Bobby Fischer, circa 1972

"Wildman" Meets Bobby Fischer

One of the most magical moments in my life occurred around 1965, when a friend from the Forest Park, Queens, chess tables, Don Walter, introduced me to his acquaintance, Bobby Fischer, and I got to shake hands with him.

One of the greatest chess geniuses of all time, he was visiting a NYC tournament where ordinary players like me were playing. Genial, open, and friendly, he let people show him their games.

Serious chess players of all levels of skill study the game hard, often play quite well, and spend hours or days analyzing their games afterwards to understand the key positions, what they and their opponents did right, and where they went wrong.

Fischer would make one or two off-hand comments, and it was like a laser light had been cast upon the board. Suddenly, you understand in great clarity the essence of that particular game, and what each player should have been striving for. I've never had an experience remotely similar.

And this was what I still consider the true Bobby Fischer, years before what I see as mental illness ended his chess career and made a mess of his personality and life.

Soon after I met him, I was in the audience when Fischer won the US championship. The audience had to maintain complete silence, but to see him in action right before my eyes and attempt to anticipate some his moves was another peak experience.

I'm glad he was able to contribute so much to the world before his problems took him down.

Steve Brill (1685)- Sagona (1650)
Empire State Chess Federation Unlimited Cash Quad 45/90, 1969

Sicilian Defense

I was strongest in the openings, which I studied intently. Here, my opponent, as Black, makes a positional error early on in the Sicilian Defense which I exploit to advantage. I win a pawn and press on. Things get complicated, neither player plays with perfect accuracy, but White prevails.

1. e4, c5; 2. Nf3, d6; 3. d4, cxd4; 4. Nxd4, Nf6; 5. Nc3, a6; 6. Be2, e5; 7. Nb3, b5?!

Premature — black needs to develop his pieces before attacking.

8. a4! bxa4?

(8...b4 and White has the edge. Now White can attack on the queenside and a-file.)

9. Rxa4, Bb7?

(9...Be7 is better)

10. Na5, Qc7; 11. Nxb7, Qxb7; 12. 0-0

(12. Nd5 is even better, or 12. Be3, Nbd7 [12...Qb2? 13. Nb5!]; 13. Qa1 with a clear advantage for White.)

12...Nbd7; 13. Be3, Be7; 14. Qa1

With pressure on the weak a-pawn, greater control of the center, and the bishop pair, white still has the advantage. Black must seek counterplay in the center.

14...a5; 15. Rb1,

(15. b4!)

15...0-0; 16. Bf3

(16. Ra5, trading the a-pawn for the e-pawn with a big positional advantage, is better.)

Nb6; 17. Bxb6, Qxb6; 18. b4, Rfc8; 19. Rxa5 White wins the pawn with a superior position.

19... Rab8; 20. b5?

(White pushes the passed pawn, but 20. Rb5! is better.)

20... Qd4?;

20... Bd8, followed by ...Bb6, leaves White with only an edge.)

21. Rb3, Bd8; 22. Ra6?

The wrong square! White won a pawn and could easily win the game with Ra4!, driving the queen away. Now Black gets counterplay.

22...Bb6; 23. Qe1, Nd7?

Black messes up in turn and returns the favor. 23...Rc4! creates difficulties for White, who still retains an edge due to the extra pawn.

24. Ra4!?

Better late than never. 24. Ne2, Qc5; 25 Bg4! is also good.

24...Qc5?

(24...Rc4 is better, but White's still winning.)

25. Bg4!

This pin give White a big advantage.

25...Rb7; 26. Ra2, Qd4; 27. Ne2

(27. Nd5! wins more quickly.)

Qc4; 28. Nc3

White, still a pawn up, has freed himself, and the knight is headed to d5.

28...Rcc7?

This loses on the spot.

29. Nd5, Rc5; 30. Bxd7, Rxd5; 31. Ra8+, Black resigns.

Steve Brill (1875)- Ostriker (1780)
Second Long Island Winter Open, 2/13/73

Petroff Defense/Steinitz Variation

This game began as a positional struggle for white to keep his first-move edge. Black missed opportunities to equalize and finally succumbed when white's pressure swept up a weak center pawn.

