The Game of the Century is a chess game that was won by the 13-year-old future

world champion A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Bobby Fischer Robert James Fischer (March 9, 1943January 17, 2008) was an American chess grandmaster and the eleventh World Chess Champion. A chess prodigy, he won his first of a record eight US Championships at the age of 14. In 1964, he won with an 11� ...

against

Donald Byrne Donald Byrne (June 12, 1930 – April 8, 1976) was an American university professor and chess player. He held the title International Master, and competed for his country in the Chess Olympiad on several occasions. Biography Born in New York Cit ...

in the Rosenwald Memorial Tournament at the

Marshall Chess Club The Marshall Chess Club, in Greenwich Village, New York City, is one of the oldest chess clubs in the United States. The club was formed in 1915 by a group of players led by Frank Marshall. It is a nonprofit organization and a gold affiliate o ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on October 17, 1956. In ''

Chess Review ''Chess Review'' was a U.S. chess magazine published from January 1933 to October 1969 (Volume 37 Number 10). Until April 1941 it was called ''The Chess Review''. Published in New York, it began on a schedule of at least ten issues a year but lat ...

'',

Hans Kmoch Johann "Hans" Joseph Kmoch (July 25, 1894, Vienna – February 13, 1973, New York City) was an Austrian-Dutch-American chess International Master (1950), International Arbiter (1951), and a chess journalist and author, for which he is best known. ...

dubbed it "The Game of the Century" and wrote: "The following game, a stunning masterpiece of play performed by a boy of 13 against a formidable opponent, matches the finest on record in the history of chess prodigies."

Background

Donald Byrne (1930–1976) was one of the leading American

chess master A chess title is a title regulated by a chess governing body and bestowed upon players based on their performance and rank. Such titles are usually granted for life. The international chess governing body FIDE grants several titles, the most pres ...

s at the time of this game. He won the 1953 U.S. Open Championship, and represented the United States in the 1962, 1964, and 1968

Chess Olympiad The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams representing nations of the world compete. FIDE organises the tournament and selects the host nation. Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, FIDE held an Online Chess Olympiad in 2020 and ...

s. He became an

International Master FIDE titles are awarded by the international chess governing body FIDE (''Fédération Internationale des Échecs'') for outstanding performance. The highest such title is Grandmaster (GM). Titles generally require a combination of Elo rating and ...

in 1962, and probably would have risen further if not for ill health. Bobby Fischer (1943–2008) was at this time a promising junior facing one of his first real tests against master-level opposition. His overall performance in the tournament was mediocre, but he soon had a meteoric rise, winning the 1957 U.S. Open on

tiebreaks In games and sports, a tiebreaker or tiebreak is used to determine a winner from among players or teams that are tied at the end of a contest, or a set of contests. General operation In matches In some situations, the tiebreaker may consi ...

, winning the 1957–58 U.S. (Closed) Championship (and all seven later championships in which he played), qualifying for the

Candidates Tournament The Candidates Tournament (or in some periods Candidates Matches) is a chess tournament organized by FIDE, chess's international governing body, since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. The wi ...

and becoming in 1958 the world's youngest grandmaster at age 15. He won the world championship in 1972, and is considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. In this game, Fischer (playing

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

) demonstrates noteworthy innovation and improvisation. Byrne (playing

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

), after a standard

opening Opening may refer to: * Al-Fatiha, "The Opening", the first chapter of the Qur'an * The Opening (album), live album by Mal Waldron * Backgammon opening * Chess opening * A title sequence or opening credits * , a term from contract bridge * , ...

, makes a seemingly minor mistake on move 11, losing a

tempo In musical terminology, tempo (Italian, 'time'; plural ''tempos'', or ''tempi'' from the Italian plural) is the speed or pace of a given piece. In classical music, tempo is typically indicated with an instruction at the start of a piece (often ...

by moving the same piece twice. Fischer pounces with brilliant

sacrificial Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly ex ...

play, culminating in a

queen sacrifice In chess, a queen sacrifice is a move that sacrifices a queen in return for some compensation, such as a tactical or positional advantage. Queen sacrifice: real versus sham In his book ''The Art of Sacrifice in Chess'', Rudolf Spielmann distin ...

on move 17. Byrne captures the queen, but Fischer gets copious material for it – a

rook Rook (''Corvus frugilegus'') is a bird of the corvid family. Rook or rooks may also refer to: Games *Rook (chess), a piece in chess *Rook (card game), a trick-taking card game Military * Sukhoi Su-25 or Rook, a close air support aircraft * USS ...

