List of people who have beaten Bobby Fischer in chess

The following people have beaten Bobby Fischer

Bobby Fischer

Robert James "Bobby" Fischer was an American chess Grandmaster and the 11th World Chess Champion. He is widely considered one of the greatest chess players of all time. Fischer was also a best-selling chess author...

(1943–2008) in a regular game of chess—not a game played at odds. Fischer was considered to be one of the greatest players in history, having reached a FIDE rating of 2785 in 1971 (comparing top chess players throughout history).

Games Fischer lost when he was younger than sixteen years old are marked (U16) in this article. Games played in simultaneous exhibition

Simultaneous exhibition

A simultaneous exhibition or simultaneous display is a board game exhibition in which one player plays multiple games at a time with a number of other players. Such an exhibition is often referred to simply as a "simul".In a regular simul, no chess clocks are used...

s in which Fischer played against multiple opponents simultaneously are marked (S). Games listed do not take into account losses Fischer experienced in early Manhattan Chess Club

Manhattan Chess Club

The Manhattan Chess Club in Manhattan was the second-oldest chess club in the United States . The club was founded in 1877 and started with three dozen players; membership later reached into the hundreds before the club ended its existence in 2002...

tournaments. (No scores have been found for those tournaments.)

Tournament and match play

The following fifty people defeated Fischer in tournament and match games.
Herbert Avram

Herbert Avram

Herbert Avram was an American chess player, and Lieutenant Commander in US Navy. He was born in New York.During and after World War II, he worked at the National Security Agency and the Central Intelligence Agency...

(U16)

Avram won their only meeting, one of two games that Fischer lost at the Log Cabin Open, West Orange, New Jersey (February 22–24, 1957).

Pal Benko

Pál Benko

Pal Benko is a chess grandmaster, author, and composer of endgame studies and chess problems.- Early life :Benko was born in France but was raised in Hungary. He was Hungarian champion by age 20. He emigrated to the United States in 1958, after defecting following the World Student Team...

All three of Benko's victories were in international play, with two in World Championship

World Chess Championship

The World Chess Championship is played to determine the World Champion in the board game chess. Men and women of any age are eligible to contest this title....

cycle games: the 1958 Portorož Interzonal

Interzonal

Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and were a stage in the triennial World Chess Championship cycle.- Zonal tournaments :...

and the 1962 Curaçao Candidates Tournament

Candidates Tournament

The Candidates Tournament is a chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship...

. Benko defeated Fischer in the first round of the 1962 Candidates Tournament with 1.g3, an opening subsequently named the Benko Opening as Benko also used it to defeat Tal

Mikhail Tal

Mikhail Tal was a Soviet–Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion.Widely regarded as a creative genius, and the best attacking player of all time, he played a daring, combinatorial style. His play was known above all for improvisation and unpredictability....

in the same tournament. After this first-round loss, Fischer got off to a poor start in the 1962 Candidates Tournament and his fourth-place finish out of eight was a major disappointment. Fischer was dominant in U.S. play, with a +4−0=3 record against Benko in U.S. Championship

U.S. Chess Championship

The U.S. Chess Championship is an invitational tournament held to determine the national chess champion of the United States. Since 1936, it has been held under the auspices of the U.S. Chess Federation. Until 1999, the event consisted of a round-robin tournament of varying size...

games from 1958–1966.

Arthur Bisguier

Arthur Bernard Bisguier is an American chess Grandmaster, chess promoter, and writer. Bisguier won two U.S. Junior Championships , three U.S. Open Chess Championship titles , and the 1954 United States Chess Championship title. He played for the United States in five chess Olympiads...

(U16)

Fischer had a huge plus score against GM Bisguier (+13−1=1), but Bisguier crushed him in their first game, played in round 1 of the 1956 Rosenwald Memorial when Fischer was 13. Their second game ended in a draw, and then Fischer won 13 consecutive games from 1957–70 for what may be the longest consecutive win streak between GM opponents in chess history.

