Fischer's early years (1955-56)

During the first seven months of 1955 Fischer played some thirty tournament games. Possibly his failure in the Junior Championship was a big blow to his ego but whatever the reason he did not compete any more that year. There have been three periods in Fischer’s career when he withdrew from competitive chess only to return a more formidable opponent. The months August to December 1955 represented his first dormant period. He hibernated an inconspicuous young player and awoke an embryo master.

His first event of 1956 was the Greater New York City Championship, a seven round Swiss system tournament with fifty-two players in which Bobby tied for fifth place with Jackson and Saidy, behind Lombardy and Mengarini(1^st equal) and Fuerstein and McKormick(3^rd Equal). He won the class B trophy and this success among strong opposition was such that when touring Cuba with the Log Cabin Chess Club the following month he was considered able enought to be invited to give a simultaneous exhibition.

Fisher’s exhibition at the Capablanca Club in Havana took place on February 26^th 1956, prior to his thirteenth birthday. A photograph taken of this, his first display, shows him opening 1.e4 on all (visible) boards. The game in which he was about to move is a Sicilian Defence. The next (to his right) a Ruy Lopez, Steinitz Defence Deferred. Then another Lopez, another Sicilian, two more Ruy Lopez, a Giuoco Piano and then the Exchange Variation of the Ruy Lopez which he was to bring into prominence in master chess a decade later in an Olympiad held less than a mile from the spot where he gave this exhibition. One more Ruy Lopez is distinguishable, but of the other boards nothing can be made out. This restricted choice of openings is unusual for a simultaneous exhibition. Normally the master will essay the whole spectrum of chess openings if only to make things less tedious for himself. But Bobby, even in an exhibition, seemed determined to prove that in chess there is only one truth and that at the very beginning this truth is 1.e4. Apart from an early eighteen-month flirtation which the Reversed King’s Indian he remained totally dedicated to the king’s pawn openings  for the next fifteen years, and at the time of his winning the World Championship in 1972. 1.e4 was still his first string.

Only one game score (so far unpublished) survives form that Havana evening and I am including it solely for historical reasons. The game itself is of no intrinsic value and is rather dull.

1956 was Fischer’s breakthrough year, the year that he first became nationally acclaimed and internationally reported. His first few results in 1956 were mixed but at the US Junior Championship he took first place and the prize of a portable typewriter. From Philadelphia he flew immediately to Oklahoma City, where, in the US Open Championship, he faced his toughest opposition so far. His result: tied for fourth behind Bisguier and Sherwin (1^st equal) and Steinmeyer(3^rd). Faithful to his beliefs, he stuck to a rigid choice of openings. As black he defended 1.d4 with the King’s Indian.

And against 1.e4 Fischer never deserted his first love.

It was not until 1957 that the Lessing J. Rosenwald Trophy Tournament officially became the US Championship, but it was already the premier event of the American chess calendar. Entry was only by invitation and limited to twelve players. Fischer was invited to participate as the current US Junior Champion, an automatic qualification for entry until the 1959/60 tournament when Robin Ault ignominiously lost every game and the rule was discreetly abandoned.

The 1956 Rosenwald Tournament took place in New York in October. In the first round, with the black pieces against Bisguier, Fischer got a very bad opening and was wiped out, the only time that he was to lose to Bisguier in their first fifteen games!

Another of Fischer’s losses in this event was to Reshevsky, the tournament winner. In one of the quiet variations of the King’s Indian he was out-manoeuvred and when he lost on time in a hopeless position there were ten moves still to make. But time trouble has never bothered Fischer. His forty moves have usually been made with plenty of time to spare and in recent years it has not been uncommon to see him using less than ninety of the allotted 150 minutes. This loss to Reshevsky is, in fact, one of only two known examples of Fishcer exceeding the time limit.

The sensation of this Rosenwald Tournament was Bobby’s game against Donald Byrne. He offered the exchange at move thirteen and later gave up his queen to win a rook, two bishops and a pawn. The game was hailed as a masterpiece, Kmoch going so far as to call it ‘ the game of the century’.

When first published in the Soviet Union this game was accompanied by derision of the profuse publicity that it had brought the thirteen-year-old. Fischer said, ’They showed the game and they said “ He’s a very fine, talented young player but all this publicity that he’s getting is sure to damage to his character.” And then, sure enough, from then on, they started attacking my character. They had never even met me or knew anything about me. And this kind of attitude really turned me off.’

Thus began Fischer’s antipathy towards the Soviet Chess hierarchy and its methods, a feeling that was later to grow into a combination of contempt and hatred.

This article has been constructed from IM David Levy's book on How Fischer plays Chess.

Pictures from the ChessBase article published in 2006.

About the Author

Born in the city of Kolkata in 2001, Hiran Banerjee was introduced to the game of chess by his grandfather at the age of 8. His interest in chess kept increasing with age and currently he has an Elo of 1450. He aims to become a grandmaster. Besides playing, Hiran is fond of writing articles which keeps his updated with the chess world. He maintains his own blog.