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Chess Tue, Mar 28, 1972 – Page 45 · The Ottawa Journal (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) · Newspapers.com
What Are The Odds?
In the coming match for the world championship between champion Boris Spassky and challenger Bobby Fischer, a psychological factor is the fact that in their five previous tourney games, Spassky has won three and drawn the other two. Can Fischer overcome this hazard? He believes he can and points out that Capablanca had a similar advantage over Alekhine in their 1927 match, but the latter won the title. Spassky comments, “I shall win from Fischer, but three years later, in the next championship cycle I think he will be invincible.”
The following game is the last time they met in the Olympiad at Siegen, Germany, 18 months ago. Comments, abbreviated from those by Spassky in “Soviet Union Today”:
1. d4 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 d5 4. cxd5 Nxd5 5. e4 Nxc3 6. bxc3 Bg7 7. Bc4 c5 8. Ne2 Nc6 9. Be3 O-O 10. O-O Qc7 11. Rc1 Rd8 12. h3 b6 13. f4 e6 14. Qe1 Na5 15. Bd3 f5(a) 16. g4 fxe4 17. Bxe4 Bb7 18. Ng3 Nc4 19. Bxb7 Qxb7 20. Bf2 Qc6 21. Qe2 cxd4 22. cxd4 b5 23. Ne4(b) Bxd4(c) 24. Ng5 Bxf2+ 25. Rxf2 Rd6(d) 26. Re1 Qb6 27. Ne4(e) Rd4 28. Nf6+ Kh8 29. Qxe6 Rd6(f) 30. Qe4 Rf8 31. g5 Rd2 32. Rf1 Qc7 33. Rxd2 Nxd2 34. Qd4 Rd8 35. Nd5+ Kg8 36. Rf2 Nc4 37. Re2 Rd6 38. Re8+ Kf7 39. Rf8+ 1-0
(a) The idea of this defence consists in this move. White has formed a mighty P center, while Black blocks it, restricting the range of the opposing Bs.
(b) Thanks to my routine play Fischer has succeeded in getting good prospects: White's QP and BP are weak, in any case, White is practically compelled to sacrifice a Pawn.
(c) Fischer took the P without thinking twice. Why? Because he simply loves extra Pawns, I have noticed this little weakness of his long ago. But as a matter of fact Black has a stronger move by 23. … R-KB1, so as to reply to 24. N-N5 with 24. … QR-K1, and it 25. B-K3 P-KR3; 26. N-B3 Q-K5 with superiority. Evidently 24. N-B5 is better, but also after 24. … QR-K1 Black has excellent chances. Now, however, White obtains a strong counter-attack.
(d) I think 25. … R-K1 is stronger.
(e) Compelled to cede a P, all my efforts were bent towards evening out the situation. I did not view my position as lost and, I believe, could have drawn even if Black had played his best, but unfortunately for Fischer, a situation arose wherein it was extraordinarily difficult to figure out the consequences of one or another variation. Fischer requires clarity and precision. His is an exclusively “pure” style of play, so that he feels insecure in situations that do not submit to a concrete analysis. That's what happened this time too.
(f) Possibly Fischer had gone in for this position having in mind 29. … R-Q8, but now he saw, of course, that after 30. Q-B7, RxRch; 31. K-N2 Q-B3ch; 32. K-N3 R-K6ch; 33. K-R4 RxPch; 34. KxR Q-R8ch; 35. R-R2 and White's K is free from checks, whereas his Black counterpart cannot escape the lethal danger.
Boris Spassky vs Robert James Fischer Siegen Olympiad Final-A (1970), Siegen FRG, rd 6, Sep-20 Gruenfeld Defense: Exchange. Classical Variation (D86) 1-0 https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044698