Robert Byrne

The most well-known Robert Byrne–Fischer game is the 21-move brilliancy Fischer won as Black in the 1963–64 U.S. Championship. Byrne gained a measure of revenge with a victory in the 1965 U.S. Championship in New York.

Rodolfo Tan Cardoso

Rodolfo Tan Cardoso is a Philippine chess International Master.In 1956, he won Philippine Junior Championship. In 1957, he took 5th in Toronto ; William Lombardy won)...

(U16)

In 1957, the Pepsi-Cola company

PepsiCo

PepsiCo Inc. is an American multinational corporation headquartered in Purchase, New York, United States, with interests in the manufacturing, marketing and distribution of grain-based snack foods, beverages, and other products. PepsiCo was formed in 1965 with the merger of the Pepsi-Cola Company...

sponsored an eight-game match between Cardoso, the 19-year-old Philippine Junior Champion, and Fischer, the 14-year-old U.S. Junior Champion. Cardoso won only one game and Fischer claimed the $325 victor's prize with a +5−1=2 score. Fischer won their only other meeting at the 1958 Portorož Interzonal.

Victor Ciocâltea

Victor Ciocâltea was a Romanian chess master. He was awarded the International Master title in 1957 and the International Grandmaster title in 1978...

Fischer had a +2−1=1 record against Ciocâltea. Ciocâltea defeated Fischer at the 1962 Varna Olympiad.

Jan Hein Donner

Johannes Hendrikus Donner was a Dutch chess grandmaster and writer. Donner was born in The Hague and won the Dutch Championship in 1954, 1957, and 1958. FIDE, the World Chess Federation, awarded him the GM title in 1959. He played 11 times for the Netherlands in the Chess Olympiads...

Fischer had a lifetime record of +3−1=1 against Donner, with Donner's victory coming in the 1962 Varna Olympiad.

Erich Eliskases

Erich Gottlieb Eliskases was a chess Grandmaster of the 1930s and 1940s, who represented Austria, Germany and Argentina in international competition....

Eliskases and Fischer had an even lifetime score of +1−1=0. Both games were played in South America in 1960, with Fischer winning their game at Mar del Plata and Eliskases beating Fischer at the disastrous (for Fischer) Buenos Aires tournament. Eliskases also won games against World Champions Capablanca

José Raúl Capablanca

José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera was a Cuban chess player who was world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. One of the greatest players of all time, he was renowned for his exceptional endgame skill and speed of play...

and Euwe

Max Euwe

Machgielis Euwe was a Dutch chess Grandmaster, mathematician, and author. He was the fifth player to become World Chess Champion . Euwe also served as President of FIDE, the World Chess Federation, from 1970 to 1978.- Early years :Euwe was born in Watergraafsmeer, near Amsterdam...

Max Euwe

(U16)

Former World Champion Euwe won a two game 1957 match at the Marshall Chess Club in New York by 1½–½. Fischer won the only other game they played, at the 1960 Leipzig Olympiad.

Harry Fajans (U16)

Fajans defeated Fischer in their only known game in the 1955 Washington Square Park tournament.

Arthur Feuerstein

Arthur William Feuerstein is an American chess player and winner of the first U.S. Armed Forces Chess Championship. According to the U.S. Chess Federation, Feuerstein is the 8th highest ranked chess player over 65, regardless of country, residence or federation.At age 21, Arthur won the U.S...

Feuerstein has an even score (+1−1=3) against Fischer. Feuerstein's win occurred in the 1956 Greater New York City Open.

Maurice Fox

Maurice Fox was a Canadian chess master. He won the Canadian Chess Championship eight times; this is tied for the most Canadian titles with Daniel Yanofsky.-Biography:...

(U16)

Fox won the only game he played against Fischer, at the 1956 Montreal Open.

Efim Geller

Efim Petrovich Geller was a Soviet chess player and world-class grandmaster at his peak. He won the Soviet Championship twice and was a Candidate for the World Championship on six occasions...

Geller had a winning record (+5–3=2) against Fischer. In fact, Geller had a winning record against four World Champions, Botvinnik

Mikhail Botvinnik

Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik, Ph.D. was a Soviet and Russian International Grandmaster and three-time World Chess Champion. Working as an electrical engineer and computer scientist at the same time, he was one of the very few famous chess players who achieved distinction in another career while...

