Weak Squares and Outposts Part 6 - Bobby Fischer

As mentioned previously, a weak square's importance is dependent upon one's ability to utilize it. However, a weak square's utility is very much dependent upon its accessibility. Bobby Fischer demonstrates some tactical ingenuity to achieve a strategic goal in this Olympiad Game against Svein Johannessen in order to do his best Man of La Mancha impersonation and reach a seemingly unreachable square.

In the next game, both sides vie to exploit the weaknesses that exist in their opponent's camp. This time it is Fischer's opponent, Arthur Bisguier who deploys the tactical maneuver that allows a Knight to reach his outpost. However, in this case it is to no avail as Fischer is able to strong arm his way to victory. I am including Fischer's notes of this game along with my own.

For the final game of this Blog, we visit Rejkjavik Iceland where Bobby Fischer won the World Championship from Boris Spassky. This is the 13th game of that event, played on August 10th, 1972. To Spassky's surprise, Fischer willingly allowed a weakness on d6. To his greater surprise, Fischer essentially invited him to make it an outpost for his Knight. To his greatest surprise, Fischer had a tactical response to obliterate White's outpost.

To summarize, the key factors in finding and exploiting weak squares are: Identification, Visualization, Imagination, Calculation and Realization. Good luck in your own pursuits. Have a great day, and play some great chess!