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Fischer in Colorado
September 22, 2018
The Colorado Chess Informant in its August 2018 issue has an illustrated supplement by Todd Bardwick entitled
Bobby Fischer’s Visits to Colorado
Excerpts
This supplement to the Informant is an attempt to give a detailed historical account of Bobby Fischer’s visits to Colorado for current and future generations. I have written many articles about it in the Rocky Mountain News over the 17 years I wrote for the newspaper. (To find those articles, you can go to www.ColoradoMasterChess.com and click on the Articles link.)
1964 Simultaneous Exhibition
Bobby Fischer first visited Denver in 1964 and gave a simultaneous exhibition and lecture in his only national tour against 55 players on April 26 at the Brown Palace Hotel.
Wouldn’t it have been great to play against Fischer for only $5?
In Fischer’s Denver exhibition, he won fifty games, drew four, and lost one – to Wesley Koehler, the Colorado State Champion in 1965, 1966, and 1971.
Koehler’s victory made him the only player to ever defeat Bobby Fischer in the state of Colorado.
In early 2004, I received a letter from Wesley Koehler where he summarized his observations from Fischer’s play:
“His (Fischer’s) great knowledge of the game enabled him to outplay his opponents unless he made some kind of tactical miscue, and his losses on tour (in the simul) showed that even a player on his level would make a certain number of blunders under tour conditions, often in winning positions. I happened to be the recipient of his blunders in this exhibition, although not until after he had missed the sharpest line and I had been able to hinder the advance of his queenside pawns long enough to bring my king up and neutralize most of his advantage.”
Fischer Simul
Brown Palace Hotel, Denver, Colorado
April 26, 1964
Fischer, Bobby – Koehler, Wesley
B84 Sicilian, Scheveningen, Classical variation
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e6 7.f4 b5 8.Bf3 Ra7 9.Be3 Rc7 10.O-O b4 11.Na4 Bb7 12.c3 Nxe4 13.cxb4 Nd7 14.b5 Qa8 15.bxa6 Bxa6 16.Re1 d5 17.Rc1 Rxc1 18.Qxc1 Bb4 19.Rd1 O-O 20.Qc6 Ndf6 21.a3 Bd6 22.Qxa8 Rxa8 23.Rc1 Rc8 24.Rxc8+ Bxc8 25.b4 Bd7 26.Nb6 Be8 27.Nb3 Kf8 28.a4 Bxb4 29.Be2 Nc3 30.Bd3 Nxa4 31.Nxa4 Bxa4 0-1
Position after 27….Kf8
28.a4? (A rare mistake by Fischer, blundering away a pawn. White had an advantage here with the outside passed pawns. It is easy to occasionally make mistakes when playing quickly against 54 other opponents!) 28...Bxb4 29.Be2? (Also losing the a-pawn.) 29...Nc3 30.Bd3 Nxa4 31.Nxa4 Bxa4 White Resigns.
________
Bobby Fischer - Bent Larsen Quarter Final World Championship Match
The road to the World Championship came through Denver as Fischer returned in 1971 to play against GM Bent Larsen of Denmark in the quarter-final world championship match. The match took place at Temple Buell College in the Houston Fine Arts Center, 7111 Montview Boulevard, Denver, Colorado.
Temple Buell has been bought out several times and changed names since 1971. Today the auditorium where the Fischer - Larsen Match took place is the Kay Schomp Theatre in the Denver School of the Arts. The auditorium was called Foote Music Hall back in 1971
I couldn’t find any photos of the players during the Match - Fischer did not allow cameras in the playing area as they would distract him. The auditorium hasn’t changed much according all the eye witnesses who attended the match. Here are photos of the Kay Schomp Theatre today. Witnesses all agree that the spectators sat in the balcony. Some recall spectator seating was also available directly under the balcony. Fischer didn’t want spectators to sit within at least the first 15 rows.
__________
Brad Lundstrom attended two games from the match.
He recalls that the summer of 1971 was brutally hot.
“For me it was perfect. I lived in my tennis shoes and gym shorts, had eight lawn jobs and rode my bike everywhere I went. James Taylor came out with his signature song, “You’ve Got a Friend.” My junior year of high school was just ahead; I was working out hard getting ready for fall football and I had the cutest sixteen year old girlfriend in chess history. Since falling fully in love with chess during junior high school, I’d followed Bobby Fischer during his 18 month lay-off into his incredible return. I’d also been thrilled with Bent Larsen’s recent years tournament domination.”