, Smyslov

Vasily Smyslov

Vasily Vasilyevich Smyslov was a Soviet and Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. He was a Candidate for the World Chess Championship on eight occasions . Smyslov was twice equal first at the Soviet Championship , and his total of 17 Chess Olympiad medals won...

, Petrosian

Tigran Petrosian

Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian was a Soviet-Armenian grandmaster, and World Chess Champion from 1963 to 1969. He was nicknamed "Iron Tigran" due to his playing style because of his almost impenetrable defence, which emphasised safety above all else...

, and Fischer, as well as defeating four others: Euwe

Max Euwe

, Tal

Mikhail Tal

, Spassky

Boris Spassky

Boris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...

, and Karpov

Anatoly Karpov

Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. He was the official world champion from 1975 to 1985 when he was defeated by Garry Kasparov. He played three matches against Kasparov for the title from 1986 to 1990, before becoming FIDE World Champion once...

Florin Gheorghiu

Florin Gheorghiu is a Romanian chess player and university lecturer in foreign languages.Born in Bucharest, his prodigious talent for the game was evidenced by his many early achievements; he became an International Master in 1963 and Romania's first Grandmaster just two years later...

Gheorghiu has an even record against Fischer, +1−1=2. Gheorghiu defeated Fischer in their first meeting at the 1966 Havana Olympiad, after Fischer refused a draw offer

Draw by agreement

In chess, a draw by agreement is the outcome of a game due to the agreement of both players to a draw. A player may offer a draw to his opponent at any stage of a game; if the opponent accepts, the game is a draw. The relevant portion of the FIDE laws of chess is article 9.1...

on move 15.

Svetozar Gligorić

Svetozar Gligoric

Svetozar Gligorić is a Serbian chess grandmaster. He won the championship of Yugoslavia a record twelve times, and is considered the best player ever from Serbia...

After meeting a 15-year-old Bobby, Yugoslav GM Gligorić became one of Fischer's few close friends. Fischer had a +6−4=6 lifetime score against Gligorić.

Eliot Hearst (U16)

Hearst defeated Fischer at the 1956 Rosenwald Memorial in New York.

Charles Henin (U16)

Henin defeated Fischer in their only meeting, at the 1956 U.S. Junior Championship in Philadelphia. The score of the game appears to be lost.

Borislav Ivkov

Borislav Ivkov is a Serbian chess Grandmaster. He was the first ever World Junior Champion in 1951. He won the Yugoslav Championship in 1958 , 1963 and 1972. He was a World championship candidate in 1965, and played in four more Interzonal tournaments, in 1967, 1970, 1973, and 1979...

Fischer's tournament record against Ivkov was +4−2=4. Ivkov won their first meeting, Santiago 1959, and won again at Havana

Havana

Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...

1965. Fischer was not physically present at the Havana game as the U.S. State Department

United States Department of State

The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...

denied his visa to Cuba and he played his games by telex from New York.

Dragoljub Janošević

Dragoljub Janoševic

Dragoljub Janošević was a Yugoslav chess Grandmaster.-Background:Janošević became an International Master in 1964 and earned the Grandmaster title the following year....

Janošević was undefeated against Fischer. Both games of their two-game 1958 match in Belgrade were drawn. Janošević won their only other meeting at Skopje in 1967.

Carlos Jauregui

Carlos Jauregui Andrade a Chilean–Canadian chess master.In 1953, he took 18th in Mar del Plata . In 1954, he took 22nd in Mar del Plata / Buenos Aires . In 1959, he took 8th in Lima...

Jauregui won their only game, at Santiago in 1959.

Charles Kalme

Charles Ivars Kalme was an American International Master of chess recognized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation, and a mathematician.Kalme was born in Riga, Latvia on November 15, 1939...

(U16)

Kalme has an even record against Fischer, +1−1=1. Kalme won their first meeting in 1957.

