Grandmaster Chess Tactics #2: Can you spot the line?

[EinsteinMad]

I recently did an analysis of this game and it turns out Bg6 first is better than Bxd5. It makes sense if you analyze with the Houdini engine and review the lines :)

[TisforTaco]

at 2:55, why didn't white capture the knight with his bishop? it looks like it would accomplish the same thing, but he'd save his queen.

was it just such a powerful move that it didn't matter if he could save material at that point?

[weirddudeonice]

Brilliant.

[lalaMisca]

well Black can still do the castle : u can still castle when ur rook is unde attack, played vs. Fritz and i win 2 Material (the 2 center Peons). So u can still counter good enogh to maybe remis

[MFN1337]

So. Fucking. Good.

[Powerofthecowboy]

How come the black queen doesn't eliminate the white knight at 2:34?

[rightclickblog]

@Powerofthecowboy so black queen takes white knight. white bishop takes black bishop, black knight must move to square F7 (next to the white bishop) to defend his rook and queen, and then a few things can happen. most likely a queen trade subsidized by the black knight and then the black rook is taken by the bishop.

[destiny0green]

great game

[Stormgebieder]

you have a lovely voice, I can listen hours to it!

[RGYOGI]

what do you call the horses??/ hahah only joking great game.

[mapflu]

I have thought of the bishop move and capture the knight move but not combining it like that.

And what about the option for black you promised near the end? You seem to miss that. I was waiting for it.

[m0onst9er]

I already knew the first move - capture the knight. That's because White is in danger, and that knight was going to cause a world of problems.

After that, though, I blanked. I didn't think about that bishop move - instead, I thought about moving the kingside rook to f1 since that rook wasn't doing much on h1.

[Omegawabo]

what if black takes the bishop with bishop, and when the queen takes the knight, black moves his king to E7? The Rooks are protecting each other and white cant put a solid check. Im still learning so maybe theres something I didnt see.

[Hedning1390]

@Omegawabo If king to E7 after QxE5 then perhaps RxD5? The black queen on A5 is threatened and blacks king is in danger.

[europeanbamf]

@Hedning1390 Way to catch that!

[KillerPawn2]

2:15 if Bxg7 and then Qxg7 what does Black do when the h Rook goes to e1?

[Ruxistico]

haha Fischer was magic!

[jabroni1223]

You didnt really explain why white took the the knight with the bishop at the start... Bxd5 is necessary because without it if you played Bh6 black responds Bxh6 and if Qxe5 black replies with the killer Nc3+! dropping the queen.

[stonerftw94]

I was wondering why Fischer didn't just play the Ba6 move straight away, but then I realised. I hope this helps anyone who can't understand either:

If Ba6, then black can play Bxa6, and if the Queen captures the Knight, then black has the crushing Nc3+, in which case white can either capture the Knight with the pawn (or move the King) and have the black Queen take the white Queen, or take the Knight with the Queen and then have the pawn on b4 recapture.

I hope this helps :D

[famousmanbearpig]

can someone tell me why he didnt just move his king down a step so that his rooks could defend eachother, thus destroying his fork????????????

[sirgator2099]

Fischer would be up 4 points, 20 to 24 once to rook recaptured with the rook.. BUT The problem with king d7 or e7 would be that when the rook recaptures, queen g7 check and the rook that captured the bishop can be taken.

[VitalSigns1]

After white queen takes night at E5, black could have moved his king down to D7, protecting both his queen and allowing his western rook to protect his eastern rook from the bishop. He still would have ended up 2 points behind, but that's at least somewhat of a fighting chance.

[sirgator2099]

I believe he would be 4 points behind, if the fischer continued to take with the bishop- 20 vs 24... if the 2nd rook recaptured, fischer would put the king in check and could recapture the rook that had taken the bishop. He would then be up 9 points.

[sirgator2099]

Fischer would be up 4 points, 20 to 24 once to rook recaptured with the rook.. BUT The problem with king d7 or e7 would be that when the rook recaptures, queen g7 check and the rook that captured the bishop can be taken.

[TheNorem]

Very dynamic play by Fischer. Taking advantage of all blacks weaknesses.

