Chessville - Bobby Fischer's Early Blunders Part 2 - Going to the Wall with NM Brian Wall

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Bobby Fischer's
Early Blunders
(The Bobby no one ever talks about.)

Off the Wall with NM Brian Wall

Part One

This game has a special place in my heart - After playing over every game in Lou Hays' The Complete Bobby Fischer ( although maybe our mutual friend SM John Hall helped ) this game got my vote for the most surprising moves, at least at the time I first played through it.

Herbert Avram - Robert James Fischer [E80]
West Orange open Rd: 1 West Orange open Rd: 1, 1957

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 e5 6.d5 Nh5 7.Be3 0-0 8.Qd2 f5 9.0-0-0 f4! 10.Bf2! Bf6

Someone once wrote that Bobby Fischer couldn't stand to have a bad minor piece - Here he tries to break out of the pawn chain as soon as possible.

11.Nge2 Bh4! 12.Bg1!

No I am not trading my best piece for your worst.

12 ... Be7

Forget I asked. Bobby retreats probably to avoid the constant confusion of worrying about g3-sacs.

13.Kb1! Nd7 14.Nc1 Kh8 15.Nd3 a6

With the dynamic plan of holding the Kingside and opening up the Queenside. Bobby always seems to be searching for a winning strategy.

16.Qc2 Rf7

Opening up f8 for all the Black pieces.

17.Ne2

c5 does not seem enforceable, so Herbert bides his time.

17 ... Qf8

Let's see you play c5 now!

18.Qc3 g5?

The reason so many moves surprised me is that in a closed position the #1 move and the #26 move may not be so far apart in final evaluation.

Bobby starts to fall apart here - from a reasonable edge for Herbie to complete disaster for Bobby in a few bad moves. Things are not great but maybe 18...Kg8, getting out of the eye of the white queen, could hang on.

19.c5!! dxc5 20.h4

Avram is assaulting Bobby's pawn chain. Bobby's entire 4th rank is under fire!

20 ... Rg7 21.hxg5!! Rxg5! 22.Rxh5!! Rxh5! 23.Nexf4

Here comes Herbie!

23 ... Rh1! 24.Ne6!!

Avram is down an exchange but Fischer's queenside is undeveloped and weak, isolated pawns are dropping everywhere. It looks like someone threw a grenade into Bobby's pawns.

24 ... Qf6 25.Be3!!

Letting Bobby sit in his mess.

25 ... Bd6!

Guarding three pawns.

26.Nf2!!

Herbert is playing great Chess and wants to teach the upstart a lesson while he can.

26 ... Rh5! 27.Be2

Calmly mobilizing and waiting for Bobby's position to self destruct.

27 ... Nf8

27 ... Kg8! was best again.

28.Nxf8 Bxf8!

29.f4!!

Every opening is a fight for one key central square. - IM Joseph Fang, New Hampshire, USA

If e5 collapses the whole house of cards falls down.

The h5-rook is attacked too, so Bobby has no time to shore up.

29 ... Rh2! 30.fxe5! Qg6 31.Bf3!!

Battening down the hatches before rocking and rolling.

31 ... b6!

Hanging on by a thread.

32.Bf4!!

The King's Indian will break your heart. - IM Joseph Fang, New Hampshire, USA

32 ... Rh4! 33.g3 Rh2!

There comes a time when best moves don't help.

34.Qe1!! Bh6! 35.e6!! Bxf4 36.gxf4! h5

Desperately seeking a smidgen of counterplay but that pawn wall in the center is smothering everything.

37.Nd3

Avram played a whole series of strong moves, not necessarily the absolute best but good enough to win.

37 ... h4

Here comes Bobby, hoping for the best.

38.Qc3+

38 f5!!!, Qe3!! or Ne5!! are also very convincing.

38...Qg7! 39.Ne5!! Bb7

40.Bh5!! Rg8

Completing your development on move 40 is not a good sign...

I can't think of another game where more of David Letterman's rules apply than this one for Bobby.

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David Letterman's - TOP TEN Moments when you should sense danger in chess:

#10. There has been a change in the pawn structure. Your opponent has eight and you don’t have any.

#9. Your opponent begins to throw pawns at your eyes.

#8. You have a won position, but your opponent has a gun.

#7. The Director tells you not to bother turning in your score sheet after the game.

#6. Before the game begins you notice your opponent’s first initials are ‘GM’.

#5. After completing your development you sense your opponent is playing the endgame.