Dieter Keller

Dieter René Keller is a Swiss chess master.In 1953, he tied for 5-8th in Copenhagen . In 1955, he took 6th in Antwerp . In 1955, he took 4th in San Benedetto del Tronto.In 1959, he took 12th in Zurich...

Keller was the Swiss champion

Swiss Chess Championship

The Swiss Chess Championship is held annually during two weeks of July. It is organised by the Swiss Chess Federation , which has been a member of the overall governing body, Swiss Olympic, since 2000...

when he upset Fischer at Zürich 1959 in their only meeting. Fischer was tied for the tournament lead with Tal with two rounds to play, but this loss followed by a final round draw with Tal dropped Fischer to a third place tie with Keres behind Tal and Gligorić.

Paul Keres

Paul Keres , was an Estonian chess grandmaster, and a renowned chess writer. He was among the world's top players from the mid-1930s to the mid-1960s....

Fischer was one of nine World Champions Keres beat—every one from Capablanca to Fischer.

Ratmir Kholmov

Ratmir Dmitrievich Kholmov was a Russian chess Grandmaster. He won many international tournaments in Eastern Europe during his career, and tied for the Soviet Championship title in 1963, but lost the playoff...

Kholmov has an even lifetime record against Fischer, +1−1=0. Kholmov defeated Fischer in their game at the 1965 Capablanca Memorial in Havana

Havana

. Fischer was not actually present at the game as the U.S. State Department

United States Department of State

would not approve his visa to Cuba. Fischer played all his games by telex from the Marshall Chess Club in New York City.

Viktor Korchnoi

Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi ; pronounced in the original Russian as "karch NOY"; Ви́ктор Льво́вич Корчно́й, born March 23, 1931 is a professional chess player, author and currently the oldest active grandmaster on the tournament circuit...

Korchnoi has an even tournament record with Fischer, +2−2=4, earning both the victories with the black pieces in the 1962 Candidates Tournament at Curaçao. Korchnoi also defeated Fischer in a blitz game in 1970, a difficult feat as Fischer was the strongest blitz player of his era. Korchnoi is the only non-World Champion to beat both Kasparov

Garry Kasparov

Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a Russian chess grandmaster, a former World Chess Champion, writer, political activist, and one of the greatest chess players of all time....

and Fischer.

Vladimir Kovacevic

For the SFR Yugoslavia footballer, see Vladimir Kovačević Vladimir Kovačević is a Montenegrin Serb military officer who was charged with violation of the laws of war by the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia for his actions in the siege of Dubrovnik during the Croatian War of...

Kovacevic defeated Fischer in their only meeting at Rovinj-Zagreb 1970. Kovacevic played the Winawer Variation of the French Defence

French Defence

The French Defence is a chess opening. It is characterised by the moves:The French has a reputation for solidity and resilience, though it can result in a somewhat cramped game for Black in the early stages...

, an opening that gave Fischer trouble through most of his career.

Bent Larsen

Jørgen Bent Larsen was a Danish chess Grandmaster and author. Larsen was known for his imaginative and unorthodox style of play and he was the first western player to pose a serious challenge to the Soviet Union's dominance of chess...

Fischer had a +10–2=1 lifetime tournament record against Larsen. Larsen's first victory over Fischer was at Santa Monica 1966. His second victory was Fischer's only loss at the Palma de Mallorca 1970 Interzonal tournament, and the last game they played before Fischer swept Larsen 6–0 in their Denver 1971 Candidates match.

René Letelier Martner

René Letelier

René Letelier Martner was a Chilean chess player with the title of International Master.-Biography:...

Fischer had a +3−1=0 score against Letelier. Letelier defeated Fischer in 1959 at Mar del Plata, in a game which according to Mednis (How to Beat Bobby Fischer), featured Fischer's worst move ever. In a pawn endgame, Fischer moved the less advanced of his two passed pawns, and thereby lost the pawn race for promotion

Promotion (chess)

Promotion is a chess rule describing the transformation of a pawn that reaches its eighth rank into the player's choice of a queen, knight, rook, or bishop of the same color . The new piece replaces the pawn on the same square and is part of the move. Promotion is not limited to pieces that have...

