chessgames.com
Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players · Kibitzing

Robert James Fischer
Fischer 
The Championship Season: Bobby Fischer in 1972.  

Number of games in database: 1,101
Years covered: 1953 to 1992
Last FIDE rating: 2780
Highest rating achieved in database: 2785
Overall record: +432 -87 =248 (72.5%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games in the database. 334 exhibition games, blitz/rapid, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 Sicilian (202) 
    B90 B32 B88 B44 B77
 Ruy Lopez (128) 
    C92 C69 C95 C98 C97
 French Defense (80) 
    C19 C18 C11 C16 C10
 Ruy Lopez, Closed (79) 
    C92 C95 C98 C97 C89
 Caro-Kann (52) 
    B11 B10 B18 B13 B14
 French Winawer (47) 
    C19 C18 C16 C15 C17
With the Black pieces:
 Sicilian (126) 
    B92 B99 B90 B97 B93
 King's Indian (117) 
    E80 E62 E97 E60 E67
 Sicilian Najdorf (83) 
    B92 B99 B90 B97 B93
 Nimzo Indian (23) 
    E45 E46 E40 E43 E34
 Grunfeld (20) 
    D86 D79 D98 D80 D85
 English (18) 
    A16 A15 A10 A19
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   D Byrne vs Fischer, 1956 0-1
   R Byrne vs Fischer, 1963 0-1
   Fischer vs Spassky, 1972 1-0
   Fischer vs Benko, 1963 1-0
   Fischer vs Myagmarsuren, 1967 1-0
   Fischer vs Fine, 1963 1-0
   Fischer vs Petrosian, 1971 1-0
   Letelier vs Fischer, 1960 0-1
   Fischer vs Tal, 1961 1-0
   Fischer vs Panno, 1970 1-0

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: [what is this?]
   Spassky - Fischer World Championship Match (1972)

NOTABLE TOURNAMENTS: [what is this?]
   Stockholm Interzonal (1962)
   US Championship 1963/64 (1963)
   Havana Olympiad Final-A (1966)
   Solidarity Tournament (1967)
   Rovinj / Zagreb (1970)
   Palma de Mallorca Interzonal (1970)
   Vinkovci (1968)
   Buenos Aires (1970)
   Netanya (1968)
   Fischer - Spassky (1992)
   Mar del Plata (1960)
   Bled (1961)
   Zuerich (1959)
   Havana (1965)
   Bled-Zagreb-Belgrade Candidates (1959)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   -ER RJF by fredthebear
   1964 Fischer simul exhibition tour by gauer
   Fischer vs The Russians by wanabe2000
   Match Fischer! by dwinco
   Match Fischer! by amadeus
   Bobby Fischer: Selected Games from 1955-1992 by rpn4
   Bobby Fischer: Selected Games from 1955-1992 by rpn4
   Bobby Fischer: Selected Games from 1955-1992 by Sergio X Garcia
   Bobby Fischer: Selected Games from 1955-1992 by igiene
   Bobby Fischer: Selected Games from 1955-1992 by wanabe2000
   Bobby Fischer: Selected Games from 1955-1992 by fernando.laroca
   0ZeR0's Favorite Games Volume 31 by 0ZeR0
   Bjelica_125 by Gottschalk
   book: Russians versus Fischer by Baby Hawk

GAMES ANNOTATED BY FISCHER: [what is this?]
   Petrosian vs Pachman, 1961
   Unzicker vs Fischer, 1962
   Fischer vs Bolbochan, 1962
   Korchnoi vs Fischer, 1970
   Zukertort vs Steinitz, 1886
   >> 16 GAMES ANNOTATED BY FISCHER


Search Sacrifice Explorer for Robert James Fischer
Search Google for Robert James Fischer

ROBERT JAMES FISCHER
(born Mar-09-1943, died Jan-17-2008, 64 years old) United States of America (federation/nationality Iceland)

[what is this?]

Robert James ("Bobby") Fischer was a chess prodigy born on March 9, 1943 in Chicago.

At 13, he won the stunning brilliancy D Byrne vs Fischer, 1956, which Hans Kmoch christened "The Game of the Century." At 14, he won the United States Championship (1957/58), making him the youngest U.S. Champion ever.

Fischer's victory qualified him for the Portoroz Interzonal (1958). He tied for 5th-6th, which sufficed to advance him to the Candidates Tournament to decide the challenger to World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik. This made the 15-year-old Fischer the youngest candidate for the World Championship. It also made him the youngest grandmaster ever - a record that stood until Judit Polgar broke it in 1991. At the Bled-Zagreb-Belgrade Candidates (1959), Fischer finished fifth out of eight, the top non-Soviet player.

Fischer won the US Championship all eight times he played, in each case by at least a point. In the US Championship (1963/64) he achieved the only perfect score (11-0) in the history of the tournament.

