Donald Byrne vs Robert James Fischer (1956) "The Game of the Century"

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1008361

Members Prefs Collections Openings Endgames Sacrifices History Search Kibitzing Kibitzer's Caf Chessforums Tournament Index
Players Kibitzing

Donald Byrne vs Robert James Fischer

"The Game of the Century" (game of the day Mar-09-13)
Third Rosenwald Trophy (1956) Gruenfeld Defense: Three Knights Variation. Hungarian Attack (D92) 0-1

<<

<

To move: white

>

>>

Last move: 1.

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. d4 O-O 5. Bf4 d5 6. Qb3 dc4

7. Qc4 c6 8. e4 Nbd7 9. Rd1 Nb6 10. Qc5 Bg4 11. Bg5 11. Be2
followed by 12 O-O would have been more prudent. The bishop
move played allows a sudden crescendo of tactical points to be
uncovered by Fischer. -- Wade 11... Na4! 12. Qa3 On 12. Nxa4
Nxe4 and White faces considerable difficulties. 12... Nc3 At first
glance, one might think that this move only helps White create a
stronger pawn center; however, Fischer's plan is quite the opposite.
By eliminating the Knight on c3, it becomes possible to sacrifice the
exchange via Nxe4 and smash White's center, while the King

1 of 8

03/01/2016 04:50 p.m.

Donald Byrne vs Robert James Fischer (1956) "The Game of the Century"

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1008361

remains trapped in the center. 13. bc3 Ne4 The natural continuation
of Black's plan. 14. Be7 Qb6 15. Bc4 Nc3 16. Bc5 Rfe8 17. Kf1
Be6!! If this is the game of the century, then 17...Be6!! must be the
counter of the century. Fischer offers his queen in exchange for a
fierce attack with his minor pieces. Declining this offer is not so
easy: 18. Bxe6 leads to a 'Philidor Mate' (smothered mate) with
...Qb5+ 19. Kg1 Ne2+ 20. Kf1 Ng3+ 21. Kg1 Qf1+ 22. Rxf1 Ne2#.
Other ways to decline the queen also run into trouble: e.g., 18.
Qxc3 Qxc5 18. Bb6 Bc4 19. Kg1 Ne2 20. Kf1 Nd4 This tactical
scenario, where a king is repeatedly revealed to checks, is
sometimes called a "windmill." 21. Kg1 Ne2 22. Kf1 Nc3 23. Kg1
ab6 24. Qb4 Ra4 25. Qb6 Nd1 26. h3 Ra2 27. Kh2 Nf2
28. Re1 Re1 29. Qd8 Bf8 30. Ne1 Bd5 31. Nf3 Ne4 32. Qb8
b5 Every piece and pawn of the black camp is defended. The white
queen has nothing to do. 33. h4 h5 34. Ne5 Kg7 35. Kg1 Bc5
36. Kf1 Ng3 Now Byrne is hopelessly entangled in Fischer's
mating net. 37. Ke1 Bb4 38. Kd1 Bb3 39. Kc1 Ne2 40. Kb1
Nc3 41. Kc1 Rc2#
Given 209 times; par: 76 [what's this?]
Annotations by Robert Wade.

[1 more game annotated by Wade]

explore this opening find similar games

sac: 17...Be6

PGN: download | view | print

6 more D Byrne/Fischer games

Help: general | java-troubleshooting

TIP: If you find a mistake in the database, use the correction form. There is a link at the bottom that reads "Spot an error?
Please suggest your correction..." Avoid posting corrections in the kibitzing area.

PGN Viewer: pgn4web (Default)

What is this?

For help with the default chess viewer, please see the Pgn4web Quickstart Guide.

2 of 8

03/01/2016 04:50 p.m.

Donald Byrne vs Robert James Fischer (1956) "The Game of the Century"

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1008361

Cover of Chess Review, December 1956.

< Earlier Kibitzing PAGE 53 OF 53 Later Kibitzing>

Dec-13-14 nowo: <Rookpawn><Petrosianic> Sacrifice - the act of giving
up something that you want to keep especially in order to get or
do something else or to help someone.
Is this any less a sacrifice than Petrosian's queen sac, for
example?: Petrosian vs Pachman, 1961
Times Chess

3 of 8

03/01/2016 04:50 p.m.

