Bobby Fischer’s Most Instructive Games of Chess 1956-1962

Course Curriculum

Chapter 1: Introduction

Lecture 1: Introduction

Lecture 2: Why "Instructive games" emphasis – influence of Chernev

Lecture 3: Why Fischer and not a more flashy player like Tal or Nezhmetdinov or Morphy?

Lecture 4: Trying to extract maximum "instructive juice" from each game or variations

Lecture 5: Seeing instructive games in a time line to understand evolution

Lecture 6: Was Beth Harmon partly modelled on Bobby Fischer?

Lecture 7: Appreciating "makes things worse" instead of saying blunder or mistake

Lecture 8: Exploring after where game ended for often more instructive juice

Chapter 2: 1956 – 1962 – Fischer Early Years

Lecture 1: Don't move a piece twice! – Game of the Century – Donald Byrne vs Bobby FIscher

Lecture 2: Enjoy Semi-Open File Heaven – Herbert Goldhamer vs Bobby FIscher

Lecture 3: Unblockading d-pawn spectacularly – Bobby FIscher vs Camillo

Lecture 4: Kings Indian Fianchetto variation – nice mating net – Surgies vs Fischer

Lecture 5: Tactical opportunity vs Stereotypical move – Bobby FIscher vs Stepans 1957

Lecture 6: Instructional remedy vs Ruy Lopez – Bobby FIscher vs John Rinaldo – 1957

Lecture 7: Justifiable Caveman Pawn storm – BF vs Charles Witte – 1957

Lecture 8: Fighting for d5 control – Garais vs Bobby FIscher

Lecture 9: Removing the most dangerous aspects of counterplay – Fischer vs Camillo

Lecture 10: Overoptimistic f4 played without d5 control goes unpunished – Fischer vs Fauber

Lecture 11: A fantastic desperado tactic – Bobby Fischer vs Edmar Mednis – 1957

Lecture 12: X-ray downside created – Donald Byrne vs Bobby Fischer – "Game of the Minute"

Lecture 13: Bishop dominates Knight in Endgame – Bobby Fischer vs William Addision

Lecture 14: One unprotected pawn issue – Bobby Fischer vs Cardoso – 1957

Lecture 15: Exploiting a skewer possibility – Bobby Fischer vs James Sherwin

Lecture 16: What happens when Bc4 Sicilian bishop removed? – Bobby Fisher vs Cardoso – Rd2

Chapter 3: US Chess Championship 1957/58

Lecture 1: Thorn pawn and overprotection of e5 Strategy – Bobby Fischer vs Feuerstein

Lecture 2: Provoking an unsound Piece Sacrifice – Bernstein vs Bobby Fischer – US Champ 57

Lecture 3: Playing vs Petrosian style French Defence – Bobby Fischer vs Arthur Bisguier

Lecture 4: Light square bishop without counterpart – Bobby Fischer vs Sherwin – 1957

Lecture 5: Not as solid as it seems – George Kramer vs Bobby Fischer – 1957

Lecture 6: Smooth defence and Smooth Attack – Bobby Fischer vs Edmar Mednis

Lecture 7: Passed pawn instructiveness – William Lombardy vs Bobby Fischer – 1958

Lecture 8: Knight and Bishop vs Rook – Bobby Fischer vs Attilio Di Camillo

Chapter 4: Portoroz Interzonal 1958

Lecture 1: A knight stretched too far – Geza Fuster vs Bobby Fischer – Round 2

Lecture 2: Sac, Sac and Mate vs Sicilian Dragon – Bobby Fischer vs Bent Larsen

Lecture 3: Creating an e4 square collapse – Raul Sanguineti vs Bobby Fischer – Round 9

Lecture 4: Defending the h7 square – Boris De Greiff vs Bobby Fischer

Lecture 5: Violating opening principles and getting away with it! – Fischer vs Cardoso

Chapter 5: US Chess Championship 1958/59

Lecture 1: The "Bobby Fischer Trap" in the Sicilian Defence! – Fischer vs Reshevsky

Lecture 2: Two rooks on the 7th rank – Bobby Fischer vs Raymond Weinstein

Lecture 3: Using d5 tactically in Ruy Lopez – Bobby Fischer vs Charles Kalme

Lecture 4: Exploiting departure of a Fianchetto bishop for pawn – Mednis vs Fischer

Lecture 5: Dodging a bullet to get to an endgame – Bobby Fischer vs Arthur Bisguier

Chapter 6: Mar del Plata Tournament – 1959

Lecture 1: Endgame mating net – Mendes vs Bobby Fischer

Lecture 2: Fischer shows he is just human like the rest of us – Redolfi vs Bobby Fischer

Lecture 3: A crushing exchange sacrifice for central control – Fischer vs Shocron

