List of People Who Have Beaten Bobby Fischer in Chess - Tournament and Match Play

Tournament and Match Play

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

Herbert Avram (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

All three of Benko's victories were in international play, with two in World Championship cycle games: the 1958 Portorož Interzonal and the 1962 Curaçao Candidates Tournament. 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 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 games from 1958–1966.

Arthur Bisguier (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 (U16)

In 1957, 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

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

Jan Hein Donner

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

Erich Eliskases

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 and Euwe.

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

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

Maurice Fox (U16)

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

Efim Geller

Geller had a winning record (+5–3=2) against Fischer. In fact, Geller had a winning record against four World Champions, Botvinnik, Smyslov, Petrosian, and Fischer, as well as defeating four others: Euwe, Tal, Spassky, and Karpov.

Florin Gheorghiu

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 on move 15.

Svetozar Gligorić

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

Fischer's tournament record against Ivkov was +4−2=4. Ivkov won their first meeting, Santiago 1959, and won again at Havana 1965. Fischer was not physically present at the Havana game as the U.S. State Department denied his visa to Cuba and he played his games by telex from New York.

Dragoljub Janošević

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

Jauregui won their only game, at Santiago in 1959.

Charles Kalme (U16)

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

Dieter Keller

Keller was the Swiss champion 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

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

Ratmir Kholmov

Kholmov has an even lifetime record against Fischer, +1−1=0. Kholmov defeated Fischer in their game at the 1965 Capablanca Memorial in Havana. Fischer was not actually present at the game as the U.S. State Department 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

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 and Fischer.

Vladimir Kovacevic

Kovacevic defeated Fischer in their only meeting at Rovinj-Zagreb 1970. Kovacevic played the Winawer Variation of the French Defence, an opening that gave Fischer trouble through most of his career.

Bent Larsen

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

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, 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.

Milan Matulovic (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

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

The unknown Ecuadorian caused a sensation in the preliminaries of the 1960 Leipzig Olympiad when he beat Fischer from the Black side of a Sicilian Dragon. This was the only game that Fischer lost to the Dragon Variation in his career.

Miguel Najdorf

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

Edmund Nash (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

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

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 (U16)

Pavey had a plus score against Fischer, defeating his 13-year-old opponent in Manhattan in 1956. Pavey was the 1939 Scottish Champion. 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 (U16)

The Latvian-American Pupols beat Fischer in the 1955 U.S. Junior Championship with the dubious Latvian Gambit. Pupols won on time, a very unusual occurrence against Fischer.

Samuel Reshevsky

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 (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 (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 (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

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. This famous loss prompted Fischer to search for a "bust" of the gambit which he published in 1962.

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, 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 (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

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

Wolfgang Unzicker

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.

Ken Warner (U16)

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

Bernardo Wexler

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, the only time Fischer had lost to the English.