Fischer-Spassky 1992 (Game 12)

A few months ago, I was doing a weekly posting on some of the games from the 1992 Fischer-Spassky rematch.  I was not getting much feedback and kind of abandoned this for other articles of interest.

After purchasing and reading a book by Cartier & Shamkovich on the 1992 match over the weekend, my interest in this contest has once again peaked and I am continuing my review of this match at the halfway point as follows:

September 30, 1992

Belgrade, Yugoslavia

At the halfway point of the match, Fischer leads 5 games to 2 and the players took a 10-day rest before starting the second half of the match.  The rest proved to be especially beneficial for Spassky, who had been somewhat ill during the match and was having kidney problems.  To refresh everyone, the match stipulations are the first player to win 10 games takes home the $3.35 million winner’s prize.

The second half of the match was moved from the coastal resort of Sveti Stefan to the Yugoslavian capital of Belgrade.  The new playing venue was in the Blue Hall of the Sava Center, where the players were now placed behind a soundproof glass barrier that separated them from the viewing audience.  The reasoning behind this was that the crowds at Sveti Stefan were considerably smaller (approximately 30) than the crowds that would be watching in Belgrade (approximately 1,000).

Spassky seemed invigorated in Game # 12 of the match and won a dominating victory with the White pieces.  Spassky came out with a Queen’s pawn opening and Fischer defended with the King’s Indian Defense.   As he did in Game 8 (which he won), Fischer played the Panno Variation with 6…Nc6 and 7…a6.  Spassky changed things up a little by playing 8.h4 instead of the previous 8.Qd2 in an effort to keep the tempo on his side.

Fischer would end up losing a piece as a result of Spassky’s 31.Qh5.  He was unable to move his Knight that was under attack because of the threat of 32.g6 and he eventually resigned after Spassky’s 54th move.  Fischer now leads the match by a score of 5-3.

For an account of the earlier games, visit www.rookhouse.com/blog and type in "fischer spassky 1992" in the search bar located on the right side.