Practice English Speaking&Listening with: Bobby Fischer's amazing Four Queens Chess Game against "Iron Tiger" Tigran Petrosian! 1959

morning all I like to show you an absolutely classic encounter when

Fischer was just 16 in the bled Zagreb Belgrade's candidates tournament in1959 he

was playing against Tigran Petrosian. Tigran Petrosian was a soviet armenian

grandmaster world champion between 1963 and 69 he was nicknamed iron tiger

pardon me .. iron Tigran ... due to his almost impenetrable playing style which

emphasized safety above all else he was a candidate for the World Chess Championship

on eight occasions 1953 56:59 62 71 74 77

1980. He won the World Championship in 1963 against Mikhail

Botvinnik and successfully defended it in 1966 against Boris Spassky and lost

it in 1969 to Spassky thus he was the defending world champion or a World

Championship candidate in ten consecutive three year cycles. He won the

the Soviet championship four times nineteen fifty-nine sixty one sixty nine

and seventy five and is recognized as the hardest player to beat in the

history of chess. I would like to add on this channel there was a set of videos

Kasparov against Petrosyan which I called conquering a style but it should

be noted that in the latter two encounters Petrosian's health was

suffering which may have had a big impact on those games. In the early

encounters against Kasparov it was shown that Petrosian was a great wriggler

especially with his king being able to wriggle his King into safety. Let's look

at this game then - so Fischer with White kicked off with e4 and Petrosian played

the caro-kann - a very solid opening but maybe a bit of a surprise - perhaps

Sicilian was expected we see Nc3 and Petrosian played d5 and now this

variation Nf3 - okay so this is the two Knights variation not very

originally named - both knights coming out called the two Knights variation - Bishop

g4 pinning a knight and black is emphasizing a dark square strategy

actually this signifies to undermine white on the dark squares by taking on

f3 at some point potentially and we'll see this -White encourages black to do

that exchange getting a light square bishop now Nf6 d3 e6 and this

Bishop it could go to e2 but actually g3 is favored and this move is very

popular Bishop b4 which aims to actually exchange off the dark square Bishops and

leave white even more vulnerable potentially on future dark squares and

you'll note in particular c3 - keep a note in particular of the c3 square so a

strategic Bishop exchange here - Black is now threatening d4 so not giving white

time to play Bishop g2 either - that would be a pretty bad Bishop g2 here d4 even

though a3 black has Queen a5 here and is unclear to lose the exchange like

this so okay so this is this is very theoretical Bishop b4 even today this is

the most popular move and Bishop d2 now is played and black does go in for the

bishop exchange with d4 driving the knight back to b1 but it can come back

out potentially to use the c4 square on this exchange and Petrosian did actually

take immediately on d2. I think nowadays this is quite a rare idea to take

immediately on d2 because it seems to be helping White get the knight to c4.

Queen b6 has been played at least eight times according to my (Chessbase) "live book" Bishop

takes d2 much rarer. Petrosian played it anyway accelerating this

Knight coming back to c4 which seems a very comfortable

idea and in fact it seems strange maybe that Petrosian not only encourages

this Knight to come to c4, is also saying to white you know do it to attack e5

giving e5 a target but the point of e5 is to lock in this Bishop this fianchettoed

Bishop so ok Bishop g2 - no rush to play Nc4 c5 giving black the c6 square

potentially for the knight. Castles now knight c6 Queen e2 getting out of the

way of the F pawn so this is a typical Kings Indian in reverse and a Kings

Indian attack formation where f4 now and you might think the pressure on e5 might be

good in conjunction with Nc4 later. Petrosian plays Queen e7 and we do see this

kind of Kings Indian attack formation and black now castles Queen side. I think

castling kingside looks a little bit riskier perhaps white can just play f5

potentially unless it's really weakening the dark squares considerably but it

looks like a standard thing you do in the Kings Indian defense to roll these

pawns up so castling Queenside maybe seems a bit safer in some respects

and Fischer gets to work now on on the Queenside but it's not just about the

King - this next move which he plays a3 - it's about potentially undermining with

