Originally posted by byedidia
As an amateur I wonder, "Where does Fischer fall on that spectrum?"
This is a modified annotated Fischer game from a "book" I have been working on about Fischer's games in the King's Indian Attack.
I think it is one of those games that a new player or inexperienced amateur player would struggle with unless there was an explanation to accompany it.
I took out all the line variations to try to make the pgn viewer work better, but I am still struggling with it. I have ordered new glasses but they have not come in yet!
[Event "Siegen ol (Men) qual-C"]
[Site "Siegen"]
[Date "1970.09.10"]
[Round "6"]
[White "Fischer, Robert James"]
[Black "Ibrahimoglu, Ismet"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "A07"]
[Annotator "Leggett, Rybka 2.3.2a mp 32-bit (300s)"]
[PlyCount "77"]
[EventDate "1970.09.05"]
[EventType "team"]
[EventRounds "9"]
[EventCountry "GER"]
[Source "ChessBase"]
[SourceDate "2001.11.25"]
[WhiteTeam "USA"]
[BlackTeam "TUR"]
[WhiteTeamCountry "USA"]
[BlackTeamCountry "TUR"]
{A07: Réti Opening: New York and Capablanca Systems} 1. e4 c6 {It is
significant to note that the subsequent moves in this game usually result in
the opening being classified as a Reti, even though the game clearly begins as
a Caro Kann. Such is the life of a person attempting to study the King's
Indian Attack.} 2. d3 d5 3. Nd2 g6 4. Ngf3 Bg7 5. g3 Nf6 {While I still tend
to think of the opening as a Caro Kann, Black's position has taken on the
characteristics of a Slav or a Schlechter Grunfeld Defense. It is important
for the chess student to pay attention to positions and transpositions when
studying openings, and not just names or classifications- the chess lexicon of
openings is far less exact than book publishers lead us to believe!} 6. Bg2 O-O
7. O-O Bg4 {FM Smith and SM Hall remark that "This foray only leads to the
surrender of the Bishop or a loss of time." However, GM Ron Henley argues
that "A typical plan is for black to surrender the bishop on f3 and then play .
..e7-e6 to fortify the light squares. In this case, black must look to expand
on the queenside to create play". GM John Emms, writing in 2005, suggests
that this is "Not the only move, but a reasonable one. Black 's idea is to
give up the Bishop pair and then erect a solid pawn centre (or at least it
should be- in this game something goes awry)." IM Dunnington seems to concur,
simply noting that "Black develops his problem piece". In any event, the move
is a frequent visitor to this position.} 8. h3 Bxf3 9. Qxf3 {I believe Fischer
recaptured with the Queen here instead of the Bishop because he knew he was
going to move the Queen to e2 on the next move anyway, so he saves a tempo
compared to capturing and then retreating with the bishop, and moving the
queen separately. The effect is that the f-pawn will be free to advance in
short order, whereas a Knight or Bishop recapture would still leave the pawn
blocked.} Nbd7 10. Qe2 dxe4 $2 {Emms criticizes this move, which gives up the
center and opens the position after Black has already surrendered the Bishop
pair. He prefers ...e6 or ...e5.} 11. dxe4 Qc7 12. a4 {A thematic move to
gain space on the Queenside and secure c4 for the Knight. Alternatives seem
to struggle:} Rad8 13. Nb3 {White prepares a5} b6 14. Be3 c5 $2 {Henley
provides the punctuation, stating that this ""...creates irreparable
weaknesses on the light squares (c4, b5, and a6)." Emms makes a very
insightful comment here, which essentially describes the subsequent course of
the game: "Preventing White from using d4, but at a cost of weakening the
light squares. This wouldn't be so serious except Black got rid of the main
protector on move eight."} 15. a5 e5 16. Nd2 $1 {Exclam by Emms.} Ne8 $6 {
Punctuation also by Emms.} 17. axb6 axb6 18. Nb1 $1 {Emms also likes this move,
calling it a "fine retreat" which is aimed at Black's light-squared weaknesses.
Perhaps "redeployment" might be a better term, as this Knight certainly isn't
running from the fight.} Qb7 19. Nc3 Nc7 20. Nb5 $1 {Henley provides the
exclam, remarking that "After the exchange of knights, the white queen will be
ideally posted at b5 to exploit black's weakened queenside pawns".} Qc6 21.
Nxc7 {Diagram [#] We see several examples of dramatic Knight redeployments in
Fischer's KIA games, but this is the absolute "pick of the litter." Of the 21
moves Fischer has played, seven of them were with his Queen's Knight- and here
he trades it off! Fischer's gift for "breaking" the rules of chess is well
known, and this is a classic example. In this particular case, the time
element is not the most significant feature of the game- it is the relative
positions and values of the pieces as they are deployed. Each time Black
moved, the position altered, and Fischer made the move he felt was most
appropriate to the position, without getting "hung up" on a tempo count or
moving the same piece multiple times.} Qxc7 22. Qb5 Ra8 23. c3 Rxa1 24. Rxa1
Rb8 25. Ra6 Bf8 26. Bf1 Kg7 27. Qa4 Rb7 28. Bb5 Nb8 29. Ra8 Bd6 30. Qd1 $1 {
According to Smith and Hall, "The Queen redeploys to attack the Kingside and
center while Black's pieces are tied down on the Queenside." GM Emms echoes
their comments while providing the exclam.} Nc6 31. Qd2 $1 {Exclam by
Dunnington.} h5 32. Bh6+ $18 Kh7 33. Bg5 Rb8 34. Rxb8 Nxb8 35. Bf6 $1 {Exclam
also by Dunnington as well as Henley.} Nc6 $2 36. Qd5 Na7 {NM Pandolfini
treats this as a problem position, stating that "White clearly has a spatial
advantage, with two Bishops and a centralized Queen. Still, it's vague how to
convert the intangible into the material." He then presents the following
"outrageous chess move" with an exclam.} 37. Be8 $1 Kg8 38. Bxf7+ $1 {
Deflection: f7} Qxf7 39. Qxd6 1-0