#4. Just as you make your opening move your opponent announces mate in 11.

#3. You don’t control any squares at all.

#2. Your draw offer sends all the people watching your game into uncontrollable laughter.

And the number one moment when you should sense danger in chess -

#1. Your opponent has three bishops.

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41.e7!! Qxe7 42.Ng6+!! Kh7 43.Nxe7!

1-0

Bobby never gave up on his beloved King's Indian although he did suspend it during his first Spassky match, suspecting powerful preparation by an entire nation.

Fischer is the ultimate romantic - Anand on Bobby's death day.

HERBERT MOIS AVRAM 2139 died in 1991, right before Fischer's comeback.

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Herbert Avram - Robert James Fischer [E80]
West Orange open Rd: 1 West Orange open Rd: 1, 1957

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 e5 6.d5 Nh5 7.Be3 0-0 8.Qd2 f5 9.0-0-0 f4 10.Bf2 Bf6 11.Nge2 Bh4 12.Bg1 Be7 13.Kb1 Nd7 14.Nc1 Kh8 15.Nd3 a6 16.Qc2 Rf7 17.Ne2 Qf8 18.Qc3 g5 19.c5 dxc5 20.h4 Rg7 21.hxg5 Rxg5 22.Rxh5 Rxh5 23.Nexf4 Rh1 24.Ne6 Qf6 25.Be3 Bd6 26.Nf2 Rh5 27.Be2 Nf8 28.Nxf8 Bxf8 29.f4 Rh2 30.fxe5 Qg6 31.Bf3 b6 32.Bf4 Rh4 33.g3 Rh2 34.Qe1 Bh6 35.e6 Bxf4 36.gxf4 h5 37.Nd3 h4 38.Qc3+ Qg7 39.Ne5 Bb7 40.Bh5 Rg8 41.e7 Qxe7 42.Ng6+ Kh7 43.Nxe7 1-0

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Charles I Kalme - Robert James Fischer [E66]
Milwaukee Central Rd: 5 Milwaukee Central Rd: 5, 1957

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.0-0 0-0 5.d4 d6 6.c4 Nc6 7.d5 Na5 8.Nfd2 c5 9.Qc2 a6 10.Nc3 Rb8 11.b3 b5 12.Bb2 e6 13.dxe6 Bxe6 14.cxb5 axb5 15.Nce4 Bf5 16.Rfd1 Nc6 17.Nxf6+ Bxf6 18.Ne4 Bxe4 19.Bxe4 Nd4 20.Bxd4 Bxd4 21.Rac1 Rb6 22.Qd3 Qe7 23.e3 Be5 24.h4 Qa7 25.Rc2 b4 26.Bd5 Ra6 27.h5 Kg7 28.f4 Bf6 29.Rdd2 Re8 30.Bc4 Rb6 31.g4 Qe7 32.g5 Bc3 33.Re2

The game has been fairly normal and even so far and this is where time pressure must start - strange things start happening for Bobby.

33 ... Qe4?? 34.h6+??

Both players miss 34.R:c3!! bc 35.Q:c3+ Kf8 36.Qh8+ Ke7 37.Qf6+ Kd7 38.B:f7 mopping up.

34 ... Kf8! 35.Qxe4! Rxe4! 36.a4

Charlie could have prevented the exchange sac with 36.Bd5 first but there's no need to.

36...Rxc4! 37.bxc4! Bh8 38.Kf2 b3 39.Rc1!

39...d5??

Maybe time pressure because this winning attempt is very poorly thought out - Bobby looks OK to me after 39...b2, ...Rb4, ...Ra6, or ...Ke7.

40.cxd5! c4?

Bobby's flag must have been falling after he took all his time trying to crack an opposite colored bishop position. There was still some hope after 40...b2.

41.Rxc4! b2 42.Re1 b1=Q

42 ... Rb8 is better but it's too late now anyway.

43.Rxb1! Rxb1! 44.Rc8+! Ke7! 45.Rxh8!

Bobby is down three pawns with more losses to follow.

1-0

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Petrosianic: Kalme was a Senior Master, in the days when that really meant something. He was a master at 15, US Junior Champion in 1955, and had a rating of 2455 when he stopped playing in the mid 60's.

He played in two US Championships, finishing +0-3=8, and +2-3=6. He got a draw and a loss against Fischer in those championships, and so finished up with a lifetime +1-1=1 score against him.

This game, by the way, was the last game Fischer lost to a fellow American for nearly four years. His next loss to an American was the first match game against Reshevsky in Summer 1961.

