New York Times, New York, New York, Wednesday, July 07, 1971 - Page 13
Larsen Is Defeated By Bobby Fischer In Opening Game
Denver, July 6 — Bobby Fischer, moving forward in his quest for the World's Chess Championship, defeated Bent Larsen of Denmark in 41 moves in the first game of their match tonight in Temple Buell College here.
The first surprise was Larsen's opening, replying to Fischer's expected P-K4 with the French defense. No one present could remember Larsen using this opening in recent years.
Fischer was obviously not impressed, making his first few moves rapidly. He gained control of the center and moved his king into safety by castling.
Larsen tried for counterplay in the center, preparing to castle on the queen's side. When he threatened one of Fischer's pawns, the American ace made no effort to protect it, quietly continuing his development.
Larsen Threatened
Larsen accepted the gift but soon regretted it, as he found he could no longer castle, and his king was in a precarious situation.
At this stage, Larsen's game seemed hopeless, in view of Fischer's reputation as an attacking genius.
Then, at the critical moment, Fischer apparently missed the strongest line, and suddenly Larsen had new life.
Now it was Larsen who had the queen and rook on aggressive lines. He gave up two minor pieces for one of Fischer's rooks. Then Fischer's king was subjected to a violent assault.
For eight moves in succession Fischer had only one reply to Larsen's threat, but he managed to survive.
He had to give up his queen, but came into the ending with a rook and two bishops as compensation.
In addition, Larsen had four pawns to two for Fischer, so that material was roughly equal.
The decisive factor was that Fischer had a passed pawn, supported by the bishops.
The pawn advanced rapidly to the queening square, and Larsen, finding no way to stop it, resigned just before adjournment time.
The second game of the match will be played Thursday, starting at 4 P.M. Games are scheduled for Sundays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays. An adjourned game will be played off on the following day.
The match is for the best in 10 games, with 5½ points required to win. Should a tie result after 10 games, then six more will be played on a sudden-death basis. Another tie after 16 games would be resolved by the toss of a coin.
A Draw in Moscow
Moscow, July 6 (Reuters)— The second game in the semifinals of the challengers' tournament for the World Chess Championship between Tigran Petrosian, former champion, and grand master Viktor Korchnoi ended in a draw on the 37th move here today, according to Tass, the Soviet press agency.
