Nicolas Rossolimo vs Bobby Fischer (1962)

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Nicolas Rossolimo vs Bobby Fischer
United States Championship (1962), New York, NY USA, rd 2, Dec-17
Sicilian Defense: Canal Attack. Main Line (B52) · 1/2-1/2

ANALYSIS [x]

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Jan-30-06		RookFile: This was a good game, Rossolimo stood up nicely against Fischer.

Aug-31-06		Fischeristhebest: 42.Ke3 Kb2 43.Kd3 Kxa2 44.Kc2 a3 45.h3 Ka1 46.Kc1 Ka2 47.Kc2 and black can't make any progress.

Jan-01-20		Telemus: The position after White's 38th move is example no. 734 in the "Encyclopedia of Chess Endings", volume on pawn endings. click for larger view I wonder what is so instructive that it is included there. It seems that Black draws with every move except those of the h-pawn, of course.

Jan-22-21		Petrosianic: The endgame is dead even, but it's the kind of game where a club player could very easily go wrong, just because Black's King gets to the center first. The position after 33...Kd4 is optimal for Black. King on d4 while White's King is pushed back to the second rank. Black begins advancing Pawns, and White would have lost if he didn't know to play 41. a4. Also to avoid any weakening pawn moves before 40. bxa3. Nick's ace in the hole after 40. bxa3 is that he has two pawn moves in reserve, while Fischer's kingside pawn structure is completely locked up. This guarantees that White will win any battle for the opposition when trying to keep Black's King bottled up on the a file after Black plays Kxa2. But the ending was always even. Nick would never have exchanged Rooks on Move 28 if he hadn't been sure of that.

Jan-22-21		Petrosianic: This is one of the foibles of the Computer Age. People think that the closer an eval is to 0.00, the easier it is to play. No, there's no relationship between those two things.

Jan-22-21		perfidious: The above explication is lost on those who lack understanding and use long posts, containing strings of analysis, and uncritically accept them as gospel.

Jan-23-21		HeMateMe: Doesn't 33.K-c3 create easier opposition for white?

Jan-23-21		Petrosianic: Kc3 does look optically better, but I think it amounts to the same thing in the end. Black will start advancing pawns and eventually play b4+. White's plan is to create a fortress by keeping the a and b pawns back and shuttling the K between d2 and e2 (can't use c2, since e3 needs guarding). The only way to breach the fortress is with a3, which wins a pawn, but leaves the K permanently stuck on the a file. It's also interesting the way the battle shifts at the end. Up to then, White had been opposing Black's King vertically, but he shifts to lateral at the very end. The opposition is a constant threat in this endgame, but it never really materializes as a factor until the very end. While White is shuttling, the opposition really doesn't matter yet. Suppose that White is hell-bent on maintaining the opposition and plays 37. h3?! instead of Ke2. 37. h3?! b4 38. h4?! a3 39. axb3 axb3 40. Ke2 (giving up the opposition temporarily) Kc3 41. Ke3 Kc2 42. Ke2 ... and the result is virtually the same as in the game, minus Black's temporary pawn sacrifice, and White's neat little a4 resource. Even if he loses the opposition, White can always seize it again the moment Black takes on a2. White doesn't even need the two h pawn moves he has in reserve, but it was always nice to know they were there.

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