“When I learned their epic candidates semi-final match was to be held in Denver, I was beside myself with joy and excitement. It took a masterly sell job to convince my parents, then my girlfriend’s parents, but I was not to be denied... going to the first game was truly an adventure. My girlfriend Joanne and I took the long bus trip from Greeley to Denver and found our way to Temple Buell. We sat about half way up the stadium style seating. There was a large stage with a wall board that some lucky chess kids relayed the moves from the board to and a table with the set and clock. Larsen arrived to the stage and was greeted with polite applause and we waited a few minutes for Fischer. He lumbered in to huge applause and he shook Larsen’s hand. As the game started some kid towards the front made some noise with his candy wrapper and Fischer jumped up, motioned to referee and pointed into the audience. It scared the heck out of me and I was praying he wouldn’t just walk out.”
“Finally the game started. I was surprised when Larsen played a French Winawer but remembered Bobby had sometimes struggled against this opening so it made some sense. The game was awesome with Larsen playing a little out of the norm and Fischer sacrificing a pawn for the initiative. Late in the middle game Fischer gave up his queen for two bishops and a rook but Larsen’s pawns looked dangerous. Sad to say about this time I had to leave as we had a bus schedule to meet. I learned later of the brilliant ending Fischer played and his first game victory.”
https://new.uschess.org/wp-content/u...Aug-2018-1.pdf
Fischer-Larsen Candidates Semifinal
Denver, CO
Game 1, July 6, 1971
Fischer, Robert J. – Larsen, Bent
C19 French, Winawer, Advance, Smyslov variation
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 Ne7 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.a4 Nbc6 8.Nf3 Bd7 9.Bd3 Qc7 10.O-O c4 11.Be2 f6 12.Re1 Ng6 13.Ba3 fxe5 14.dxe5 Ncxe5 15.Nxe5 Nxe5 16.Qd4 Ng6 17.Bh5 Kf7 18.f4 Rhe8 19.f5 exf5 20.Qxd5+ Kf6 21.Bf3 Ne5 22.Qd4 Kg6 23.Rxe5 Qxe5 24.Qxd7 Rad8 25.Qxb7 Qe3+ 26.Kf1 Rd2 27.Qc6+ Re6 28.Bc5 Rf2+ 29.Kg1 Rxg2+ 30.Kxg2 Qd2+ 31.Kh1 Rxc6 32.Bxc6 Qxc3 33.Rg1+ Kf6 34.Bxa7 g5 35.Bb6 Qxc2 36.a5 Qb2 37.Bd8+ Ke6 38.a6 Qa3 39.Bb7 Qc5 40.Rb1 c3 41.Bb6 1-0
Position after 34…g5
Full analysis and commentary at
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044346
___________
Truly, a pdf to download and file away
September 22, 2018
The Colorado Chess Informant in its August 2018 issue has an illustrated supplement by Todd Bardwick entitled
Bobby Fischer’s Visits to Colorado
Excerpts
This supplement to the Informant is an attempt to give a detailed historical account of Bobby Fischer’s visits to Colorado for current and future generations. I have written many articles about it in the Rocky Mountain News over the 17 years I wrote for the newspaper. (To find those articles, you can go to www.ColoradoMasterChess.com and click on the Articles link.)
1964 Simultaneous Exhibition
Bobby Fischer first visited Denver in 1964 and gave a simultaneous exhibition and lecture in his only national tour against 55 players on April 26 at the Brown Palace Hotel.
Wouldn’t it have been great to play against Fischer for only $5?
In Fischer’s Denver exhibition, he won fifty games, drew four, and lost one – to Wesley Koehler, the Colorado State Champion in 1965, 1966, and 1971.
Koehler’s victory made him the only player to ever defeat Bobby Fischer in the state of Colorado.
In early 2004, I received a letter from Wesley Koehler where he summarized his observations from Fischer’s play:
“His (Fischer’s) great knowledge of the game enabled him to outplay his opponents unless he made some kind of tactical miscue, and his losses on tour (in the simul) showed that even a player on his level would make a certain number of blunders under tour conditions, often in winning positions. I happened to be the recipient of his blunders in this exhibition, although not until after he had missed the sharpest line and I had been able to hinder the advance of his queenside pawns long enough to bring my king up and neutralize most of his advantage.”
Fischer Simul
Brown Palace Hotel, Denver, Colorado
April 26, 1964
Fischer, Bobby – Koehler, Wesley
B84 Sicilian, Scheveningen, Classical variation
1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Be2 e6 7.f4 b5 8.Bf3 Ra7 9.Be3 Rc7 10.O-O b4 11.Na4 Bb7 12.c3 Nxe4 13.cxb4 Nd7 14.b5 Qa8 15.bxa6 Bxa6 16.Re1 d5 17.Rc1 Rxc1 18.Qxc1 Bb4 19.Rd1 O-O 20.Qc6 Ndf6 21.a3 Bd6 22.Qxa8 Rxa8 23.Rc1 Rc8 24.Rxc8+ Bxc8 25.b4 Bd7 26.Nb6 Be8 27.Nb3 Kf8 28.a4 Bxb4 29.Be2 Nc3 30.Bd3 Nxa4 31.Nxa4 Bxa4 0-1
Position after 27….Kf8
28.a4? (A rare mistake by Fischer, blundering away a pawn. White had an advantage here with the outside passed pawns. It is easy to occasionally make mistakes when playing quickly against 54 other opponents!) 28...Bxb4 29.Be2? (Also losing the a-pawn.) 29...Nc3 30.Bd3 Nxa4 31.Nxa4 Bxa4 White Resigns.
