Byrne vs. Fisher, 1956

Bobby Fisher (1943-2008) died last week. In his later years his crazed rants and his prosecution for not paying taxes for a 1992 chess match eclipsed his fame as a chess genius. But it is for his chess genius that he will be remembered.

Fisher won the U.S. Open at the age of 14. Also at 14 he became the youngest person ever to become an international master. He quickly became one of the world's elite players. In becoming world champion fifteen years later he slew the Soviet block, like St. George slaying the dragon.

He is widely considered one of the best, if the not the best, chess players of all time. At the height of his powers in 1975 he declined to defend his title, as his mental illness began to outplay his better self. Even so, he still made significant contributions to chess after his self-imposed exile, as he improved the chess clock and invented Fisher Random Chess.

This week’s position is from what has been deemed “The Game of the Century.” Here, 13-year-old Fisher defeats veteran chess player Donald Byrne. Fisher, who is black, made a spectacular winning move. Please try and find the move that Fisher played.

In chess notation, the board is a grid: the vertical columns are numbered “1” through “8;” the horizontal rows, “a” through “h.” Each square on the board is identified by a specific letter and number. For example, if the white knight at c3 were to move to e2, checking black, the notation would be ne2+ (n=knight, b=bishop, q=queen, k=king, x=takes, +=check etc.).

Fisher’s queen and knight are both under attack. He ignores these threats and re-positions his bishop at g4 to e6. Byrne then wins black’s queen. Fisher responds by having the bishop at e6 take white's bishop at c4, checking white.

From here, black’s active pieces overwhelm white. The knight at c3 and the c4 bishop initiate a series of checks that soon result in a dynamic bishop pair. White’s material edge is not enough to stop black’s active pieces.

Fisher mated Byrne 20 moves later. White’s rooks seize the “a” and “b” files by first moving the rook at c1 to a1, attacking the queen. The only safe square for the queen is b2 after the queen takes the white pawn at b2. White’s other rook at f1 now slides over to b1 (rfb1), again attacking the queen.