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Bobby Fischer vs James Sherwin
"Sherwin's Forced" (game of the day Mar-09-2015)
United States Championship (1957/58), New York, NY USA, rd 7, Dec-27
Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation (B90)  ·  1-0

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 12 OF 12 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Nov-26-16  andrea volponi: 30 Txf7!! h5!-Tc4!Txc4-Txf8+Rxf8-Dxc4!
Nov-27-16  andrea volponi: 30Txf7! h5!-Tc4 Txc4-Txf8+ Rxf8-Dxc4 Cf2!! Rg1 Ch3 Rf1 Df6 Re1 Da1 Rd2 Db2 Re3 Df2 Rd3 Cf4 Rc3 De3 RC2 Df2+Rb3 De3 Dc3 Db6 Db4 De3 Ra4 Cxd5 exd5 De5-Dc4 Dxh2 -Dc8+ Rf7-De6+ Rf8-Rb5 Dxg2-Dxd6+ Re8-a4 h4-a5 h3-a6 Da2-De6+ Rf8-Dc8+Re7-Dc7+Re8-Dc4 Dc4 Rxc4=
Nov-27-16
Premium Chessgames Member
  steinitzfan: A short move sequence from 30 to 33 but it makes my head spin.
Jul-05-17  avi20072008: I didnt get move 32? Can someone please explain? Why didn;t rook took Queen. It could have been checkmate.
Jul-05-17
Premium Chessgames Member
  saffuna: < I didnt get move 32? Can someone please explain? Why didn;t rook took Queen. It could have been checkmate.>

Because 32...RxQ is discovered check with the bishop on d5.

Jul-05-17
Premium Chessgames Member
  offramp: User: avi20072008, welcome to chessgames.com. I am sure you will have a good time here.

Moves 30 to 36 in this game are really worth examining closely. They are brilliant.

It's worth remembering that Fischer was 14 at the time.

Jul-24-17  newzild: Hmm. Didn't Fischer miss a forced mate?

It looks to me as though 34. Bg8+ mates.

Example lines:

34. Bg8+ Kh8
35. Bf7+ Kh7
36. Rh8+ Kxh8
37. Qc8+ Kh7
38. Qf5+ Kh8
38. Ra8+ and mate next

or:

34. Bg8+ Kg6
35. Bf7+ Kf6
36. Bxh5+ Ke7
37. Re8+ and mate next

What am I missing?

Jul-24-17  Howard: You're probably not missing anything--but, since the move Fischer actually played was good enough to wrap up the win, it probably didn't matter.
Mar-16-18  N.O.F. NAJDORF: Couldn't black have tried 13 ... c x b
14 N x d8 b x a1 = Q 15 Bd4 Q x b1 16 Q x b1 R x d8 ?
Apr-30-20  rmccants: On move 33:
why doesn't the king take the Rook instead of moving to h7?

33.Rxf8+Kh7

Apr-30-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  Dionysius1: 33...Kxf8 34. Qc8 Ke7 35. Qe6+ Kd8 36. Qd6+ and mate next move
Jul-04-22  Herr Stauffenberg: <AylerKupp> It is not necessary to evaluate literally all possible moves to calculate decisive moves. Compurators do this because they have no instinct or conscious thought about the economy of time and therefore the necessity of the relevant moves to consider. Computers calculate even the moves of pawns or pieces that are not actively participating in an attack.

In a full attacking situation with the possibility of mate, the human mind calculates only "reasonable" moves. That is not difficult for a Grandmaster. Therefore, my conclusion is that Fischer really calculated his chances after the error in 28. ...Bxc3 which opens the f-file.

Jul-04-22  Herr Stauffenberg: Bobby exlplains this endgame a bit in his book or program: https://www.retrogames.cz/play_1416...

This type of sacrifices in the enemy's pawn structure is a very particular tactic of Fischer, he uses it too much and in different ways, but always the structure is basically the same, in terms of having a backup that activates the attack, in this case, the Bishop that threatens check in the open. He also explains it in his program-book.

Jul-04-22  Herr Stauffenberg: <gjergj248> The loss of Black's "a" pawn threw him off balance, so much so that he was driven to eat with the bishop, neglecting the f-file, with the clear objective of recovering his lost pawn with his rook. This, in structural terms, looks like a good middlegame strategy for Black, but he neglected too much the consequences of the opening on rank 8, unfortunately for him, he failed to calculate the consequences of his play.
Jul-05-22  Herr Stauffenberg: <andrea volponi>This is better: 30...h5 31. Rxf8+ Kh7
Jul-05-22  Herr Stauffenberg: <newzild> That is a game of a machine without conscience. Fischer was human. He had already overcalculated the previous move, and after it worked out positively, he relaxed and played a moderate game; he was assured of victory because he was well positioned and he knew it. If it was not mate in an instant, it would be mate in another.
Jul-05-22  Herr Stauffenberg: <Dionysius1> This is better, more rapid:

33...Kxf8 34. Qf4+ Ke7 35. Qf7+ Kd8 36. Ra8#

33...Kxf8 34. Qf4+ Ke8 35. Qf7+ Kd8 36. Ra8#

Feb-24-24
Premium Chessgames Member
  GrahamClayton: <N.O.F. NAJDORF> Couldn't Sherwin have tried 13... cxb2 14. Nxd8 bxa1=Q 15. Bd4 Qxb1 16. Qxb1 Rxd8?

<N.O.F. NAJDORF>, Interesting variation - Sherwin has knight and rook for the queen, but Fischer has a passed pawn on the a-file which Sherwin might find difficult to stop.

Dec-03-24  andrea volponi: 30Rxf7! h5!!(=) -Rc4! Rxc4 -Rxf8!+ Kxf8 -Qxc4 Qf6 - Qc1 Ke7 -Qc7+ Kf8 -Qc8+ Ke7 -Qc7+ draw.
Jul-25-25  Garech: <N.O.F. NAJDORF: Couldn't black have tried 13 ... c x b 14 N x d8 b x a1 = Q 15 Bd4 Q x b1 16 Q x b1 R x d8 ?>

Interesting choice - but white has 15.Nxf7!:


click for larger view

Winning an additional pawn for the knight and preventing black from playing Qe5 and extricating his queen, which he can do if some other knight moved is played, such as Nb7.

And in fact this line is the only way to retain the advantage (+2.88) - othewise white only has a small edge, for example if 15.Bd4 Qxd4+ 16. Qxd4 Rxd8 Rc1:


click for larger view

(+0.43)

But of course Fischer would have found Nxf7.

Jul-25-25  Garech: Also worth noting - Fischer missed a mate in ten(!) in this game with 34.Bg8+! Kg6 35. Bf7+ Kh7 36. Rh8+!


click for larger view

with Qc8 next and mate to follow. It would have been an amazing coup de grace for an already breathtaking game, but one can hardly fault him for playing 34. h3 instead.

On another note, it seems that this pun has caused great confusion over the years. I'd suggest a new one, how about :

"Discovery is the Father of Invention".

or

"To Discover is to See with New Eyes."

?

Jul-25-25  Garech: Another new pun suggestion:

"The Discovery Channel"

But perhaps it's already been used for a different game?

Jul-25-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: One would imagine that 'Discovery Channel' has made the cut in one game or another.
Jul-25-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  beatgiant: <Garech>,<perfidious> A quick check of the index Game Collection: Game of the Day Pun Index (Dead - French shows "Discovery Channel" has been used already three times.
Jul-25-25
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: It would have come as no surprise to see that pun used in the most famous windmill game of all: Torre vs Lasker, 1925.
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