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Anatoly Karpov vs Boris Spassky
13th Soviet Team Championship qual-2 (1975), Riga LAT, rd 2, Jul-??
Queen's Indian Defense: Anti-Queen's Indian System (E17)  ·  1-0

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White to move.
ANALYSIS [x]
Notes by Stockfish 9 v010218 (minimum 6s/ply)9.Nxd5 was played in Tartakower vs A Medina Garcia, 1947 (1-0)9...Nc6 was played in M Amanov vs Ngoc Truongson Nguyen, 2005 (0-1)10.Rd1 was played in Reti vs Marshall, 1925 (1-0)10...Bxd5 was played in A Butnorius vs J Santos, 2010 (0-1)better is 11...Re8 12.Bf4 c5 13.dxc5 bxc5 14.Ne5 Nxe5 15.Bxe5 Qd7 = -0.13 (20 ply)= +0.38 (22 ply) 22...Rxe7 23.Rxd5 Ng4 24.Rb5 Nxe3 25.Rxb6 Nxg2 26.Kxg2 = +0.46 (26 ply) ± +2.45 (23 ply)better is 24.Qd7 Bxg2 25.Rc7 Rf8 26.Qxd1 Be4 27.g4 b5 28.Qb3 Rbd8 +- +2.73 (24 ply) 24...Nxe3 25.Bxd5 Nxd5 26.Qb5 Nf6 27.a4 h6 28.b4 Ng4 ± +1.97 (25 ply) 25.Rxd1 Be4 26.a4 h6 27.Rd4 Bc2 28.Kf2 Ra8 29.b3 Re6 +- +2.77 (22 ply) ± +1.76 (22 ply)better is 26...b5 27.Qc3 Nf5 28.Rf1 g6 29.g4 Ng7 30.Qc7 f5 31.h3 ± +1.61 (21 ply) ± +2.20 (22 ply) after 27.a4 Rd8 28.Qd4 Ree8 29.Qxb6 Nd1 30.Qb4 Rb8 31.Qa5 Rbd8 29...h5 30.Rc8 Rxc8 31.Qxc8+ Kh7 32.Qc3 g6 33.a4 Nf5 ± +1.77 (24 ply)+- +3.37 (25 ply)44...g5 45.Qc5+ Ke6 46.Qxg5 Re8 47.Qf4 Rc8 48.Ke4 Ke7 +- +7.95 (23 ply)1-0

rnbqkbnr/pppppppp/8/8/8/8/PPPPPPPP/RNBQKBNR w KQkq - 0 1
FEN COPIED

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Given 46 times; par: 80 [what's this?]

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 3 OF 3 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Oct-01-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  harrylime: <<Petrosianic: I'm saying It beggars common sense to think that Fischer skipping the Amsterdam Interzonal had anything to do with Spassky. (Sousse possibly, but if so, why was he in it at all?) The real truth is that Curacao exposed some serious flaws in Fischer's play. He wasn't big enough to admit them openly, but he was too good a player not to see them. He wasn't going to try again until he was sure those flaws had been corrected.>>

On a scale of one to ten

HOW MUCH DO YOU HATE BOBBY FISCHER ?????

Oct-01-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: BF didn't fear Tal, Petrosian or Keres. Not after say, 1964. However, Spassky was entering his absolute prime and was the big dog on the block. Fischer was no. 2.
Oct-01-20  Petrosianic: <However, Spassky was entering his absolute prime and was the big dog on the block.>

That's only obvious in hindsight. Spassky wasn't on anybody's radar in 1963. His winning the 1965 Candidates was a surprise to a lot of people, including Fischer.

Oct-01-20  Petrosianic: <harrylime> <On a scale of one to ten

HOW MUCH DO YOU HATE BOBBY FISCHER ?????>

On a scale of 1-10 with 1 being Fischer himself, and 10 being self-confessed Fischer hater, harrylime, I'd be about a 3.

Oct-01-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  harrylime: <<HeMateMe: you don't know anything about chess history you old homo.>>

The Carpenters — Yesterday Once More (1973)
https://youtu.be/eQspPKRMtB4

Oct-01-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  harrylime: Fischer was the best player in the 60's

Just that the Soviets owned FIDE then and er ...

Oct-02-20  ewan14: Spassky must have been on the radar at the end of 1961 as he won the , admittedly slightly weaker , second USSR championship of that year

Surely Korchnoi was the no. 2 player of the late sixties

and wrt Fischer , Geller in 1967
Spassky 1966 , 1970

Oct-02-20  ewan14: Fischer number 2 to Geller in 1967
Two defeats , one of which was absolutely pathetic !
Oct-02-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  keypusher: This is a nice game by Karpov. Although it would disappoint <offramp>, maybe discuss Fischer somewhere else?
Oct-02-20  Petrosianic: Harry's not "discussing Fischer", he's just trolling. I'd submit that trolling is as appropriate in this thread as in any other. The admins certainly don't care.
Oct-02-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: At 1965 isnt Fischer's record against spassky 0-2-3? No wins, two losses and three draws? Spassky is the best player in the world and BF just coincidentally takes a year off from serious chess? After spassky is obviously weary of wearing the crown, representing the Soviet system, fischer returns to competitive chess in 1970?