1. e4, e5; 2. Nf3, Nf6

Petrov's Defense, leading to an open game with a symmetrical pawn structure. If white can't use his advantage in development to gain space and the initiative, a draw often results.

3. d4, exd4; 4. e5, Ne4, 5. Qxd4, d5; 6. exd6 e.p., Nd6; 7. Bd3, Nc6; 8. Qf4, g6; 9. Nc3, Bg7; 10. Be3, Be6; 11. 0-0

or 11. 0-0-0, Bc3= (11...0-0, 12. Bc5!)

11...Qf6!

Now black either relieves the pressure by trading queens, or gains a much-needed tempo if white retreats with 12. Qa4.

12. Qf6?!,

(12. Qa4! give white the edge.)

13...Bxf6; 13. Ng5!?

White tries to use his lead in development to try to gain the bishop pair and saddle black with a weak pawn.

13...0-0-0

Black gives up the bishop pair and weakens his pawn structure, but still maintains equality, as these factors are temporary. 13...Bd7 gives white the edge after 14. Nd5!

14. Nxe6White is better

14...fxe6; 15. Rfe1

Also possible is 15. Rde1, followed by Bc1 and Ne4, still with equality.

15... a6; 16. Bc5, Rhe8; 17. Rab1, Bg7?

(17...Ne5!=)

18. Ne4 White has the edge.

18...Nxe4; 19. Bxe4, Nd4; 20. c3, Nb5; 21. Bf3?!

(21. a4!?, followed by b4 and b5 to try to lines on the queenside for White, while maintaining pressure on the center, could be met by counterplay from Black's pieces. Now black gets to advance his e-pawn, making it more secure and gaining some space in the center.)

21...e5!?

White still has the edge.

22. Be3 Bf6; 23. Rbd1, Nd6; 24 Bd5, Nf5; 25. Bc5, Nd6

If 25...h5? 26. Be4 targets the Black kingside pawns.

26. g4!?

White begins a kingside advance, hoping that there aren't enough well-placed black pieces to threaten the exposed king.

26...h5; 27. h3, hxg4?

27...Rh8 leaves White with just an edge.

28. hxg4, Rh8

29. Be6?!

(White underestimates Black's attack on the h-file. Better is 29. Kf1 with the advantage. Now White will only have an edge again.)

29...Kb8; 30. f3, Rh7; 31. Bf2, Rdh8; 32. Bg3, Re8; 33. Bb3?

(33. Bd5, holding back the Black e-pawn, retains the edge.)

33...Bh4; 34. Bhx4?=

(34. Kg2 retains the edge.)

34... Rhx4; 35. Re2, Kc8?

(35... e4! 35. Rde1, Rf8!=) Now White regains the edge.

36. Rde1, e4; 37. Bc2?

(37. Kf2 retains the edge yet again.)

37...Nb5?

(A serious error. 37...Rf8! holds on to the pawn with an equal game that should end in a draw. Now Black loses the vital e-pawn.)

38. Bxe4, Nd6?? Discouraged, Black hangs the g-pawn and loses.

39. Bg6 1-0.

Although dead lost, as was his wont (the same thing happened every time I played him), Black continued to play for another 31 moves until checkmated, getting some consolation by depriving his opponent of some rest time before the next round of the tournament!

J. Andrews (1028)- Steve Brill (871)
American Postal Chess League Championship 1973

Sicilian Defense, Narjdorf Variation

I was at my best playing postal chess, where you weren't limited with what you could see with a chess clock ticking. After hours of analysis, I could gain a deeper understanding of the positions and have a much better chance of finding the best move.

Here's a game where I outplayed a master (at that time, the postal chess rating system didn't correspond to the standard over-the-board rating system) and zoomed in for the kill. I was playing the Narjdorf variation of the Sicilian Defense, an opening I love to play as white or black.

I submitted the annotated game to The Chess Correspondent Magazine for their Game of the Month. It didn't win the award, but they did publish it.

1. e4, c5; 2. Nf3, d6; 3. d4, cxd4; 4. Nxd4, Nf6; 5. Nc3, a6;

The long-popular Narjdorf Variation of the Sicilian Defense, sharp and complex, with chances for both sides.

