I love how Byrne knew he was outdone, yet let the 13 year old have his moment. By playing all the way to checkmate. Much respect

I often sacrifice my queen too. I just have no compensation for it.

Well, I've gotten to the chess videos stage of the coronavirus lockdown.

I played chess against Bobby Fischer in 1972 at Wheaton Plaza, Silver Spring, Md. Three long tables were set up as three sides of a square with 10 boards on each. Bobby was playing 30 games at a time. He usually took less the three seconds to move as he went from game to game, circling the tables. When you lost, you got up and someone took your place. I have no idea how many thousands of games Bobby played in the two hours he was there. One Chinese teenager actually beat him and won a prize. I lost in less than a dozen moves.

Dude...imagine being a GM and realizing a 13 yr old just set up a windmill on you

Respect to Byrne for not resigning. That was class from him.

Best part of this game is the beautiful moves where he must of realized it was over but he was so impressed by what fisher had done that he became a spectator at his own game and wanted to see the kid finish his little masterpiece... Atleast that's how it seems

Had to do some "research" on Bryne. Found this on Wikipedia (which supports him as being a classy guy): "In the late 1950s... He would frequently tell stories about his chess exploits, often turning red from laughter. One story occurred in the 1956 Rosenwald tournament during the Game of the Century between Byrne and Bobby Fischer.[1] Fischer was winning the game decisively, and Byrne asked some of the other players if it would be a good "tip of the hat" to Fischer's superb play to let young Fischer play the game to a checkmate instead of Byrne resigning, which would normally happen between masters. When the other players agreed, Byrne played the game out until Fischer checkmated him. Byrne added "You have to remember, Bobby wasn't yet Bobby Fischer at that time", meaning that the then 13-year-old Fischer was "only" a master, and not yet the 14-year-old wunderkind and top U.S. player he became the following year."

At 13, I was still struggling with child-proof caps..

I don't know how I ended up here since I'm 26 and have never played chess properly other than fooling around with it when I was 7 years old, but that was amazing to watch. Awesome commentary, I would have been lost without it.

Great Game! I really admire Byrne fighting to the end, and not just quitting; Most guys resign and don't let their opponent have the joy of a Checkmate. He played to the end like a Man!

When you sacrifice a queen you cannot just calculate a few moves in advance. You must go much deeper. I wonder, how many moves in advance could Bobby calculate.

Byrne let the kid mate him. Classy move.

17:45, I love that image of the Rook, Bishop and Knight surrounding that Queen, all pieces are protected, great visual for this game.

Me: i should have an early night tonight also me at 3am:

It took a second quarantine in Wales and watching Netflix the queen’s gambit, for me to purchase a board and start watching KZfaq videos. 😅

Anyone who can do this at 13 should be allowed to vote.

You guys should put a symbol in the corner or change the background when you're covering a hypothetical situation vs what actually happened.

Fischer was rated 1726 a year before this game, at twelve. Child prodigies take note. What made Fischer great is that he figured out on his own things about chess that the computers are now confirming were correct. Very sound, fundamental, and PATIENT. It's the absence of errors which defined his dominance.

im in 2020 and this is still the game of the century

Before people starts criticizing thechesswebsite for calling this game "Game of the Century", please understand that this game was called as such by Has Kmoch (a respectable chess master, author, and journalist) in an article in 'Chess Review' more than half a century ago. Of course this probably wasn't the most skillful/fierce match ever played, but he, as an observer, was probably fascinated if not stunned that such clever series of offensive play after such a huge sacrifice from a 13 year old no less was nothing short of remarkable. To his credit, this match is one of the famous matches in chess history and no doubt defined the great Bobby Fischer's career.

He said the complete name ''Bobby Fisher'' 125 times LOL

The most beautiful game i have watched so far...

"If you said you saw this move, I don't believe you." HaHa, made me laugh.

Bobby Fischer is quoted for having said that one of the most important realizations of his entire career was the realization that Black should play to win and not to draw. This game is a great example of that philosophy put into action. A brillant positional game that shows one of Bobby Fischer's greatest strengths, even at such an early age: His ability to make all of his minor pieces work together in almost perfect harmony. Just almost unreal that Black was played by a 13-year-old in this game. I don't care what he became later in life. At a chess table, he was simply the greatest ever.

Flip the board I want to play with Fischer's side

"If you came up with this move, I don't believe you", haha :D This was an amazing game. Great instinct by the 13 years old kid, which showed his real talent. And also impressive fair play behavior by his opponent. Love it!

I was watching UFC, then this pops up in the feed inbetween 7 video's on its own. Never watched a chess video in my life 😂

The best part of the game is when Bobby Fischer makes the Knight and the Bishop cooperate and continuously check the king with tempo. Masterpiece.