, giving his opponent an extra queen, instead of entering an endgame with a queen on each side. According to Mednis, a "fairy godmother" appeared for Letelier. Fischer gained some revenge by winning a 23-move brilliancy at their next meeting at the 1960 Leipzig Olympiad, a game that Fischer included in My 60 Memorable Games
My 60 Memorable Games
My 60 Memorable Games is a chess book by Bobby Fischer, first published in 1969. It is a collection of his games dating from the 1957 New Jersey Open to the 1967 Sousse Interzonal. Unlike many players' anthologies, which are often titled My Best Games and include only victories, My 60 Memorable...

.

Milan Matulovic

Milan Matulović is a chess Grandmaster who was the second or third strongest Yugoslav player for much of the 1960s and 1970s behind Svetozar Gligorić and possibly Borislav Ivkov. He was primarily active before 1977, but has remained an occasional tournament competitor as recently as...

(U16)

Matulovic and Fischer played a four game match in Belgrade in 1958. Matulovic's only victory over Fischer came in this match which Fischer won 2½–1½.

Edmar Mednis

Edmar John Mednis was an American International Grandmaster of chess born in Riga, Latvia. He was also a popular and respected chess writer.-Biography:...

Mednis had a large minus score against Fischer (+7−1=1 in Fischer's favor according to chessgames.com, although two of Fischer's wins were blitz games), but beat Fischer with a French Defense at the 1962 U.S. Championship. Mednis was also the author of How to Beat Bobby Fischer, a collection of all the tournament and match games Fischer lost since 1958.

César Muñoz

César Muñoz Vicuña is an Ecuadorian chess master.He played for Ecuador at first board in the fourth World Student Team Chess Championship at Reykjavik 1957 and in the 14th Chess Olympiad at Leipzig 1960...

The unknown Ecuadorian caused a sensation in the preliminaries of the 1960 Leipzig Olympiad

Chess Olympiad

The Chess Olympiad is a biennial chess tournament in which teams from all over the world compete against each other. The event is organised by FIDE, which selects the host nation.-Birth of the Olympiad:The first Olympiad was unofficial...

when he beat Fischer from the Black side of a Sicilian Dragon

Sicilian Defence, Dragon Variation

In chess, the Dragon Variation is one of the main lines of the Sicilian Defence and begins with the moves:The name "Dragon" was first coined by Russian chess master and amateur astronomer Fyodor Dus-Chotimirsky who noted the resemblance of Black's kingside pawn structure to the constellation...

. This was the only game that Fischer lost to the Dragon Variation in his career.

Miguel Najdorf

Miguel Najdorf was a Polish-born Argentine chess grandmaster of Jewish origin, famous for his Najdorf Variation....

Fischer had a +4−1=4 lifetime record against Najdorf. Najdorf defeated Fischer in 1966 at the 2nd Piatigorsky Cup

Piatigorsky Cup

The Piatigorsky Cup was a triennial series of double round-robin grandmaster chess tournaments held in the United States in the 1960s. Sponsored by the Piatigorsky Foundation, only two events were held, in 1963 and 1966. The Piatigorsky Cups were the strongest U.S. chess tournaments since New...

in Santa Monica.

Edmund Nash

Edmund Nash, originally Adam Edmund Nasierawski was a Canadian–American chess master....

(U16)

Nash won their first meeting at the 1956 U.S. Amateur Championship. Fischer evened the score with a victory in their second and final meeting later that year in the 1956 Eastern States Championship in Washington.

Friðrik Ólafsson

Friðrik Ólafsson is an Icelandic chess Grandmaster and former president of FIDE.Friðrik was born in Reykjavík, Iceland. A first-time winner of the Icelandic Championship in 1952 and of the Scandinavian Championship a year later, he rapidly became recognised as the strongest Icelandic player of his...

Ólafsson defeated Fischer in the 1958 Interzonal in Portorož and the 1959 Candidates Tournament in Yugoslavia. By qualifying for the 1959 Candidates Tournament, Ólafsson and Fischer both earned the GM title in 1958.