6. Be3

A rarely-played line at the time, to get me out of the books.

6...e5;

(6...e6 is a good alternative.)

7. Nf3

More active is 7. Nb3, aiming for an eventual f4. Blocking the f-pawn limits white's options.

7...b5?;

(7...Be7 is better, but with White's N on f3, I thought I could play more aggressively.)

8. a3?

White plays too passively for the Sicilian. Better is 8. a4!, b5; 9. Nd5, eventually winning the pawn on b4.

8...Bb7; =

9. Bd3

The bishop on d3 seems no better than a pawn. It also blocks White's only semi-open file. Protecting the e-pawn with Nd2, followed by Be2 and an eventual f4 seemed more aggressive to me, although the position is still equal.

9...Nbd7; 10. 0-0, Be7; 11. Re1,

(11. Nh4 is also good.)

11...0-0; 12. h3

(Here 12. Nh4 is definitely the better move.)

12... h6;

(12...Nc5 is slightly better.)

13. Nd2

The knight should have gone here on move 9.

13...d5?!

Having completed his development, Black strikes a blow against the center, opening up the game and seizing the newly opened lines. In general, it's very good for black if he can play d5 in the Sicilian. Neverthless. 13...Nc5 is better, when his well-placed pieces and pressure on the c-file gives Black the edge.

14. exd5, Nxd5; 15. Nxd5, Bxd5; 16. b4?

Stopping black's pawns from advancing on the Queenside, but creating a backwards pawn and weaknesses on the half-open C-file. Both players missed 16. c4!, bringing White's pieces to life and giving him the edge.

16...Rb8?

(16...Nf6, 17. f3=, or 17. Bf5=)

17. Nf1?

Threatening 18. Bb5!, but again, 17. c4! gives White the advantage, with an attack on the queenside. Now the position is equal yet again.

17...Be6; 18. Bc1?

18. Qh5! maintains equality.

17... f5!

Now Black has the advantage as his central pawn-roller advances.

19. Bb2, Bf6?!;

(19...e4! continues the attack.)

20.Ng3?

(20. f3 or 20. a4 leaves Black with just the edge.)

20... e4; 21. Bxf6, Nf6; 22. Be2, Qc7

Now Black's pressure on the c-file gives him the advantage.

23. c3?

This makes a bad situation worse. 23. a4 is better.

23... Rfd8; 24. Qc2?24..., e3!

The winning move. White should have played 24. Qc1, when he would have lost the c-pawn and the ending.

Now Black threatens to win the knight with 25...ef2+, 26. Kf2, Qf4+, for if 27. Bf3?? Rd2+ wins. White parries this threat and loses a rook instead. The rest, as they say, is a matter of technique.

25. Bf3 Rd2; 26. Qc1, exf2+; 27, Kh1, fxe1Q+; 28. Qxe1, Qd6; 29. Ne2, Ne4; 30. Bxe4, fxe4; 31. Nd4, Rb2; 32. Rd1?, Bh3; 33. Rd2, Rd2; 34. Qd2, Bg4; 35. Qe3, Rf8; 36. Kg1, Qf4; 37. Qf4, Rf4; 38. Nc2, Kf7; 0-1. White resigns.

T. Junas (CCLA 750)- Steve Brill (CCLA 750)
American Postal Chess NY-MA Invitational Team Match 1973

Sicilian Defense Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted

Here's one of my best postal chess games, against a player of equal strength (note: the postal chess rating system of the day didn't correspond to the standard over-the-board rating system)— a very satisfying quick victory, especially important because my theoretical innovation seemed to refute a then-popular gambit that had always seemed unsound to me.

Games won by spectacular attacks always get the most attention, while the art of defense is often overlooked. This game is distinguished by the attacks and sacrifices my opponent never got a chance to make!

I submitted the annotated game to The Chess Correspondent Magazine for their Game of the Year. They did publish it, but issued no award.

1. e4, c5; 2. d4, cd4; 3. c3, dxc3;

White offers a pawn to speed up development and open lines. Does he get sufficient compensation? I didn't think so in 1973, and accepted the morsel, although my 2009 chess software judges the position as equal, so the gambit might be alright after all, even if not especially promising for White.

