in its fourth printing and also has been translated into French, Italian and Russian. In 2007, Khmelnitsky's second book in the Chess Exam series- Chess Exam and Training Guide: Tactics (IamCoach Press) came out, and also became a best-seller. Now it is in its third printing. Khmelnitsky is a contributing author to the best-seller Masters ofSuccess by lvan Mizner, Ph.D.

(© 2004,

Entrepreneur Press).

Khmelnitsky is one of the three coauthors of Teaching Chess Step by Step, the 3-volume chess school curriculum published in 2006 by Garry Kasparov's Chess Foundation. Khmelnitsky is an actuary at Aetna Inc., the leader in the health insurance industry. He holds aBachelor Degree inBusiness Administration from Temple University (Philadelphia). lgor Khmelnitsky shares his success with wife Svetlana, son Alec and daughter Nikki.

Chess Exam: You vs. Fischer

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9

Preface - a Note to the Reader This is my third book on self-evaluation and the first

of a planned

series of books in "match" format. Perhaps you are familiar with my prior works - the original Chess Exam and Training Guide (lamCoach Press, 2004) as well as its successor- Chess Exam and Training Guide - Tactics (IamCoach Press, 2007).Both were welcomed by readers and critics alike. Much like my previous two books, this book's objective is to educate and entertain you. When you are done reading it, I believe you will improve your understanding of the game of chess, and, if you so choose, will be able to identify your overall skill level (rating) as well as your weak and strong areas. Along the way, I will also supply you with plenty of tips, training suggestions and other ideas to improve your results as well as to increase your understanding and appreciation of this great game. One thing that sets this book apart from its predecessors is a different format. Rather than solving a variety of puzzles based on the real games as well as composed positions of all kinds, in this book you are presented with examples from the games of one player! This player is Robert J. Fischer, 1 1 th World Champion, who was never defeated in the official title match, and is considered one of the greatest chess players of all times. Each position in this book is an unaltered fragment from one of Fischer's games and you are given chance to take the "seat" of his opponent and square off with the chess legend. In one game you will be Mikhail Tal battling Fischer in the World Championship Candidates match ( 1 959), and in another one -Chuck Diebert playing in a simul in Chicago (1 964). In each case you are given Fischer's last move, and it will be up to you to figure out Fischer's ideas and to find the response that would be best to play, as well as to justify it with your thought process. In essence, you will have a virtual match against the chess legend! He will put serious pressure on you, create threats and be evasive, attack with fury and fiercely defend. The positions range from Middlegame to Endgame, Tactics to Strategy, Easy to Complex, etc .. .I hope you will enjoy them. You will be graded on each pos ition in two different ways. The first one is fairly scientific, and very familiar to the readers of my prior books.

The second is there mainly for entertainment purposes. More details can be fbund in the section Final Comments: Scoring System (puge 2X).

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Igor Khmelnitsky

To summarize, in this book you will see: • •

•

• •

a warm-up section, as no one should play a serious opponent, especially the world champion, without a warm-up;

60 "games" split into 5 "matches" of 1 2 "games" each. "let's take a break" sections between the "matches"; a rating tables section, where you get your overall rating and another

13 ratings for key sub-categories;

an appendix with a bonus "match" that you can "play" on your own; a "sudden death" tiebreaker; tips and recommendations; the game index.

If you take your time and maintain your focus, you can do well. And if you can do well against Fischer, then you can play well against anyone. Just keep working on improving your skills and incre�sing your knowledge base.

lgor Khmelnitsky Philadelphia, 2009 P .S. I am planning to write more books in this new series and very much looking forward to getting feedback from the readers. Please contact me through my website http:/www.ChessExam.com/cef.htm.