Lecture 4: Passed pawn potential – Bobby Fischer vs Raul Sanguineti

Lecture 5: The classic Sicilian Defence Minority Attack – Herman Pilnik vs Bobby Fischer

Lecture 6: The c5 pawn break and knight blockade square – Bobby Fischer vs Hector Rossetto

Lecture 7: Light square battles won and lost – Bernardo Wexler vs Bobby Fischer

Lecture 8: Transforming bishop pair into King Walk – Bobby Fischer vs Jacobo Bolbochan

Chapter 7: Santiago 1959

Lecture 1: Celebrating the f5 outpost square – Bobby Fischer vs Luis Augusto Sanchez

Lecture 2: Not quite stable enough – little risks taken – Mendes Jr. vs Bobby Fischer

Lecture 3: Light square bishop swapped for structural damage – Fischer vs Grunberg

Lecture 4: A tactical configuration issue rising to the surface – Bobby Fischer vs Letelier

Lecture 5: d5 pawn weak in endgame – Romo vs Fischer

Lecture 6: Kingside massacre – Bobby Fischer vs Herman Pilnik

Lecture 7: A crushing exchange sacrifice – Walter Hausman vs Bobby Fischer

Chapter 8: Zurich 1959

Lecture 1: Having to play precise steps or face defeat – Bobby Fischer vs Edwin Bhend

Lecture 2: Managing king safety and counterplay needs – Fridrik Olafsson vs Bobby Fischer

Lecture 3: A calculated risk – Bobby Fischer vs Josef Kupper

Lecture 4: A small calculated risk again – Andreas Dueckstein vs Bobby Fischer

Lecture 5: An amazing Bd1 exploiting Skewers and pins! – Bobby Fischer vs Wolfgang Unzicker

Lecture 6: Avoiding tactical traps – Bobby Fischer vs Erwin Nievergelt

Lecture 7: Diced pawns fall like ripe apples – Bobby Fischer vs Paul Keres

Lecture 8: Queenside pawn chain undermining – Jan Hein Donner vs Bobby Fischer

Chapter 9: Bled-Zagreb-Belgrade-Candidates – 1959

Lecture 1: Queen sacrifice for 3 pieces – Paul Keres vs Bobby Fischer (rd 1)

Lecture 2: "Chicken mode" Caro-Kann needed vs Fischer – Fischer vs Gligoric (rd 4)

Lecture 3: A tempo gaining queen and a direct Q attack – Fischer vs Benko (rd 10)

Lecture 4: Neutralising f-file counterplay and knight tour – Fischer vs Olafsson (rd 12)

Lecture 5: Punishing Opening Principle violations – Paul Keres vs Bobby Fischer (rd 15)

Lecture 6: Working on both sides of board – Bobby Fischer vs Pal Benko (rd 24)

Lecture 7: Transition into winning endgame – Bobby Fischer vs Fridrik Olafsson (rd 26)

Lecture 8: Castle only when safe and advantageous to do so – Smyslov vs Fischer – Rd 28

Chapter 10: US Closed Championship 1959/60

Lecture 1: Tragedy of a single tempo in endgame – Bobby Fischer vs Arthur Bisguier

Lecture 2: Removing opponents strategic break, but retaining own one – Denker vs Fischer

Lecture 3: Forcing move respect boundaries – Bobby Fischer vs Robin Ault

Lecture 4: A fatal tactical flaw in the opening – Bobby Fischer vs Herbert Seidman

Lecture 5: A very scary Marshall Gambit ride – Bobby Fischer vs Norman Bernstein

Lecture 6: A killer common square creates good luck – Edmar Mednis vs Bobby Fischer

Lecture 7: A reason to study rook and pawn endgames – Fischer vs Benko

Chapter 11: Mar del Plata 1960 (Fischer scored 13.5/15) (+13 -1 =1)

Lecture 1: Every russian schoolboy likes Knight on e4 vs Kings Indian – Wexler vs Fischer

Lecture 2: d5 square and an unprotected piece downside – Bobby Fischer vs Olicio Gadia

Lecture 3: Positional gambit – Julio Saadi vs Bobby Fischer

Lecture 4: An ingenious pawn sac and d5 pivot – Bobby Fischer vs Erich Eliskases

Lecture 5: A Maroczy bind rollercoaster – Alberto Foguelman vs Bobby Fischer

Lecture 6: Unprotected piece theoretical downside made reality – FIscher vs Olafsson

Lecture 7: Tactical magic with King in the center – Manuel Bazan vs Bobby Fischer

Lecture 8: Opposite side castling – Speed of the essence – Bobby Fischer vs Carlos Bielicki

Lecture 9: Passive play punished – Argentino Redolfi vs Bobby Fischer