Donald Byrne vs Robert James Fischer (1956) "The Game of the Century"

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1008361

Dec-13-14 nowo: <Rookfile> <Sharpnova> I agree with Rookfile. Easy for

us to play "Monday morning quarterback" and second guess
other's moves. However, we seem to forget things like pressure,
nerves, stress, fatigue, etc. Playing OTB is completely different
than analyzing and criticizing while sitting at our computers.
Byrne may have simply been over-confident and thought the kid
would crack under the pressure he was applying. He made some
mistakes and Bobby made him pay - that's part of chess.
Dec-26-14 reti: Everyone should remember that Donald Byrne was an
International master playing a 13 year old kid named Bobby
Fisher.
Dec-26-14 Petrosianic: Actually, he wasn't. Byrne got the IM title in 1962.

Twitter Feed

But here's something that does get forgotten. This is one of only
two Fischer wins in the tournament, against 4 losses. Here's his
other win, which has gotten far less fanfare.
Fischer vs Seidman, 1956
Dec-26-14 andrewjsacks: Wow! Almost the Game of the Decade--if you
ignore several by Tal.
Dec-26-14 Petrosianic: <nowo>: <Sacrifice - the act of giving up
something that you want to keep especially in order to get or do
something else or to help someone.
Is this any less a sacrifice than Petrosian's queen sac, for
example?>
It's a niggling distinction to be sure, but put it this way. Would
you call it a sacrifice if you gave up a Rook for 3 minor pieces?
Probably not, because the 3 minors are worth more than the
rook. Giving up a Queen for a Bishop is generally considered a
sacrifice, yes. Because you give up <more> material than you
get. (Although since a King is worth infinite material, you could
argue the opposite side of that question too).
In this game, Fischer gives up Queen for Rook, Two Minors and
a Pawn (and an attack). Is that a sacrifice? Well, on the one
hand you could argue no, because he got more material than he
gave up. On the other hand you could argue yes because he
gave up a queen, and didn't get his opponent's queen (and
people see the queen as being a special case). Even with my
Rook for 3 minors example, some might consider it a sac just
because no single piece you got was worth as much as that
rook.
Third question: If a player gives up Queen for two Rooks (and
no particular attack), is that a sacrifice? Opinion would probably
be pretty heavily divided on that. If we go strictly by the point
system in those beginner books, a queen is worth 9 points, and
the two rooks worth 10. So, not a sacrifice by that measure. And
I think most of us, in a neutral position (where we're not in
danger of being mated) would make that trade and feel we were
coming out ahead, not sacrificing.
Feb-25-15 amurph64: @ todicav23 Bobby didn't "lose" his Queen. He
chose to sacrifice it to set up a winning attack.

4 of 8

03/01/2016 04:50 p.m.

Donald Byrne vs Robert James Fischer (1956) "The Game of the Century"

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1008361

Feb-25-15 Petrosianic: <He chose to sacrifice it to set up a winning

attack.>
Again, it's debatable if it's a sacrifice <at all>, if you get more
than a Queen's worth of material in exchange for it. If I give up
a Knight, that's not a sacrifice if I win a Rook at the same time.
Feb-25-15 Marmot PFL: <Again, it's debatable if it's a sacrifice <at all>, if
you get more than a Queen's worth of material in exchange for
it. >
It's a sacrifice when played, even if the result is to win material.
Almost all combinations (except forced mates) fall into that
category.
Feb-25-15 perfidious: As Peter Griffiths wrote on one of John Nunn's
games, Fischer's brilliant idea was a matter of technique: a
transaction.
Mar-12-15 1 2 3 4: <sharpnova: with the losing side's blunders being more
consistent.> this sentence confirmed you're a troll.