, two

bishops A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, and a

pawn Pawn most often refers to: * Pawn (chess), the weakest and most numerous piece in the game * Pawnbroker or pawnshop, a business that provides loans by taking personal property as collateral Pawn may also refer to: Places * Pawn, Oregon, an his ...

. At the end, Fischer's pieces coordinate to , while Byrne's queen sits useless on the other side of the board.

The game

White: Donald Byrne Black: Bobby Fischer

Opening Opening may refer to: * Al-Fatiha, "The Opening", the first chapter of the Qur'an * The Opening (album), live album by Mal Waldron * Backgammon opening * Chess opening * A title sequence or opening credits * , a term from contract bridge * , ...

Grünfeld Defence The Grünfeld Defence is a chess opening characterised by the moves: :1. d4 Nf6 :2. c4 g6 :3. Nc3 d5 Black offers White the possibility of 4.cxd5, which may be followed by 4...Nxd5 and 5.e4, giving White an imposing central pawn duo. If Whi ...

('' ECO'' D92) 1. Nf3 :A noncommittal move by Byrne. From here, the game can develop into a number of different openings. 1... Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 :Fischer defends based on " hypermodern" principles, inviting Byrne to establish a classical pawn stronghold in the , which Fischer intends to target and undermine with his

fianchetto In chess, the fianchetto ( or ; "little flank") is a pattern of wherein a bishop is developed to the second rank of the adjacent b- or g-, the having been moved one or two squares forward. The fianchetto is a staple of many " hypermodern" ...

ed bishop and other pieces. 4. d4 0-0 :Fischer

castles A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified ...

, bringing his king to safety. The Black move 4...d5 would have reached the Grünfeld Defence immediately. After Fischer's 4...0-0, Byrne could have played 5.e4, whereupon 5...d6 6.Be2 e5 reaches the main line of the

King's Indian Defense The King's Indian Defence is a common chess opening. It is defined by the following moves: :1. d4 Nf6 :2. c4 g6 Black intends to follow up with 3...Bg7 and 4...d6 (the Grünfeld Defence arises when Black plays 3...d5 instead, and is consid ...

. 5. Bf4 d5 (diagram) :The game has now

transposed In linear algebra, the transpose of a matrix is an operator which flips a matrix over its diagonal; that is, it switches the row and column indices of the matrix by producing another matrix, often denoted by (among other notations). The tr ...

to the Grünfeld Defence (5...d5, ''ECO'' code D92), in a line with Bf4. The Grünfeld is usually initiated by 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5. 6. Qb3 :A form of the so-called Russian System (the usual move order is 1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 d5 4.Nf3 Bg7 5.Qb3), putting pressure on Fischer's central d5-pawn.

Garry Kasparov Garry Kimovich Kasparov (born 13 April 1963) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist and commentator. His peak rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by ...

points out that 6.Rc1 or 6.e3 both have extensive

theory A theory is a rational type of abstract thinking about a phenomenon, or the results of such thinking. The process of contemplative and rational thinking is often associated with such processes as observational study or research. Theories may be s ...

behind them, and that 6.cxd5 Nxd5 7.Nxd5 Qxd5 8.Bxc7 favors Black. 6... dxc4 :Fischer relinquishes his center, but draws Byrne's queen to a square where it is exposed and can be attacked. 7. Qxc4 c6 :

has played 7...Na6 (the Prins Variation) here, preparing ...c5 to challenge White's center. 8. e4 Nbd7 :In later games, Black played the more active 8...b5 followed by 9...Qa5.Burgess, Nunn, and Emms (1998), p. 214. An example is Bisguier– Benko, U.S. Championship 1963–64. Fischer's choice is a little slow, although one would not guess that from the subsequent play. Another possible move for Black is 8...Qa5, Boleslavsky's move. 9. Rd1 Nb6 10. Qc5 :An awkward square for the queen, which leaves it exposed to a possible ...Na4 or ...Ne4, as Fischer brilliantly demonstrates. Since both those squares are protected by Byrne's knight on c3, he understandably did not appreciate the danger. 10.Qd3 would have left the queen better placed. 10... Bg4 :Byrne's pawns control the center squares, but Fischer is ahead in and has castled, while Byrne's king is still in the center. These factors would not have been very significant had Byrne attended to his development on his next move. 11. Bg5 (diagram) :Intended to prevent 11...Nfd7 followed by ...e5, but Byrne errs by not completing his development.Alexander (1972), p. 36. Numerous authors suggest 11.Be2 instead, protecting the king and preparing kingside

castling Castling is a move in chess. It consists of moving the king two squares toward a rook on the same and then moving the rook to the square that the king passed over. Castling is permitted only if neither the king nor the rook has previously moved ...

