From: mginsbur@rnd.GBA.NYU.EDU (Mark Ginsburg)
Newsgroups: rec.games.chess
Subject: Exploding the Myth:  GM Benjamin speaks on F-S II (_Chow_ upload)
Date: 21 Nov 92 18:04:56 GMT
Distribution: rec.games.chess
Organization: NYU Stern School of Business

"Fischer-Spassky II:  Bobby's Back-- But What Does It mean?"          
by GM Joel Benjamin

[appeared in the gala end-of-year OctNovDec 1992 64 pp. triple issue of
_Chess Chow_ - warning, may offend die-hard Bobby Fans.]

[posted for the r.g.c. community by IM Mark Ginsburg]

It seems unlikely that a man could sit on the sidelines for
twenty years and still be the most famous chessplayer in
America.  Chessplayers have awaited his return for years; people
in the street are still curious about the man who beat the
Russians in 1972.  Bobby Fischer is still big news, and people
everywhere are excited about his return match with the Champion
he dethroned, Boris Spassky.  As I write these words with most
of the match completed, I see two distinct ways in which the
match must be evaluated.  The quality (or lack thereof) of the
games and Fischer's chances for a successful comeback are of
paramount interest to chess aficionados.  But arguably, the most
important aspect may be the public reaction to the match, for
chess is struggling to find legitimacy in the world of sport. 
This is the question I will tackle first.

In The News

From the moment the story broke , Fischer commanded news
coverage.  The New York Times has run columns (Bob Byrne is
getting a workout) after each game, in addition to front-page
reports.  Most other newspapers have paid similar attention to
the match.  Major magazines like  Sports Illustrated and People
ran articles as the start of the match approached.  Television
noticed the match as well, in reports on CNN, commentary on
ESPN, and results mentioned on local news.  Unfortunately, what
made the match so initially newsworthy could ultimately diminish
its impact.

The first half of the match is taking place in what remains of
Yugoslavia.  Sveti Stefan, a small island in Montenegro hosted
the first segment, with the big city of Belgrade hosting the
second.  The sponsor of the match is Djezdimir Vasiljevic, a
Yugoslavian multimillionaire who, many whisper, made his fortune
by illegal me  Why Fischer chose
this of all offers is of course privileged to his own mind.  He
played several times in Yugoslavia and may remember it fondly. 
Then there is the undetermined role of his nineteen year old
Hungarian "girlfriend", Zita Rajcsanyi.  The rumor spread that
Fischer intended  to marry and thus needed money the match would
provide.  In Sports Illustrated, Zita  downplayed the
relationship, saying they were just friends.  At present,
unconfirmed rumors are floating that the couple have actually
married. [She will be participating in the upcoming World Junior
Championship.  CC Correspondent IM Victor Frias will no doubt
bring back some juicy details.]

Yugoslavia, of course, is currently a world pariah.  There is no
way to hide the fact that blood is being spilled within one
hundred miles of the match site.  The United Nations voted to
apply sanctions to Yugoslavia.  All commerce is prohibited, and
this match, which not only brings in lots of dollars but
provides a certain legitimacy to Yugoslavia, has been deemed to
fall under the ban.  No nation takes the sanctions more
seriously than the U.S. government.  The Treasury Department
sent Fischer a letter warning of repercussions if he went
through with the match.  In front of a horde of journalists,
Fischer produced the letter and spat on it.  This foolhardy
gesture was the most striking example of Fischer's objectionable
behavior.

Little Hitler     

It has been a well-known secret for several years that Fischer
possesses a number of strange and repugnant ideas.  But the
general public had never heard about Bobby's rabid Anti-Semitism
from the horse's mouth until the pre-game press conferences. 
Just listen to some of Fischer's incredible statements:

John Daniszweski, Associated Press: After four games, you are
tied 1-1 with a player considered only about 100th in the world.
 Is your comeback more difficult than you expected?

Fischer: Well, I think I'm doing quite well considering that
I've been blacklisted for the last twenty years by the world
ewry.

