Bobby Fischer – Reuben Fine, New York 1963: an Evans Gambit in 17 moves

Background

Reuben Fine was one of the world’s strongest players from the mid-1930s until he gave up competitive chess in 1951; at AVRO 1938 he shared first place with Paul Keres, ahead of Botvinnik, Alekhine, Euwe and Capablanca. He declined his invitation to the 1948 world championship tournament and later pointed to his work in psychology. By 1963 Fine played only casually. That year he met Fischer, the reigning US champion, in several friendly games in New York; this Evans Gambit is one of them.[1][2][3][6]

The Evans Gambit is named after the Welsh sea captain William Davies Evans; the first known game with it was played in 1827. White gives up the b-pawn so that c2–c3 and d2–d4 follow with gain of time against the black bishop. Fine accepted and, with 6…exd4 and 7…dxc3, took three pawns in all. Fischer won one back on c3 and used his lead in development against the uncastled black king, which had to go to d8 after 16.Rfe1+. After 17.Qg3 Fine resigned.[3][4]

Gambits were part of Fischer’s repertoire at the time. In round two of the 1963/64 US Championship he beat Larry Evans with the King’s Gambit, and Eliot Hearst wrote in Chess Life that Fischer’s opponents now also had to guess which gambit he might choose. Fischer himself said he varied his openings to keep opponents guessing and to avoid prepared analysis. He later included one of his 1963 friendly games against Fine in My 60 Memorable Games (1969).[5][6][1]

Key moments

1. 4.b4

   The Evans Gambit. White offers the b-pawn; after 4…Bxb4 5.c3 the bishop is attacked again, and 6.d4 builds a centre with gain of time.[3]

2. 14.h4

   Another pawn offer. Until now the queen on g5 guarded g7; after 14…Qxh4 it no longer does, and 15.Bxg7 wins the pawn with an attack on the rook on h8.[4]

   Engine check: The DeepSquare engine (depth 22) rates 14.h4 practically as strong as its first choice 14.Rae1+; evaluation afterwards: +4.3 from White’s point of view.

3. 17.Qg3

   The final move. The black queen on h4 is attacked, and 17…Qxg3 would allow 18.Bf6 mate: bishop and rook cover e7 and e8, while Black’s own pieces block c7, c8 and d7. Fine resigned.[4][3][7]

   Engine check: The DeepSquare engine (depth 22) rates 17.Qg3 practically as strong as its first choice 17.Qb2; evaluation afterwards: mate in 10 for White.

PGN

[Event "Casual game"]
[Site "New York"]
[Date "1963.??.??"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Fischer, Robert James"]
[Black "Fine, Reuben"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C52"]
[PlyCount "33"]
[Source "Chess Database by Ana L. Schaigorodsky, DOI 10.6084/m9.figshare.4276523, CC BY 4.0"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bc4 Bc5 4. b4 Bxb4 5. c3 Ba5 6. d4 exd4 7. O-O dxc3 8.
Qb3 Qe7 9. Nxc3 Nf6 10. Nd5 Nxd5 11. exd5 Ne5 12. Nxe5 Qxe5 13. Bb2 Qg5 14. h4
Qxh4 15. Bxg7 Rg8 16. Rfe1+ Kd8 17. Qg3 1-0

Download PGNOpen in the game archive →

Sources

1. Reuben Fine · Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-25
2. Reuben Fine (feature article, incl. C.N. 6091 on the 1948 world championship) · Edward Winter / Chess Notes · undated feature article; accessed 2026-09-25
3. Evans Gambit · Wikipedia · accessed 2026-09-25
4. Reuben Fine: player page and game list (Fischer–Fine, 1963, 1-0, 17 moves) · Chess.com · accessed 2026-09-25
5. Fischer Sweeps U.S. Championship (report, crosstable and round results) · J. F. Reinhardt / Chess Life, United States Chess Federation · 1964-01
6. U.S. Championship games (round ten) and Eliot Hearst, “Fischer the Invincible” · Chess Life, United States Chess Federation · 1964-02
7. Fischer.pgn – player collection of Bobby Fischer's games (Fischer–Fine, New York 1963, C52, 1-0 in 17 moves) · PGN Mentor · accessed 2026-09-25

Game data: Chess Database by Ana L. Schaigorodsky, DOI 10.6084/m9.figshare.4276523, licensed under CC BY 4.0; selected and converted to PGN for BobbyChess.