Kalme was born in Latvia, and, after the fall of the Soviet Union, returned there, where he died a few years ago (2003, I think.)

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Charles I Kalme - Robert James Fischer [E66]
Milwaukee Central Rd: 5 Milwaukee Central Rd: 5, 1957

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 g6 3.Bg2 Bg7 4.0-0 0-0 5.d4 d6 6.c4 Nc6 7.d5 Na5 8.Nfd2 c5 9.Qc2 a6 10.Nc3 Rb8 11.b3 b5 12.Bb2 e6 13.dxe6 Bxe6 14.cxb5 axb5 15.Nce4 Bf5 16.Rfd1 Nc6 17.Nxf6+ Bxf6 18.Ne4 Bxe4 19.Bxe4 Nd4 20.Bxd4 Bxd4 21.Rac1 Rb6 22.Qd3 Qe7 23.e3 Be5 24.h4 Qa7 25.Rc2 b4 26.Bd5 Ra6 27.h5 Kg7 28.f4 Bf6 29.Rdd2 Re8 30.Bc4 Rb6 31.g4 Qe7 32.g5 Bc3 33.Re2 Qe4 34.h6+ Kf8 35.Qxe4 Rxe4 36.a4 Rxc4 37.bxc4 Bh8 38.Kf2 b3 39.Rc1 d5 40.cxd5 c4 41.Rxc4 b2 42.Re1 b1Q 43.Rxb1 Rxb1 44.Rc8+ Ke7 45.Rxh8 1-0

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Fischer brilliancy mentioned in Bobby Fischer Teaches Chess by Simon and Shyster:

Robert James Fischer - James T Sherwin [B90]
US Ch. - (7), 27.12.1957

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bc4 e6 7.0-0 b5 8.Bb3 b4 9.Nb1 Bd7 10.Be3 Nc6 11.f3 Be7 12.c3 bxc3 13.Nxc6 Bxc6 14.Nxc3 0-0 15.Rc1 Qb8 16.Nd5 exd5 17.Rxc6 dxe4 18.fxe4 Qb5 19.Rb6 Qe5 20.Bd4 Qg5 21.Qf3 Nd7 22.Rb7 Ne5 23.Qe2 Bf6 24.Kh1 a5 25.Bd5 Rac8 26.Bc3 a4 27.Ra7 Ng4 28.Rxa4 Bxc3 29.bxc3 Rxc3 30.Rxf7 Rc1+ 31.Qf1 h5 32.Qxc1 Qh4 33.Rxf8+ Kh7 34.h3 Qg3 35.hxg4 h4 36.Be6 1-0

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By 1958 Bobby Fischer was in the clouds, only losing to a few GMs in the Portoroz Interzonal but winning the US Closed in New York undefeated.

He also lost one game in a training match with Matulovich.

Milan Matulovic - Robert James Fischer [E80]
Beograd m Rd: 1 Beograd m Rd: 1, 1958

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.e4 Bg7 4.d4 d6 5.f3 e5 6.d5 Nh5 7.Be3 f5 8.Qd2 Qh4+ 9.Bf2 Qe7 10.0-0-0 0-0 11.Nge2 Nd7 12.Ng3 Nxg3 13.hxg3 f4 14.g4 b6 15.Bd3 a5 16.Bc2 Ba6 17.b3 Rfb8 18.Qe2 Bf6 19.a3 Kg7 20.b4 axb4 21.axb4 b5 22.cxb5 Bc8 23.Kb2 Nb6 24.Ra1 Rxa1 25.Rxa1

The game is about even here but somehow Bobby imperceptibly starts losing ground on the Queenside. It's hard to pinpoint the exact error.

25 ... Bh4! 26.Bg1! h5?

Bobby hates sitting passively - he always wants to stir up trouble.

27.gxh5! gxh5! 28.Ra7! Rb7 29.Rxb7! Bxb7! 30.Na4!

Milan's extra pawn is starting to count and Bobby is nowhere on the Kingside.

30 ... Qd8 31.Qf1 Kg6

Now it gets really bad - 31...Nd7 might hold on longer but 32.b6! looks good anyway.

32.Bxb6! cxb6! 33.Qg1! Qc7 34.Qxb6! Qxb6! 35.Nxb6!

It's over.

35 ... Be7 36.Nc4! Kg5! 37.Na5! Bc8 38.b6! Kh4 39.Ba4! Kg3 40.Bd7! Bb7 41.Bh3!

