The people behind the game
Bobby Fischer
Won the Candidates matches with two 6–0 scores and ended the Soviet hold on the title. He forfeited it in 1975 without playing a match.
- Born
- 1943
- Died
- 2008
- Country connections
- United States
At the board
The games. The ideas.
Explore classic encounters and championship battles. Play every move, or jump straight to the moments that tell the story.
1972 · World championship · Game 6
A new kind of Fischer game
Fischer’s sixth game in Reykjavík begins with 1.c4 and develops into sustained central and kingside pressure.
Read the position
Every move sets the scene.
Use the controls to explore the full game, or select an annotated moment below. Each explanation describes the position immediately after its highlighted move.
Complete move list 41 moves
The journey
A remarkable path.
Fischer won eight U.S. championships, including a perfect 11–0 result in the 1963–64 event. His book My 60 Memorable Games and his proposals for increment-based clocks and randomized starting positions also left a lasting mark on chess. [1]
From the photographic archive Explore the championship record →The championship record
Time with the crown.
- 1972–1975Open world championship
Reigns are periods of title ownership, not a count of championship victories. Open-ended reigns reflect the record checked on 18 October 2026.
From the archive
A life in photographs.
_gegen_Fischer_(USA).jpg)
Continue exploring
More from the collection.
1956 · Donald Byrne vs Bobby FischerThe Game of the Century
Thirteen-year-old Bobby Fischer sacrifices his queen on move 17 and then hunts down White's king with a swarm of minor pieces. The chess writer Hans Kmoch gave the game its name.
1972 · Bobby Fischer vs Boris SpasskyFischer vs Spassky, game 6
Fischer, who almost always opened 1.e4, plays 1.c4 and outplays Spassky in a Queen's Gambit Declined. Spassky was reported to have joined the audience in applauding.
Sources & credits
Biographical details and title records checked . Country connections describe the player’s career and background, rather than a live federation listing.
Portrait: Bert Verhoeff for Anefo · CC0. Displayed in monochrome and cropped.