e5 the e5 if Nc4 is happening then b5 would also be a very

useful threat to undermine this e5 pawn and break black's structure in fact

also beat bxc to try and undermine black's pawn structure here. We see now

Knight e8 which does mean black is possibly playing f6 soon to

maintain that pawn chain which is like a lock and key against this Bishop and

possibly in this position you might consider F takes e5 but it's not that

effectual in this position F takes e5 Knight takes e5 say b4. Black

has a very impressive knight on e5 here and this attack really needs this Bishop

but it's completely blockaded so this might not be ideal in in this position

to play F takes e5 not only that for example let's take this a bit further

black might even be able to play h5 to try and weaken White further on the dark

squares so this kind of position doesn't seem too bad for black but it's a

possibility that needs to be factored in to play F takes e5. Fischer actually

played b4 and now here again what happens if f6. Well maybe b5 this might be

okay for white to use this kind of plan and the bishop might not be too terrible

with h4 Bishop h3 later so this might not be that bad it's a bit blocked in

but in the game Tigran undermines his own structure here in the center with

the move C takes b4 a bit provocative in some respects and here now F takes e5 is

under slightly better circumstances than earlier much earlier because the knight

and queen are now ready for b4 here also the Knight is kind of protecting a7

so this is a very different position here much more effective in fact it

seems for f takes e5 to be reconsidered whilst before positionally it could be ruled out

- here this looks like it's quite attractive if Knight takes e5

that's particularly bad - a takes and we are on a7 so slight nuances that means F takes e5

is more effective here and this pawn chain being

undermined with no c5 pawn makes queen f2 more effective and all of a sudden we've

got resources like c3 targeting a7 so in this position after C takes b4 it does

seem that F takes e5 is a viable idea here - if black takes the Queen

maybe check and rook takes f7 this is this is nice for white so okay but

Fischer in the game played Knight c4 and this gives to Tigran a chance to maintain

his pawn chain with f6 and in some way really justifying blacks C takes b4

actually because now the pawn chain has been maintained black has actually

weakened this c3 square with the earlier strategic exchange of dark square Bishops

the c3 square is a great target for a positional maneuver like this and also

black has the potential here to create an outside passed pawn already there were

the seeds of an outside passed pawn in a position to be born more in mind this

Bishop is still locked in and this pawn chain ok against the knight c4 seems

solid enough now white plays F takes black takes with F pawn a takes and now

b5 is a serious threat in this position very very serious threat but Nc7 has dual

purpose not just against b5 but the Knight can consider coming in later to

c3 which has been weakened white is weak on the dark squares here. Knight a5 and

now Tigran does a very very good move potentially white is threatening Knight

takes and rook takes a7. Does he use his King ?! If he uses his King to protect b8 this

might be playable takes because how does White actually gain more pressure

here let's give an example Knight b5 is pretty solid supporting a7 it looks as

though black shouldn't have too much of a problem here. White is playing without

this bishop in this position this diagonal is not really something to be

scared about so this is not too great for white this

kind of position so King b8 does seem playable but Tigran played

actually Nb5 which is also playable immediately setting sights on c3 white

plays Knight takes c6 bxc6 which can protect that pawn doubly now with

Knight and the Queen - so what can White do?! he's with this kind of dead bishop has