Chess Exam: You vs. Fischer • 11

About Robert James Fischer Source: Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby Fischer)

Robert James "Bobby" Fischer (March 9, 1943 - January 17, 2008) An American-born chess Grandmaster, and the eleventh World Chess Champion. When only a teenager, Fischer became famous as a chess prodigy. In 1972, he became the first, and so far the only, American to win the official World Chess Championship, after defeating champion Boris Spassky, of the Soviet Union, in a match held in Reykjavik, Iceland. The match was widely publicized as a Cold War battle. Fischer is often referred to as one of the greatest chess players of all time. In 2005, Iceland awarded citizenship to Fischer in recognition of his 30-year-old match that put the country "on the map." Fischer died there in 2008 at the age of 64. In 1975, Fischer did not defend his title when he could not come to agreement with the international chess federation (FIDE) over the conditions for the match. He became more reclusive and played no more competitive chess unti1 1992, when he won a rematch against Spassky. The competition was held in Yugoslavia, which was then under a strict United Nations embargo. This led to a conflict with the US government, and he never returned to his native country. In his later years, Fischer lived in Hungary, Germany, the Philippines, and Japan. During this time he made increasingly anti-American and anti-Semitic statements. During the 2004-2005 time period, after his US passport was revoked, he was detained by Japanese authorities for nine months under threat of extradition. After Iceland granted him citizenship, the Japanese authorities released him to that country, where he lived until his death in 2008.

Fischer's Legacy Fischer is considered one of the greatest players of all time. Some leading players and some of Fischer's biographers rank him as the greatest player who ever lived. Many other writers say that he is arguably the greatest pluyer ever, without reach ing a definitive conclusion.

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Igor Khmelnitsky

Fischer was a charter inductee into the United States Chess Hall of Fame in Washington, D.C. in 1985. He was inducted into the World Chess Hall of Fame in Miami in 200 1 . After routing Taimanov, Larsen, and Petrosian in 197 1 , Fischer achieved a then-record Elo rating of2785. He was rated so far ahead of Spassky and everyone else that he lost five rating points by beating Spassky 1 2.57.5 in played games, taking him to a 2780 rating. In 1988, Fischer filed for U.S. Patent 4,884,255 for a new type of digital chess clock. Fischer's clock gave each player a fixed period of time at the start of the game and then added a small increment after each completed move. The Fischer clock soon became standard in most major chess tournaments.

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Chronos Chess Clock

On June 19, 1996, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Fischer announced and advocated a variant of chess called Fiscber Random Chess, also known as Chess960, that is intended to allow players to contest their understanding of chess rather than their ability to memorize opening variations. Fischer's goal was to create a chess variant in which chess creativity and talent would be more important than memorization and analysis of opening moves. His approach was to create a randomized initial chess position, which would thus make memorizing chess opening move sequences useless. The initial position is set up in a One of 960 possible starting special way and there are 960 such positions positions, thus the name "Chess960". Fischer's great rival Mikhail Tal praised him as "the greatest genius to have descended from the chess heavens." (The World of Chess, by Anthony Saidy and Norman Lessing, New York, Random House, 1974, p. 226)

American rival Grandmaster Arthur Bisguier, who won his first tournament game against Fischer, drew his second, and then lost the remaining 13, wrote "Robert James Fischer is one of the few people in

Chess Exam: You vs. Fischer

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13

any sphere of endeavor who has been accorded the accolade of being called a legend in his own time." (The Games of Robert J. Fischer, by Robert Wade (chess player) and Kevin O'Connell, London, Batsford 1 972, p. 43.)

Speaking after Fischer's death, Serbian Grandmaster Ljubomir Ljubojevic said, "A man without frontiers. He didn't divide the East and the West, he brought them together in their admiration of him."

(ChessBase.com - Chess News - Bobby Fischer dies in Iceland)

In a sympathetic obituary for Fischer, Kasparov wrote, "he became the detonator of an avalanche of new chess ideas, a revolutionary whose revolution is still in progress." (The Chessman, TIME, 26 January 2008) Source: Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby Fischer) Photos: Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia

14 • Igor Khmelnitsky

Warning: Disclaimer This book is designed to provide information on understanding chess principles and evaluating chess skills as well as various training methods. Also, this book is intended to entertain you as well as expose you to the battles of one of the best chess players of all time - Bobby Fischer. I highly respect Bobby Fischer as a chess player and must warn you that the examples you see in this book weren't intended to fully represent his style or showcase his incredible skills. They were selected solely based on their educational value to the readers. If you are interested in learning more about Bobby Fischer, I strongly encourage you to get at least the following three books: Bobby Fischer's My 60 Memorable Games, Edmar Mednis's How Fischer Lost, Garry Kasparov's My Great Predecessors (vol. 4). Game scores and position research was sourced from the ChessBase 9.0. All annotations are mine. The section About Robert James Fischer is based entirely on the data from the Wikipedia. My expertise is in coaching and selecting the best examples for your studying. I defer history research and reporting to the professionals in these fields. Cover photo - Fischer considering a move against Edmund _Wheeler in an exhibition in Fitchburg, Massachusetts during his 1964 simul tour. Photo by Glen Wheeler, from the book A legend on the Road: Bobby Fischer 's 1964 Simultaneous Exhibition Tour by IM John Donaldson. Images used with permission from Jupiterlmages, a division of Jupitermedia Corporation (www. ClipArt.com) While answering, be on the alert and do not make any presumptions. The order of the questions (i.e. level of difficulty and type) was purposely randomized. Thus you may see an easy position (i.e. 1 move Tactics), being followed by a very difficult one (i.e. 5 moves Calculation); a Middlegame question being trailed by an Endgame. This makes "home" testing a bit more realistic by merely resembling a common game situation, where you never know what to expect. Statistical analysis is only as good as the data used. l am relying on the data collected over the years by offering the same set of poHilions to players of all levels - from beginners to Grandmaster•. The dutu showing

Chess Exam: You vs. Fischer • 15

the level of test-takers' knowledge is expected to have discrepancies due to various intangible factors, such as the time spent on each question, the seriousness of effort, and different rating scales, just to name a few. Additionally, some people perform better or worse than their official rating would show in a real game environment vs. doing the test at home. Finally, a 1790 rating (for example) can mean a very different strength level when comparing a club player in a rural area with a "professional" World Open participant trying to win $ 1 5,000 in the Under-1 800 section. Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible. However, you may find mistakes, both in substance and typographical. I have tried my best to check thoroughly the diagrams, game analysis, and names of Fischer's opponents. Should you find any errors in this book, I would greatly appreciate your notice. None of the recommendations was sponsored by a particular publisher. This text should be used only as a general guide and not as an ultimate source of chess training information. The statistical tables and training recommendations are current as of the printing date and may be revised in the future. To keep up with new developments, please register at http://www.ChessExam.com.

CHESS Symbols: King Queen Rook Bishop +

++

# !!

!? !? ? ??

Check Double Check Checkmate Brilliant Move Good Move Interesting Move Dubious Move Bad Move Blunder

� /':; 0-0 0-0-0 =

;t ;:

±

+

+-

-+

Knight Pawn King-side Castle Queen-side Castle

Equal Position White is Better Black is Better White is Significantly Better Black is Significantly Better White is Winning Black is Winning

16 • Igor Khmelnitsky

Acknowledgements This book has depended on the help, suggestions and encouragement of the many readers of my first two Chess Exams. They made both of them into bestsellers and provided me with extensive feedback. All of the examples I used came from Bobby Fischer's games. Many of the games were annotated by the authors of various books on him (see my favorites below). In this book, I did all of the annotations myself. Also, the vast majority of the positions in this book have never before been presented as puzzles in any other chess book. I would like to mention the following publications as my favorite sources:

Chess Life Magazines (1 950s-1 960s) My 60 Memorable Games by Robert J. Fischer How Fischer Lost by Edmar Merlins My Great Predecessors (vo/.4) by Garry Kasparov ChessBase 9.0, MegaBase 2008 (www.ChessBase.com) Special gratitude goes to my friend and former student Tony Saldutti, who a couple of years ago gave me as a gift his entire chess library, including a number of older books on Fischer as well as several years of Chess Life magazines from 1950 through 1970. These books and magazines were very helpful in my research. I am grateful to IM John Donaldson for providing the photo of Bobby Fischer used on the cover of this book. Diagrams were created using ChessBase 9.0 (www.ChessBase.com). A number of individuals directly assisted me in shaping the final version of this book. Many of my students and website visitors volunteered to become testers. They tried my test positions and contributed their selections, scores, and comments. Several titled players (Masters and Grandmasters) offered their selections and comments on individual questions that were later included in the "Match." All of that helped to improve the quality of the "games" as well as produce statistically significant rating analysis.