[BobbyFischer0000]

I"m sorry but your point is "moot" as the position is clearly lost either way.

[001124]

Now I see why Capturing the Bishop is a bad option, Because, after Capturing, 1.Qxe5 (Attacking Both rooks) So Ke7. 2.Qd6+... Kf7 3.Rdf1+... Kg7 4. Qe7+... Kg8 5.Nf6# Or 3...Kg8 4.Qxb8+...Kg7 5.Qb7+... Kg8 6.Qf7# Or 3... Ke8 You just capture the tower and all goes wrong for black. Btw, Nice video jrobi!

[TheAzNGambit]

lol "see the full flueshe of fishcers.fan..uh..plan" xD

[gratefulDeadHead1234]

please tell me why he couldn't capture the bishop in the first place. I mean you say it would lead to terrible things for black, but i just dont see it

[TheoryReviewGuy]

He could've threatened rook on queenside and then forked.

[gratefulDeadHead1234]

but king e7 stops the fork from working at all

[harukun]

There's a saying in chess: "He who controls the center of the board, controls the game." the bishop moving would have left the knifght in the center unguarded. That knight in the center was a solid defense.... capturing the enemy bishop would have left the knight susceptible to the queen.

[cubencis]

you dont see y? (its pretty blatant)

the most obvious line after bishop captures is queen captures knight on e6 and threatens both rooks, either rook capture, puts king in check and moving the king puts him in serious danger of mate.

[woutmannetje]

queen could've taken the knight and rook, and checking black while doing it.

[wubs23]

Then the white queen would take the black Knight, and being able to attack both the rooks.

[lTHRICEl]

Fischers queen would have came it.

[9lk00583]

queen would take knight then rook then king

[rick6393]

At 1:50 if he takes the white bishop the Queen takes the knight forking 2 rooks

[RRNGE]

thats exactly what I was thinking

[BANGBANGllll]

Black had heaps of options. Fischers' opponent was asleep.

[silencer4101st]

does anyone know what wrong with playing Bh6 immediately?

[mballin224]

i have to agree i thought Bh6 on first move was best, but i suppose fischer was not sure how his opponent would react and that knight could have caused some problems. but also i was thinking maybe fischer hoped his opponent would use kings pawn to attack

[szymczak34]

There's nothing wrong with it. The threat of Nc3ch is met by bxc3 which is even worse for black.

[dandonald18]

why did the black not castle to the left (his sitting position)when the white bishop came in contact with the black bishop??????????????

[Jahanam9994]

@ 5:02 why didn't black take the knight with the queen?

[jrobichess]

Because Fischer could just take the bishop on G7 and then the black knight on E5 has to move to F7 at which point white can play the queen trade and then win the rook right after. Thanks for checking out the vid!

[Jahanam9994]

Huh. Didn't see that. Well, that's why I learn from you. Thanks for the help!

[chobo357]

Black's Queen was also protecting the Black Bishop from White's Bishop. If the Queen moved to take the Knight, White Bishop would've taken Black's, and also threaten the Black Rook, and Black's Knight.

[bbatmanx3]

@Jahanam9994 Because the white bishop will take the black bishop attacking the castle, then the only option for the castle is move to the white square next to it, then the white bishop will attack the black knight with the queen protecting it, and also attacking the black queen at the same time, while losing an extra piece.

[skorpiotudor]

incredible , but that was the move that i also thought! that bischop on h6 smiled to me like from far,far away

[hugolou]

I am kinda new at this but why is it a world of problems at 1:53 his bishop could capture ficher bishop. what would be the next lines? how is black in trouble?

[Ep1cure]

If: 1. ...Bxh6 2. Qxe5!

Since both rooks are attacked(fork), the king has to move to avoid, and blacks position is terrible. One of the rooks can be taken eventually or check mate soon follows.

[hugolou]

I see, thank you. that is dangerous

[8mikomi8]

becausethe queen would take the knight, threatening the rook,and if the bishop moved to protect,, it would have no defenders,, and theres lots of cheks whitecan get from this position

[Justice1337]

I see from the initial position how e5 is a liability for black, but I don't understand how Bxd4 is instrumental to the combination.

Anyone?

