Bobby Fischer's Chess Jab

In my previous articles, I discussed two "chess boxing" combos,  "The Chess Uppercut" and "The Chess Sucker Punch." 

Today, I'll show you "Fischer's Jab."

The definition of a jab is "a quick, sharp blow, especially with the fist."  

This is exactly what Fischer did in the next famous game.

Look at the position below. Black is ready to meet White's move hxg6 with fxg6, when his rook on a7 securely protects the whole seventh rank, and especially the vital h7-pawn. Can White demolish Black's defense?

The history buffs can reply that Fischer wasn't the first who executed this kind of combination. Indeed, look at the following game by Rubinstein, played 50 years before Fischer's:

Rubinstein's combination is pretty much identical: just like in Fischer's game, the defender was waiting for hxg3, so after fxg3 the white queen would protect the h2 pawn. And just like in Fischer's game, Rubinstein's "quick, sharp blow" knocked out his opponent! 

Fischer via Wikipedia

So, if Fischer wasn't first to play this combo, why do I call it "Fischer's Jab" and not "Rubinstein's Jab"?

Well, first of all it is very trendy to give Fischer's name to things invented by somebody else, like, for example, "Fischer's clock," or "Fischer Random Chess." (Both concepts were introduced by GM Bronstein in the 1970s).  And besides, I am not sure if Rubinstein was first either.

Judge for yourself:

Tarrasch's combination might be slightly different (the defender didn't attempt to defend along the seventh rank), but it's still pretty close to Fischer's and Rubinstein's combinations!

And Tarrasch had his followers too! The following combination executed by the 63-year-old veteran against a famous grandmaster is closer to Tarrasch's combo rather than Fischer's combo:

Finally, let me show you a relatively recent example where White's combination was as close to Fischer's and Rubinstein's games as possible!

Don't miss an opportunity to knock out your opponent with "Fischer's Jab"!