Chess Exam: You vs. Fischer • 17

As I got to the always challenging editing stage, I reached out to a number of my friends asking for their help. I would like to offer special gratitude to the people who helped me during this final stretch. Here they are: Paul Clift, Barry Dinneen, IM Igor Foygel, Laurence N. Green, FM Rodion Rubenchik, Nicholas P. Sterling, Ph.D. They did it all: proofreading, editing, reviewing some of my teaching concepts, checking the variations and accuracy of diagrams, general comments, etc . . . To helpers named and unnamed, I am grateful.

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Igor Khmelnitsky

The Warm-up Before you begin your very first "match" against the chess legend Bobby Fischer, it is only prudent to start with a warm-up. Here, I collected 20 positions from Fischer's games. In each position, you will see what color pieces Fischer has and his last move. Please answer my question, select the best move, and support your decisions with the necessary variations. Spend 5-15 minutes on each position. Answers to the problems as well as my comments can be found right after the last warm-up exercise (p. 22) The format of the warm-up questions is a bit simpler than of the "real games" you will "play" later. However, the questions are certainly not easy. In fact, they might even be a little harder than those you will see later. My goal is to help you to familiarize yourself with the testing process, see sample questions, and get an idea ofwhat type of response is expected from you to "succeed" in each of the upcoming "games." Your performance in this warm-up isn't being rated. I am planning to have rating tables available on http:/www.ChessExam.com/cef.htm at some point. If you think you might be interested in evaluating your work, please preserve your answers, including the variations you calculate. In each of the positions below, you are to review Robert Fischer's last move, assess the situation, and answer the question. 3, 2,

1

...

�

Let's gol

g

#1. After 37. 'i!fh7-g6+ Where would you send the �?

#2. After 24 1Wa2-a5 What is Fischcr's thrcut und how would you addrcNN lt'! •••

Chess Exam: You vs. Fischer • 19

8 7 5 4 3 2

#3. After 21. i¥h4-d4 Is there a way out of this mess?

#4. After 56 llJa8-c7 Can you put this game away?

#5. After 11. Wfdl-b3 What to do about threats to the llJ and the 8b7?

#6. After 39 1ie8-c8 Is it time to resign or . . . ?

#7. After 29. �dl-d5 Would you play 29 . 1\f5 here?

#8. After 37 ..tg7-h6 Can you put this game away?

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•••

20

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Igor Khmelnitsky

a

b

c

d

e

f

g

h

�1

#9. After 41. 'i!?d1-e2 Would you accept the trade of �s?

#10. After 27 l!¥e7x(8)a3 What would you play? •••

7 6 5 4

�1 #11. After 12. 8g2-g4 What to do about the threat to the f5-ll:J?

#12. After 39 'i!?h4-g3 Should you care about Fischer's actions on the 'i!?-side? What is your move? •••

8 7 6 5 4 3 2

�1

g

#14. After 33 llc8-c4 #13. After 26. Aa8-e4 Any concerns? What is your move? Pick one: 34.1l>eb6; �4.e4 'i!i>cS (or 53...Llb3) 54.'i!td3+-] 53.f8 28 ..l:!h8#] 27}z]d5+ and 28.lL!xb4+-, winning the V. I picked 27.llJd5+ rather than 27.'9Wxg6+ with checkmate in 1 1 moves, since either one is sufficient to dismiss 25 ...\t>g7, but winning the V is easier to calculate. An attempt to open an escape route for your \!;> via 25 8e5 (2-A) also fails. White builds a mating net, e.g. 26.Vh6 [threatening 27.'9Wxg6+ \!tf8 28.Vf6+ \t>g8 29J!h8#] 00 27.Vxg6+ e7 28.nh7+ d8 29.Vg5+ .l:!e7 30.Vxe7#. •••