he got that much play against black?! his next move rook f2 as though he's

interested in doubling on the F file -we see g6 potentially getting out of the

way if if there's a doubling on the f-file g6 and now we see h4 king b7

and now Fischer plays h5 so he's trying to get some something going on

the kingside here. He's got that f-file. Kind of gazing down the f-file. Now if

immediate Nc3 this pawn is also been on here in principle it seems as a bit

dangerous to leave f7 Queen takes b4 is actually played check King b6 it looks

strange for the King to be on b6 as well but if the King did step back then I

think that might be much more dangerous Queen f2 and we've got resources like c4

in fact because of this - this is an important idea in this position if black

takes a7 is gonna be under fire so okay and now we see Queen f2 and it looks as

though c4 now is possible using that pin on the d4 pawn. That's the principle

kind of threat and Tigran could have tried to dampen that down by

playing Queen b2 here - okay the white rook moves and now a five and

now c4 and we can just take on f2 and then play Knight c3 but he didn't nail

down c4 here in fact after Queen f2 Tigran played a five allowing c4 which

sorts out one connectivity issue that now White's pieces can can swing to

the Queen side potentially but this is a very strong Knight now on c3 protecting

key squares the King - it looks as though the King is strange on b6 but this is

Tigran Petrosian he's very good with King Safety - one of the most difficult

players to beat ever in the history of the game and he knows how to put his King

into great safety so it seems paradoxical to walk it up the

board but in this situation now he's got this very nicely entrenched Knight

he's got this running past outside pawn and he's controlling key squares well

enough for King safety not to be such a major issue

rook f1 which might be a slight mistake perhaps Queen f6 as pointed out by my

analytical assistant here with Queen g7 potentially and there is a threat of Qxe5 - what would black do?!

maybe rook d f8 and we can have hairy continuations like this but white should

be okay but in the game we see this move rook f1 and now black can really

emphasize that passed pawn. a4 is played Fischer plays Queen f6 trying to

counter-attack on this side of the board and probing touching both rooks with

this move means that now rook takes h7 to deflect one rook away from protecting

the other is on the cards. That's kind of ignored now - perhaps best for black would

have been Queen d6 after Queen d6 it seems it's a difficult position for

white here it seems for example Queen g7 it doesn't matter about such checks here

because the King remarkably can use the c5 square here and White's attack is

running out of steam and again we're faced with this menacing passed 'a' pawn in

this position so okay so Petrosian played actually queen c5 which i think

is is a little bit less accurate than Queen d6 and now it allows Fischer's

next move rook takes h7 getting a pawn okay

but now look Rdf8 queen takes rook takes h7 does Petrosian want to exchange off

rooks - well in principle yes he's got this outside dangerous past pawn but

White has also got now this dangerous 'h' pawn to counterbalance this 'a' pawn

so yes Petrosian takes on f1 though and pushes his 'a' pawn and the white queen is

a bit helpless against this pawn queening. All White can do now is try and

queen himself how can he get back in time?! There's no way so we're in a

strange situation here where the earlier dark square strategy led to white being

weak on the dark squares and this wonderfully entrenched knight on c3

maintained king safety for kings on opposite sides of the board which has

now culminated in two passed pawns on opposite sides of the board so white

plays now h6 and black plays a2 and they're both going to queen quite ruthlessly

Queen g8 setting the queening square - a1 queening -

h7 and black believe it or not hasn't got really time to exploit White's King

safety here although it seems the shot Ne2 check might be promising what

would go on here?! Say King g2 there is a shot here Knight takes g3 so that if

King takes this is crushing Queen takes f1 that is a big big problem here

imagine this scenario Queen takes d3 this is not very nice for white at all

Black's got the checks in first here and is left with material advantage but

Knight takes g3 - you might think well Queen takes again there's Queen f8 so

this is an important tactic to consider because it's putting a dampener on

things it seems but in this position white can actually force a perpetual

check With check check check check and

there's no escaping it because if if this loses the a7 square because here

if we try and win this queen there is queen a7 and this is just perpetual check again

so the king cannot escape the perpetual checks here so perpetual checking saves

the day in this position but it was an important tactic to bear in mind this

Knight e2 check for Knight takes g3. Petrosian actually played Queen d6 and now

we have the four Queens on the board which makes the game very unique to have

four Queens. It's very rare this happens in very high-level games so I think the

preconditions for it to happen were : both sides castled opposite to

each other, black had the signs of an outside passed pawn earlier on and white

was working on the Kingside to generate a dangerous passed pawn himself

and we have this remarkable scenario now so what is white actually threatening if

