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This is My Claim to Fame!


The Game in PGN:

1. e4 e5 2. Nc3 Nf6 3. f4 d5 4. Qf3 Bc5 5. exd5 Bg4 6. Qg3 O-O 7. h3 Bd7 8.
Nge2 e4 9. Qh4 Na6 10. a3 c6 11. b4 Bd6 12. dxc6 bxc6 13. Bb2 Qb6 14. O-O-O
Rfe8 15. g4 c5 16. g5 Nh5 17. Bg2 cxb4 18. Nd5 Qb7 19. Nf6+ Nxf6 20. gxf6 bxa3 21. Bc3 a2 22. d3 e3 *


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The set: (King is 5", the squares on the board are 2 5/8")



The copper and brass board, squares 2 3/4": (approximate colors!, thankfully(!?) it no longer exists!)

               
               
               
               
               
               
               
               


Me: (In the middle, head bent over, with pen, about move 5)


My Account ...

 First, it almost didn't happen. On the day of the simultaneous, I had gotten a couple of deficiency notices from school, probably English and biology. My parents didn't want to let me go, but since I had already paid ($5!) they relented. (Whew!!)

I drove the family car to McCellan Air Force Base, went into the hall and set up my 5 inch red/white plastic set on a copper/brass chessboard a friend had made for me in a metal shop class.

I remember Bobby Fischer walking in, kind of like a gunfighter, tall, awkward, gangly, hands in his pockets, head down, surveying the room out of the corner of his eyes. He had come from winning the US Chess Championship 11-0. He gave a lecture describing a game he played against Addision from that event.

The simultaneous began, Fischer took white on all boards, I was board #5 of 50 in a U shaped layout, Fischer on the inside.

On Fischer's 4th move he brought his Queen out, ordinarily a weak move. I assume it had something to do with him viewing the youngster before him with a set he had gotten for Christmas with a homemade metal chessboard, and thinking he would have some fun.

I was able, with a little skill and a lot of luck, to maintain an advantage throughout the game. As it got near the end I could see I had a winning advantage, but was nearly paralyzed with fear that I had missed something, or that I would blunder and blow the game.

Finally, I moved the pawn that exposed my Queen, but checkmate was inevitable. Fischer looked at the position a few extra seconds, and turned over his King.

A restrained hub-bub ensued, with folks squeezing in to see the position and take pictures of kid beating Master (kid 17, Master 20). Fischer went around a few more times and on the next turn pushed the pieces off the board. Not wanting to disappoint my new admireres, I meekly reconstructed the final position and took a safer position away from my #5 seat.

Note: My first chess tournament in 11/1962 I beat an expert in 20 moves and got a rating of 1750 (ratings run from about 800 to 2600). After fourty five years of chess study my rating today is 1693.

But, I beat Bobby Fischer.

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