. Flear–Morris, Dublin 1991, continued 11.Be2 Nfd7 12.Qa3 Bxf3 13.Bxf3 e5 14.dxe5 Qe8 15.Be2 Nxe5 16.0-0 and White was slightly better. 11... Na4 :When this move was made, a number of people went over to the table to start watching the game. :"One of the most powerful moves of all time." (

Jonathan Rowson Jonathan Rowson (born 18 April 1977) is a Scottish chess player and philosopher. He is a three-time Scottish chess champion and was awarded the title of Grandmaster by FIDE in 1999. As Director of the Social Brain Centre at the United Kingdom' ...

). Fischer offers an ingenious knight

sacrifice Sacrifice is the offering of material possessions or the lives of animals or humans to a deity as an act of propitiation or worship. Evidence of ritual animal sacrifice has been seen at least since ancient Hebrews and Greeks, and possibly exi ...

. If Byrne plays 12.Nxa4, Fischer will reply 12...Nxe4, leaving Byrne with some terrible choices: :*13.Qxe7 Qa5+ 14.b4 Qxa4 15.Qxe4 Rfe8 16.Be7 Bxf3 17.gxf3 Bf8 produces a deadly

pin A pin is a device used for fastening objects or material together. Pin or PIN may also refer to: Computers and technology * Personal identification number (PIN), to access a secured system ** PIN pad, a PIN entry device * PIN, a former Dutch ...

; :*13.Bxe7 Nxc5 14.Bxd8 Nxa4 15.Bg5 Bxf3 16.gxf3 Nxb2 gives Fischer an extra pawn and ruins Byrne's

pawn structure In a game of chess, the pawn structure (sometimes known as the pawn skeleton) is the configuration of pawns on the chessboard. Because pawns are the least mobile of the chess pieces, the pawn structure is relatively static and thus plays a large ...

; :*13.Qc1 Qa5+ 14.Nc3 Bxf3 15.gxf3 Nxg5 regains the sacrificed piece with a better position and extra pawn; :*13.Qb4 Nxg5 14.Nxg5 Bxd1 15.Kxd1 Bxd4 16.Qd2 Bxf2 with a winning material advantage. 12. Qa3 Nxc3 13. bxc3 Nxe4 :Fischer again offers material in order to open the e-file and get at White's uncastled king. 14. Bxe7 Qb6 15. Bc4 :Byrne wisely declines the offered material. If 15.Bxf8 Bxf8 16.Qb3, we have 16...Nxc3! 17.Qxb6 (17.Qxc3 Bb4 wins the queen) axb6 18.Ra1 Bxf3 (Fischer's 1959 analysis gives instead 18...Re8+ 19.Kd2 Ne4+ 20.Kc2 Nxf2 21.Rg1 Bf5+ and winning) 19.gxf3 Ba3 20.Kd2 Bb2 21.Re1 Nd5 and Black is winning. 15... Nxc3! :If 16.Qxc3, then 16...Rfe8 17.Qe3 Bxf3! (and ''not'' 17...Qc7 because of 18.Bxf7+!) 18.gxf3 Qc7; if 16.Bxf8, then 16...Bxf8 17.Qxc3 Bb4.Alexander (1972), p. 37. 16. Bc5 Rfe8+ 17. Kf1 (see diagram) :Byrne threatens Fischer's queen; Fischer brings his rook into play, displacing Byrne's king. It appears that Fischer must solve his problems with his queen, whereupon White can play 18.Qxc3, with a winning material advantage. Jack Straley Battell writes that the masters observing the game considered Black's position lost. 17... Be6!! :This is the move that made this game famous. Instead of saving his queen, Fischer offers to sacrifice it. Fischer pointed out that 17...Nb5? loses to 18.Bxf7+ Kxf7 19.Qb3+ Be6 20.Ng5+ Kg8 21.Nxe6 Nxd4 22.Nxd4+ Qxb3 23.Nxb3. 18. Bxb6? (diagram) :Byrne takes the offered queen, hoping to outplay his 13-year-old opponent in the ensuing complications, but Fischer gets far too much for it, leaving Byrne with a hopeless game. 18.Bxe6? would have been even worse, leading to a

smothered mate In chess, a smothered mate is a checkmate delivered by a knight in which the mated king is unable to move because it is completely surrounded (or ''smothered'') by its own pieces. The mate is usually seen in a corner of the board, since fewer pie ...