Milton Otteson (U16)

Otteson won their only meeting at the 1957 Western Open Championship in Milwaukee.

Luděk Pachman

Ludek Pachman

Luděk Pachman was a Czechoslovak-German chess grandmaster, chess writer, and political activist. In 1972, after being imprisoned and tortured almost to death by the Communist regime in Czechoslovakia, he was allowed to emigrate to West Germany...

Pachman had an even lifetime score against Fischer, +2−2=4. Both of Pachman's victories were in South American tournaments in 1959.

Max Pavey

Max Pavey was an American chess master and medical doctor. Pavey was of at least International Master strength.- Biography :...

(U16)

Pavey had a plus score against Fischer, defeating his 13-year-old opponent in Manhattan in 1956. Pavey was the 1939 Scottish Champion

Scottish Chess Championship

The Scottish Chess Championship is organised by Chess Scotland, formerly the Scottish Chess Association. It has been running since 1884, and nowadays takes the form of a nine round tournament played over two weekends and the week in between...

. At age 7, Fischer played Pavey at a simul making Pavey the first master strength opponent for Fischer. Pavey died of leukemia in 1957 when Fischer was 14.

Tigran Petrosian

Former World Champion Petrosian was the only player to win a game against Fischer in the 1971 Candidates matches, ending Fischer's 20-game winning streak. Petrosian had four victories against Fischer.

Viktors Pupols

Viktors Pūpols is an American chess master. Known by many local players as "Uncle Vik," he frequently plays at the Tacoma Chess Club. He was the Club Champion in 1955, and some of his games can be viewed online at the club's website. Pupols is currently married to Deborah Petzal-Pupols.-Notable...

(U16)

The Latvian-American Pupols beat Fischer in the 1955 U.S. Junior Championship with the dubious Latvian Gambit

Latvian Gambit

The Latvian Gambit is an aggressive but dubious chess opening, which often leads to wild and tricky positions. This opening is uncommon at the top level of over-the-board play, but some correspondence chess players are devoted to it...

. Pupols won on time, a very unusual occurrence against Fischer.

Samuel Reshevsky

Samuel "Sammy" Herman Reshevsky was a famous chess prodigy and later a leading American chess Grandmaster...

Fischer had a +9−4=13 tournament and match record against Reshevsky, who was the strongest U.S. GM in the period before Fischer. Reshevsky defeated the 13-year-old Fischer in their first meeting at the 1956 New York Rosenwald Memorial. Reshevsky also defeated Fischer twice in their aborted 1961 New York-Los Angeles match, which Fischer quit over a scheduling dispute with the match score tied at 5½–5½. Reshevsky's final victory over Fischer was in the 1965 U.S. Championship.

Raúl Sanguineti

Fischer had a +2−1=0 score against Sanguineti. Fischer won their first two meetings, but Sanguineti defeated Fischer in 1959 at Santiago.

Anthony Santasiere

Anthony Edward Santasiere was an American chess master. Santasiere was a high school mathematics teacher by profession. His hobbies included creative writing and oil painting.-Chess career:...

(U16)

Santasiere was one of two players to defeat Fischer at the Log Cabin Open, West Orange, New Jersey (Feb. 22–24, 1957).

James Sherwin

James Terry Sherwin is an American corporate executive and International Master in chess.Born in New York City in 1933, Sherwin attended Stuyvesant High School, Columbia College and Columbia Law School. He graduated from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy Officer Candidate School in 1956 and later...

(U16)

Fischer had a +7−1=1 record against Sherwin. Sherwin defeated Fischer at the 1957 Log Cabin 50–50 in New Jersey.

Vasily Smyslov

Former World Champion Smyslov's only victory against Fischer occurred in the 1959 Candidates Tournament in Yugoslavia.

Robert Sobel

Robert Sobel was an American professor of history at Hofstra University, and a well-known and prolific writer of business histories.- Biography :...

(U16)

Sobel defeated a 13-year-old Fischer in their first meeting in 1956 at the Montreal Open. Fischer evened their lifetime score at their only other meeting with a victory in New Jersey in 1957.

