[Event "New Jersey Open Championship"] [Site "USA"] [Date "1957.09.02"] [Round "7"] [White "Robert James Fischer"] [Black "James T Sherwin"] [Result "1-0"] [Termination "Black resigned"] [Variant "Standard"] [ECO "B40"] [Opening "Sicilian Defense: French Variation"] [Annotator "https://lichess.org/@/ImperatorCaesar"] [Source "https://lichess.org/study/5uxxnhzQ/Ugr95i4S"] [Orientation "white"] 1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 e6 3. d3 { Showing intentions of putting the light-squared bishop on g2. } { [%cal Gg2g3,Gf1g2] } 3... Nc6 4. g3 Nf6 5. Bg2 Be7 6. O-O O-O { White is underdeveloped on the queen-side but is looking to play e5 with tempo. d6 should soon be on the cards for black. Let us see some variations after e5. My candidates moves in this position would be Bg5 or c4. But Fischer played Nbd2. It blocks the bishop and I assume the knight will take up a better square shortly. Another idea is that Fischer wants to push c3 later in the game. } 7. Nbd2 (7. e5 Nd5 (7... Nh5?? 8. g4 $17) (7... Ng4 { forcing } 8. Re1 (8. Bf4 { is not great after } 8... f6 9. exf6 (9. Re1 fxe5 10. Nxe5 Ngxe5 11. Bxe5 Nxe5 12. Rxe5 Bf6 $15) 9... Nxf6 $15)) 8. c4 Nb6 { and if white plays } 9. a4 { hoping to trap the knight, black must play } 9... d5 { which comes with tempo and frees up a square for the knight. In this position, } 10. a5 { will be a mistake as after black plays } (10. exd6 $10) 10... Nd7 { white will lose a pawn to } 11. cxd5 exd5 { [%csl Ge5][%cal Rc6e5,Rd7e5] }) 7... Rb8?! { Why was this move played? "Sherwin slid the Rook here with his pinky, as if to emphasize the cunning of this mysterious move", wrote Fischer in his book. } { [%cal Gh1a8] } 8. Re1 { Preparing e5 advance } { [%cal Re4e5] } 8... d6 { Necessary against e5 } 9. c3 { Extremely good move here, enforces d4 and maybe b4 later on in the game. } { [%cal Bc3d4,Bc3b4] } 9... b6 10. d4 { Creating some tension and giving black the option of playing } 10... Qc7 { Reinforcing the e5 square } (10... cxd4 11. Nxd4 Nxd4 12. cxd4 Bb7 $10 { Position looks equal but white still has to find a good square for the knight and develop the dark-squared bishop. For black, the dark-squared bishop looks stuck for a while. }) 11. e5 { Not a great move, because after } 11... Nd5 (11... dxe5 12. Nxe5 Bb7 { the white knight can't retreat back with } 13. Nef3 { due to } 13... cxd4 14. cxd4 Nb4 { with the idea of forking the rooks. The defence against this is } 15. Nb3 { because if } 15... Nc2 { , white has } 16. Bf4 $10 { in response. In fact, the Bf4 idea with a skewer attack on the queen and rook is a major theme in this game. }) 12. exd6 Bxd6 13. Ne4 { White is looking to get rid of black's dark-squared bishop and put it's own bishop on the f4 square. } 13... c4 { It is understandable that black