LaviChess

The Game of the Century

Bobby Fischer was thirteen when he sacrificed his queen against one of America's leading masters. Hans Kmoch called it the game of the century, and the name has stuck.

  • WhiteDonald Byrne
  • BlackBobby Fischer
  • WhereMarshall Chess Club, New York
  • WhenOctober 17, 1956
  • EventRosenwald Memorial, round 8
  • Result0–1, Black won
  • OpeningGrünfeld Defense (D92)
  • Length41 moves

In the fall of 1956, the Rosenwald Memorial was played at the Marshall Chess Club in New York. One of the players was thirteen-year-old Bobby Fischer, and the tournament was one of his first real tests against masters. Overall it went only so-so for him, but on October 17 he faced Donald Byrne.

When Fischer played his eleventh move, several of the people present came over to the table to watch. After the game, Hans Kmoch named it “The Game of the Century” in the magazine Chess Review and wrote that it was “a stunning masterpiece of combination play performed by a boy of 13 against a formidable opponent.”

The players

Donald Byrne (1930–1976) was one of America's leading masters. He won the U.S. Open in 1953, later played for the United States in three Chess Olympiads, and became an International Master in 1962. By profession he was a professor of English, from 1961 at Pennsylvania State University.

Bobby Fischer (1943–2008) was a promising junior at the time. Then things moved fast: he won the U.S. Championship in 1957–58, became the world's youngest grandmaster at fifteen in 1958, and became world champion in 1972. He is counted among the greatest players of all time.

The game move by move

Step through with the arrows or tap a move. Moves with a dot have a comment.

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Donald Byrne has the white pieces, Bobby Fischer the black.

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Open on the analysis board

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Play like Fischer

Guess the moves Fischer played, one at a time. The move from the game earns two points, and a move Lavi thinks is about as good earns one. The other side's moves and the game's notes come as you go.

Play like FischerPlay like Byrne

The moments that decided it

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After 17…Be6: the queen on b6 can be taken, and Fischer leaves it there.
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After 25…Nxd1: a rook, two bishops and a pawn for the queen.

The end

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The final position after 41…Rc2#. Black gave mate on move 41.

Why the game is famous

The Game of the Century shows how early Fischer's genius emerged. A thirteen-year-old sacrificed his queen against one of the country's leading masters, got more than enough back, and finished with a mate where all his pieces work together.

Fischer himself didn't make much of it. Asked how he had pulled it off, he said: “I just made the moves I thought were best. I was just lucky.”

