Fischer vs Petrosian: The Rivalry

Bobby Fischer and Tigran Petrosian are two of the greatest legends of the game. They had a rivalry spanning 13 years from 1958-1971.

First Meeting - 1958

When he was 15, Bobby Fischer was invited to play some Soviet talent in the Moscow Central Chess Club in 1958. He got a ticket after appearing on the game show 'I've Got A Secret". Bobby destroyed the young Soviet chess talents Vasiukov and Nikitin in some blitz games. Bobby then asked to play World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik. They ended up giving Tigran Petrosian to Bobby as an opponent. Tigran beat Bobby in most of the games.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otg85v4KJvM

Early Games (1958-1962)

Bobby Fischer was a rising young star and Petrosian was an established Soviet player. Their record in this time period was 6.5-4.5 in Petrosian's favour.

Tigran Petrosian vs Bobby Fischer, 1958, Portoroz Interzonal. Credit: Unknown, Photo from Youtube.

Bobby Fischer vs Tigran Petrosian Bled-Zagreb-Belgrade Candidates (1959). Round 2

1962 Candidates Tournament (Curaçao)

Petrosian and Fischer both competed in the 1962 Candidates Tournament. Petrosian won and went on to challenge Mikhail Botvinnik for the title.

Credit: Wikipedia

Fischer wrote his famous 'The Russians Have Fixed World Chess' article, accusing Petrosian, Geller, Keres and Korchnoi of being part of collusion pact to keep him out of the World Championship. He cited the large amount of short draws between Petrosian, Geller and Keres as well as the fact that Korchnoi lost against Petrosian, Geller and Keres in the third cycle.

Today, Fischer's allegations about collusion between Petrosian, Geller, and Keres are viewed as substantiated. These players played short draws to give themselves more energy to help their chances in the tournament.

However, his allegations against Korchnoi are not supported.

World Championships (1963-1969)

Tigran Petrosian became Chess World Champion in 1963 after defeating Mikhail Botvinnik. He went on to defend his World Championship against Spassky in 1966.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeV_g_ggGRQ

Between 1963 and 1969 Fischer and Petrosian only played two games. Both took place at the Second Piatigorsky Cup (1966) and they were both draws.

USSR vs The Rest Of The World 1970

Bobby Fischer took a break from chess in 1969. His comeback tournament was the USSR vs The Rest Of The World Match in Belgrade. This was an event which pitted the Soviets against the rest of the world with the winning team scoring the most points. He was due to play World Champion Spassky, but he let Larsen take his spot (Larsen said he deserved the spot due to his tournament performances).

Bent Larsen of Denmark, ranked No. 2 in the world outside Russia, had compiled his best record to date while Fischer was inactive. Larsen threatened to withdraw unless he was allowed to play at the first board. To everyone's astonishment, Fischer gave way. "Larsen's got a point," he said.

By the time the first round started, he had second thoughts. The scene was that of any major tournament, but never before had so much chess talent been gathered in one place, and never before had Russia's finest masters been pitted against the best from everywhere else. Minutes before the match Fischer was asked how he felt about giving up first board. "It was a big mistake," he said. "I shouldn't have agreed to it."

• Larry Evans, Sports Illustrated, April 20, 1970.

Therefore, Fischer would play Petrosian in a Four game match. Fischer said he was nervous at the start of the game but the nerves faded. In his first comeback game he crushed Petrosian. He also defeated Petrosian again in round two. Two more draws and the mini-match ended at 3-1 in Fischer's favour.

Petrosian and Fischer at the start of the 1970 USSR vs The Rest Of The World Match. Credit: Vasily Egorov/TASS.

Fischer played two games against Petrosian at the Herceg Novi blitz tournament shortly afterwards and won them both. Fischer and Petrosian made a draw in the 1970 Zagreb tournament.

1971 Candidates Matches

Fischer defeated Taimanov and Larsen to get to the Final for the World Championship. Petrosian defeated Hübner and Korchnoi and also made it to the Final. Now the winner of Fischer-Petrosian would play Spassky in the 1972 World Championship.

The Fischer-Petrosian match had a first to six wins format.

Credit: Wikipedia

Trash Talking Before The Match

Before playing Petrosian, Bobby had something to say.