[Justice1337]

Err, I meant Bxd5 - the bishop takes Knight move that started this off.

[Tankun01]

okay so say if Bh6, black can just capture whites bishop, because if after that its Qxe5, Nc3+ and there is nothing defending whites queen from blacks queen. So at the very least black gains a free bishop and is in no real danger yet. Hope t hat helps.

[glenm99]

Bxd5 is necessary for White because he needs the black pawn to be on d5, cutting off the queen from e5, and because the knight is a threat. Without this move, black can take the bishop on h6, and if the White queen later takes the knight on e5, black responds with Nc3+, winning the queen.

White can lead with Bh6, and follow with Bxd5 the next move, but it doesn't pin Black down quite as much. It's still a win, but not as clear. (The chess books would probably say "it's more precise.")

[Ep1cure]

I think there are strong forcing moves with ...Nc3+ taking full advantage of the pin by the black rook on the same file as the white's king.

[ani19bd]

Yay! I saw that variation now I feel like a GM!!

[FleurDeLiles]

I love jrobi. I haven't heard anyone this good at commenting chess before. Doesn't anyone know of anyone else as good?

[1800hexa]

why queen to e5...the rook couldve taken the hit o0

[minesisbigger]

why would black move his king when checked by the knight if he's just going to capture the knight on the next turn anyway? seems like a wasted move.

[btkw]

im not sure about this cuz im not very good at chess but i think its bcuz if queen takes the knight the other knight will lose 1 defender coz white might take the fianchetto bishop and black will either lose a knight or a rook

[BobbyFischer0000]

Even in the line you suggested the position is lost for black. The only reason why I am bringing this particular point up is because you stated that at a grandmaster level this position is lost for black. Sorry to say but even at a 1600-1700 CFC of Fide rating this position is still lost and I am confident 9/10 within this rating category could win it as white.

Great videos keep them coming!!

[bepeacefull94803]

I never even though of that! it just shows how much more practice i need. Keep up the good work jrobi. If you stop making video's i will tie you up and make you watch all the teletubby episodes!

[jrobichess]

That's reason enough to continue! =)

Thanks for checking out the vid Peace!

[matttttes]

why didnt the queen captures the knight on d6 when he comes up?

[jrobichess]

If it's the point of the video I am thinking of he'd lose the bishop and set himself up for a fork between the rook and the knight.

[thomas271104]

thanks for posting, love the series man

[jrobichess]

Thanks Thomas!

[cecilbird]

My son and I are loving this series - thanks!

[shumengwang1]

is the first move taking the knight necessary?

[jrobichess]

Yeah it has a check option and protects some squares around the king, so taking it away removed some of blacks potential options. Thanks for checking out the vid!

[Arc3001]

If you play Bh6 at once, without capturing the knight, then black has a nice counter:

1. Bh6 B x h6

2. Q x e5 Kn c3+

3. b x c3 Q x e5

So it is necessary to remove the knight on d5 first.

[shumengwang1]

thank you very much to point it out! very nice analyze.

[reyremi]

yeah! that settles it..thanks jrobichess

[reyremi]

although black is already in a lost position.. After Bxh6 you supplied Nf6--Ke7..but how about Kf7 instead..so after Qxe5,Bg7 pinning the knight with no knight check on d5..but after Rhf1..black has no good move but still can try..Rhf8 trying to hide the king on g8 to h8 after the knight opens check..

[jrobichess]

The king can run for a bit, and like you said the knight is only pinned for the short term. But RhF1 is just crushing. For instance,

(21... Bxh6 22. Nf6+ Kf7 23. Qxe5 Bg7 24. Rhf1 Rhf8 25. Nxd5+ Kg8 26. Ne7+

Kh8 27. Rxf8+ Rxf8 28. Qxa5)

Black loses the queen. I enjoyed checking this one out - thanks for posting!

[jonjon2034]

annnd i Take Back what i said.. lol cause thats pure genius of fischer.. lol bg7 is met with Nxd5+ and the games forced mate from there... wow fischer is ridiculous..

[jrobichess]

He definitely has tons of noteworthy games to look through. His tactical eye and manner of thinking ranks right up there with the best of all time. Thanks for checking out the vid!