Paul Martin, North South Productions: What specific wrongs and
injustices have the U.S. Administration perpetrated against you
in the past, and now?

Fischer: (In the midst of a diatribe against Time Warner) "All
kinds of people want to shut the Corporation down, take the
company to court, accuse them of subversion, of treason, etc.  I
think they are showing their real colors, people are waking up
to what a danger to the American way of life Time Warner really
is, and what a criminal organization they really are.  

Martin: (follow-up) "Why do you think you have been singled out
for such treatment?"

Fischeer: "Well, you have to understand a lot about the world
scene, and who controls America, what kind of people, and what
religion they have."

Roger Cohen, New York Times: "If you beat Spassky, will you go
on to challenge Kasparov for the World Championship?"

Fischer: "This is the typical question from Mr. Roger Cohen,
from the New York Times" (Fischer detected a Jewish surname, and
obviously believed that the New York Times is an agent of the
Jewish conspiracy).  Can he read what it says behind here?"
(pointing to the sign on the wall behind him that says World
Championship match).

The other major are of Fischer's dementia is his refusal to
accept the legitimacy of anything that has happened in the chess
world in the last tenety years.  When asked how he knew the
Kasparov-Karpov match was fixed, Bobby provided no details, but
stated "....it is true that all of the matches between Karpov
and Kasparov were prearranged,  As a matter of fact, the matches
Karpov played Korchnoi were also prearranged."  When informed
that Kasparov has declared his readiness to play him, Fischer
responded by calling Kasparov a "pathological liar".  When asked
why he hasn't played in twenty years, Fischer replied, "This is
not quite true, no one has played me for twenty years."

So it is pretty clear that this guy is off his rocker.  I
believe that someone who is so unbalanced is not going to play
2700 chess.  Shortly we will take a look.  But first I want to
talk about the ramifications of Fischer's irrationality.

Cooties

Dick Schaap is a respected sports personality and a friend of
chess (he appeared at the opening banquet of the 1990 World
Championship).  On September 6, I caught his commentary on ESPN.
 He opined that the Fischer-Spassky Reykjavik match was one of
the two greatest sporting events in history (Ali- Frazier was
the other).  High praise indeed!  But he went on to say that the
return match was "sick."  Sick because it tries to trivialize
the bloodshed in Bosnia, and sick because it gives Fischer a
platform to spout his anti-Semitic ravings. And that was the
last of Fischer I saw on TV.  The New York Times took Fischer
off the front pages shortly after a blistering editorial on
September 2 (see Chess Life November 1992 for the text).  The
media is making a conscious decision not to draw too much
attention to trash.

In Fischer we have, at least in the raw materials, a very
marketable product.  But who will sponsor the next match? What
man or company, Jewish or otherwise, would want to be associated
with such a reprehensible individual?  Does chess want to be
associated with him?  Though the USCF is by nature an extremely
cautious organization, it is still very telling when they feel
compelled to issue a press release and send a letter to the
Times editor  distancing themselves from the match and Fischer's
views.  It would be a tragic irony if Fischer's return left us
worse off than before.

We at Chess Chow cannot, and have no desire to, ignore the
negative circumstances of the match.  We did not dispatch a
correspondent to Yugoslavia.  Nobody on our staff has a burning
desire to meet Fischer or ask him questions which we know will
elicit irrational replies.  The match is illegal, and millions
of people are insulted by its very existence.  If we could focus
squarely on the chessboard, we would fully appreciate Fischer's
return, but we cannot escape the feeling that this is not the
right time or place.  This is not the right way.

My concluding thought before I examine some of the games is of
the new status of the former legend, Bobby Fischer.  His past
accomplishments remain, whether or not he can play up to his
former level.  But his behavior has lost him the admiration not
only of countless chess fans, but of ordinary people all across
the U.S.  For most of the people who remembered him as a hero
for what he did, even if they didn't understand how he did it,
Fischer's reputation will be ruined.  For Those who remain loyal
followers don't demand enough from their heroes.  

