Boris Spassky vs Marcel Bieler - World Champions Simultaneous Exhibition 2009.08.22

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Boris Spassky vs Marcel Bieler
World Champions Simultaneous Exhibition Zurich round 1 2009.08.22
Sicilian Defense: Najdorf Variation 1-0

[Event "World Champions Simultaneous Exhibition"]
[Site "Zurich"]
[Date "2009.08.22"]
[EventDate "?"]
[Round "1"]
[Result "1-0"]
[White "Boris Spassky"]
[Black "Marcel Bieler"]
[ECO "B98"]
[WhiteElo "2548"]
[BlackElo "1706"]
[PlyCount "63"]

1. e4 {Notes by Marcel Bieler. *** This simul was played in
the great hall of the Zurich Main Station. It was part of the
celebrations for the 200 year anniversary of the
Schachgesellschaft Zurich, the oldest chess club in the
world. I had won a seat against Spassky in a
competition. Boris Spassky was a little odd in the
beginning. He wore thick, dark glasses, and he did not shake
any hands nor make his first move. Instead, he shouted all
around "Pawn to e4". It actually took the players a while to
realize he had just made his first move - the acoustics were
very bad in the Zurich Main Station. Spassky had a very mean
demeanor and did not seem to be in a good mood. } c5 {
Everyone answering 1...e5 was treated to the King's Gambit. I
was expecting a closed Sicilian. His hand hovered above the
b-Knight but after a couple of seconds he moved: } 2. Nf3 {
Never before have I seen a professional chess player move the
pieces like Spassky. Sometimes he moved them with a sloppy
nonchalance, but most often he would slam them onto the board,
just like in the movies, when some patzer is making a clever
move. } 2... d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 e6
7. f4 Be7 8. Qf3 Qc7 9. O-O-O Nc6 { The most common move is
9...Nbd7. I used to like the Nbd7 move in similar positions
but thought it was bad in my game against Morozevich so I did
not consider it here. } 10. Nxc6 bxc6 11. e5 dxe5 12. fxe5 Nd5
13. Bxe7 Qxe7 { I was not sure whether to take with the Knight
or the Queen. I settled on the Queen because I wanted her to
stay connected to f7. According to my engine, 13...Nxe7 would
have been better, though. } 14. Ne4 O-O { In another game,
something very odd had happened: Spassky made a move, then
took it back again, then sat down and had a very long
think. Then shook the opponents hands but after some analyzing
they settled for a draw--even though Spassky had indeed
lost. All of a sudden Boris was not behaving as meanly
anymore. He started joking and talking trash to intimidate
us. He would say "Behold my whole army", "I am very happy now
that you made this move" or "You're opening was good but now
we're in the middlegame. I am an expert of the middlegame." }
15. c4 Nc7 16. Qg3 Ne8 17. Bd3 Rb8 { This might have been a
decisive mistake but Spassky failed to play 18...Nf6+
immediately. } 18. Rhf1 Qb4 19. Rd2 g6 20. Qg5 Rb7 21. Nf6+ {
Every check Spassky delivered was accompanied by a loud
exclamation of "Chookee!" } 21... Nxf6 22. exf6 Kh8 23. Qh6 {
Spassky said "I am looking for a mate". } 23... Rg8 24. Rf3
Qf8 25. Qg5 Rc7 { It's quite obvious that this was a bad move
but I was in some kind of Zugzwang and did not have many
options. } 26. Rh3 e5 27. Rh6 Bg4 28. h3 { Spassky said to me
"I can kill you in my business." } 28... Bh5 29. Qxh5 {
Actually, I was ready to give in here, but my goal was to
reach move 30. As I told him this he just smiled. Well
then... } 29... Rg7 30. fxg7+ { He counted aloud how many
moves it would take to mate now. } 30... Qxg7 31. Bxg6 fxg6
32. Rd8+ { 32... Qf8 33.Rxg6 Qxd8 34.Qxe5+ Qf6 35.Qxf6+ Rg7
36.Qxg7# } 1-0

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Updated: 23 January, 2022
Created: 23 January, 2022