Game of the Century
D Byrne vs Fischer,1956
(D92) Grunfeld, 5.Bf4, 41 moves, 0-1 Troppo poco; troppo tardi
Fischer vs J Sherwin,1957
(B40) Sicilian, 33 moves, 1-0 Demolendo il Dragone
Fischer vs Larsen,1958
(B77) Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack, 31 moves, 1-0 L'abbraccio dell'orso
Petrosian vs Fischer,1958
(A16) English, 67 moves, 1/2-1/2 Tattica e tatto
Pilnik vs Fischer,1959
(B92) Sicilian, Najdorf, Opocensky Variation, 40 moves, 0-1 Lo spiacevole obbligo
Fischer vs H Rossetto,1959
(B41) Sicilian, Kan, 37 moves, 1-0 Una piccola svista
Fischer vs Shocron,1959
(C97) Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin, 40 moves, 1-0 Presunzione punita
F Olafsson vs Fischer,1959
(E93) King's Indian, Petrosian System, 40 moves, 0-1 Un piatto gustoso
Fischer vs Keres,1959
(C99) Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin, 12...cd, 81 moves, 1-0 Sull'orlo dell'abisso
E Walther vs Fischer,1959
(B99) Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line, 67 moves, 1/2-1/2 Mungendo la mucca
Fischer vs Unzicker,1959
(C97) Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin, 65 moves, 1-0 Concerto silenzioso
Fischer vs Benko,1959
(B57) Sicilian, 27 moves, 1-0 Allo sbaraglio
Gligoric vs Fischer,1959
(B99) Sicilian, Najdorf, 7...Be7 Main line, 57 moves, 1/2-1/2

Contributions to chess theory

Fischer was renowned for his opening preparation, and made numerous contributions to chess opening theory. He was considered the greatest practitioner of the White side of the Ruy Lopez; a line of the Exchange Variation (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Bxc6 dxc6 5.0-0) is sometimes called the "Fischer variation" after he successfully resurrected it at the 1966 Havana Olympiad. He was also a recognized expert in the Black side of the Najdorf Sicilian, as well as being one of the greatest theoreticians of the King's Indian Defense. He also demonstrated several important improvements in the Grünfeld Defence. In the Nimzo-Indian Defence, the line beginning with 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e3 b6 5.Ne2 Ba6 is named for him. Fischer established the viability of the so-called "Poisoned Pawn" variation of the Najdorf Sicilian (1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6 7. f4 Qb6). Although this bold queen sortie, snatching a pawn at the expense of development, had been considered dubious, Fischer succeeded in proving its soundness, a claim supported by contemporary theory. Fischer won many games with this line; his only loss was in the 11th game of his 1972 match with Spassky. On the White side of the Sicilian, Fischer made advancements to the theory of the line beginning 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 (or e6) 6. Bc4, which is now called the Fischer-Sozin Attack. In 1960, prompted by a loss to Spassky, Fischer wrote an article entitled "A Bust to the King's Gambit" for the first issue of Larry Evans' American Chess Quarterly, in which he recommended 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 d6. This variation has since become known as the Fischer Defense to the King's Gambit. After Fischer's article was published, the King's Gambit was seen even less frequently in master-level games, although Fischer took up the White side of it in three games (preferring 3.Bc4 to 3.Nf3), winning them all.

Fischer in the endgame

International Master Jeremy Silman listed Fischer as one of the five best endgame players. The others he listed were Emanuel Lasker, Akiba Rubinstein, José Capablanca, and Vasily Smyslov. Silman called him a "master of bishop endings" (Silman 2007:510-23). The endgame of a rook and bishop versus a rook and knight (both sides with pawns) has sometimes been called the "Fischer Endgame" because of three instructive wins by Fischer in 1970 and 1971 (Müller & Lamprecht 2001:304). In all three of the games Fischer had the bishop and Mark Taimanov had the knight. One of the games was in the 1970 Interzonal and the other two were in their 1971 quarter-final candidates match in the World Championship process. Steve Mayer calls this ending the Grindable Ending, but notes that is has been sometimes called the "Fischer Ending" (Mayer 1997:201).

Other contributions to chess

Fischer clock

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. The patent expired in November 2001 because of overdue maintenance fees.

Fischer Random Chess

On June 19, 1996, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Fischer announced and advocated a variant of chess called Fischer Random Chess, also known as Chess960, that is intended to allow players to contest games based on their understanding of chess rather than their ability to memorize opening variations.

• Audio clip of Bobby Fischer describing the unsavory side of chess in its current form at the highest levels.

Other talents

Fischer was an expert at solving the Fifteen puzzle, which he completed in under 25 seconds multiple times. Fischer demonstrated this on November 8, 1972 on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. Fischer was also an expert at playing pinball machines and early video games such as Space Invaders.[citation needed]

In popular culture

• The film Searching for Bobby Fischer uses his name in the title despite the fact that it is about the life of Joshua Waitzkin (it was named Innocent Moves instead in Great Britain). The title refers to the search for Fischer's successor after his disappearance from competitive chess. In the book on which the film is based, the narrator/author actually looks for Fischer for a brief period and imagines what he would say to him if found.
• In Hey Arnold there is a Chinese Checkers champion named Robby Fischer.
• The musical Chess, with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, tells the story of two chess champions. Although they are known in the musical only as "The American" and "The Russian", their personalities are loosely based on Bobby Fischer and the Soviet (and later Swiss) grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi. (In later versions of the show, "The American" is named "Freddy Trumper".)
• The British band iLiKETRAiNS wrote the song "A Rook House For Bobby" about Fischer. It appeared on their debut EP Progress Reform.

Writings

• Bobby Fischer's Games of Chess (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1959). An early collection of 34 lightly-annotated games including the famous "Game of the Century" vs. Donald Byrne.
• A Bust to the King's Gambit (American Chess Quarterly, 1961)
• The Russians Have Fixed World Chess (Sports Illustrated magazine, August 1962). This is the controversial and influential article, detailing Fischer's assertions of Soviet collusion in the 1962 Curacao Candidates' tournament.
• Checkmate from 1966 to 1969 in Boys' Life.
• My 60 Memorable Games (Simon and Schuster, New York, 1969, and Faber and Faber, London, 1969). This book is considered a classic text by most chess masters.
• Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess with Donn Mosenfelder and Stuart Margulies (Bantam Books, May 1972, ISBN 0-553-26315-3). Uses programmed learning (aka programmed instruction) to help beginners learn how to see very simple chess combinations. This book is widely used by chess instructors, and is one of the highest-selling chess books of all time.
• I Was Tortured in the Pasadena Jailhouse! (1982)

Notable games

• "The Game of the Century" - an external link: Donald Byrne-Fischer, New York 1956, Grünfeld, 5.Bf4 (D92), 0-1 Just 13 years old, Bobby played in a bold combinational style.
• Robert Byrne-Fischer, 1963-64 U.S. Championship, Neo-Grünfeld 0-1 From an almost symmetrical position, Fischer as Black beats a grandmaster in just 21 moves.
• Fischer-Tigran Petrosian, Buenos Aires Candidates Final 1971, 7th match game, Sicilian Defense: Kan. Modern Variation (B42), 1-0 Even Petrosian, the master of defense, was not able to bear the pressure of Fischer's rooks.
• Fischer-Boris Spassky, World Championship 1972, 6th match game, Queen's Gambit Declined, Tartakower (D59), 1-0 One of the most beautiful and most important games of the match.