[jonjon2034]

BxH6 is met with Nf6+, Ke7, Qxe5 thats met with Bg7.. winning the knight?!

[jonjon2034]

whats wrong with this line.. after Pawn takes bishp. Bishop gets pushed H6 what about bxH6

Qxe5 Ke7.. queen cant check or take in that position and white just lost its dark squared advantage.

[jrobichess]

The knight can check, and then the queen comes crashing into the position and black is down almost a full rook in positional strength.

[reyremi]

i think bxh6 last longer for black..ie..bxh6, Qxe5-Kd7, Qd6-Kc8..or, Nc5-Kc6..or Nf6-Kc8 or (Kc6)..etc holds longer..am i right

[jrobichess]

Unfortunately BxH6 is met with Nf6+, Ke7, Qxe5 and black is in horrible shape. Thanks for checking out the vid!

[budakgetah1]

wow!

another amazing vid.

[nonameofkoh]

i believed rook to b7 was best move.. can some one tell me if im wrong. i play chess pretty well.. so i was just wondering

[jrobichess]

Rook to B7 allows the knight to hit the fork, taking that rook off the board, leaving black in a lost position much earlier. Thanks for checking out the vid!

[watarball]

when fisher check the king with knight then the other player could capture that knight by his queen. couldn't he?

[wretcherwretch]

Yes, but then he'd lose the bishop and set himself up for a fork between the rook and the knight.

[timberhoff]

mmm... what if after whites Bh6 black castles(0-0) ???

[Geppy23]

it doesn't solve anything. after 1.Bh6 0-0 2.Bxg7 Kxg7 3-Qxe5+ or 2...dxe4 3.B(Q)xe5 and black is down

[nemo1620]

I saw Bh6, Bxh6; Qe5, forking the rooks.  But I missed Black's option of Nc3+. I'm improving...slowly.

[shady8mile]

funny how ppl say he can take the knight after check sure why not and allow to drop the bishop and pin the knight would be won after the rook moves yet forking the queen and rook leaving black with only rook and queen

[badjaeaux]

jrobichess another brilliant video!

God Bless you jrobichess for your good work +)

[pinkyfrogs23]

Why do grandmasters resign? They should at least try to comeback.

[GameOverXbox]

when your in a losing position you resign gracefully and except the defeat you dont postpone the inevitable.

[IAmSonyFanBoy]

Although I like these videos, you do a poor job on explaining alternative moves. For example, why can't Fischer just go Bh6 for the first move?

[jrobichess]

This was touched on in some earlier comments. Stripping away the pieces removes some counterplay from black before getting into the main sequence of moves. Thanks for checking out the vid!

[IAmSonyFanBoy]

Oh, so taking out the pieces first would prevent counterplay. I see.

[IAmSonyFanBoy]

Would you like to play chess with me? Since you're on right now, we can find someplace to play

[jrobichess]

I play on the FICS server with the babas client. I have a video on how to get it setup if you haven't tried it before on my YouTube channel.

[jmbd07]

excelent video, I'll look up at others... what's your elo ?

[badjaeaux]

black knight c3 will send you straight to hell

[simonkaey]

after the blach bishop fianchettoes.

couldnt white go Bh6 straight away? what was the point of trading the pieces??

[jrobichess]

As mentioned above: 1.Bh6 Nc3+ 2.Nxc3 Bxh6 hurts White up by allowing the black queen to protect e5. Thanks for checking out the vid!

[keyblade134679]

what exactly will happen if birch take the Bishiop on h6

[Kalendb]

Queen takes the knight on E5 and forks the rooks. Even if the king moves to the 7 row, QG7 pushes it back to the 8 row. Great video's btw

[inverting]

Qg7 is not really an ideal move for there is a bishop attacking that square after BxB. The more ideal move is Rf1 after the king moves to the 7 row since if you continue that line with the mandatory moves, the black will be down 2 rooks.

[dillonbasi]

the pawn could have taken the horse!

[keyblade134679]

why can't fischer just go Bh6 after black had fianchetto his bishop?

[sleepyeyeguy]

Bishop takes and when queen takes the knight the other knight checks the white king and discovers an attack on the white queen with his queen.