The Games     

The first player to ten wins takes the match, and $3.35 million,
with draws not counting.  The players are using the
revolutionary Bobby Fischer chess clock, which returns a bit of
time when you make a move; the idea is to prevent games from
deteriorating during time scrambles.  In Spassky, Fischer has
found the perfect opponent.  Spassky does not complain about
Fischer's outrageous remarks; in fact, he agrees with many of
Bobby's allegations of cheating among the top players.  Spassky
also represents Fischer's link with the past.  Spassky helped
make Fischer great by losing to him in 1972, and in Fischer's
mind, the World Champions since simply don't count.  Spassky has
a good relationship with Fischer, and why not?  In a very real
sense, Bobby made Spassky great by beating him (even before the
match, Spassky may have been the second most famous chessplayer
in America) and now, twenty years later, Fischer has offered him
resurrection.  The least Boris can do is humor Bobby when he
wants to be called World Champion.

But the best reason for playing Spassky may be his noticeable
decline in strength.  Spassky has scarcely worked a hard day
since Reykjavik, and his best results are long behind him.  

As we go to press, the score is 8-4 in Fischer's favor.  The
game scores have been available in many newspapers as well as
other chess magazines.  In these pages I want to to take a look
at four critical games, presented in chronological order.  In
games one and eleven we see Fischer at his best.  Smooth,
precise, logical play that has long been his hallmark.  In the
large majority of the match games, this has not been the case. 
In several games Fischer has been outplayed, though Spassky has
often failed to take full advantage of his opportunities.  Boris
has not been Bobby's equal in the tactical realm, though I think
this speaks more of Spassky's weakness than of Fischer's
strength.  Fischer's handling of the King's Indian has been
particularly poor.  Though he has played this defense many
times, it seems contrary to his temperament; he doesn't like to
cede his opponent a space advantage.  Games eight and twelve are
presented as examples of games where Bobby didn't know what he
was doing. 

Fischer-Spassky

Sveti Stefan m (1), 1992 Breyer Defense

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 

This move is nothing special, but it does at least avoie
over-analyzed line 15.a4 c5 16.d5 c4 17.Bg5 h6 18.Be3 Nc5 19.Qd2
h5 20.Bg5 Be7 21.Bh6 Nfd7 or 21...Nh7).  I once had a game with
Dorfman that followed theory to move 29! 

15...h6 16.Bd2 Bg7 17.a4 

White returns to the standard motif of softening up black's
queenside.

 17...c5 18.d5 c4 19.b4  

This move sent Fischer on his way towards winning a nice game. 
But only because Spassky freaks out.

[diagram]

 19...Nh7?

 I received the moves on the same day from the Manhattan Chess
Club.  When I got to this point I said, "How could Spassky not
take en passant?"  The next day I talked to the Fed, and he said
the same thing. Spassky has been playing this opening for forty
years and ought to know that this pawn formation is a death grip
(Karpov-Unzicker, Nice 1974 is a good demonstration of black's
problems).  What's more black has a perfectly good game after
19... cxb3 20.Bxb3 Nc5.  Seirawan in Inside Chess suggests that 
21.axb5 axb5 22.Bc2 Nfd7 23.Qb1 leaves black's b-pawn sticking
out like a sore thumb.  In fact, black just plays 23...Rb8
intending Bb7-c8 and Nd7-b6.  The b-pawn is hardly a weakness at
all.

Black could even get frisky and go for a passed a-pawn with
20...bxa4!? 21.Bxa4 Re7.  After the impending Nd7-c5 black looks
alright here too.  The point is that 19...cxb3 is an automatic
move.  My guess is that Spassky may have passed on it out of too
much respect for his opponent.  Since the en passant capture is
so obvious, Fischer must have had something special prepared. 
But I don't believe it. 

20.Be3 h5 21.Qd2 Rf8 22.Ra3 Ndf6 23.Rea1 Qd7 24.R1a2 Rfc8 25.Qc1
Bf8 26.Qa1 Qe8 27.Nf1!