This is the game to study. I've studied a lot of great matches, but this reveals more great theory than any other that I've seen. Of course great narration.

That was explained with such finesse. Respect. Excellent plays. That’s what I call a chess lesson.

how the hell did i get recommended for this? i have never searched the word chess in KZfaq ever ...but i did play chess when i was a kid and love chess.. your algorithms are working miracles..

this game proves that Bobby Fischer was one of the greatest players of all time. perhaps the best ever. He was just 13 years old when he won this game but his chess mind was incredibly sharp, I think that In his prime he would've beaten any contemporary or recently retired players, such as Kasparov or anyone. Fischer admired Capablanca and did not like the Russian players

This is a love story about how even if you're sacrificing a big person, you can keep all the little people happy and together

Thanks, Kevin- great job explaining this legendary game. 👍

seen this vid a few times now, really enjoy the commentary/analysis

A lot of people are asking at 13:43 why white didn't go 15.bxf8 (take the rook), which seems good, a bishop-for-rook exchange. Here is the answer using Stockfish: In hindsight (because we now know about Bobby Fischer's queen sacrifice), yes taking the rook was the right move. But Byrne never knew Bobby Fischer would be willing to sacrifice the queen, so he wanted to attack the queen and force it to move back. If queen sacrifice never happened, Byrne is up in position without taking the rook. Now if he does take the rook, he still loses because the black queen still is a threatening piece: 15.bxf8 bxf8, black's bishop takes back, now white's queen must escape from attack of black's bishop. He has three escapes: qb3, qc1, or qa4. All three options will eventually lose the rook for a knight, or prevent white from castling: Say he tries 16.qb3, the best move of the 3, (still losing though) to get rid of the black queen: 16.qb3 nxc3! (now if 17.qxc3??? bb4 pins the white queen) 17.qxb6 (because the black queen is too threatening) axb6 (and now white's rook and pawn are still forked). But the diagonal is opened up, and black will be able to prevent white from castling. Now say white chose 16.qc1. 16.qc1 nxc3! (again, if 17. qxc3??? bb4 pins the white queen) the pawn and rook are forked, and white's king is vulnerable everywhere, and black threatens bxf3 (forcing white to take back with g-pawn) to prevent white from castling. Black is threatening bb4+ later on, which will be devastating. And again, there are moves by white that could try to allow him to castle but black has many responses that will still prevent it. Lastly, say white chose 16.qa4. 16.qa4 nxc3 (forks the queen and rook) 17.qb3 nxd1 18.kxd1 (18.qxd1? bb4+ is Mate in 9; or if white doesn't take it back white is down a knight and pawn) so after taking the knight, White can no longer castle, with bad position. Castling is really important because otherwise the h1 rook is useless and the king is vulnerable.

It was this video 10 years ago that got me into chess. Crazy how long it’s been

i love to just watch legendary games of chess, it’s so interesting

It was a very sportsmanship game because Byrne went all the way knowing he was lost. Great game. Great players.

You explain everything so perfectly man! Iv already learned a lot more about chess with ur help. Thanks for that ma dude

Why am I watching this I'm not even into professional chess I don't even know what these guys are doing

I've been aware of this game forever, but this was a really entertaining recap and analysis. Well done.

I never watch these channels but I watched the whole thing through and it was fascinating - thanks!

Beautiful.

no matter how many times I watch this im always amazed, fischer was simply the best in my eyes.

Thanks Kevin. Great commentary.

amazing. what an intro into high level chess strategy for me.

That final march-down at the end for the checkmate was god damn brilliant.

This was remarkably incredible! I am a fan of chess, not a wise player yet, but this game gave me so much motivation to learn, specially the commentary :) Definitely an amazing video, game, and commentator. Thank you very much for your work! :) Keep it up :)

Thank you for your commentary, it's clear and clean and I like that. I've watched a couple of your videos today and for me yours are the easiest for me to understand. Much appreciation.

That was like a symphony with all pieces orchestrated to a stunning crescendo + a joy to watch 👏👏👏

A fascinating game by a 13-year-old -- it's remarkable that Fischer was already playing the Grunfeld at such an early age -- but "game of the century" is a reach. It is a tactical gem with little strategic content, set up by white's indifferent Qc5 and Bg5 rather than Be2. The game is basically over a dozen moves later. Rather than simply resign, Byrne gave Fischer the satisfaction of mating him, a generous gesture typical of him.

Something disheartening: being interested in something you have zero talent for

Brilliant commentary. Thanks!

I really enjoyed the insights of your commentary. Thanks.

I remember the Fischer-Spassky matches in 1972 shown on PBS. I followed almost every game. It was fascinating.

The game would have played out very differently if it was me sacrificing the Queen :P

Brilliant Play by Play. Thanks!