with 18...Qb5+ 19.Kg1 Ne2+ 20.Kf1 Ng3+ 21.Kg1 Qf1+! 22.Rxf1 Ne2. 18.Qxc3 would have been met by 18...Qxc5! and if 19.dxc5, 19...Bxc3 and Black should win the endgame. White's best chance may have been 18.Bd3 Nb5!, which Kmoch wrote would also result in "a win for Black in the long run". 18... Bxc4+ :Fischer now begins a '

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called windmill sail, sails or blades, specifically to mill (grinding), mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and ...

' series of , picking up material. 19. Kg1 Ne2+ 20. Kf1 Nxd4+ 21. Kg1 :21.Rd3? axb6 22.Qc3 Nxf3 23.Qxc4 Re1# 21... Ne2+ 22. Kf1 Nc3+ 23. Kg1 axb6 :Fischer captures a piece, simultaneously attacking Byrne's queen. 24. Qb4 Ra4! :Fischer was now sitting very calmly and making moves at a steady pace. :His pieces cooperate nicely: the bishop on g7 protects the knight on c3, which protects the rook on a4, which in turn protects the bishop on c4 and forces Byrne's queen away. 24...Nxd1? 25.Qxc4 is much less clear. 25. Qxb6 :Trying to protect his rook with 25.Qd6 loses the queen to 25...Nxd1 26.Qxd1 Rxa2 threatening 27...Ra1. 25... Nxd1 (see diagram) :Fischer has gained a rook, two bishops, and a pawn for his sacrificed queen, leaving him ahead the equivalent, roughly, of one – an easily winning advantage in master play. White's queen is far outmatched by Black's pieces, which dominate the board and will soon overrun White's position. Moreover, Byrne's remaining rook is stuck on h1 and it will take precious time (and the loss of the pawn on f2) to free it. Byrne could have

resigned Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...

here, but chose to play on until

checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

, as a courtesy to Fischer's skill. 26. h3 Rxa2 27. Kh2 Nxf2 28. Re1 Rxe1 29. Qd8+ Bf8 30. Nxe1 Bd5 31. Nf3 Ne4 32. Qb8 b5 :Every piece and pawn of Black's is defended, leaving White's queen with nothing to do. 33. h4 h5 34. Ne5 Kg7 :Fischer breaks the pin, allowing the bishop to attack as well. 35. Kg1 Bc5+ (see diagram) :Now Fischer uses his pieces in concert to force

mate Mate may refer to: Science * Mate, one of a pair of animals involved in: ** Mate choice, intersexual selection ** Mating * Multi-antimicrobial extrusion protein, or MATE, an efflux transporter family of proteins Person or title * Friendship ...

. 36. Kf1 Ng3+ 37. Ke1 Bb4+ :Kmoch notes that with 37...Re2+ Fischer could have mated a move sooner. 38. Kd1 Bb3+ 39. Kc1 Ne2+ 40. Kb1 Nc3+ 41. Kc1 Rc2 Asked how he was able to pull off such a brilliant win, Fischer said: "I just made the moves I thought were best. I was just lucky."

Notes

References

* * Burgess, Graham,

John Nunn John Denis Martin Nunn (born 25 April 1955) is an English chess grandmaster, a three-time world champion in chess problem solving, a chess writer and publisher, and a mathematician. He is one of England's strongest chess players and was former ...

, and John Emms. ''The Mammoth Book of The World's Greatest Chess Games''. 1998. . pp. 213–16. * Eade, James. ''Chess for Dummies''. NY, NY: IDG Books. 1996. . * Fischer, Bobby. ''Bobby Fischer's Games of Chess''. Simon and Schuster, Inc., 1959, pp. 63–67. * * * Wade, Robert G. and Kevin J. O'Connell. ''Bobby Fischer's Chess Games''. 1972. . pp. 110–13 (game 179).

External links

Annotated text of The Game of the Century
source for this article, with permission * The game online * Frank Brady
Bobby Fischer's Game of the Century
'' chessbase.com'', May 29 2011
"The Byrne v Fischer ‘Game of the Century” by Edward Winter

Visualization, FEN and PGN of the game
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Background

The game

See also

Notes

References

Further reading

External links