jr wrote:

Bxh2?!? The first match game against Spassky in 1972 wasn't
the only time that Fischer tried to win a drawn position
and lost. He refused a draw against Florian Gheorghiu
at the 1966 Chess Olympiad in Havana, which cost
Bobby the gold medal on board one. (Parrthenon)

Help Bot is a chess ignoramus who keeps shifting ground
when his arguments are refued.


As far as I know, none of my arguments have yet been
"refued", certainly not by ignorants who babble on about
Fischer trying to win when in fact he has admitted that
he simply blundered. For example, Bobby Fischer Goes
to War quotes Fischer with regard to this game: "I played
like a fish." Ruebin Fine has Fischer flatly admitting that
he *overlooked* that Kg4 traps his Bishop.

IMO, these myriad attempts to twist a simple miscalculation
into something else, reflects that there are a lot of people who
cannot accept the truth that Fischer was not infallible, that he
sometimes blundered just like everyone else. Such people
search desperately for another explanation, rejecting the
obvious one and concocting all sorts of explanations in order to
protect their misguided delusions. I pity such people.


He claimed that Fischer wasn't playing for a win in a completely
drawn position with Bxh2 and then he falsely added that Spassky
stood better before Bxh2.


A CHESS LESSON FOR JR AND LARRY PARR
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the position where Fischer blundered with Bxh2, the
White King is nearer the center, his pawn on b5 restricts
the Black King, and not one of his pawns is *fixed* on
the wrong color square, where it might be attacked and
won by Black's Bishop. Note that even though many of
White's pawns *are* on dark squares, they are not fixed;
this is important.

Now then, let us compare Black's situation; Black's
King is still on the back rank, so he is behind in tempi*.
His pawns are safe enough for now, and he is not down
any material. His Bishop is the equal of White's, and
because there is so little to work with, the odds of
Black being able to hold a draw are good. But not quite
so good that the two players readily agree to save time
and swap colors for their next game -- White can try to
make something of his advantages here, however small
they may be. The single threat of trading down to a
K & p ending is White's trump card, for Black's inferior
King position could lose such a game perforce. Hence,
if a diagonal is challenged, Black may well have to yield
in order to avoid a losing trade. Or not -- it depends.

* tempi, plural of tempo; a unit of time equal to one move
in chess. Generally speaking, having the move is good,
gaining tempi is good; and yes, this applies even in the
endgame. (Make that *especially* in the endgame.)

Next week: why "all" Rook and pawn endings are drawn.


-- help bot