The whole game with notes, as text

1. Nf3 A noncommittal first move. The game can still turn into almost any opening. 1… Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 Fischer plays in the hypermodern style: he lets White build a pawn center so that he can attack it later with the bishop on g7 and other pieces. 4. d4 O-O 5. Bf4 d5 Now the game has turned into a Grünfeld Defense. 6. Qb3 dxc4 Fischer gives up the center but lures White's queen to a square where it can be attacked. 7. Qxc4 c6 8. e4 Nbd7 9. Rd1 Nb6 10. Qc5 An exposed square for the queen. Both Na4 and Ne4 become possible, and since the knight on c3 covers both squares, the danger is easy to miss. 10… Bg4 11. Bg5 Byrne's mistake. He moves the same bishop again instead of developing and castling. Many annotators suggest 11.Be2. 11… Na4 The knight sacrifice that made the spectators gather around the table. If White takes with 12.Nxa4, then 12…Nxe4 follows, and White has only bad choices. Jonathan Rowson has called it “one of the most powerful moves of all time.” 12. Qa3 Nxc3 13. bxc3 Nxe4 Fischer sacrifices again, to open the e-file against White's king, which is still in the center. 14. Bxe7 Qb6 15. Bc4 Nxc3 The knight takes another pawn and attacks the rook on d1. 16. Bc5 Rfe8+ Fischer doesn't move his queen but gives check with the rook. Byrne answers by moving the king. 17. Kf1 It looks as if Black must now save the queen, after which White takes the knight on c3 and stands well. According to Jack Straley Battell, the masters watching thought Black was lost. 17… Be6 The move that made the game famous. Fischer doesn't save his queen; he sacrifices it. 18. Bxb6 Byrne takes the queen. 18.Bxe6 would have been even worse, leading to a smothered mate. 18… Bxc4+ Now a windmill begins. The bishop and the knight take turns checking the king back and forth between f1 and g1, and on the way Fischer picks up material. 19. Kg1 Ne2+ 20. Kf1 Nxd4+ Discovered check from the bishop on c4, and the knight takes a pawn. 21. Kg1 Ne2+ 22. Kf1 Nc3+ 23. Kg1 axb6 Fischer takes the bishop and at the same time attacks White's queen with the rook on a8. 24. Qb4 Ra4 25. Qxb6 Nxd1 The balance sheet: for the queen, Fischer has a rook, two bishops and a pawn. White's rook on h1 is stuck, and the queen can't stop Black's pieces. It is often said that Byrne played on until mate out of respect for his young opponent. 26. h3 Rxa2 27. Kh2 Nxf2 28. Re1 Rxe1 29. Qd8+ Bf8 30. Nxe1 Bd5 31. Nf3 Ne4 32. Qb8 b5 Every black piece and pawn is protected. White's queen has nothing to attack. 33. h4 h5 34. Ne5 Kg7 35. Kg1 Bc5+ 36. Kf1 Ng3+ 37. Ke1 Bb4+ Hans Kmoch pointed out that 37…Re2+ would have mated a move sooner. 38. Kd1 Bb3+ 39. Kc1 Ne2+ 40. Kb1 Nc3+ 41. Kc1 Rc2# Checkmate. The rook gives check, protected by the bishop on b3, and the knight on c3 covers b1 and d1. White's queen stands helpless on b8.

PGN – the game as text for other chess programs
[Event "Rosenwald Memorial, round 8"]
[Site "Marshall Chess Club, New York"]
[Date "1956.10.17"]
[Round "?"]
[White "Donald Byrne"]
[Black "Bobby Fischer"]
[Result "0-1"]
[ECO "D92"]

1. Nf3 Nf6 2. c4 g6 3. Nc3 Bg7 4. d4 O-O 5. Bf4 d5 6. Qb3 dxc4 7. Qxc4 c6 8. e4 Nbd7 9. Rd1 Nb6 10. Qc5 Bg4 11. Bg5 Na4 12. Qa3 Nxc3 13. bxc3 Nxe4 14. Bxe7 Qb6 15. Bc4 Nxc3 16. Bc5 Rfe8+ 17. Kf1 Be6 18. Bxb6 Bxc4+ 19. Kg1 Ne2+ 20. Kf1 Nxd4+ 21. Kg1 Ne2+ 22. Kf1 Nc3+ 23. Kg1 axb6 24. Qb4 Ra4 25. Qxb6 Nxd1 26. h3 Rxa2 27. Kh2 Nxf2 28. Re1 Rxe1 29. Qd8+ Bf8 30. Nxe1 Bd5 31. Nf3 Ne4 32. Qb8 b5 33. h4 h5 34. Ne5 Kg7 35. Kg1 Bc5+ 36. Kf1 Ng3+ 37. Ke1 Bb4+ 38. Kd1 Bb3+ 39. Kc1 Ne2+ 40. Kb1 Nc3+ 41. Kc1 Rc2# 0-1

Download .pgn

Sources

  • Chessgames.com, D. Byrne–Fischer 1956
  • Wikipedia: The Game of the Century (chess)
  • PGN Mentor, Fischer.pgn

The moves compared in three sources (Chessgames, Wikipedia, PGN Mentor): identical, 82 half-moves. The date and place from Wikipedia; the round from Chessgames. Every move has also been replayed by computer and checked against the rules of chess.

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Updated November 6, 2026