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Reuben Fine vs Bobby Fischer
New York (1963), New York, NY USA
Nimzo-Indian Defense: Normal Line (E40)  ·  0-1

ANALYSIS [x]

FEN COPIED

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Given 17 times; par: 38 [what's this?]

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Kibitzer's Corner
Aug-12-03  Shadout Mapes: Fine got completely and thouroughly thrashed here. The opening looks a little dubious (8.f4?), though i wonder what Fischer had planned had Fine taken the hasty route through 11.e5. 13.e5 lost a pawn, of course.

19...Nc4! is an amazing move with a great amount of foresight, refuting the idea behind 20.Bc5. (22.Bxf8?? Qe3#)

Finally, Fine should've traded queens on move 27, but he thought he saw a combination. Fischer takes the booty and refutes Fine's plan, and Fine immeidiatly resigned.

Aug-13-03  Kenneth Sterling: Fine gave up serious chess about 1950.
Aug-18-06  ismet: at 27.move Ruben should excange Queens
Oct-23-06  Karpova: <ismet> and head head for a lost ending? quite clever...
May-21-07  Helios727: <Karpova>: It was either trade queens or lose the rook.
Aug-08-07  Helios727: What happens after 14. Qxd8 ?
Aug-09-07  CapablancaFan: <Helios727: What happens after 14. Qxd8 ?> 14...Bxc3+ 15.Nxc3 R8xd8 and black has won a pawn.
Aug-09-07  Albums Dummyflap: 26.Qd1 sets up pretty nasty back rank threats. It looks like it should win the exchange; Qd1 Qxd Rfxd and black's back rank is a bit overworked and the N threatened. If Qb5, Rd8+ Rf8 Bxf8, and white threatens discovered check winning.
Nov-13-09  WiseWizard: 11. e5 Bxe5 12. fxe5 Nxe5 13. Qd4 Nd3+ 14.Kd2 QxQ 15. NxQ Nf2 16.Rf2 Rd8 ..what an adrenaline rush this game must have been, Fischer always has enough.
Mar-23-14  capafischer1: This game is annotated in depth in the new book 60 more memorable games by paul powell. A great book. Lots of explanations with the ideas behind the moves.
Mar-23-14  PJs Studio: 20.Bd4 is far more interesting than 20.Bc5?

True black can play 20...Rad8 and the bishop can not move because of the mate 21...Qe3. But 21.Rfe1?! (With the threat Bxf6)?

Anybody?

Mar-24-14  ChemMac: This game was, as far as I know, an off-hand game. I played in the 1963 Manhattan Chess Club championship for the first time, which was won by Bernard Zuckerman. Fine belonged I think to the Marshall Chess Club. When I came to the US in August 1954 I had no time for serious Chess, and apart from occasional Rapids tournaments didn't play until finding myself at Yale 1961-2 as a post-doc and winning the Connecticut Championship. The opposition wasn't as I recall too strong, and they gave me a provisional rating of 2100-something, which was pretty annoying! (I'd been maybe 16th in B.H.Wood's unofficial UK list). As I recall I came in something like 4th or 5th - one uninspiring loss to Robert Steinmeyer was honoured by being in the ChessGames collection. Hans Kmoch was the Tournament director, and when I was kicking myself for only drawing against "some character" named George Shainswit, Hans said that "It looks like you can play pretty well..."

I never played Fine; THAT I know.

Mar-24-14  King Radio: Thanks for that post, ChemMac. There is a lot of nonsense at this site, but posts like yours are what makes it worthwhile.
Mar-24-14  ChemMac: <PJs Studio> 20 Bd4 h6 If 21 Qg3 Nh5 and 22...f5 If 21 Qh4 Ne4+ If 21 Qf5 Nd6 and either Ne4+. In any case White has big compensation for his pawn minus, but Black seems to hold. However, as I said, this must have been a five-minute-each off-hand game. It could have been played at the Manhattan Chess Club, but if so I was not there to see it.

Who am I to question Fischer? (Obviously I do not belong on ChessGames in the company of so many great pontificators!) However, I'd have played immediately 23...f5 24.Qg5 or g3 Rf6 (thinking of ...Rg6(. White's position looks very promising, but just on a quick glance I do not see a winning line.

Nov-21-15  bobbyperez: Good defense by Fischer!
Nov-21-15  RookFile: White moved too many pawns in the opening.
Nov-21-15  thegoodanarchist: zwischenzugs galore by RJF. The only move I like more than a good zwischenzug is a timely capture e.p.
Jul-24-18
Premium Chessgames Member
  PawnSac: < capafischer1: This game is annotated in depth in the new book 60 more memorable games by paul powell. A great book. Lots of explanations with the ideas behind the moves. >

ah! < Paul Powell > .. a name i haven't heard in a long time. We first met in 1988, the year Tal won the world blitz championship. Tal landed in NY, and traveled across the US doing simuls at chess clubs along the way to Chicago to (get this..) "warm up" (lol) for the blitz match. I heard he was going to appear at a club in NJ so i went. It cost $40 per board to play, so I figured why not?! This is the great Tal ! He started out with 40 boards, then took on another 20 (lets see, thats $2400 in 4-5 hours, not a bad haul).

Paul Powell was the only one to beat Tal at that event. 3 years later I moved to Delaware and learned the chess club met in the Wilmington YMCA building on Friday evenings. To my surprise, Paul was the founder of the club!

We played every Friday night till the wee hours for about a year, and became good friends. He won the DE state championship that year (rated 2350+). We played several 30/30 and 40 in 2 tourneys (5 or 6?). I only managed to draw all our rated games, but was generally happy with 1/2 because Paul is a very solid player, tough to beat at classical time control.

In unrated blitz I hated dull chess and would throw all caution to the wind. If i saw lively play with a promising attack could be gained with a "PawnSac" I was all in. So the general tone of our games was... I would throw everything at him but the kitchen sink, and if he could weather the storm and come out with a material plus, he would win. Whether white or black, i was the agressor.
Of course with this kind of wreckless play.. +3 -5 =2 was a typical average. But hey.. that's the price we pay for excitement and good memories.

Paul is a good player and a true blue Fischer fan with a distinct fondness the Sicilian and the London. His commentary is well tempered, and any player rated under 2000 who wishes to climb to master level will find his advice beneficial.

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