Boris Spassky

Boris Vasilievich Spassky is a Soviet-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from late 1969 to 1972...

Fischer did not defeat Spassky until the third game of their 1972 World Championship match. Spassky had a +3–0=2 record in their games from 1960 to 1970, and then won the first two games of the 1972 championship match, the second when Fischer defaulted in a dispute over playing conditions. Their first career meeting was at Mar del Plata 1960, where Spassky won playing the White side of the King's Gambit

King's Gambit

The King's Gambit is a chess opening that begins with the moves:White offers a pawn to divert the Black e-pawn so as to build a strong centre with d2–d4...

. This famous loss prompted Fischer to search for a "bust" of the gambit which he published in 1962.http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=19233&player=&pid2=21136

Eugene Steinberger (U16)

Steinberger won his only game against Fischer in the 1956 Greater New York City Open.

Mikhail Tal

Tal beat Fischer four times, all of them at the 1959 Candidates Tournament

Candidates Tournament

The Candidates Tournament is a chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE since 1950, as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship...

, where he swept his games against Fischer 4–0. Tal won the Candidates Tournament and then the 1960 World Championship match, becoming the eighth World Champion. Tal had a winning record against Fischer in regular tournament games, +4−2=5. (Fischer beat Tal in two unrated blitz games in 1970.)

Abe Turner

Abe Turner was an American chess master. He had a chess rating over 2400 and played several times in the U.S. Chess Championship. He was best known as a blitz chess hustler, and was one of few masters who had a winning record against Bobby Fischer. The games were when Fischer was 14, which was the...

(U16)

Turner scored two wins and a draw in their three games. Their final game was played in January 1958 when Fischer was 14.

Wolfgang Uhlmann

Wolfgang Uhlmann is a prominent German International Grandmaster of chess. Despite being a dedicated professional chess player, and undoubtedly the GDR's most successful ever, he has also had a career in accountancy.-Chess career:...

Uhlmann had one victory against Fischer, in the 1960 Buenos Aires tournament in which Fischer lost 4 games and finished in a career-worst 13th place. Uhlmann played the Winawer Variation of the French Defence

French Defence

, an opening that gave Fischer trouble through most of his career.

Wolfgang Unzicker

Wolfgang Unzicker was one of the strongest German chess Grandmasters from 1945 to about 1970.He decided against making chess his profession, choosing law instead....

Fischer had a lifetime record of +4−1=3 against Unzicker. Unzicker defeated Fischer in the disastrous (for Fischer) 1960 Buenos Aires tournament in which Fischer lost four games and finished in a career worst 13th place. Fischer blundered on the 12th move by picking up his h-pawn intending 12...h6??. Realizing before he let go of the pawn that this was a mistake that would be exploited by 13.Bxh6, he was required by the touch-move rule to move the pawn and played 12...h5?, leading to his resignation on move 22.http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=19233&player=&pid2=&player2=Unzicker

Ken Warner (U16)

Warner defeated Fischer in their only meeting, at the 1955 U.S. Junior Championship in Nebraska.

Bernardo Wexler

Bernardo Wexler was an Argentine chess master.-Biography:Born to Jewish parents in Bucharest, Romania, he emigrated to Argentina at the age of seven. His chess career began after World War II.In 1951, Wexler tied for 6-7th in Mar del Plata/Buenos Aires...

Fischer won their first two games in 1959 and 1960, both King's Indian Defenses with Fischer playing Black. Wexler defeated Fischer in their final game, at the disastrous (for Fischer) 1960 Buenos Aires tournament in which Fischer lost four games and finished in 13th place, his career worst. Wexler won playing White in an English Opening

English Opening

In chess, the English Opening is the opening where White begins:A flank opening, it is the fourth most popular and, according to various databases, anywhere from one of the two most successful to the fourth most successful of White's twenty possible first moves. White begins the fight for the...

, the only time Fischer had lost to the English.

Multiple defeats

The following players beat Fischer more than once.