Mar-12-15 AylerKupp: <<Marmot PFL> It's a sacrifice when played, even

if the result is to win material.>
I disagree. If you wind up with material worth more than the
material you gave up, it is not a sacrifice. But it can be debated.
For example, were you getting more material than you
sacrificed a forced continuation or was it the result of a blunder
by your opponent? In the first case I would definitely say that it
was not a sacrifice while in the second case I would tend to say
that it was a sacrifice since the recovery of material was not
forced. I would also say that it was a sacrifice even if the
material recovery was forced, if you did not see the continuation
all the way to its conclusion. Because, at the time you made the
sacrifice, you were not sure that you would get the material
back, even if it later turned out that you did.
Mar-18-15 ChessValley: AyerKupp: Interesting way of looking at a
sacrifice. The way you describe it implies that a sacrifice always
converts to a type of advantage other than a material one,
ranging from a positional advantage to a checkmate position.
Would you call a sacrifice which ends up in a material advantage
an "investment"?
Mar-18-15 Petrosianic: No, I'd call it a win of material.
Apr-06-15 kubbybulin: What if 18.Be6 Qb5+ 19. Ke1?
Apr-06-15 keypusher: <kubbybulin: What if 18.Be6 Qb5+ 19. Ke1?>
19....Qe2 mate.
Apr-06-15 AylerKupp: <<ChessValley> Would you call a sacrifice which
ends up in a material advantage an "investment"?>
It depends. If the recovery (or more) of the sacrificed material is
forced and can be foreseen, then it's either not really a sacrifice
or a "sham sacrifice". If the recovery of the material is not
forced or cannot be foreseen, but results in a positional
advantage that compensates for the material deficiency, then I

5 of 8

03/01/2016 04:50 p.m.

Donald Byrne vs Robert James Fischer (1956) "The Game of the Century"

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1008361

would indeed call it a sacrifice.

Oh, BTW, if the sacrifice does not lead to the recovery (or more)
of the material and does not result in a positional advantage
that compensates for the material deficiency, I would call it a
"blunder". :-)
Apr-16-15 not not: perfidious, if you look at the picture and then at the
quality of the game..... which chess player could come up with
this quality at such an aerly age?
@Fischer's brilliant idea was a matter of technique@
no, 13y old boy brilliant idea was a matter of technique
can I see mr Griffits ideas at the age of 13? he was probably
mentaly at the mental age of reading comics and believing the
spiderman is real

May-09-15

May-11-15

Aug-16-15
Aug-16-15

sad people
MindCtrol9: This game is really a brilliant one which, when I
mention Fischer, this is the game that I rremember like Fisher's
best ever.I have reviewed this game many times because of the
beauty of how Fischer being only 13 made such amazing and
deep calculation giving his Queen to win the game with minor
pieces.Like somebody said:This is the game of the century.
.Fischer was far ahead from all the players in his time.
Eduardo Bermudez: "I told a couple of stories about The Game
of the Century. One was how, after Fischer's combination,
Donald canvassed the other players to see if they thought he
should honor Fischer's great play by letting the young man
checkmate him. They approved, of course - at that point young
Bobby was not yet Bobby Fischer - as Byrne pointed out. The
other story involved Byrne moving his queen's bishop to the
wrong square in the opening. He was contemplating what he
should do about it, when he had a strong urge to go to the
bathroom(!) So he quickly picked up the bishop, put it on
another square, and left the board. As he said, at that point how
did he know it was going to become The Game of the Century?"
Dan Heisman on Donald Byrne
nilanjanasm: 36 Kf1. Bad move by Byrne. He could play Kh2
still. Extremely bad
FSR: <nilanjanasm> On 36.Kh2, Bd6 wins.

Aug-18-15 nilanjanasm: There wouldn't be a forced mate, and Byrne

would have lost after more moves. But I agree that bd6 will win
Sep-09-15 The Kings Domain: Brilliant game, and considering Fischer's
age, doubly so. This elevated him to the rank of Morphy,
Capablanca, and Alekhine. Fischer was the last of the Chess
romantics, when a player could evoke awe and inspiration
through his play. After him, Chess declined to the level of
soulless and the mundane in contrast.
Nov-13-15 dimos40: Game analysis with Rybka 2
1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. d4 0-0 5. Bf4 d5 6. Qb3 dxc4
7. Qxc4 c6 8. e4 Nbd7 9. Rd1 Nb6 10. Qc5 Bg4 11. Bg5?(11 Be2
Nh5 12 Bc1 Nd7 13 Qa3 15 14 o-o b5 15 Qb3 b4 16 Na4 e5 17

6 of 8

03/01/2016 04:50 p.m.