An elegant final maneuver.

1-0

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Milan Matulovic - Robert James Fischer [E80]
Beograd m Rd: 1 Beograd m Rd: 1, 1958

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 g6 3.e4 Bg7 4.d4 d6 5.f3 e5 6.d5 Nh5 7.Be3 f5 8.Qd2 Qh4+ 9.Bf2 Qe7 10.0-0-0 0-0 11.Nge2 Nd7 12.Ng3 Nxg3 13.hxg3 f4 14.g4 b6 15.Bd3 a5 16.Bc2 Ba6 17.b3 Rfb8 18.Qe2 Bf6 19.a3 Kg7 20.b4 axb4 21.axb4 b5 22.cxb5 Bc8 23.Kb2 Nb6 24.Ra1 Rxa1 25.Rxa1 Bh4 26.Bg1 h5 27.gxh5 gxh5 28.Ra7 Rb7 29.Rxb7 Bxb7 30.Na4 Qd8 31.Qf1 Kg6 32.Bxb6 cxb6 33.Qg1 Qc7 34.Qxb6 Qxb6 35.Nxb6 Be7 36.Nc4 Kg5 37.Na5 Bc8 38.b6 Kh4 39.Ba4 Kg3 40.Bd7 Bb7 41.Bh3 1-0

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Pal Benko - Robert James Fischer [E80]
Bad Portoroz izt Rd: 4 Bad Portoroz izt Rd: 4, 1958

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 e5 6.Nge2 0-0 7.Bg5 exd4 8.Nxd4 Nc6 9.Nc2 Be6 10.Be2 h6 11.Bh4 g5 12.Bf2 Ne5 13.Ne3 c6 14.0-0 Qa5 15.Qd2 Rfd8 16.Rfd1 a6 17.a4

Bobby is doing fine up until here - he starts losing the thread - 17 ... Nh5! would give him a good game.

17 ... Qc7? 18.a5!

Gaining some space.

18...c5?

Another bad move weakening all kinds of squares - somebody bring Bobby an Orange juice.

19.h4

An interesting approach in a position hard to go wrong in.

19...Qe7 20.hxg5! hxg5! 21.Nf5 Bxf5! 22.exf5! g4! 23.Bh4

That looks annoying.

23...Qf8 24.fxg4! Nexg4! 25.Bxg4! Nxg4! 26.Qg5! Nf6! 27.Rd3

There are lots of wins now but they stem directly from Bobby's bad choices on moves 17 and 18 - Bobby's game looks completely sick.

27 ... Nh7 28.Qg4!! f6! 29.Nd5!! Qf7!

Just compare each piece.

30.Re1!!

It feels like Benko is cementing a stone wall.

30 ... Re8!

Bobby's game is completely lifeless - best moves don't help - 31.Re6!!! is one of many wins now.

31.Rde3 Re5 32.Bg3!

Get out of there - you don't deserve any activity.

32...Rxe3 33.Rxe3! Re8!

Completing the sheep pen - referring to a time in Wyoming I approached a sheep pen and the animals started going in circles in the far corner praying I would eat the other sheep.

Bobby's pieces are all huddled up waiting for the final axe.

34.Re6 Ng5!

Games like this teach you to avoid positional mistakes in the first place.

35.Rxd6

First blood.

35...Re4 36.Rd8+ Kh7 37.Bf4!! Bh6?

That's about as pathetic a King's Indian bishop as it gets - must be time pressure from trying to save a hopeless game.

38.Rd7!! Re1+ 39.Kf2

Kind of hard to go wrong here but 39.Kh2 is even stronger.

39 ... Ne4+ 40.Kxe1 Qxd7 41.Qg6+ 1-0

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Pal Benko - Robert James Fischer [E80]
Bad Portoroz izt Rd: 4 Bad Portoroz izt Rd: 4, 1958

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 e5 6.Nge2 0-0 7.Bg5 exd4 8.Nxd4 Nc6 9.Nc2 Be6 10.Be2 h6 11.Bh4 g5 12.Bf2 Ne5 13.Ne3 c6 14.0-0 Qa5 15.Qd2 Rfd8 16.Rfd1 a6 17.a4 Qc7 18.a5 c5 19.h4 Qe7 20.hxg5 hxg5 21.Nf5 Bxf5 22.exf5 g4 23.Bh4 Qf8 24.fxg4 Nexg4 25.Bxg4 Nxg4 26.Qg5 Nf6 27.Rd3 Nh7 28.Qg4 f6 29.Nd5 Qf7 30.Re1 Re8 31.Rde3 Re5 32.Bg3 Rxe3 33.Rxe3 Re8 34.Re6 Ng5 35.Rxd6 Re4 36.Rd8+ Kh7 37.Bf4 Bh6 38.Rd7 Re1+ 39.Kf2 Ne4+ 40.Kxe1 Qxd7 41.Qg6+ 1-0