One of the clearest, easy-to-follow commentaries I've seen on a chess game. Thank you.

Bobby is a legend and one of the most imaginative players ever lived on our earth.

The title of this video is wrong; it should say Donald Byrne vs Bobby Fischer. The name of the player with the White pieces _always_ comes first.

Well done thank you for this simply explained video! Do more, thanks

The beauty of Chess! Thank you!

This game reminds players that there are board positions that are more valuable than pieces.

nicely explained! wow, he was so advanced even at 13

Bless you kind sir for this great game

Time for this to show up in my recommended again

The idea of chess is to always have a piece covered by another piece so the opponent knows if they take a piece they will be taken. Just like bombers should have a fighter escort. Bobby Fischer protected his King straight away, just as the secret service would protect a President. Fascinating game and enjoyed the commentary.

I was amazed at how Fischer played whenever I followed his moves in paperback books on chess at the age of 17 (1971). Of course the other Grand Masters were impressive too, but Bobby's accomplishments were inspiring especially at his age. I'm no wizard by far but going over some of the most exciting games still gives me goosebumps.

Nice explanation dude.. It was great to see how to think about the game from the greats of chess!!

Enjoyed your analysis. Thank You.

Bobby played chess as if the king was his Father, very protective toward it.

I really enjoy all your instructional chess videos. You have an easy-to-listen-to voice, you explain things in an interesting way, and you do not sound like a complete nerd as most chess players sound. You actually sound like a normal guy!

Great commentary and great game.

Grand Masters used to be brought to tears watching Bobby make such gorgeous moves. They would literally weep.

Who else just started going through the chess craze after watching the queens gambit and was led here? 🤚

imagine being a GM fighting against a 13 yr old boy who laid a path towards your death and all you can do is tread upon it.

thanks man, good review, really enjoyed it

Na4 was same principle as ...Nh5 against Spassky. Limited defense of key piece means pulling the defense away from key squares leading to penetrating attack. Two principles i learned from this game: 1. Never ever underestimate Bobby Fischer at any age. 2. Sacrifices are more effective in general before the king has a chance to castle.

It's amazing to me that people are able to calculate so many moves ahead

19:48....I don't think Bobby Fischer or any reasonable player would consider Re8....

So fun to watch your work. Thank you.

Thank you, Great explanations.

Me seeing the queen sacrifice: wut Me, seeing Fisher roll up the board after that: fair enough

Hey Kevin, I really enjoy your videos and they have taught me a lot, and I know this is a minor detail, but why do you always switch between a blue and white board and a brown and white board? I personally prefer the brown and white board.

Very well explained highlighting a prodigy at work

Excellent analysis of this game! ... I am an avid chess player ... but these guys are beyond ... Thank You!

i'm a newbie, i wonder why 1,4k ppl dislike this video? that game is epic

well played game.

Absolutely brilliant!

Amazing vision and understanding of the game.

24:03 mate in 1 also was bishop A3

And on this day Boris Spassky wrote in his diary "Nothing Important Happened Today"

Love this game. Great session 👏

I'm new to chess at 33 years old, I've always known how the pieces move, but I have no clue about strategy. I win every now and then against the computer but I'm left with no idea how I did it. This video was great. It's scary that a 13 year old could think like that!

High level chess is weird. No one ever takes knights. Ever

Brilliant demonstration of teamwork

saw this atleast 10 years ago on youtube, on 2010-11 . Some memorable experience and entertainment that was+!! 💯💯

15:45 An interesting line not covered here is what if White declines the Q sac. After Be6,Bxb6 certainly isn't forced so we should examine Byrne's other options, especially given the gravity of the claim, "Greatest sacrifice in chess history". Let's get beyond just saying take the Q if you can. First, Fischer's next intended move (Bxc4+) seems fairly obvious. Byrne failed to see the consequences of playing Kg1 and subsequent windmill attack. Hard to blame him really, it's a very clever tactic. But what else could he have done? White can't really gain anything with Bxe6, Qb5+. Similarly, pushing the pawn to d5 is not good because d5, Bxd5 leads to same (and of course White's rook can't leave the first rank or else Qb1+!) So, a different strategy is needed. This leaves two main options for White: (1) Guarding the c4 bishop (either by Qxc3, or Nd2/Ne5) but none look all that good to me. Qxc3 is met with Qxc5. Or if Nd2/Ne5, Black still seems to hold a slight advantage after trading minor pieces. OR the alternative... (2) Moving the c4 bishop (Bd3 or Be2, both seem viable). Of these many options, Be2 may be the best (?) but it's still a game with so many variations. I don't use a chess engine, so I can't be sure. Anyway, I thought some discussion of the alternatives to Byrne's Bxb6 was warranted in this game, as is with any major sacrificing move.