 A nice maneuver, no question.  But not very deep; white's plan
is obviously to utilize the a-file and this is the only way to
increase the pressure. 27...Be7 28.N1d2 Kg7 29.Nb1 Nxe4

 Spassky can't hold the queenside so he must make something
happen.

 30.Bxe4 f5 

Seirawan's suggestion of 30...f6 first seems sensible.  It was
not Boris' day.

 31.Bc2 Bxd5 32.axb5 axb5 33.Ra7 Kf6 34.Nbd2 Rxa7 35.Rxa7 Ra8
36.g4

Aggressively played to be sure, but is this the mark of a 2750?

 hxg4 37.hxg4 Rxa7 38.Qxa7 f4 

The critics disagreed about the better38...Qa8 39.Qxa8 Bxa8
40.gxf5 gxf5 41.Nh4.  GM Evans in Chess Life claims drawing 
chances with 41..e4.  Seirawan writes "White will  eventually
win."     I think I agree with Yaz.  

39.Bxf4 exf4 40.Nh4 

Even stronger than 40.Qd4+ Ke6 41.Bf5+ (41.Qxf4 also looks
juicy;   41Bf5+ as well as 41.Nd4+ are threatened.) gxf5
42.gxf5+ Kxf5 43.Qxd5+ which 

also wins. 

40...Bf7 41.Qd4+ Ke6 42.Nf5 Bf8 43.Qxf4 Kd7 44.Nd4 

As the Fed would say,"It's just over."

44...Qe1+ 45.Kg2 Bd5+ 46.Be4 Bxe4+ 47.Nxe4 Be7 48.Nxb5 Nf8
49.Nbxd6 Ne6 50.Qe5 1-0

Agreed, an encouraging start for Fischer, but Spassky was
unrecognizable.  Fischer's most notable moves came after he
achieved a winning position.



Spassky-Fischer

Sveti Stefan (8) 1992  King's Indian Saemisch

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 

True, the KID has alway's been one of Fischer's favorites, but
since Kasparov has been making his living with this opening
Bobby no doubt wants to show he plays it even better.

4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Be3 Nc6 7.Nge2 a6 8.Qd2 Rb8 9.h4 h5 10.Bh6 e5
11.Bxg7 Kxg7 12.d5 Ne7 13.Ng3 c6 14.dxc6

Normally white keeps the tension here.  Spassky gives black a
bit more space in return for the d-pawn target.

14...Nxc6 15.O-O-O Be6 16.Kb1 Ne8 17.Nd5 b5 18.Ne3 Rh8 19.Rc1
Qb6 20.Bd3 Nd4 21.Nd5 Qa7 22.Nf1 Nf6 23.Nfe3 Bxd5

Pundits at the Manhattan Club suggested 23...bxc4 to open the
b-file.  The white bishop becomes active after 24.Bxc4, but at
least black would have more elbow room than in the game. 

24.cxd5 Rbc8 25.Rcf1 Qe7 26.g4 Nd7 27.g5 Kf8  

[diagram]

Run away!

What is this? Fischer apparently fears Ne3-f5+, but where is his
king going?

 28.Rf2 Ke8 29.Bf1!  

[diagram]

Spassky appears to be sharp on his maneuvers.  The bishop will
show the folly of black's king run when it arrives at h3. 
Additionally, f3-f4 is in the air with black's sturdy steed on
d4 suddenly vulnerable.

 29...Nc5 30.Bh3 Rc7 31.Rc1

[diagram]

Genius or supidity?

I reserve punctuation because white may still be able to win
after black's  combination.  Given the continuation of the game,
however, this move deserves  a "?" 

 31...Ncb3!

An obvious two-mover which brings Fischer a quick win.  Later it
was discovered that the complications are only just beginning. 
Many annotators have claimed that this move loses, which I have
been unable to substantiate.   At the very least this move is a
good gamble.  From an ugly position, black is happy to
randomize.  Question:  How much did Bobby see?

 32.axb3 Nxb3 33.Rc6?