Fischer won the Stockholm Interzonal (1962) 2½ points ahead of Efim Geller and Tigran Petrosian. This made him a favorite to win the Curacao Candidates (1962), but he only finished fourth, behind Petrosian, Geller, and Paul Keres. In a famous article in Sports Illustrated magazine, The Russians Have Fixed World Chess, he accused the Soviets of cheating: Petrosian, Geller, and Keres had drawn all 12 of the games among themselves at Curacao, most of them quickly.

Because of this, Fischer refused to play in the next Candidates cycle. He did play in the Sousse Interzonal (1967), but left it while leading, because of a scheduling dispute occasioned by Fischer's refusal to play on Saturday, his Sabbath.

He won the Palma de Mallorca Interzonal (1970) by a record 3½ points. The following year, he shocked the chess world by sweeping the Fischer - Taimanov Candidates Quarterfinal (1971) and Fischer - Larsen Candidates Semifinal (1971) by identical 6-0 scores, the only perfect scores in the history of the Candidates Matches.

Fischer also won the first game of the Fischer - Petrosian Candidates Final (1971) against former World Champion Tigran Petrosian, giving him a modern record of 20 consecutive wins at the highest level of competition. He won the match by 6½-2½ to advance to the World Championship match against reigning champion Boris Spassky. This also gave him a FIDE rating of 2785, making him at that time the highest-rated player in history.

In Reykjavik, he won the Spassky - Fischer World Championship Match (1972) by 12½-8½ to become the 11th World Chess Champion. In 1975, Fischer forfeited his title after FIDE refused to meet his conditions for a World Championship match with Anatoly Karpov. He then virtually disappeared from the public eye for nearly 20 years.

After ending his competitive career, he proposed a new variant of chess and a modified chess timing system. His idea of adding a time increment after each move is now standard, and his variant "Fischerandom" (or "Chess960") is gaining in popularity.(2)

Fischer resurfaced in 1992 to play a match against his old rival Spassky in Yugoslavia. Fischer won Fischer - Spassky (1992) 10-5 with 15 draws. The United States considered that Fischer, in playing this match in Yugoslavia, violated U.S. Treasury Department regulations that forbade transacting business with Yugoslavia. Fischer evaded authorities for twelve years until July 13, 2004, when he was arrested in Japan. On March 22, 2005, he was granted Icelandic citizenship and finally freed from Japan. He died of renal failure in Iceland on January 17, 2008 at the age of 64. Gravestone photo: http://www.sjakkfantomet.no/wp-cont....

Fischer's anthology, My 60 Memorable Games, was published in 1969. It has been described as a "classic of objective and painstaking analysis,"1 and is regarded as one of the greats of chess literature.

(1) Hooper & Whyld. The Oxford Companion to Chess. 1992

(2) Wikipedia article: Bobby Fischer

(3) User: jessicafischerqueen 's YouTube documentary of Fischer http://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Last updated: 2025-03-27 21:53:15

Try our new games table.

 page 1 of 45; games 1-25 of 1,101  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves YearEvent/LocaleOpening
1. D Mayers vs Fischer 1-0171953Blitz gameC33 King's Gambit Accepted
2. J Altusky vs Fischer 0-181954Offhand gameC71 Ruy Lopez
3. Fischer vs J Altusky 1-0121954Offhand gameE90 King's Indian
4. A W Conger vs Fischer 1-0121955corrE70 King's Indian
5. Fischer vs S Greene ½-½111955US Amateur ChB77 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack
6. A Humphrey vs Fischer ½-½331955US Amateur ChE61 King's Indian
7. Fischer vs K Warner 0-1281955Lincoln ch-US jrB58 Sicilian
8. W Whisler vs Fischer ½-½251955Lincoln ch-US jrE80 King's Indian, Samisch Variation
9. J Thomason vs Fischer 0-1231955Lincoln ch-US jrE90 King's Indian
10. Fischer vs D Ames ½-½281955Lincoln ch-US jrC47 Four Knights
11. Fischer vs V Pupols 0-1441955Lincoln ch-US jrC40 King's Knight Opening
12. Fischer vs F Saksena 1-0221955Lincoln ch-US jrC53 Giuoco Piano
13. Fischer vs M Pavey 0-1521956Manhattan CC chA07 King's Indian Attack
14. J Tamargo vs Fischer 0-1401956Manhattan CC chB22 Sicilian, Alapin
15. A Turner vs Fischer 1-0531956Manhattan Chess Club Semifinal BE68 King's Indian, Fianchetto, Classical Variation, 8.e4
16. Fischer vs K Vine ½-½361956Manhattan Chess Club Semifinal BB32 Sicilian
17. Fischer vs S Baron 1-0531956Manhattan Chess Club Semifinal BC98 Ruy Lopez, Closed, Chigorin
18. Pat Smith vs Fischer 0-1231956Casual gameC48 Four Knights
19. Fischer vs I Spector 1-0351956Casual gameB95 Sicilian, Najdorf, 6...e6
20. J R Florido vs Fischer 0-1261956Capablanca CC - Log Cabin mC50 Giuoco Piano
21. Fischer vs J A Casado ½-½481956Simul, 12bB32 Sicilian
22. A Jenkins vs Fischer 0-1181956North Carolina - Log Cabin CC mB20 Sicilian
23. Fischer vs J Fermoselle-Bacardi Sr 1-0281956US Amateur chA04 Reti Opening
24. Fischer vs E Nash 0-1511956US Amateur chA05 Reti Opening
25. R Riegler vs Fischer 0-1341956US Amateur chB20 Sicilian
 page 1 of 45; games 1-25 of 1,101  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Fischer wins | Fischer loses  