4. Nxc3, Nc6; 5. Nf3, d6; 6. Bc4, e6; 7. 0-0, Nf6; 8. Qe2, a6; 9. Rd1, Qa5!?

(Until now, black played the main line as given in USCF senior master Ken Smith's book, Sicilian: Smith-Morra Gambit Accepted. With the text move, considered inferior by Smith, Black prepares to play an opening innovation.

After the standard 9...Qc7, 10. Bg5, White gets compensation for his pawn.)

10. Bg5, Nd7!? (My innovation.)

(Smith gives 10...Be7 with 11. Rac1, Ne5; 12. Nxe5, dxe5 (12...Qxe5; 13. f4, Qc5+; 14. Kh1 and White has a winning game), 13. Bd2 with more than enough for the pawn. However, 10...0-0; 11. Bb3, Rd8; 11. Na4, Bd7 gives Black an edge.)

11. Bb3

(After 11. Rac1, Nde5; 12. Nxe5, Nxe5; 13. Nd5? [13. Bb3=] exd5; 14. exd5? [After 14. Rd5, Black has the advantage.] 14... f6!? [14...Be7; 15. Be7, Ke7; 14. f4, Qc5+ Black wins.] 15. Bd2, Qd8; 16. f4, Bg4; 17. Qe4, Bxd1; 18. fxe5, fxe5; 19. Rxd1, Be7; 20.Rf1, Bf6; 21. Bd3 [Frankle-Brill, Atlantic Open, NY, 1973], Qd7; White does not have sufficient compensation for his sacrificed material.

11...Nde5; 12. Nxe5, Nxe5; 13. f4!? h6! 14. Bh4

(Black is attaining the strategic goals of his innovation. He has already traded off a pair of knights without, as in Smith's line, getting doubled pawns. He has prevented the board from opening up so that White hasn't been able to capitalize on his lead in development and develop an attack.

Now, after driving away White's black-squared bishop, Black intends to complete his development and castle, remaining a pawn up.

14. fxe5? hxg5; gives black the open h-file, e.g., 15. exd6, Qc5+; 16. Qf2, Bd6; with a positional and material superiority for Black.)

14... Ng6?!=;

(Here 14...g5! 15. fe5, gh4; 16. ed6, Bd6! 17. Qg4, Qe5; 19. Qh5, b5; Black has the edge.)

15. Bg3, Be7; 16. f5, Ne5; 17. Rac1?

(17. fxe6, Bxe6; 18. Bxe6, fxe6; 19. Qh5+, g6; 20. Qh3, Kf7! gives Black an edge, with an extra pawn in the endgame, but 17. Be1! creates equal chances.)

17...0-0; 18. Qh5?

(18. Bf4 is better.)

18... ef5!?

(18...Bg5! 19. Rc2, ef5; 20. Be5, Qe5 gives Black a greater advantage.)

19. Nd5?!

(White goes down fighting. If 19. exf5, Bg5 and 20...bxf5 wins. But 19. Bf4, ef4; 20. Nd5, Bd8; 21. Be5, de5; 22. Qe5, Bg4 is better, although Black still has the big advantage of the exta pawn.)

19...Bg5; 20. Rc7, f4!

(Winning a piece, and the game, due to the threat of 21...Bg4, trapping the Queen.)

21. h3, fxg3; White resigns.

Brian Early (1989)- Steve Brill (1830)
Metropolitan Congress Amateur Championship, 6/14/75

Sicilian Defense, Closed Variation

Brian was a friend for many years, when we played in the same tournaments and belonged to the same chess club (The Marshall in Greenwich Village). I wonder what he's doing today—Google turns up nothing.

Always substantially higher rated than me, he'd beaten me in one game and we drew another one. This was my chance to even the score.

Playing an uncharacteristically quiet variation of the Sicilian, both sides jockey for positional superiority in the opening. After Black advances on the queenside and in the center, White fails to find the right rejoinders. Black continues with great accuracy, even in the hindsight of 2009 computer analysis, leading to a very satisfying (for me) rout.