 Almost immediately the monster computer Deep Thought produced
the lovely 33.Qc3!! Black then has two choices:

     A) 33...Rxc3 34.Rxc3 Nc5 35.b4 

Now 35...Nb7 36.Rc8+ Nd8 37.Rfc2 wins rather prosaically for
white, as black will have to give up his queen.  35...Kf8
36.bxc5 dxc5 37.Ra2 Qa7 38.d6 c4 is rather murky, but white
improves with 36.Rfc2!, winning the piece more favorably (knight
moves are met by 37.Rc7).  That leaves 35...Qa7 36.bxc5 (36.Rfc2
Nb7) dxc5 37.d6 Kf8 (forced) and now 38.f4 looks strongest. 
White should crash through before black's trio of passers become
a factor.  

    B) 33...Nxc1 34.Qa3 b4 35.Qa4+ Kf8 36.Bf1 b3 37.Nc4
(37...Kg7 38.Kxc1 Rhc8 39.Qxb3 is too slow)  f6 38.Kxc1 fxg5
39.Qxb3   gxh4 40.Kb1 Kg7 is not entirely clear.  But since the
knight is doomed anyway, black should avoid weakening his
queenside and initiate kingside counterplay immediately with
34...f6!      

[diagram]

analysis after 34...f6

White will have to waste time scooping up the knight.  In the
meantime, black will collect a few extra pawns.

      35.Nc2 fxg5 36.Kxc1 g4 (it looks dangerous to open the
f-file, but black gets his own rook into play this way. 
36...gxh4 is also possible) 37.fxg4 hxg4 and now:

           B1) 38.Bxg4 Rxh4 39.Qf3 (this strong-looking move can
be parried, but otherwise 29...Qg5+ will underscore the
looseness of white's pieces) Qg5+ 40.Kb1 Qf4! 41.Qxf4 exf4
42.Be6 Rc4 and black is doing well.

   A2) 38.Bg2 (Byrne tried this move against me) Qxh4 39.Re2
(39.Qxd6 Rxc2+! and black grabs the rook with check or mates on
e1) Ke7 40.Kb1 Rf8 41.Nb4 Rf2 42.Qe3 g3 43.Nc6+ Kf6;

        

I must conclude that black is very much alive even after 33.Qc3.
 Objectively speaking, it may be fair to give 31.Rc1 a "?"  But
since Spassky had not seen any of the marvelous complexities,
his move was a  simple oversight.  Spassky said as much after
the game, still unaware of his chances, and Fischer did nothing
to enlighten him!  Unfortunately, there isn't much left.  White
has vastly insufficient compensation for the queen.

33...Nxd2+ 34.Rxd2 Kf8 35.Rxa6 Ra7 36.Rc6 Kg7 37.Bf1 Ra1+!  

[diagram]

38.Kxa1 Qa7+ 39.Kb1 Qxe3 40.Kc2 b4 0-1

Fischer seemed completely outplayed but Spassky fell asleep at
the wheel.

     Fischer -Spassky                                           
         Sveti Stefan (11), 1992  Sicilian, Rossolimo

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 g6 4.Bxc6                          
Fischer concedes the bishop pair earlier than usual, but forces
black to make an early decision on his pawn structure.

 4...bxc6 5.O-O Bg7 6.Re1 e5                                    
  
  Two games later Spassky improved with 6...f6!? and made a draw
without difficulties.                      

7.b4!  

[diagram]

Wing Gambit



I can't confirm if this is a novelty, but it certainly leads to
original play and tough choices for black. 
7...cxb4 8.a3 c5     
                                                  
8...bxa3 9.Bxa3 d6 10.d4 exd4 11.e5 blasts open the center with black's
king stuck there.                         

9.axb4 cxb4 10.d4 exd4
                                            
Max Dlugy suggested 10...d6.                                   

11.Nxd4 d6 12.Bb2 Qd7

Kasparov, who was in New York at the time of the game, made the offhand 
suggestion of 12...Qb6.  Robert Byrne and I looked at the possible
continuation 13.Nd2 Ba6 14.c3 after which we had to stop because
black's position was making us ill.                             