Kibitzer's Corner
ARCHIVED POSTS
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2009 OF 2111 ·  Later Kibitzing>
Dec-26-14  ljfyffe: I remember playing, as Black, 1e4 d6 4d4 Nf6 3Nc3 g6 4 Bc4 c5 5dxc5, and my opponent later asking me why I didn't play 5...dxc5. You have to play the board!
Dec-26-14
Premium Chessgames Member
  perfidious: <ljfyffe> Sometimes that is not a bad idea. (wink)
Dec-26-14  ljfyffe: 1e5 c5 2Nf3 d6 3d4 cxd4 4Nxd4 Nf6 5Nc3 g6
6Be3 Ng4 7Bb5+ is a sequence White can hope for.
Dec-26-14  ljfyffe: Fischer-Benko 1959 went: 1e4 c5 2Nf3 Nc6 3d4 cxd4 4Nxd4 Nf6 5Nc3 d6 6Bc4 Qb6 7Nde2 e6 80-0 Be7 9Bb3 0-0 10Kh1 Na5 11Bg5 Qc5 12f4 b5 13Ng3.
Dec-26-14  diceman: <ljfyffe: I remember playing, as Black, 1e4 d6 4d4 Nf6 3Nc3 g6 4 Bc4 c5 5dxc5, and my opponent later asking me why I didn't play 5...dxc5. You have to play the board!>

5...dxc5 would be playing bored!

Dec-26-14  ljfyffe: <diceman)Well you'll just have to perk up!
Dec-26-14  Oliveira: <Quote of the Day

"Sometimes girls write me. One girl in Yugoslavia sent me a whole slew of love letters. I don't know how she got my address. She was in a crowd watching me play. She says when I left there the stars fell out of the sky over Yugoslavia, or something like that."

--- Bobby Fischer>

Source: Harper's Magazine, January 1962. Available at http://bobbyfischer.net/bobby04.html.

Dec-26-14  ljfyffe: <Re:Fischer-Benko>6Bc4 e6 70-0 Be7 Bb3 0-0 9Be3 Bd7 10f4 Nxd4 11Bxd4 Bc6
12Qe2 b5 13 Nx b5 e5 14fxe5 dxe5 15Be3 a6 16Nc3 Nxe4 17Rxf7 Fischer- Nievergelt 1959.
Dec-26-14  lamont: ###
Jim Bartle ~

Politeness 101:
Asking anyone a question
w/ a challenging w/ "How about..."

puts a serrated edge
on the question to follow.

Dint yr/ English teacher teach you
nuthin' about 'Tone' ??

On Dec/26 I told john barleycorn that
"Youre right: I shda sd Latin America."

I admitted that I had erred.
I already gave a 'clear answer'.
Dont you get Internet where you live ??

Do you ever rise high enuf to apologize ??

Dec-26-14  Jim Bartle: How polite were you to answer my original, mild correction with "figure again, then"? Especially as it was you who had figured wrong?

No apology merited.

Dec-26-14  ljfyffe: Outside the America's there be Ascension Island and Christmas Island....not countries, and named after days.
Dec-26-14  ljfyffe: And, of course, there is Fisher Island, Florida....to get back on topic ..sort of.
Dec-26-14  diceman: <Oliveira:
Source: Harper's Magazine, January 1962>

...from the same article:

<BOBBY came to my office in midtown Manhattan last August 25. The date had been made for the day before at three o'clock, but at four he had phoned to say that he just didn't feel like coming. When he did appear, he was again an hour late. Without knocking, he flung open the door, strode halfway across the room, and greeted me with the words, "Hey, do you have some food up here or something?" I said I would phone for some food and asked what he wanted.

"A turkey white meat on rye, two celery sodas, some tea, and a couple plums," he said.>

Celery soda???
I guess that's the key to breaking 2700.

Dec-26-14  lamont: ###

Jim Bartle ~

It was TheFocus, not I, who sd to you:
"Figure again, then" !! !!