Boris Spassky (10)
Efim Geller (5)
Svetozar Gligorić (4)
Tigran Petrosian (4)
Samuel Reshevsky (4)
Mikhail Tal (4)
Paul Keres (3)
Pal Benko (3)
Borislav Ivkov (2)
Viktor Korchnoi (2)
Bent Larsen (2)
Luděk Pachman (2)
Abe Turner (2, U16)

Plus score

The following players have more wins than losses against Fischer in at least two rated games.

Efim Geller (5-3) (2 draws)
Mikhail Tal (4-2) (5 draws)
Dragoljub Janošević (1-0) (2 draws)
Abe Turner (2-0, Under 16) (1 draw)

Exhibition and offhand games

The following people (some with full first names unknown) also defeated Fischer, with the black pieces, during simultaneous exhibitions in 1964: Bruce Allen, Julian Allen, D La Pierre Ballard, Clarence Barber, George Bart, Eric Bone, Robert Burger, Ross Carbonell, Joseph Chabot, Frank Chavez, Russell Codman, P. Cozzi & F. Phillips (in consultation), John Dedinsky, George Dilbert, Weldon Dillard, Harold Dondis, H. Feldman, George Girton, N. Goncharoff, Greg Grant, D. Grimshaw, Robert Henry, Chuck Hoey, Mark Holgerson, James House, Lew Hucks, Paul-Emile Jacob, Bill Jones, Stan King, Wesley Koehler, H. Kord, William Korst, David Levin, M. Lister, David Luban, Stasy Makutenas, Edward Martin, Jacques Masson, Daniel Matthews, Spencer Matthews, Tom Mazuchowski, Tom McDermott, Carl Nichols, Larry Noderer, Fenner Parham, Joseph Platz, Charles Powell, Erwin Puto, Michael Quinlivan, Donn Rogosin, S. Ryan, Marlon Sanders, Boris Sax, Dave Scheffer, Mark Smith, Henry Steinbach, E.D. Stockton, Gary Thornell, R. Tobler, Jr., Roger Underhill, Charles Weldon, Max Wilkerson,
I. Zalys, Henry Zizys.

Reuben Fine
Reuben Fine
Reuben Fine was one of the strongest chess players in the world from the early 1930s through the 1940s, an International Grandmaster, psychologist, university professor, and author of many books on both chess and psychology.Fine won five medals in three chess Olympiads. Fine won the U.S...

(Fine and Reshevsky are the only players to beat both Emanuel Lasker
Emanuel Lasker
Emanuel Lasker was a German chess player, mathematician, and philosopher who was World Chess Champion for 27 years...

and Fischer. Fine beat Fischer in a 1963 blitz game in New York and possibly in some other offhand games when Fischer was young.) http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1043990
Bernard Parham (S) (1964 Simul tour) http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=19233&player=&pid2=&player2=Parham
Luis Loayza (S) (New York simul 1965) http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=19233&player=&pid2=&player2=Loayza
Manfred Christoph (S) (Solingen simul 1970) http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=19233&player=&pid2=&player2=Christoph
José Rubinstein
José Rubinstein
José Rubinstein was an Argentine chess master.He took 6th in the Argentine Chess Championship in 1961, took 6th at Mar del Plata 1962 , and took 5th at Mar del Plata 1962...

(S) (1971 Buenos Aires simul) http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=19233&player=&pid2=&player2=Rubinstein
Guillermo Cánova (S) (1971 Córdoba ARG simul); +16 =3 -1; local champion http://mundod.lavoz.com.ar/?q=-mas/dia-que-bobby-fischer-jaqueo-cordoba
Carlos García Palermo
Carlos Garcia Palermo
Carlos Garcia Palermo is an Argentine-Italian chess master.At the beginning of his career, he defeated Robert James Fischer in a simultaneous game in 1971. He took 3rd in Rubinstein Memorial at Polanica-Zdrój 1985...

(S) (Born in 1953 in La Plata Argentina, Palermo defeated Fischer in a 1971 simul. Palermo earned the GM title in 1985.) http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=19233&player=&pid2=81333

External links

Game scores of Fischer's losses at Chessgames.com

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.

Tournament and match play

Multiple defeats

Plus score

Exhibition and offhand games

See also

External links