13.Nd2 Bb7 14.Nc4 Nh6  

[diagram]

caption:  Fisch-hook

 15.Nf5! Bxb2                                                   
          
Not much choice here.                                 
                   
16.Ncxd6+ Kf8 17.Nxh6  

[diagram]

 17...f6 

 In his Times column Byrne correctly identifies 17...Bxa1
18.Qxa1 Qxd6 19.Qxh8+ Ke7 20.Qg7 Qe6 as black's best chance.  I
had the opportunity to    take it a few moves further with him:
21.Qd4 a5 22.h3 Rc8 23.Re3 and black still has problems, but
chances to defend as well.  

18.Ndf7 Qxd1 19.Raxd1 Ke7 20.Nxh8 Rxh8            

Boris may have
expected good compensation with his strong bishops and
potentially dangerous passed pawn.  He must have overlooked
Bobby's next move.

21.Nf5+!                                                       
             
             Fischer is scoring big with the move Nf5 today. 
After this shot the rest is a matter of technique, which Fischer
executes flawlessly.                        

21...gxf5 22.exf5+
Be5 23.f4 Rc8 24.fxe5 Rxc2 25.e6 Bc6 26.Rc1 Rxc1 27.Rxc1 Kd6
28.Rd1+ Ke5 29.e7 a5 30.Rc1 Bd7 31.Rc5+!                        
           
           Care is still needed.  It is a higher priority to
eliminate the a-pawn than to win the bishop, which is nailed to
the e-pawn anyway.              

31...Kd4 32.Rxa5 b3 33.Ra7 Be8
34.Rb7 Kc3 35.Kf2 b2 36.Ke3 Bf7 37.g4 Kc2 38.Kd4 b1Q 39.Rxb1
Kxb1 40.Kc5 Kc2 41.Kd6                            

Simple arithmetic proves that white will queen the f-pawn.  A
fine attacking game for Fischer, accurately and creatively
played. 1-0

Spassky-Fischer 

Belgrade (12), 1992 King's Indian,  Saemisch

1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.e4 d6 5.f3 O-O 6.Be3 Nc6 7.Nge2 a6
8.h4                                                    

Spassky
dispenses with the routine Qd1-d2, which doesn't seem on the
surface to make much difference.                                
                                   
8...h5 9.Nc1 e5 10.d5 Ne7?!  

It is true that black has
experienced difficulties  after 10...Nd4 11.Nb3 Nxb3 12.axb3! c5
13.b4!   Still, the text can hardly be an improvement.  The
black knight on e7 is stymied, while white's knight will be
ideally posted for attack and defense on d3 or f2.             

11.Be2 Nh7 12.Nd3 f5 13.a4                            

Readers may be puzzled by these opening moves.  8.h4 was
ostensibly the start of a kingside attack, yet now it seems
black is playing there.  But the insertion of  of h-h4 and h7-h5
has benefitted white: black could not use h5 for his knight, and
has lost the standard plan of f5-f4 and g6-g5 with a pawn storm.
 Black is already hard pressed for counterplay.                 

13...Nf6 14.Nf2      

As advertised, the knight happily takes residence on f2, where it
defends e4 and g4 and prepares a future kingside attack.  Note
that this move would be unplayable with the queen on d2 due to
f5-f4 trapping the bishop.  We see that Spassky's opening
strategy is surprisingly sophisticated. 

14...a5                 

Black would experience cramping on the queenside if he allowed a4-a5,
but this move heralds an ineffective plan.                      

15.Qc2 c5?  

[diagram]

One of the complexities of the King's Indian is figuring out who
is attacking on what wing.  Normally white attacks on the
queenside, and under slightly different circumstances it would
make sense to block this side of the board  Here it does not,
for two reasons: 1) White's king will castle that way, and now
will do so in complete safety and 2) Black does not control
enough space on the kingside and thus will have to pass the
initiative to white on the only side that can be opened up. 

