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Famous Fischer game · 1992

Fischer vs. Spassky, Sveti Stefan 1992, Game 1

Twenty years after Reykjavík, Fischer returned with a win: in a Ruy Lopez at Sveti Stefan, Spassky gave up a knight for two pawns and Fischer won in 50 moves.

White
Bobby Fischer
Black
Boris Spassky
Result
1–0
Date
Event
1992 Fischer vs. Spassky rematch (unofficial)
Place
Sveti Stefan, Montenegro (then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)
Round
1
Opening
Ruy Lopez, Breyer Variation (C95)
Moves
50

Position after 19.b4

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  48. 48.
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  50. 50.

Background

Twenty years after Reykjavík, Fischer and Spassky met again in a match billed as a world championship, although it was unofficial. The first player to win ten games would take the match; draws did not count and there were no adjournments. Once a player reached five wins, play was to move from the Adriatic resort of Sveti Stefan to Belgrade. Both venues lay in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which was then under United Nations sanctions.[1][2][3]

The day before the first game, at his first press conference in twenty years, Fischer spat on a US Treasury letter warning him that playing would breach the sanctions. Game one followed on Wednesday, 2 September 1992, at the Hotel Maestral – Fischer's first public competitive game since 1972. It was also the first event played with his patented clock, which added time after every move. Fischer chose the Ruy Lopez, and Spassky answered with the Breyer Variation.[2][4][5][1]

On move 29 Spassky gave up a knight for two central pawns, but Fischer kept control, returned material with 39.Bxf4 and brought his pieces against the black king. Spassky resigned after 50.Qe5. Jeremy Silman later called the game “absolutely brilliant” and wrote that it made people whisper that the old Fischer was back. Fischer won the match with ten wins, five losses and 15 draws. In December 1992 he was indicted in the United States for allegedly violating the sanctions.[6][1][7][3][2]

More in Fischer’s story: Spassky, the Adriatic and a consequential comeback →

Key moments

  1. With 19.b4 Fischer takes the c5-square away from the black knight on d7.[1]

  2. Spassky gives up a knight for the e4-pawn. After 30.Bxe4 f5 31.Bc2 Bxd5 he has two central pawns for the piece.[1][2]

    Engine check: The DeepSquare engine (depth 22) rates 29…Nxe4 practically as strong as its first choice 29…Rcb8; evaluation afterwards: +1.5 from White’s point of view.

  3. Fischer gives back his bishop for the f4-pawn. After 39…exf4 40.Nh4 his knight heads via f5 to d4, and the queen later regains the f4-pawn (43.Qxf4).[2][1]

    Engine check: The DeepSquare engine (depth 22) prefers 39.Bb6 (+1.5 from White’s point of view); after 39.Bxf4 its evaluation is +0.7 from White’s point of view.

  4. Spassky resigned. After twenty years without a public competitive game, Fischer had won his first one.[5][4][1]

PGN

[Event "1992 Fischer vs. Spassky rematch (unofficial)"]
[Site "Sveti Stefan, Montenegro (then Federal Republic of Yugoslavia)"]
[Date "1992.09.02"]
[Round "1"]
[White "Fischer, Robert James"]
[Black "Spassky, Boris V"]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "C95"]
[PlyCount "99"]
[Source "Chess Database by Ana L. Schaigorodsky, DOI 10.6084/m9.figshare.4276523, CC BY 4.0"]

1. e4 e5 2. Nf3 Nc6 3. Bb5 a6 4. Ba4 Nf6 5. O-O Be7 6. Re1 b5 7. Bb3 d6 8. c3
O-O 9. h3 Nb8 10. d4 Nbd7 11. Nbd2 Bb7 12. Bc2 Re8 13. Nf1 Bf8 14. Ng3 g6 15.
Bg5 h6 16. Bd2 Bg7 17. a4 c5 18. d5 c4 19. b4 Nh7 20. Be3 h5 21. Qd2 Rf8 22.
Ra3 Ndf6 23. Rea1 Qd7 24. R1a2 Rfc8 25. Qc1 Bf8 26. Qa1 Qe8 27. Nf1 Be7 28.
N1d2 Kg7 29. Nb1 Nxe4 30. Bxe4 f5 31. Bc2 Bxd5 32. axb5 axb5 33. Ra7 Kf6 34.
Nbd2 Rxa7 35. Rxa7 Ra8 36. g4 hxg4 37. hxg4 Rxa7 38. Qxa7 f4 39. Bxf4 exf4 40.
Nh4 Bf7 41. Qd4+ Ke6 42. Nf5 Bf8 43. Qxf4 Kd7 44. Nd4 Qe1+ 45. Kg2 Bd5+ 46. Be4
Bxe4+ 47. Nxe4 Be7 48. Nxb5 Nf8 49. Nbxd6 Ne6 50. Qe5 1-0

About the score: The archive gives 7…d6 8.c3 O-O, the standard scores 7…O-O 8.c3 d6; after move 8 the position is the same. Place and date follow the sources (Sveti Stefan, 2 September 1992); the archive record names Belgrade without a date.[2][1]

Download PGNOpen in the game archive →

Sources

  1. Fischer–Spassky (1992 match) · Wikipedia (English) · version current on 2026-09-25
  2. 1992 Fischer - Spassky Rematch: Highlights · Mark Weeks / World Chess Championship (mark-weeks.com) · n.d.; accessed 2026-09-25
  3. Chess Champion Bobby Fischer indicted on trade violations · UPI Archives · 15 December 1992
  4. Bobby Fischer · Wikipedia (English) · version current on 2026-09-25
  5. Fischer's 19-Year-Old Companion Shares Chess Limelight · John Daniszewski, Associated Press / The Seattle Times · 1992-09-04
  6. Fischer - Spassky 1992 · Jeremy Silman / Chess.com · updated 2011-05-22; accessed 2026-09-25
  7. Chess Database — historical game records (CC BY 4.0) · Ana L. Schaigorodsky / Figshare · 2016 dataset; BobbyChess archive edition

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.