he had another move. Well he'd start checks maybe which would be pretty dangerous

maybe he wouldn't mind exchanging off a queen and to try and pick up e5 and

then use his 'g' pawn later. Well Petrosian guards against Queen b8 Fischer in

this position plays the move g4 which is actually apparently one of the best

moves to play from an engine perspective in this very very complicated position

if he tries Queen e8 this seems to be a viable alternative to just target the e5

pawn black might be able to respond Queen a to e7

it's strange to have to qualify Queens but it's a wonderful aspect of this four

Queen scenario and say Queen a8 very complicated

position indeed really this kind of scenario very unusual Queen dc-7 is example

White has always got the option as well to try and trade off one pair of Queens

this looks good for white from at least from an engine point of view this this

position so Queen e8 looks like an alternative to g4 which is what Fischer

played - rather optimistic I guess to try and think of that pawn as now queening

in this new scenario Petrosian does something very

interesting he continues his King walk with the move king c5 now okay and now

we see white playing Queen f8 exchanging off one of the Queen's potentially.

Queen a to e7

but now avoiding the Queen exchange I don't think this is good for white here

taking Queen h6 this might not be that's hot for white

here because black has these invasion points in this position like f3 in

particular so what Fischer did here is actually

Queen a8 - he is bearing in mind the check possibilities and Petrosian does the

only move I think Queen a3 looks like a very very serious threat

especially with c5 coming up potentially as a resource so he plays actually King

b4 - the King helps himself to defending here the a3 square and we see

now Queen h2 is though there's an interesting queen b2 and remarkably again and

this is why I think Petrosian is an amazing King wriggler and with this King

wriggling he even had later success against the likes of Kasparov in some

games the King helps himself to defence with King b3 remarkably but

it does also mean now that Queen a3 is possible with this battery of Queens

as well - so we see Queen a1 and the Knight is covering key squares here b1

and d1 as well. Black now plays Queen a3 and if white refuses an exchange of Queens

now let's say white plays Queen e1 then Queen g5 it looks very difficult indeed

to see what White's actually doing here so Fischer simplifies now the position so

alas that's the end of the four Queens now after Queen takes a3 King takes

a3 Queen h6 and then we see Queen f7 interested in that f3 square and the

King defends f3 with King g2 and now we see the move King b3 - where is

this King heading?! Well it seems that's potentially there's Nd1 to e3 on the

cards so the King is stepping out of potential checks like on d6 perhaps - was

this really a threat for white or Queen c1 check in particular is more relevant

so the King is stepping out of checks here. Fischer goes back with his Queen

and we see now Queen h7 which looks a little bit odd what does the Queen

actually doing there?! It's standing by this pawn it doesn't look as

though it's got major prospects and now a bit of a howler from Fischer - he plays

King g3 which allows a nice tactic. I wonder if you can spot it if I give you

10 seconds starting from now ...

okay Queen takes e4 there's a nice fork here if takes Knight takes e4 check and

black is winning here in this position so ..

Fischer plays the much better queen f2 which keeps his chances alive and after

queen h1 .. Fischer offered a draw which thankfully for him was accepted. He

was a bit nervous about it not being accepted black is slightly better black

has got prospects of e4 here but Petrosian I guess was extremely tired after

this game with the complexity of the Four Queens earlier decided to .. well a

draw was accepted so let's see in this final position if Queen g2 Queen h6

Black's better but it's not so clear about e4 as long as e4 is stopped

black has some work to do

but okay it's it's still very very complicated. The win is going to be

a protracted struggle from this position so fair enough

after Queen h1 a draw was agreed so an intense and exciting game with four

Queens on the board - an extremely memorable game indeed comments or

questions on YouTube thanks very much.