3/5/2006 – The Match of the Century took place thirty-four years ago. After losing and forfeiting the first two games Fischer obliterated Spassky 6.5-1.5 in the next eight, only to be stopped in his tracks in game 11, when Spassky crushed his Poisoned Pawn. The critical encounter was game 13, which our Playchess lectureer Dennis Monokroussos will discuss in his Monday night lecture.
Once upon a time, chess showed up on the world's radar. The year was 1972, and the occasion the World Championship match between the champion, the USSR's Boris Spassky, and his American challenger, Bobby Fischer. The match served as a convenient metaphor for writers looking to make geopolitical points, but it was first and foremost a chess match.
A great match, which can be viewed, informally, as a series of mini-matches. The first comprised games 1 and 2: Fischer's infamous 29...Bxh2? (and succeeding errors) in game 1 cost him a loss in what had been a normally dead drawn ending; then, in game 2, he simply no-showed.
Yet despite the favorable situation on the scoreboard, Spassky was rattled by Fischer's shenanigans and was obliterated over the next 8 games, getting outscored by a fearful 6.5-1.5 margin. If we take that to be the second mini-match, then the third began in game 11, when Spassky crushed Fischer's Poisoned Pawn variation and pulled to 4.5-6.5 overall. A draw ensued in game 12, and thus game 13 was a big moment for Spassky. He had stopped Fischer's momentum and had the chance to narrow his opponent's lead to a single point.
What happened? Come and see, this Monday night at 9 pm on ChessBase's playchess server – and perhaps the next Monday as well. The game was long, gripping affair with both players producing unusual and brilliant ideas throughout the course of the marathon's 74 moves. It's a game with more than a bit of everything, and one that shouldn't be missed!