________
Bobby Fischer - Bent Larsen Quarter Final World Championship Match
The road to the World Championship came through Denver as Fischer returned in 1971 to play against GM Bent Larsen of Denmark in the quarter-final world championship match. The match took place at Temple Buell College in the Houston Fine Arts Center, 7111 Montview Boulevard, Denver, Colorado.
Temple Buell has been bought out several times and changed names since 1971. Today the auditorium where the Fischer - Larsen Match took place is the Kay Schomp Theatre in the Denver School of the Arts. The auditorium was called Foote Music Hall back in 1971
I couldn’t find any photos of the players during the Match - Fischer did not allow cameras in the playing area as they would distract him. The auditorium hasn’t changed much according all the eye witnesses who attended the match. Here are photos of the Kay Schomp Theatre today. Witnesses all agree that the spectators sat in the balcony. Some recall spectator seating was also available directly under the balcony. Fischer didn’t want spectators to sit within at least the first 15 rows.
__________
Brad Lundstrom attended two games from the match.
He recalls that the summer of 1971 was brutally hot.
“For me it was perfect. I lived in my tennis shoes and gym shorts, had eight lawn jobs and rode my bike everywhere I went. James Taylor came out with his signature song, “You’ve Got a Friend.” My junior year of high school was just ahead; I was working out hard getting ready for fall football and I had the cutest sixteen year old girlfriend in chess history. Since falling fully in love with chess during junior high school, I’d followed Bobby Fischer during his 18 month lay-off into his incredible return. I’d also been thrilled with Bent Larsen’s recent years tournament domination.”
“When I learned their epic candidates semi-final match was to be held in Denver, I was beside myself with joy and excitement. It took a masterly sell job to convince my parents, then my girlfriend’s parents, but I was not to be denied... going to the first game was truly an adventure. My girlfriend Joanne and I took the long bus trip from Greeley to Denver and found our way to Temple Buell. We sat about half way up the stadium style seating. There was a large stage with a wall board that some lucky chess kids relayed the moves from the board to and a table with the set and clock. Larsen arrived to the stage and was greeted with polite applause and we waited a few minutes for Fischer. He lumbered in to huge applause and he shook Larsen’s hand. As the game started some kid towards the front made some noise with his candy wrapper and Fischer jumped up, motioned to referee and pointed into the audience. It scared the heck out of me and I was praying he wouldn’t just walk out.”
“Finally the game started. I was surprised when Larsen played a French Winawer but remembered Bobby had sometimes struggled against this opening so it made some sense. The game was awesome with Larsen playing a little out of the norm and Fischer sacrificing a pawn for the initiative. Late in the middle game Fischer gave up his queen for two bishops and a rook but Larsen’s pawns looked dangerous. Sad to say about this time I had to leave as we had a bus schedule to meet. I learned later of the brilliant ending Fischer played and his first game victory.”
https://new.uschess.org/wp-content/u...Aug-2018-1.pdf
Fischer-Larsen Candidates Semifinal
Denver, CO
Game 1, July 6, 1971
Fischer, Robert J. – Larsen, Bent
C19 French, Winawer, Advance, Smyslov variation
1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.e5 Ne7 5.a3 Bxc3+ 6.bxc3 c5 7.a4 Nbc6 8.Nf3 Bd7 9.Bd3 Qc7 10.O-O c4 11.Be2 f6 12.Re1 Ng6 13.Ba3 fxe5 14.dxe5 Ncxe5 15.Nxe5 Nxe5 16.Qd4 Ng6 17.Bh5 Kf7 18.f4 Rhe8 19.f5 exf5 20.Qxd5+ Kf6 21.Bf3 Ne5 22.Qd4 Kg6 23.Rxe5 Qxe5 24.Qxd7 Rad8 25.Qxb7 Qe3+ 26.Kf1 Rd2 27.Qc6+ Re6 28.Bc5 Rf2+ 29.Kg1 Rxg2+ 30.Kxg2 Qd2+ 31.Kh1 Rxc6 32.Bxc6 Qxc3 33.Rg1+ Kf6 34.Bxa7 g5 35.Bb6 Qxc2 36.a5 Qb2 37.Bd8+ Ke6 38.a6 Qa3 39.Bb7 Qc5 40.Rb1 c3 41.Bb6 1-0
Position after 34…g5
Full analysis and commentary at
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044346
___________
Truly, a pdf to download and file away