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•••

This should have brought you to 25 .l:!xc3 (2-C), which seems like an act of desperation. In fact this move, played by your "partp.er" Matthai, has a clear tactical idea - to get the :8. to h3, interfering with Fischer's threats along the h-file. After 26.Vh6 [or 26.:8.h8+!? \t>xh8 27.Vh6+ \t>g8 28.lixg6+ drawing; but not 28.8xg6?? I!h3-+ and Black wins] lab3 27 .l:!xh3 8xh3, the game would be drawn as either side can announce perpetual check. Fischer went for 26.8xg6!? .l:!h3! 27.Vxb4 I!xhl+ 28.�a2=, reaching an unbalanced, but roughly equal endgame with mutual chances. The game was drawn 80(!) moves later. •••

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Chess Exam: You vs. Fischer

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89

Match 3, Game 28

I Fischer I

You After 28 ife4-f4 •••

28

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1

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How do you evaIuate the pos1tion?.

A

White is Significantly Better I Winning

B

Nearly Equal

c

Black is Better

D

Black is Significantly Better I Winning

28 2

HOW WOUId you respond?. Whty.?

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A

29 .llil xf4

B

29 .llil -gl

c

29. !Vd7-b5

D

29. �hl -gl

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Igor Khmelnitsky

(28) Reshevsky, Samuel - Fisc her, Robert, Interzonai, Palma de Mallorca, 1970 1 - 2 Score B-C

After 28 'i!fe4-f4 •••

%

6

36%

B-D

1

16%

B-B

3

15%

C-C

10

10%

A-C

2

9%

C-B

4

6%

A-D

1

6%

Other

Match

EO EO

2%

Other selections: (A-B), (C-D), (D-D) - (S=l, M=O); (D-C) - (S=7, M=O)

Quick observations: Fischer just moved his 'i!¥ to f4, placing his two major pieces in danger. Unfortunately, you can take neither the Black 'i!¥ nor the Black :S. due to checkmate on your weak back rank. Your :S. is now threatened, and you must either defend it or move it away. Summary: Ideally, you should try to find a way not to move your :S., maintaining the threats to Fischer's 'i!¥, :S. and even the f7-£:,. See ifyou can find a way to do this; otherwise, send the :Et away to safety! The Black 'i!¥ can't be touched - 29l!xf4?? (2-A) !!el+ 30.!!fi !!xfi#. Defending the :S. with the � seems very attractive, but it turns out to be very costly, as your "partner" Reshevsky quickly found out. After 29.�gl (2-D) 'i!¥d4+ 30.�hl [30.13f2 :S.el #] 'i!ff2!! (the 'i!¥ is very persistent!), he resigned. If the White :Et moves away or is defended by the 'i!¥, Fischer would have played the crushing 31 !!el. •••

This leaves you with two options - either defending the :S. with the 'i!¥ or sending it away. The calm 29.'i!fb5 (2-C) looks like the best choice. After 29 'i!fe3=i=, Black has a small advantage due to your weak t!:,s on a2 and d5. Less attractive is 29.!!gl (2-B) as, after 29 !!e2-+, Black at once begins an assault, and one of your weaknesses (the a2-£:,) can't be saved. •••

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Practice this position against a friend or a computer. • q

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Vulnerability ofthe back rank must not be underestimated!

Chess Exam: You vs. Fischer

•

91

Match 3, Game 29

You

8 7 6 5 4 3

I Fischer I

1

After 26. Ag2-e4 29 - 1

H ow do you evaIuate the pOSl. tion?.

A

White is Significantly Better I Winning

B

White is Better

c

Nearly Equal

D

Black is Better

29 - 2

How wouId you respond?. Whty.?

A

26. . .t!fg6-h5

B

26. . �d8 e8

c

26. . �e2xb2

D

26 . . .