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Fridrik Olafsson - Robert James Fischer [D38]
Bad Portoroz izt Rd: 11 Bad Portoroz izt Rd: 11, 1958

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.d4 Bb4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 c5 8.e3 Nc6 9.Rc1 c4 10.Be2 Be6 11.0-0 0-0 12.Nd2 Be7 13.b3 g5 14.Bg3 Ba3 15.Rc2 Nb4

Bobby wins the exchange but Fridrik gets more than enough compensation.

The game hovers between a win for Olafsson and a draw for Fischer. I will let the Grandmasters sort out the exact dividing lines. Neither side played perfectly but Bobby was under unpleasant pressure all game.

16.bxc4! Nxc2! 17.Qxc2! dxc4 18.Nb5 Bb4! 19.Nc7 Bxd2! 20.Nxe6! fxe6! 21.Bxc4!!

Very nice - 21.Qg6+ Kh8 22.Q:h6+ Kg8 23.B:c4 Kf7 is not strong enough but 21.B:c4!! Ba5?? 22.Qg6+ Kh8 23.Q:h6+ Nh7 24.Be5+ is now too strong.

This game is somewhat reminiscent of Fischer-Spassky 1972 6th match game, played in Iceland where Olafsson is from.

21...Qe8! 22.Qxd2! Ne4! 23.Qd3! Nxg3! 24.hxg3! Rf6! 25.Qe4 Rc8! 26.Bb3! Qd7 27.Rd1 Re8 28.f4 Qh7

The game is still tough to call, e.g., Bobby might survive with 28...Kh8!

29.Qe5!! Qf5?

And here 29...Qg6 might hold.

30.g4

30.Q:f5! R:f5 31.e4! should win.

30.e4 Q:e5 31.de Rf7 32.f5 is similar to the game.

30...Qxe5! 31.dxe5! Rf7! 32.f5! Rc7 33.Rd6! Rc5! 34.Bxe6+! Kf8! 35.Bb3

35 Bd5! might be a little better.

35 ... Rcxe5! 36.Rxh6! Rxe3! 37.Rg6! R8e4!

How he tries! - Seabiscuit

38.Rxg5! Rg3!

I think it's all over now -

39.Rg8+! Ke7! 40.g5! Re2

I don't think Bobby can survive 40 ... Kd6 41 Bd1!! either.

41.Bd5!! Kd6! 42.Bf3!!

42 B:b7!! also wins

42 ... Rxa2 43.f6!! Ke6 44.Re8+!!

1-0

Bobby Fischer put up staunch resistance, it was just a miserable position.

He may have missed draws.

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This game was analyzed in Friðrik Ólafsson's chessbook of 50 of his attacking games ("Við skákborðið í aldarfjórðung", Skák, Reykjavík 1976).

Also in Irving Chernev's "The Most Instructive Games of Chess Ever Played" and Reuben Fine's "The World's Great Chess Games" with an entirely different ending. Maybe in How To Beat Bobby Fischer by Mednis too.

Notice by 1958 a rare Fischer loss is already a worldwide sensation worthy of being mentioned in notable Chess books and magazines, even though he was only 15 years old. Fischer had the power to almost never lose already. His name became synonymous with Chess magic.

Fridrik Olafsson - Robert James Fischer [D38]
Bad Portoroz izt Rd: 11 Bad Portoroz izt Rd: 11, 1958

