Lessons from Great Masters: Ideas That Inspire Every Player

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Fischer vs Taimanov

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In this endgame between Fischer and Taimanov, Fischer reminds us that even in seemingly simple positions, there is still room for strategy and tactics. After Black’s inaccurate push of the b6 pawn (instead of centralizing the king to d6), Fischer slowly improved his position: centralizing his king, fixing weaknesses on the queenside, and restricting the knight with c3. By placing Black’s pawns on the same color as his bishop, Fischer patiently increased the pressure until the exchange of rooks became decisive.

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Step by step, Fischer guided his king to the key square b5, targeting the weak b6 pawn. With his king pressing on the queenside and his bishop dominating the kingside, the picture became clear: Fischer had placed Black’s pawns on the color of his bishop, leaving the knight powerless to defend all weaknesses. In such positions, the bishop is simply superior. Just when it seemed Black had built a fortress, Fischer sacrificed his bishop to demonstrate the power of playing against two weaknesses.

Reti vs Grau

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This game between Reti and Grau shows why both opening theory and strategic understanding matter. The line played is still modern even today, but Black’s misplaced pieces led to long-term problems. The key mistake was playing ...Bd7 too late. Instead, Black should have first played the maneuver ...Bd7 and ...Bc6 to exchange the bishop. Because this plan was missed, weaknesses on c5 and d5 became long-term targets. What makes this game memorable is how Reti played with simple, natural moves — and still achieved a clear advantage very quickly.

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Smyslov - Liublinsky

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In this game, I’ll leave you to think about one remarkable bishop move. When I first saw it, I wondered if Smyslov could see into the future — it was such a deep positional idea. The move highlighted the long-term weakness of the b6 square, a detail that wasn’t obvious at first. With patience, Smyslov slowly improved his position, and once everything was placed perfectly, he found a way to make it even better — ultimately converting the advantage into a win.

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Thank you for reading and joining me on this journey through these timeless games. I hope you found inspiration and lessons to take into your own play!

• Anastasia Grozdanovic