[Event "Varna ol (Men) fin-A"] [Site "Varna"] [Date "1962.??.??"] [Round "10"] [White "Botvinnik, Mikhail"] [Black "Fischer, Robert James"] [Result "1/2-1/2"] [ECO "D98"] [Annotator "Llewellyn, Alan"] [PlyCount "135"] [EventDate "1962.09.16"] [EventType "team"] [EventRounds "11"] [EventCountry "BUL"] [Source "ChessBase"] [SourceDate "1999.07.01"] [WhiteTeam "Soviet Union"] [BlackTeam "US of America"] [WhiteTeamCountry "URS"] [BlackTeamCountry "USA"] {It can be argued that different players were the greatest players in chess history like Gary kasparov but the most influencial players in history met only once against each other in the 1962 Varna Olympiad, (in a USA vs Soviet Union match). In the Blue corner was Robert Fischer, an icon of Western chess due to his exciting and inspirational play, he influenced a whole generation of Western players including myself. In the red corner was Mikhail Botvinnik, a giant of a man who almost singlehandedly established the Soviet Union as the worlds only superpower in chess and who taught three world champions and gave the world many opening ideas. Mikhail Botvinnik is known as 'The patriach of Soviet Chess'. It is quite fitting that the only game between these icons was a draw although Robert had the better of the game, but he just got stopped from winning by some deft endgame technique from Mikhail.} 1. c4 g6 2. d4 Nf6 3. Nc3 d5 {at the time Robert was a Kings Indian Defence player but he didn't trust the quality of his knowledge against someone who was known to prepare winning attacks against his opponents openings. So he played the pawn to d5 ie the Grunfeld Defence and not d6.} 4. Nf3 Bg7 5. Qb3 {quite apptly called the Russian System of the Grunfeld Defence.} dxc4 6. Qxc4 O-O 7. e4 Bg4 8. Be3 Nfd7 9. Be2 Nc6 10. Rd1 Nb6 11. Qc5 Qd6 $1 12. h3 Bxf3 13. gxf3 $1 Rfd8 (13... Qxc5 $2 14. dxc5 Bxc3+ 15. bxc3 Na4 16. Kd2 Rfd8+ 17. Kc2 $16) 14. d5 $1 Ne5 15. Nb5 Qf6 16. f4 Ned7 17. e5 $6 $13 (17. Qc2 $14) 17... Qxf4 $3 18. Bxf4 Nxc5 19. Nxc7 Rac8 20. d6 $1 exd6 21. exd6 Bxb2 {now Robert has come up after that fracas, a pawn up but it is still poised who will win because Mikhail has a strong pawn on d6 which is threatening to advance further.} 22. O-O Nbd7 23. Rd5 b6 24. Bf3 $6 $15 (24. Kg2 Ne6 25. Bh2 $11) 24... Ne6 $1 25. Nxe6 fxe6 26. Rd3 (26. Rb5 Rc4 27. Rxb2 Rxf4 28. Bg4 $19) 26... Nc5 (26... Ne5 $5) 27. Re3 e5 $5 28. Bxe5 Bxe5 29. Rxe5 Rxd6 30. Re7 Rd7 $1 31. Rxd7 Nxd7 32. Bg4 Rc7 33. Re1 Kf7 34. Kg2 Nc5 35. Re3 Re7 36. Rf3+ Kg7 37. Rc3 Re4 38. Bd1 Rd4 39. Bc2 Kf6 40. Kf3 Kg5 41. Kg3 Ne4+ $6 $17 (41... a5 $17) 42. Bxe4 Rxe4 43. Ra3 $1 Re7 $6 (43... a5 $19) 44. Rf3 Rc7 45. a4 Rc5 46. Rf7 Ra5 47. Rxh7 $1 Rxa4 48. h4+ $1 Kf5 (48... Kf6 $6 49. Rb7 Ra5 50. Kf4 b5 51. Kg4 a6 52. Rb6+ Kg7 53. f3 Ra4+ 54. Kg5 b4 55. Rb7+ Kf8 56. Kxg6 $16 {the two isolated pawns are actually more effective than the two connected pawns in this position.}) 49. Rf7+ Ke5 50. Rg7 Ra1 51. Kf3 (51. Rxg6 $4 Rg1+ 52. Kf3 Rxg6 $19) 51... b5 $2 {this position is now entirely drawn with a paradoxical pawn sacrifice.} 52. h5 $3 Ra3+ 53. Kg2 gxh5 54. Rg5+ $5 {the point.} Kd6 55. Rxb5 $1 {and not Rxh5?? which is losing. Breaking up the connected past pawns is vital with only one pawn left.} h4 56. f4 Kc6 57. Rb8 h3+ 58. Kh2 a5 59. f5 Kc7 60. Rb5 Kd6 61. f6 Ke6 62. Rb6+ Kf7 63. Ra6 Kg6 64. Rc6 a4 65. Ra6 Kf7 66. Rc6 Rd3 67. Ra6 a3 68. Kg1 { interestingly the computer thinks Robert is winning here but it doesn't give a winning line, i think it is just a computer glitch.} 1/2-1/2