[nayef012]

i agree with akarachoo he could've taken the knight with the queen after the check

[madsthiesen]

If he were to do that, fischer would still have taken the bishop, double threaths on the remaining black knight and single threath on a unprotected rook, not to mention the nicely lined up black queen and rook behind the black knight.

[NITESHADOWshouske]

nice

[jboogie713]

these vidieos are great. i like trying to look for the best move w/o it having to be a mate... good job :)

[mburch1974]

I saw Bh6 but didnt see what I needed to do first in the center to optimize the move. what if he doesnt capture the center first and just move bh6 I guess thats the difference between a 1600 player like myself and what was bobby fischer!

[JeremyNasmith]

In that case, black can capture with bXb, then if qXn, n-c3+ allows black to capture white's queen!

[JeremyNasmith]

Sorry, my comment is in response to mburch1974's question...

[AkaraCHOO]

u know after the knight check the king at 2:40 y did he just kill it with the queen??

[themphasis2]

Cause Bxg7 forks knight and rook.

[nayef012]

hi.. u r right actually i played out the rest of it and black is in bad shape.. had the white not taken the knight before starting the attack it would've been different.. are you in canada?

[nayef012]

i think u didn't understant my idea.. how about we talk by e-mail so i can e-mail u a picture?

[jrobichess]

Sure - feel free to email me the picture. You can access my email from the link to my site on my channel page. Do you have a computer engine? There are some free ones (i.e. Crafty) but I plugged your idea into the computer and it was able to force quite an advantage in fairly short order after those first two moves I posted.

[nayef012]

thanks for the game.. but i think black could take bishop then move the king up to connect the rooks.. then neither rook can be taken by the queen

[jrobichess]

Hi nayef012 - unfortunately for black that loses after NF6+ KE7, QxE5. White's rooks coupled with the knight and queen force black to go down 4 points of material in short order.  Thanks for checking out the video!

[wjh0007]

I am a green of playing chess.who can hep me ?

[TI2ophy]

Why was black's king still stuck in tha center? And those rooks weren't even connected.

[jrobichess]

Black opted for a quick attack, but didn't castle yet. Fischer found the line that really made black's decision to delay castling for an attack a losing decision.

[cbn799]

Ah, the knight fork. Such a thing of beauty. They really need to introduce another piece so that we can see this type of "pure," tactical chess again, instead of every game being bogged down to gaining half a pawn or "positional advantage," due to the fact that every GM has already studied every one of these positions.

[jrobichess]

Yes GM's are very good - but they still make tactical mistakes from time to time. It seems that in every major tournament there are blunders made, which is good ... it means it still boils down to the player at the time. Thanks for the comment and checking out the vid!

[buenotc]

sometimes it comes down to who makes the first blunder which sometimes decides the match. i saw fisher made a blunder and i was cursing him because i couldn't imagine a guy so smart could have made such a move and he eventually lost.

[weewee33wee44]

Allah blesses you Fischer

[andsanp]

great vid! your chess skills have really matured.

[jrobichess]

Thanks andsanp!

[Gebonner]

Should make more GM tactic videos, they're good.

[jrobichess]

Thanks Gebonner!

[Gebonner]

Welcome

[JTsmiley14]

I like this video but I don't understand why Fischer captured the Knight first. You say he changed the layout of the board, but you never explain why. It seems to me he could have played the Bishop move immediately. What am I missing? thanks!

[Baculus]

I keep looking at "1. Bh6 2. Nc3 - Check" as a response, which would become problematic for White and perhaps continuing the Black Queen-side attack on the White King. (He wants no part of that B-file being opened, and c3 becomes a weak square.) That could be one reason why Fischer captured BxN first.

Moving the Bishop to h6 also weakens the black squares on the Queenside, but perhaps it is best to remove threats, simplify the position while still allowing the attack after the exchange.

[Shishkana]

jrobin, what is your rating?

[alikiwii]

why black did not capture the knight with the pawn after Ficher went bh6

[DaDude9211]

Bad move on his part. If he had done that he could've castled, pressured Fischers bishop away, and then gone on the offense against his queen.