16.O-O-O b6 17.Rdg1 Nh7                                   

Damage control with 17....f4 is hardly more hopeful, for after 18.Bd2
white will break with g2-g3 and f3-f4.                          
           
18.Nb5                                               
     

 This incursion prevents Bc8-d7 and ties down the black queen. 
It also accentuates the folly of black's pawn strategy.         
                                   
18...Kh8 19.g4 

[diagram]

Open the door, let 'em in...

 19...hxg4? 
 
 Inconsistent and bad.  Fischer doesn't want to see
the g-file opened, but the alternative is worse.  Better is
19...f4 followed by fervent prayer that white won't be able to
break through. 

20.fxg4 f4 21.Bd2 g5                                             

Otherwise g4-g5 ensures white will crack open kingside lines.
But wouldn't this plan make a lot more sense with the king on
g8? 

22.hxg5 Ng6 23.Rh5                                             

The good news: Black has a protected passed f-pawn and the
knight on e7 has been activated.  The bad news:  White's heavy
piece battery on the h-file is simply too powerful.             
              
 23...Rf7 24.Rgh1 Bf8 25.Qb3 Rb8 26.Qh3 Rbb7  

[diagram]

 27.Nd3                                                         
              
I said before that Spassky's skill at maneuvering
has held up much better than his tactical ability.  The knight
journeys to displace black's blockader on g6.  But this ain't
rocket science folks.               

27...Kg8 28.Ne1! Rg7        
                                         
No chance for 28...Nxg5
because 29.Rh8+ Kg7 30.Qh6+ Kf6 31.Nf3 Bxh6 32.Rxd8 Rf8 33.Rxc8 
Rxc8 34.Nxd6 wins for white.                                

29.Nf3 Rbf7 30.Rh6!  

From the fire to the frying pan.  Black has no defense to 31.Qh5
winning a piece.                             

30...Qd7 31.Qh5 Qxg4                                            

Of course 31...Nh8 32.g6 is finito.  Fischer rather
embarrassingly continues for another twenty-two moves without
any hope whatsoever.  Spassky's technique is more than adequate. 

   32.Rxg6 Qxh5 33.Rxg7+ Rxg7 34.Rxh5 Bg4 35.Rh4 Bxf3 36.Bxf3
Nxg5 37.Bg4 Rh7 38.Rxh7 Kxh7 39.Kc2 Be7 40.Kd3 Kg6 41.Nc7 Kf7
42.Ne6 Nh7 43.Bh5+ Kg8 44.Be1 Nf6 45.Bh4 Kh7 46.Bf7 Nxd5 47.cxd5
Bxh4 48.Bh5 Kh6 49.Be2 Bf2 50.Kc4 Bd4 51.b3 Kg6 52.Kb5 Kf6
53.Kc6 Ke7 54.Ng7 1-0

Chess fans will decide for themselves which games are more
representative of Fischer's current strength.  It seems clear
that Spassky was not a sufficiently challenging opponent, but I
do not think that Bobby is ready for Kasparov or even Karpov. 
As a practical matter, a match with either of those two would be
monstrously difficult to bring about.  Assuming that the
sponsorship could be arranged,  getting any self-respecting
Grandmaster to agree to Bobby's outrageous conditions would be a
lot to ask.  Kasparov would not, should not, and could not agree
to play a match without Fischer admitting that Kasparov is the
true and legitimate World Champion.  Anything else would be an
insult.  Would Bobby capitulate on this point?  I don't think
so-- he is extraordinarily stubborn.  Additionally, I don't
think either of the reigning Ks could put up with Fischer's
continuous accusations of cheating, and disparagements of their
accomplishments.  For Kasparov, as well as a number of major
players, Bobby's hysterical anti-Semitism is a serious stumbling
block.

So the future will answer the question:  Is this a new
beginning, or a new ending?


[THE END]

[I hope the r.g.c. readers enjoyed this tiny helping of _Chow_ --
 and I encourage all amateur reviewers to post their comments and
 opinions about the OctNovDec 1992 _Chow_ issue on the net. - MG]