1.c4 Nf6 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 d5 4.d4 Bb4 5.cxd5 exd5 6.Bg5 h6 7.Bh4 c5 8.e3 Nc6 9.Rc1 c4 10.Be2 Be6 11.0-0 0-0 12.Nd2 Be7 13.b3 g5 14.Bg3 Ba3 15.Rc2 Nb4 16.bxc4 Nxc2 17.Qxc2 dxc4 18.Nb5 Bb4 19.Nc7 Bxd2 20.Nxe6 fxe6 21.Bxc4 [ 21.Qg6+ Kh8 22.Qxh6+ Kg8] 21...Qe8 [ 21...Ba5 22.Qg6+ Kh8 23.Qxh6+ Nh7 24.Be5+] 22.Qxd2 Ne4 23.Qd3 Nxg3 24.hxg3 Rf6 25.Qe4 Rc8 26.Bb3 Qd7 27.Rd1 Re8 28.f4 Qh7 29.Qe5 Qf5 30.g4 Qxe5 31.dxe5 Rf7 32.f5 Rc7 33.Rd6 Rc5 34.Bxe6+ Kf8 35.Bb3 Rcxe5 36.Rxh6 Rxe3 37.Rg6 R8e4 38.Rxg5 Rg3 39.Rg8+ Ke7 40.g5 Re2 41.Bd5 Kd6 42.Bf3 Rxa2 43.f6 Ke6 44.Re8+ 1-0

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As a final tribute I would like to mention one of my innumerable victories directly attributable to Bobby. I saw the following game in person.

Bent Larsen - Robert James Fischer [E97]
Denver m Rd: 4 Denver m Rd: 4, 1971

1.c4 g6 2.Nf3 Bg7 3.d4 Nf6 4.Nc3 0-0 5.e4 d6 6.Be2 e5 7.0-0 Nc6 8.d5 Ne7 9.Nd2 c5 10.Rb1 Ne8 11.b4 b6 12.a4 f5 13.a5 Nf6 14.Qa4 Bd7 15.Qa3 Bh6 16.Bd3 Qc7 17.bxc5 bxc5 18.exf5 gxf5 19.Bc2 a6 20.Nde4 Bxc1 21.Nxf6+ Rxf6 22.Rfxc1 Raf8 23.Rb6 Bc8 24.Ne2 f4 25.Be4 Nf5 26.Rc6 Qg7 27.Rb1 Nh4 28.Qd3 Bf5 29.Kh1 f3 30.Ng3 fxg2+ 31.Kg1 Bxe4 32.Qxe4 Nf3+ 33.Kxg2 Nd2 0-1

As a seventeen year old 1997 rated player I was impressed that Bobby played 17...bc and 26...Qg7 instantly. I didn't think it was advisable to make blitz speed moves in a World Candidates game. That showed a lot of confidence. In the postmortem Bobby had a deep New York voice and spoke quickly, forcefully and naturally. He walked briskly past me behind the stage.

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[Event "2002 Governor's Cup"] [Site "Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Holiday Inn"] [Date "2002.10.12"] [Round "5"] [White "IM John Donaldson"] [Black "brianwall"] [Result "0-1"] [ICCResult "White resigns"] [WhiteElo "2458"] [BlackElo "2203"] [Opening "Old Indian: Tartakower (Wade) variation"] [ECO "A04"] [NIC "QP.11"] [Time "20:31:07"] [TimeControl "40/2 5 second delay"]

1. Nf3 d6 2. d4 Bg4 3. c4 c6 4. Nc3 Nd7 5. e4 e5 6. Be2 Be7 7. O-O Ngf6 8. Be3 O-O 9. d5 cxd5 10. cxd5 Ne8 11. Nd2 Bxe2 12. Qxe2 Bg5 13. Bxg5 Qxg5 14. Rfc1 a6 15. a4 g6 16. a5 f5 17. b4 Ndf6 18. Rc2 Rc8 19. exf5 gxf5 20. Rac1 Kh8 21. Nc4 Rc7 22. Nb6 Rg7 23. g3 h5 24. b5 h4 25. bxa6 bxa6 26. Kh1 Ng4 27. Rg1 Rfg8 28. Rg2 Nef6 29. Nd1 Rh7 30. Rc8 Rxc8 31. Nxc8 hxg3 32. fxg3 Ne4 33. Kg1 Qc1 34. Qc2 Qa1 35. Re2 Qd4+ 0-1

John wrote The Unknown Fischer, a great book focusing on simuls and casual games and anecdotes. I became fused with Fischer this game and imagined myself playing Larsen. This victory allowed me to come second with four Grandmasters. I also won the blitz tourney.

Open Section
2002 Governor's Cup

First Place GM Sergey Kudrin $1200
Second/
Third/
Fourth/
   Master 1st GM Pavel Blatny $580
   GM Yury Shulman $580
   GM Alek Wojtkiewicz $580
   GM Marcin Kaminski $580
   Brian D Wall $580

Fully annotated in the Chess email The New HyperModernism at my website, www.Walverine.com.

Thank you, Bobby, for everything you gave the Chess World.

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Brian Wall
www.Walverine.com
www.ChessLikeAnAnimal.com