Bobby Fischer - August 17, 1971. Credit: Newspaper.com (Clipping), bobby-fischer-1971.blogspot.com (Index of Clippings)

"I may win it earlier. Fischer's victories do not impress me. He's a great player, but not a genius. I am happy to face it directly. I don't envy his triumphs and they can't influence me because I've had a lot of experiences of the same nature. I'm not afraid of his aggressiveness."

• Tigran Petrosian when asked by a journalist: "Do you think the match will run until the end of the 12 games?".

"The opening was scheduled for 8 in the evening. Fischer is late. Taking advantage of the pause, the "paparazzi" gather round Petrosian. "Don't you think, Grandmaster, that Fischer's lateness is part of the war of nerves?" "No," the answer comes at once, "it's a question of manners.".

• Viktor Baturinsky, Diary, Python Strategy (p.292).

Bobby Fischer and Tigran Petrosian at the drawing of lots at the start of their match. Bobby got the white pieces for Game 1.
Credit: www.europe-echecs.com

Fischer won the first game after getting into a losing position out of the opening after Petrosian's novelty. Fischer then proceeded to equalize the position and win in the endgame. This was a painful loss for Petrosian.

Petrosian bounced back in the second game, annihilating Fischer in a blistering attack. The crowds cheers at the end of the game were deafening. Fischer and Petrosian both had wide support in Argentina where the match took place.

In the third game, Petrosian had a superior position. Petrosian was shocked and surprised when Fischer claimed a threefold repetition. Petrosian accidentally repeated the same position three times in the game. This draw was as painful as the earlier loss.

Petrosian made a quick draw as white in the fourth game. In the fifth game he once again had a superior position, but Fischer defended and the game was drawn.

So far the match was tied. Overall, Petrosian seemed to be the one pressing in these games.

In the sixth game, Petrosian misplayed the opening. Fischer proceeded to defeat Petrosian in a long endgame.

The seventh game featured Fischer's famous Nxd7 move, annotated below.

The eighth and ninth games were also won by Fischer as Petrosian collapsed. Fischer combined having a passed pawn with an attack to win game 8 and won game 9 in an endgame.

Credit: www.chessgames.com

Game 9 of the match was the last game Fischer and Petrosian ever played with each other. Fischer retired from chess after winning the 1972 World Championship Match against Spassky. Petrosian kept playing chess until his death in 1984.

This video shows the end of the match. The last time Fischer and Petrosian ever played.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgzE1fAYYi4

Final Thoughts

Bobby Fischer and Tigran Petrosian brought joy to people's lives through the games they played. We will always remember them.
Here are their thoughts on each other:

I was amazed during the game. Each time Petrosian achieved a good position, he managed to maneuver into a better one."
"This super-refinement reduces all of White’s attacking prospects. Petrosian has a knack of snuffing out such dreams twenty moves before they even enter his opponent’s head!".

• Bobby Fischer, My 60 Memorable Games, Annotating his games with Petrosian (Portoroz 1958, Bled 1961). (p.29, p. 234).

"Fischer's play made a good impression and his success was deserved. In the past two years the young American Grandmaster has noticeably changed. He has become a many-sided player with a leaning towards the positional game. What strikes you about Fischer is, if I may put it this way, his chess appetite. He always takes pleasure in playing. This, it seems to me, is one of the reasons for his successes".

• Tigran Petrosian, Describing Fischer's 1962 Stockholm Interzonal performance. Python Strategy (p.158).

Sources

• Bobby Fischer - August 17, 1971
• Bobby Fischer News Article Index (provided by bobby-fischer-1971.blogspot.com - a great resource)
• Fischer Petrosian Match Information (provided by www.europe-echecs.com - another great resource)
• Larry Evans, Sports Illustrated, April 20, 1970. (provided by www.chessgames.com - another great resource)
• Bobby Fischer, Sport Illustrated, August 20, 1962 (provided by bobby-fischer.1971.blogspot.com)
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobby_Fischer
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Chess_Championship_1972
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Chess_Championship_1963
• Fischer - Petrosian Final
• Fischer Petrosian 1958 Portoroz Photo
• Fischer-Petrosian 1970 Match, USSR vs World Photo
• Bobby Fischer My 60 Memorable Games (p.29, p. 234 quotes)
• Tigran Petrosian Autobiography (p. 158 quote)