1. e4, c5; 2. Nc3, d6; 3. Nge2, a6?!

(Better is 3...g6, 3...Nf6, 3...Nc6, and 3...e5 all have had better success for Black in master games.)

4. g3, g6; 5. Bg2, Bg7; 6. 0-0=

(Opening the center with 6. d4 is more aggressive. Looks like Brian was trying to improve his position quietly before undertaking more active play, which is what you do when playing White in the Closed Sicilian.)

6...Nc6; 7. d3, e6;

(7...Nf6 is a little better.)

8. Be3, Nge7

(8...Nd4 is also good.)

9. d4, cd4; 10. Nd4, 0-0

(10...Rb8!?)

11. Nb3

(White could also try to play 11. Nc6, Nc6; 12. f4!?, with the idea of 12. g4, and a kingside attack, but Black's counterplay on the queenside would keep the game equal.)

11...b5

(Black advances on the queenside. 11...Ne5; 12. Qe2= is slightly better.)

12. Qe1

More aggressive is 12. f4!?, Bb7; 13. Qd2, Qc7; 14. a3, Rb8=

12...Rb8;

(Preparing to go on the offensive on the Queenside, typical of Black's strategy in the Sicilian. But an immediate b4!? is better.)

13. Rd1, Qc7

14. Bc1?!

(Here White should have played Qd2!?, Rd8; 15. f4=. Now Black gets the edge through a Queenside attack.)

14...a5!

(14...b4! is a little better.)

15. Ne2, b4;

(Not 15...a4?; 16. Nad4)

16. f4, Ba6; 17. Rf3?

(Extricating himself from the pin by 17. Rf2, Be2; 18. Rd2, a5 is better, although Black maintains the initiative.)

17...Be2; 18. Qe2, a4; 19. Nd2, Nd4; 20. Qd3, Qc2!?

(Black heads into a winning endgame, eschewing the stronger win of the exchange by 20...Nf3! because after 21. Nf3, he didn't realize the strength of 21...d5!)

21. Qc2, Nc2; 22. Nc4, d5!

(With White's active knight gone, his disorganized pieces can't stop Black's advance.)

23. Ne5

(If 23. ed5, Bd4+ with a big advantage.)

23...Be5; 24. fe5, d4!

This passed pawn, the knight on c2, the advanced queenside pawns, and Black's material advantage give him a strong attack.

25. Bg5?

(This attempt at counterplay fails, but 25. Bh6, Rfd8 just drives the rook behind the passed pawn, but 25. b3, ab3; 26. Rb3, Nc6; 27. Bf4, Rcf8; 28. Rd2, Ne3; 29. Be3, de3; 30. Re3, Ne5; 31. Rb3 allows white to hang on with a disadvantage.)

25...Nc6; 26. Rc1, b3; 27. ab3, ab3; 28. Bf6, Rfc8; 29. h4?!

(29. Bf1 is better.)

29... Ne3; 30. h5

(White is lost.)

31... Nb4; 31. Rb1, gh5; 32. Bf1, h6!?

(This keeps the bishop off the c1-h6 diagonal, although 32... Rc2 is just as good.)

33. Kf2?! Rc2; 34. Ke1? R8c8; 35. Be7, Rc1! 36. Rc1, Rc1; 37. Ke2, Nf1; 38. Rf1?

38. Bb4 loses more slowly.

38... d3!

(This finishes things quickly.)

39. Kf2, d2; 40. Bb4, Rf1; 41. Kf1, d1(Q); White resigns.

Saltzberg (2124)- Steve Brill (1876)
Marshall Chess Club Tournament 1975

Queen's Indian Defense without c4

The Queens Indian Defense was one of my favorite openings playing Black against 1. d4. Here I outplayed a much higher-rated opponent in a real slugfest. After thinking that I had the edge in the opening (turns out, my opponent was slightly better), I tried to exploiting White's positional accuracies and mounted an attack in the middle game. Although both sides committed errors (which neither of us could find in post-mortem analysis, but computer software uncovered only 34 years later) in a deceptively complicated game, my opponent's errors turned out to be worse than mine, and the attack succeeded!