would want to stop white playing c4 and attacking the knight but this move causes black to lose any chance of fighting for the initiative. Now white can play on the king side. } 14. Nxd6 Qxd6 15. Ng5 { Immediately going after mate with the threat of Qc2 } 15... Nce7? { This was a bad move, h6 would have been a better idea. } (15... h6 16. Ne4 Qe7 { [%cal Gb2b3] } (16... Qc7 17. b3 Ba6 (17... Na5 { falls to the discovered check } 18. Nf6+ Nxf6 19. Bf4 { skewering the black queen and rook. In fact, any move other than Ba6 will lead to this skewer. }) (17... b5 18. Nf6+ Nxf6 19. Bf4 { [%cal Gf4b8] }) 18. Qh5 Nce7 { is the only move }) 17. b3 Ba6 { does not work because of } 18. Bf1 b5 { does not defend the pawn because the black bishop is undefended after } 19. Nc5 Bc8 20. bxc4 bxc4 21. Bxc4) 16. Qc2 { [%cal Rc2h7,Rg5h7] } 16... Ng6 (16... f5? { would have been a mistake as } 17. Qe2 { picks up a pawn } 17... b5 (17... Rf6 18. Qxc4 $16) 18. Nxe6 Bxe6 19. Qxe6+ Qxe6 20. Rxe6 $16) (16... h6) 17. h4 Nf6 (17... Rd8 18. Nxh7 Kxh7 19. h5 $18 f5 20. hxg6+ Kxg6 21. Re5 { [%cal Rg3g4,Re5d5,Bc2g6] }) (17... h6 18. h5 hxg5 19. hxg6 f6 20. Qe2 $18 { [%cal Re2h5] }) 18. Nxh7! { "Throwing a monkey wrench into Black's carefully contrived setup! As usual, tactics flow from a positionally superior game." } 18... Nxh7 (18... Kxh7 19. Bf4 $18 { [%cal Rf4b8,Bc2h7] }) 19. h5 Nh4 (19... Ne7 { loses a Rook to } 20. Bf4 Qd8 21. Bxb8 Bb7 22. Bxb7 Qxb8 23. Be4) 20. Bf4 Qd8 21. gxh4 (21. Bxb8?? Nxg2 22. Kxg2 Bb7+ 23. f3 Qxb8 $19) 21... Rb7 22. h6!! (22. Bxb7 Bxb7 23. f3 Bxf3 $16 { Black gets back the initiative }) 22... Qxh4 $138 23. hxg7 Kxg7 { Game's over, the king is out in the open and all of white's pieces are poised to deliver the final blow. } 24. Re4 { See the threat? } { [%cal Gf4e5,Re4h4,Re5g7] } 24... Qh5 25. Re3 { "Now the Rook joins the King hunt - and it's murder" } { [%cal Re3h3,Bh3h7,Bc2h7] } 25... f5 26. Rh3!! Qe8 (26... Qg6 27. Rg3 $18 { [%cal Rg3g7] }) 27. Be5+ (27. Bh6+ Kg8 28. Bxf8 Qxf8 29. Bxb7 Bxb7 $18 { I showed this variation to demonstrate how much power the bishops had during the game. Truly, that Rb8 move was regretted. }) 27... Nf6 (27... Kg8 28. Rg3+ Kf7 29. Rg7#) 28. Qd2 { [%cal Rd2h6] } 28... Kf7 29. Qg5 { [%cal Rg5f6,Rh3h8,Gf7g8] } 29... Qe7 (29... Ke7 30. Rh7+ Kd8 31. Bxf6+ Rxf6 32. Qxf6+ Re7 $18) 30. Bxf6 Qxf6 31. Rh7+ Ke8 32. Qxf6 { [%cal Gf8f6,Rg2b7,Rh7b7] } 32... Rxh7 { Taking the queen is not good as white picks up an entire rook with } (32... Rxf6 33. Bxb7 Bxb7 34. Rxb7 $18) 33. Bc6+ { 1-0 Black resigns. } 33... Bd7 34. Qxe6+ { Mate is inevitable with the white rook coming into action one move away. } 34... Kd8 35. Qd6 Rg8+ 36. Kf1 Rgg7 37. Bb7 Ke8 38. Re1+ Re7 39. Qb8+ Kf7 40. Bd5+ Re6 41. Bxe6+ Bxe6 42. Qxa7+ Kg8 43. Qxh7+ Kxh7 44. Rxe6 Kg7 1-0