Donald Byrne vs Robert James Fischer (1956) "The Game of the Century"

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1008361

Be3 Nf4 0.24)Na4!(-0.75) 12. Qa3 Nxc3 13. bxc3 Nxe4 14.
Bxe7 Qb6 15. Bc4(15 Bf8? Bf8 16 Qb3 Qb3 17 ab3 Re8 18 Ra1
Bf3 19 gf3 Ng3 20 Be2 Nh1 21 Ra7 b5 -1.62)Nxc3 16. Bc5
Rfe8+ 17. Kf1 Be6!(-1.15)18. Bxb6?(18 Qc3 Qc5 19 dc5 Bc3 20
Be6 Re6 21 g3 Bb4 22 Rd7 Bc5 23 Rb7 Rae8 24 Rb2 Kg7
-1.19)Bxc4+ 19. Kg1 Ne2+(-4.47)20. Kf1 Nxd4+ 21. Kg1 Ne2+
22. Kf1 Nc3+ 23. Kg1 axb6 24. Qb4 Ra4(-4.48)25. Qxb6 Nxd1
26. h3 Rxa2 27. Kh2 Nxf2 28. Re1 Rxe1 29. Qd8+ Bf8 30. Nxe1
Bd5 31. Nf3 Ne4 32. Qb8 b5 33. h4 h5 34. Ne5 Kg7 35. Kg1
Bc5+36. Kf1 Ng3+ 37. Ke1 Bb4+ 38. Kd1 Bb3+ 39. Kc1 Ne2+
40. Kb1 Nc3+ 41. Kc1 Rc2# Byrne's last hope was not to accept
the Queen sacrifice.
Jump to page #

(enter # from 1 to 53)

< Earlier Kibitzing PAGE 53 OF 53 Later Kibitzing>

NOTE: You need to pick a username and
password to post a reply. Getting your account
takes less than a minute, totally anonymous,
and 100% free--plus, it entitles you to features
otherwise unavailable. Pick your username now
and join the chessgames community!
If you already have an account, you should
login now.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

1. No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
2. No spamming, advertising, or duplicating posts.
3. No personal attacks against other members.
4. Nothing in violation of United States law.
5. No posting personal information of members.

See something that violates our

rules? Blow the whistle and
inform an administrator.
NOTE: Keep all discussion on the topic of this page.
This forum is for this specific game and nothing else.
If you want to discuss chess in general, or this site,
you might try the Kibitzer's Caf.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.

Spot an error? Please submit a correction slip and help us eliminate database mistakes!
This game is type: CLASSICAL (Disagree? Please submit a correction slip.)
Featured in the Following Game Collections

[what is this?]

Studies
by Phaedrus25

spudhead's favorite games

by spudhead

Personal Favorites
by karminov

Art of attack & defense

by parmetd

The Game of the Century!!!

from Calchexas' Famous Games by Calchexas

Favoritos AMiraT53
by amirat53

favourites
by davidmuc

Fischer's Immortal
from newbie inspiration's favorite games by newbie inspiration

"Game of the century"

from Markwb's favorite games by Markwb

amolv's favorite games

by amolv

7 of 8

03/01/2016 04:50 p.m.

Donald Byrne vs Robert James Fischer (1956) "The Game of the Century"

http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1008361

this is one of the most famous queen sacs of them all!

from Queen sacs by pkspks

L8SG1 Three for the Lady :Queen for Rooks and Bishops
from Best Lessons of a Chess Coach :Sunil Weeramantry by takchess

ajmnh95's favorite games

by ajmnh95

antonius1977's favorite games

by antonius1977

No introduction needed - 17...Be6!!

from The best moves of chess by My Face

JakOTheShadows' favorite games

by JakOTheShadows

njsking's favorite games

by njsking

mjlaff's favorite games

by mjlaff

My Favourite Fischer Game

from The Capabilities Of The Human Mind by metamorphysis

PLEIADESBOX1's favorite games

by PLEIADESBOX1

plus 731 more collections (not shown)

home | about | login | logout | F.A.Q. | your profile | preferences | Premium Membership | Kibitzer's Caf
| Biographer's Bistro | new kibitzing | chessforums | Tournament Index | Player Directory |
World Chess Championships | Opening Explorer | Guess the Move | Game Collections |
ChessBookie Game | Chessgames Challenge | Store | privacy notice | advertising | contact us
Copyright 2001-2016, Chessgames Services LLC
Web design & database development by 20/20 Technologies

8 of 8

03/01/2016 04:50 p.m.