[Baculus]

If black would have immediately castled as you described, it would have allowed the bishop exchange on g7 followed by QxN - check, and it looks grim for Black.

[Baculus]

Regarding your question, after Bh6, if black captures the white knight, then the bishop exchange on g7 creates all sorts of problems for black, with his h-rank rook and knight both threatened, white having that long dark diagonal, and black's advance pawn presenting little threat. The immediate weak square at e5 and the backwards pawn at e6 is an unsightly defensive position for black.

So, in other words, black should not grab the knight after Bh6. His position will totally fall apart.

[PhillipCreeper]

Great video with outstanding explanation as usual. Thank you. Please keep these coming!

[jrobichess]

Thanks Phillip!

[ytmndman]

This was harder than the last one. Something interesting to note is that after taking the bishop on h6 and after Qxe5, black actually could have castled (it's legal to castle when your rook is attacked). White would still have a winning position with moves like Qxe6+ and Nf6+

[jrobichess]

Totally agree - thanks for the thoughts ytmndman!

[DaDude9211]

Maybe I'm mistaking what your saying but wouldn't that place his king in check?

[ytmndman]

No, because the king would be on g8, which would not be attacked by anything

[brucewallace2]

I saw the Bh6 move but not taking the Knight first. Thx for another entertaining vid.

[jrobichess]

Thanks for checking it out Bruce! A good clue for the bishop was that it was "en prix" or free for the taking for black, coupled with the nearby influence of the queen rook and pawn in the area.

[juanlobato]

¿Why didn't he capture the black knight with the bishop instead of the queen?

[jrobichess]

If he could get the fork with the queen he would win both rooks after check, and if the queens were traded he wins a rook outright - so it was a crushing move in terms of material. Thanks for the comment and checking out the vid!

[Majnu2006]

Fantastic play by Fischer! He had a very sharp eye for this kind of positions.

We see here that two things are very important:

1. Understanding the patterns that make the combination possible, so we know in which direction to think.

2. being able to visualize and calculate accurately.

Thanks for the video.

[trixapete]

nice video jrobi, thanks.

but wanted to ask, whats wrong with black playing bishop takes h6, allowing queen takes e5, and then black playing king e7 or king d7?

[jrobichess]

Thanks Trix! In that position white would have a queen and knight in very close proximity to the king with most of black's resources in another area of the board. For instance, after a knight check, white could take the knight and have very good attacking lines with its rooks in the area to influence the files along with the queen and knight bearing down on the lone king on the 7th.

[jrobichess]

Excellent comment Majnu!

[thunderhead27]

that was a smart move,i was amazed when i saw the line.

and another Great video, and what is your rating now jrobi

[xJamesBx]

Hmm, it's nice to see that I'm not the only one who tried Bh6 first.

Good video. It's nice to know I kinda had the right idea.

[jrobichess]

Definitely thinking about it initially is a good thing. From what I have been reading the key is catching problems with potential lines early enough so as to explore the board for other options and avoid the loss of time from the clock as much as possible. Thanks for checking out the vid James!

[smartbluma]

That was brilliant! However, I saw that the fork was unavoidable unless if he moved his rook. Another great video, thanks!

[jrobichess]

Thanks Smartbluma!

[yohhaku1]

awesome video jrobi, that tactic was brilliant!

[jrobichess]

Thanks for checking it out yohhaku1!

[GreenCastleBlock]

Nice video. Some people might wonder why the immediate Bh6 doesn't work (why Fischer "changes the board" as you put it). In fact when I first saw the position I thought 1.Bh6 was the answer.

I believe 1.Bh6 Nc3+ 2.Nxc3 Bxh6 messes White up by allowing the black queen to protect e5. 3.Ne4 O-O 4.Bxe6+ Kh8 is a possible continuation, where the position is very squirrelly, but Fischer first eliminates the Nd5, taking this counterplay away from Black.

I'm surprised you didn't mention this line.

[jrobichess]

I didn't mention the immediate BH6 because leaving the knight on D5 would be very poor positionally (as you point out) in terms of the check it can deliver after BH6, not to mention the impact of the black rook, queen, and pawn in that area.

Thanks for checking out the vid and posting the consequences for white if BH6 was played immediately.