AAsbury Park Press Asbury Park, New Jersey Sunday, July 25, 1971 - Page 41
The Chessboard - Fischer Win Hair-Raising
Bobby Fischer's victory in his first game against Bent Larsen of Denmark in their candidates' match was a hair-raising affair of the type one comes to expect between two combative grandmasters.
Larsen set of the French Defense to Fischer's 1. P-K4 and soon was a pawn ahead although he had forfeited his right to castle. Later Fischer gave up a rook for two minor pieces, but his king was put in grave danger.
After the ensuing complications, the American emerged with rook and two bishops against Larsen's queen. Fischer also had a distant passed pawn impossible for Larsen to stop—and that gave Fischer the point. Here is the score:
FRENCH DEFENSE
3. Nc3 Bb4 (One of Black's strongest systems in the French, this line is not calculated to yield White any quick advantage.)
7. a4 (Played to foil any Black attempt to place his queen on R5.)
9. Bd3 Qc7 (Ordinarily one expects the Black queen to go to R4 to exert pressure on White's QB3, but Black intends to concentrate on White's advanced king's pawn.) There followed:
10. O-O c4 11. Be2 f6 12. Re1 Ng6 (now it appears that White must lose a pawn, but he stands to be compensated since Black has omitted castling); 13. Ba3! (now Black cannot castle if he would and risks having his king badly displaced), fxe5 14. dxe5 Ncxe5 15. Nxe5 Nxe5; and White replied 16. Qd4 (With the strong threat of 17. B-R5ch)
18. f4 Rhe8 (Black cannot parry the threatened 19. P-B5.)
Position after Black's 22nd move; 23. Rxe5 (Gaining two minor pieces for the rook and demonstrating a willingness to undergo the scathing attack on his king that follows. White has correctly calculated that Black's queen-side pawns will now become fatally weak.)
25. Qxb7 Qe3+ (Black seizes the chance to harass the White king.)
26. Kf1 Rd2 (Threatening mate!) White replied:
27. Qc6+ Re6 (now it appears White cannot survive); 28. Bc5! (Fischer finds the saving move), Rf2+ 29. Kg1 Rxg2+ 30. Kxg2 Qd2+ 31. Kh1 Rxc6 32. Bxc6 (the end of Fischer's combination begun on move 23!), Qxc3 33. Rg1+ Kf6 34. Bxa7 g5; and White played 35. Bb6 Qxc2 (Regardless of Black's moves, White's queen rook's pawn must prove unstoppable.)
41. Bb6 Resigns; 1-0 (The Black queen has been effectively shut out.)
Robert James Fischer vs Bent Larsen
Fischer - Larsen Candidates Semifinal (1971), Denver, CO USA, rd 1, Jul-06
French Defense: Winawer. Advance Variation (C19) 1-0
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1044346
move 22. Qd4