Seems a heavy set of 'coincidences. '

Oct-02-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  scutigera: I wonder what people see in Fischer's public life that makes them think he planned it rationally.
Oct-02-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: he was scared of losing, a paranoid schizophrenic. Until 1972 Fischer didn't think he'd beat Spassky in a match.
Oct-03-20  MelvinDoucet: I thought 43.Qxc7 was obvious but after 43...Rxc7 44.a8=Q and the simple 44...<Kg7> there doesn't seem to be a way to break down black's fortress.
Oct-03-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: <HMM: At 1965 isnt Fischer's record against spassky 0-2-3? No wins, two losses and three draws?>

Change '1965' to 1970 and that is three losses; one at Santa Monica 1966 and the other in the '70 Olympiad.

<....Spassky is the best player in the world and BF just coincidentally takes a year off from serious chess?>

There were two such breaks: no serious chess in 1964, then in '69.

As others have stated, at the time, it was by no means clear who the strongest player was. Spassky's record was convincing in the two cycles leading up to 1969, but Petrosian had beaten him in the title bout.

Oct-04-20  Caissanist: <scutigera> This quote from Robert Byrne might be apropos here:

<Every good chess player I know is a little bit weird, and their emotional problems always hurt their chess. Bobby is different. He's _real_ weird, but the emotional problems magically drop off when the game begins. When he sits down to play, he's one of the sanest men I know.>

Oct-04-20  Everett: Spassky did tie for first in the 1963/4 Soviet championship, and won likely the toughest zonal ever in ‘64.

Spassky’s ability was undeniable before the 60’s began, and Fischer would have his own insights re: his chances vis a vis Boris.

Oct-27-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  kingscrusher: Complex example in Stean's Simple chess which is claimed to be about weak pawns having the final word even when counterplay exists.
Oct-27-20
Premium Chessgames Member
  Honza Cervenka: It is apparent that Spassky did not see 23.Rc1!
Jan-14-21  Torodeboro: - Catalan opening where 10. Nxd5 after 9..Nd7 (blocking the queen on the-file) is well timed. It makes sure that black has to take with the pawn on d5 and gets no outpost. This timing is also a good thing to remember. The move 11. Rd1 is some nice prophylaxis and makes the ..c5 break less attractive in view of a potential weak d5-pawn.

- By playing 12. Ne5 Karpov threatens to land the knight on the outpost c6. This more or less forces black to play .. c5 after either gets and isolated d-pawn or hanging pawns.

- 15. Bf4 has the idea of exchanging one of Black's most active pieces. Exchanging light pieces is in general also something desireable when playing against your opponent's isolani.

- The game also showcases the incredibly well calculated defending of Karpov and with that achieving an endgame with a material advantage.

- To remember from this game 4 moves stand out for me:

x The perfectly timed Nxd5 after 9..Nd7
x The prophylactic 11. Rd1 to make the ..c5 break much less attractive

x 13. dxc5 which creates either an isolated pawn or hanging pawns

x 15. Bf4 and trading of best black's potential piece

Jan-14-21
Premium Chessgames Member
  harrylime: The Bozza of the 50's and 60's gave ooooooop chess in 1972.

Just sayin loike.

Jan-14-21
Premium Chessgames Member
  harrylime: Karpov filled the vacum left by Bobby

But He's mega over rated

Jan-14-21  Petrosianic: <harry david chapman> A gun, harry. You know? A bang-bang? I still need to know if you've ever been near a celebrity with one.
Aug-04-21
Premium Chessgames Member
  gezafan: <Petrosianic: <However, Spassky was entering his absolute prime and was the big dog on the block.> That's only obvious in hindsight. Spassky wasn't on anybody's radar in 1963. His winning the 1965 Candidates was a surprise to a lot of people, including Fischer.>

This seems unlikely. Fischer listed Spassky as one of the ten best players of all time in 1964.

Aug-15-24  Zugzwangovich: In annotating this game for the October 1975 issue of CL&R, Gligoric wrote (using descriptive notation) of 22..Nxd1: "Black reckons wrongly that he can put up resistance this way. Better was 22..Rxe7 23 Bxd5 Ng4 24. e4 (if 24. Rac1 Rce8!) with some hope for Black to live longer."

Something is wrong with 23..Nxdi in this line?

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