Yr delirium bears all the symptoms
of a tertiary spirochete infection.

You have just made
Schmuck of the Month.

(Consider yr testes b-b-busted !!

You

Dec-26-14  Jim Bartle: Oh Christ, my error! I apologize.
Dec-26-14  lamont: ###

Oliveira ~

Yr Quote of the Day is a heart-breaker.

He was so all alone.

He never really had the healing
human touch of another.

Dec-26-14  lamont: ###

ljfyffe ~

The best 'on-topic' island is
Fischers Island, N.Y.
in Long island Sound.

Dec-26-14  lamont: ###

diceman ~

In Jewish delis in NY there is a Dr. Brown
soda (which existed before Dr. Pepper.
The good Dr. has cream (vanilla), cherry,&&& a celery soda spelt Cel-ray.

(See my Profile)

Bobby simply wanted 2 Dr.Brown Cel-ray sodas.

Sometimes it takes a NYer
to translate a NYer.

Dec-26-14  ljfyffe: <lamont>good point ....I was unaware of the NY island. Or even that it was named after Bobby!
Dec-26-14  lamont: ###

Jim Bartle ~

OK... Not only do I accept yr apology,
but I withdraw the Schmuck of the Month.

&&& I withdraw the spirochete spirillums.

So letz just drop a few shekels in the
Salvation Army bucket & call it a year.

Dec-26-14  Jim Bartle: I really did think you made that comment, and everything followed from that.
Dec-26-14  ljfyffe: There's Bobby Island, Utah.
Dec-26-14  diceman: <lamont: ###
Sometimes it takes a NYer
to translate a NYer.>

Thanks for the clarification.

While Flatbush Ave was my old "stomping ground" at that time, I was too young to go out without adult supervision.

Ironically, when my family left NY,
(at my ripe old age of about 8 years old) my new neighbor was named Bobby Fisher!

Dec-27-14  lamont: ###

lifytte ~

Utah !! ?? Douse yr/self w/ ice, babe ...

If it aint in NY itz Nowheresville.

Dec-27-14  lamont: ###

diceman ~

Flatbush Avenue wss the Champs Elysees
of Brooklyn.

Erasmus High on Flatbush Ave is where Bobby met Barbra (then Barbara) Streisand who lunched w/ him every day & had a crush on him, but he got more enjoyment from his Mad Comic Books. Another friend, Neil Diamond was in their Spanish class.

Bobby took Spanish to read Capa commentary in the original.

The Kid won his U.S. Championship (aetat. 14) whilst still in Erasmus...then dropped out... & entered the realm of Legend.

UPDATE:
Flatbush Av is not Jewish anymore, but has been Hatiin for many years, bright colored dress & many bars w/ tropical drinks & endless fesive music. JOY abounds making hips move...

The Queen of American poetry Ms. Marianne Moore lived for years near downtown Brooklyn, at 260 Cumberland Av where I cycled over to interview her for critic Hugh Kenner in SBUC.

When the neighborhood changed, M.M. moved to the Village & sold a goldmine of her books to the Phoenix Bk/Store in the Village.

My Alma Mater Brooklyn College on Flatbush Ave went from mostly Jewish to hateful Palestinians pushing for BDS vs. Israel. The Jewish Hillel group is no more than a dried fig leaf now.

But I had seen The Brooklyn I knew & Bobby knew at itz zenith.

When i retired to Acapulco w/ my wife Beatrice for 16 years, until she died of cancer in 2004... & moved to San Antonio. The Drug Lords have destroyed The Acaville i knew, scaring all the gold-bar tourists away & turning it into a wk/end town for people from Mexico City.Now itz just a paradise of tinsel.

"The only thing wrong with Progress, is that
is is going forward instead of backward."
~ Oscar Fingal O'Flahertie Wills Wilde, of blessed memory. as the rabbies traditionally say.

Jump to page #    (enter # from 1 to 2111)
search thread:   
ARCHIVED POSTS
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 2009 OF 2111 ·  Later Kibitzing>

NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion.

Please observe our posting guidelines:

  1. No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language.
  2. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts.
  3. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members.
  4. Nothing in violation of United States law.
  5. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members.
  6. No trolling.
  7. The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited.
  8. Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers.

Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times.

Blow the Whistle

See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator.


NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific player only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors.
All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration.

Spot an error? Please suggest your correction and help us eliminate database mistakes!
Home | About | Login | Logout | F.A.Q. | Profile | Preferences | Premium Membership | Kibitzer's Café | Biographer's Bistro | New Kibitzing | Chessforums | Tournament Index | Player Directory | Notable Games | World Chess Championships | Opening Explorer | Guess the Move | Game Collections | ChessBookie Game | Chessgames Challenge | Store | Privacy Notice | Contact Us

Copyright 2001-2025, Chessgames Services LLC