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Famous Fischer game · 1972

Spassky vs. Fischer, Reykjavík 1972, Game 13

After losing game 11, Fischer switched to Alekhine's Defence. The game became a long ending in which his rook was shut in on g8 while his passed pawns decided it; the score was then 8–5.

White
Boris Spassky
Black
Bobby Fischer
Result
0–1
Date
Event
1972 World Chess Championship (Spassky vs. Fischer)
Place
Laugardalshöll, Reykjavík, Iceland
Round
13
Opening
Alekhine's Defence, Modern Variation (B04)
Moves
74

Position after 1…Nf6

  1. 1.
  2. 2.
  3. 3.
  4. 4.
  5. 5.
  6. 6.
  7. 7.
  8. 8.
  9. 9.
  10. 10.
  11. 11.
  12. 12.
  13. 13.
  14. 14.
  15. 15.
  16. 16.
  17. 17.
  18. 18.
  19. 19.
  20. 20.
  21. 21.
  22. 22.
  23. 23.
  24. 24.
  25. 25.
  26. 26.
  27. 27.
  28. 28.
  29. 29.
  30. 30.
  31. 31.
  32. 32.
  33. 33.
  34. 34.
  35. 35.
  36. 36.
  37. 37.
  38. 38.
  39. 39.
  40. 40.
  41. 41.
  42. 42.
  43. 43.
  44. 44.
  45. 45.
  46. 46.
  47. 47.
  48. 48.
  49. 49.
  50. 50.
  51. 51.
  52. 52.
  53. 53.
  54. 54.
  55. 55.
  56. 56.
  57. 57.
  58. 58.
  59. 59.
  60. 60.
  61. 61.
  62. 62.
  63. 63.
  64. 64.
  65. 65.
  66. 66.
  67. 67.
  68. 68.
  69. 69.
  70. 70.
  71. 71.
  72. 72.
  73. 73.
  74. 74.

Background

Spassky had won the eleventh game in a sharp Sicilian, and after the twelfth Fischer led 7–5. In the thirteenth game, begun on 10 August, Fischer avoided the Sicilian and chose Alekhine's Defence for the first time in the match. Smyslov noted in 64 that the opening had appeared in Fischer's repertoire before, though rarely. After an early pawn sacrifice by Spassky the game swung back and forth, with mistakes on both sides.[1][2][3][4]

The game was adjourned after Black's 41st move, with Spassky sealing 42.Kg3. The Soviet team's analysis suggested a draw, and Fischer analysed through the night without finding a clear win. When play resumed on 11 August, an extraordinary ending arose: Fischer's rook was shut in on g8 by White's bishop and g7-pawn, while his five passed pawns fought against White's rook and bishop.[1][3][5]

Spassky could still have drawn with 69.Rc3+, but after 69.Rd1+ the pawns decided, and he resigned after 74…f2. The score was now 8–5 with eleven games to go. Spassky's seconds were stunned, and Botvinnik later called the game Fischer's “highest creative achievement”. It was Fischer's last win before a run of seven draws that carried him ever closer to the title.[1][5][3][4]

Key moments

  1. After losing the eleventh game with the Sicilian, Fischer chooses Alekhine's Defence for the first time in the match.[1][3]

  2. White's bishop protects the g7-pawn, so Black's rook must stay on g8 to stop it from promoting – it is shut in and stays there until move 71. In return Black has five passed pawns, on a2, b4, c4, f5 and h3.[1][5]

    Engine check: The DeepSquare engine (depth 22) also chooses 61.Bf8 here; evaluation afterwards: −3.0 from White’s point of view.

  3. Fischer promotes only to have the new queen captured: after 65.Rxh1 the h-pawn is gone, but Black's king can march to the centre to escort the remaining pawns. Smyslov showed that 64…f4 would not have achieved this.[1]

  4. The decisive mistake. Smyslov showed that 69.Rc3+ would have held the draw; after 69…Ke2 the f-pawn advanced, and Spassky resigned five moves later.[1][3][5]

    Engine check: The DeepSquare engine (depth 22) prefers 69.Rc3+ (0.0 from White’s point of view); after 69.Rd1+ its evaluation is −5.8 from White’s point of view.

PGN

[Event "1972 World Chess Championship (Spassky vs. Fischer)"]
[Site "Laugardalshöll, Reykjavík, Iceland"]
[Date "1972.08.10"]
[Round "13"]
[White "Spassky, Boris V"]
[Black "Fischer, Robert James"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "B04"]
[PlyCount "148"]
[Source "Chess Database by Ana L. Schaigorodsky, DOI 10.6084/m9.figshare.4276523, CC BY 4.0"]

1. e4 Nf6 2. e5 Nd5 3. d4 d6 4. Nf3 g6 5. Bc4 Nb6 6. Bb3 Bg7 7. Nbd2 O-O 8. h3
a5 9. a4 dxe5 10. dxe5 Na6 11. O-O Nc5 12. Qe2 Qe8 13. Ne4 Nbxa4 14. Bxa4 Nxa4
15. Re1 Nb6 16. Bd2 a4 17. Bg5 h6 18. Bh4 Bf5 19. g4 Be6 20. Nd4 Bc4 21. Qd2
Qd7 22. Rad1 Rfe8 23. f4 Bd5 24. Nc5 Qc8 25. Qc3 e6 26. Kh2 Nd7 27. Nd3 c5 28.
Nb5 Qc6 29. Nd6 Qxd6 30. exd6 Bxc3 31. bxc3 f6 32. g5 hxg5 33. fxg5 f5 34. Bg3
Kf7 35. Ne5+ Nxe5 36. Bxe5 b5 37. Rf1 Rh8 38. Bf6 a3 39. Rf4 a2 40. c4 Bxc4 41.
d7 Bd5 42. Kg3 Ra3+ 43. c3 Rha8 44. Rh4 e5 45. Rh7+ Ke6 46. Re7+ Kd6 47. Rxe5
Rxc3+ 48. Kf2 Rc2+ 49. Ke1 Kxd7 50. Rexd5+ Kc6 51. Rd6+ Kb7 52. Rd7+ Ka6 53.
R7d2 Rxd2 54. Kxd2 b4 55. h4 Kb5 56. h5 c4 57. Ra1 gxh5 58. g6 h4 59. g7 h3 60.
Be7 Rg8 61. Bf8 h2 62. Kc2 Kc6 63. Rd1 b3+ 64. Kc3 h1=Q 65. Rxh1 Kd5 66. Kb2 f4
67. Rd1+ Ke4 68. Rc1 Kd3 69. Rd1+ Ke2 70. Rc1 f3 71. Bc5 Rxg7 72. Rxc4 Rd7 73.
Re4+ Kf1 74. Bd4 f2 0-1

Download PGNOpen in the game archive →

Sources

  1. Spassky–Fischer, thirteenth match-game, World Championship, Reykjavik 1972: contemporary annotations · Vasily Smyslov, 64 no.33 (1972); translated by Douglas Griffin, with notes citing Timman · 1972; translation published 2018
  2. World Championship match, Reykjavik 1972: PGN game file (wc1972-wch.pgn) · OlimpBase · n.d.; accessed 2026-09-25
  3. World Chess Championship 1972 · Wikipedia (English), summarising Gligorić (1972), Evans & Smith (1973), Brady and others · version current on 2026-09-25
  4. World Championship match, Reykjavik 1972: results and regulations · OlimpBase · n.d.; accessed 2026-09-14
  5. Bobby Fischer Wins A Chaotic Brilliancy · Nathaniel Green / Chess.com · updated 2024-08-25; 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.