1. d4, Nf6; 2. Nf3, b6; 3. Bf4, Bb7; 4. e3, e6; 5. Bd3, Nh5?!;

(Black goes after the white bishop, but loses time in the process. 5...c5 and 5...Be7 are good alternatives.)

6. Be5?!

(White's bishop should have gone to g5, with an edge. Now he loses time and helps Black battle for control of the center.)

6...d6=; 7. Bg3, Nd7; 8. Nbd2, e5?!

(This bold thematic thrust at the center actually gives White the edge. Better is the more quiet 8...Be7; 9. c3, 0-0; 10. 0-0, c5; 11. e4, h6; 12. Re1, Rc8=.)

9. Qe2, Nxg3; 10. hxg3, g6; 11. de5, de5?;

(11...Ne5, where White maintains the edge, is better.)

12. 0-0-0,

(12. Ba6 is a little better.)

12... Bg7?

(This natural move is inferior to 12...Qe7; 13. Ba6, 0-0-0; 14. Qc4, Bg7, when White only has the edge.)

13. Bb5?

White chooses the wrong square for his bishop. This overly-aggressive gesture only helps Black advance, this time toward White's king, in an equal game. After 13. Be4!, White's better development give him the advantage.

13...a6=; 14. Ba4?

Better is 14. Bxd7=, leaving black with the bishop pair, but unable to castle. Now Black continues with a pawn storm on the queenside.

14...b5; 15. Bb3, c5

Threatening to trap the bishop with 16...c4, but 16...e4! is still better.

16. c4?

(16.c3, e4; 17. Ng1, c4; 18. Bc2, Qe7 and black only has an edge.)

16... e4! Black has the advantage.

17. Ne1, Qf6; 18. Nb1, Ne5

Black has a terrific attack!

19. Nc3, 0-0; 20. Rh4?

(Better is 20. f4, exf3 e.p.; 21.gxf3, bxc4; 22. Bxc4, Bxf3; 23. Nxf3, Nxc4; 24. Qxc4, Qxf3, but Black's still up a pawn.)

20... g5

(20... bxc4!; 21. Bc4, Nxc4!; 22. Qxc4, Qxf2 gives Black a winning attack.)

21. Rh1, bxc4; 22. Bxc4, Nxc4; 23. Qxc4, Qxf2;

(White loses a pawn as his position continues to crumble.)

24. Nc2, Qxg2?

(Black give White a chance to escape by taking the wrong pawn. Better is 24...Qxg3!; 25. Qc5, Rac8; 26. Qf5, h6; 27. Rd2, Rfd8 with a big advantage due to the extra pawn.)

25. Rhg1?

(After 25. Qxc5!, h6; 26. Qb6, Bc8; 27. Rxh6, Be6; 28. Rhh1, Rad8; 29. Qxd8, Rxd8+; 30. Rxd8+, Bf8; 31. Qe7, Rf2; Black only has an edge.)

25... Qf3; 26. Qxc5, Qg4; 27. Nd4, Rhc1! 28. Qe7?

(28. Qf5, trading queens, is better.)

28... Rab8?

(28...Bd5!; 29. Kb1, Rd8; 30. Ka1, Rd7; 31. Qc5, Rad8, 32. Rdf1, h6; maintains Black's advantage.)

29. Rgf1?

(This gives Black his big advantage back. After 29. Rdf1! Qh5; 30. Rf5, Qh2; 31. Qxf7, Kh8; 32. Rgf1, Qxg3, 33. Nc2; Black still stands better.)

29... Bd5!

Protecting the f-pawn and bringing another piece to bear against the enemy king. Black has a won game.

30. Rf5, Bxa2; 31. Rdf1?

(31. Rc5! staves off immediate loss.)

31... h6;

(White is lost.)

32. Rxf7, Bf7; 33. Qxf7+

(If 33. Rxf7, Bf8! 34. Qa7, Rc3! 35. bxc3, Ba3+; 36. Kc2, Rb2; 37. Kc1, Rf7; 38. Kb1, Qd1 mate.)

33...Kh8; 34. Nf5, Bxc3; 35. Rh1, Bxb2+; 36. Kd2, Bc3; 37. Kc1, Be1+; White, about to be mated, resigns.