Fischer would have still won the WC. He was almost unstoppable at the time. Even the great Karpov later said that Fischer would have beaten him in a WC match in 1975 (though Karpov also said he believes he eventually became stronger than Fischer).
Why did Boris Spassky lose game 6 against Bobby with his use of the Tartakower Defence
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Exactamente Cecilia. Fue un momento crucial en el torneo. Si Boris hubiera continuado su racha invicta usando la defensa tartakower, lo habría llenado de confianza. Un Spassky afilado habría sido un oponente más formidable que el destrozado que enfrentó fischer desde el juego 7 en adelante.
Exactly Cecilia. It was a pivotal moment in the tournament. Had Boris continued his unbeaten streak using the tartakower defence, it would have filled him with confidence. A sharpened Spassky would have been a more formidable opponent than the shredded one that Fischer faced from game 7 onwards.
Oh. That combination you showed had Boris played Qb7 was exquisite Cecilia. Black Knight to a6…….wow!!
Until this game Fischer exclusively played 1.e4 which Spassky would’ve intensely prepared for. I think Spassky was caught off guard, and the Tartakower variation was reached by transposition, which Fischer had prepared for and executed brilliantly!
Fischer knew this was Spassky’s favourite line and lured him into it with a prepared response
“””Geller, however, had looked into the position more deeply and seen the possibility of 17…Na6!, after which Black already stands better”””
This is the line Cecilia as you showed. This would have got Bobby if Boris had played it!! . A win or draw for Boris.
I think Vipersix5 is exactly right. Bobby lured Boris into this Blunder. Somehow Boris forgot the lines that Geller had showed him. Geller was a master tactician who had foreseen this exact position at 14.
“””Geller, however, had looked into the position more deeply and seen the possibility of 17…Na6!, after which Black already stands better. Following this game, Furman’s 14.Bb5 disappeared from practice.””……… the move that Bobby played!!!
I have doubts that Boris forgot anything. How would he forget something personally shown to him at move 14 by another GM? He preferred this line, I looked at it in Stockfish and surprisingly Stockfish considers the position 0.0 after a6 (tiny edge for black after Bb7).
Would Boris play that line again given the study afterwards. It’s true that Geller ( A master tactician at the time) had only foreseen the move Qb7 as potentially better. However, with the benefit of hindsight would Boris have played it again. The move Bb5 which Bobby played disappeared from practice after the deeper analysis according to the report later filed
Had Boris played Qb7 as studied by Geller I wonder if the momentum shift that followed after game 6 would have been so decisive
There are moments in games where an opportunity presents and perhaps a player reflects on what transpired. Karpov when leading 5 to 0 against Kasparov and this pivotal game also. Spassky was the master of the Tartakower defence and yet a “ better” move was found in hindsite and analysis. What was evident though was that he never really recovered from the psychology of that particular game.
To dismiss Gellers deep analysis of the position and play a6 instead was a Spassky “ preferred “ move??
@14
"I have doubts that Boris forgot anything. " Spassky had a bad memory. An eyewitness said he saw Spassky needed to consult his score sheet in post game analysis. He was not an opening theoretician, but a natural player. Geller and other seconds had force-fed Spassky with all kinds of theoretical preparation.
Here is how Geller played it:
https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1049648
After this game Geller said he had told Spassky about Qb7, but Spassky forgot.
Yes. Knight to a6!! at 17. !!What a beautiful move.
Geller saw the lines .
Or maybe Jan Timman played flawed after that move. It would be interesting to see today whether he did or not. Or whether Geller found the key to playing those lines by Qb7
He had never lost when using this sound defence with black.
14...a6?!. Geller had previously shown Spassky 14...Qb7!, the move with which Geller later beat Jan Timman at Hilversum 1973, but Spassky apparently forgot about it.
Could this have been the moment in history where the momentum swung