List of people who have beaten Bobby Fischer in chess

The following people have beaten Bobby Fischer (1943-2008) in a regular game of chess—not a game played at odds. Fischer was considered to be one of the best players in history, having reached a FIDE rating of 2785 in 1971 (Comparing top chess players throughout history). [Arpad Elo, "The Rating of Chessplayers, Past and Present", (1978)] [Raymond Keene and Nathan Divinsky, "Warriors of the Mind", (1989)] [Jeff Sonas, [http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=2345 The Greatest Chess Player of All Time – Part I] (2001), at Chessbase]

Games Fischer lost when he was younger than sixteen years old are marked (U16). Games played in simultaneous exhibitions in which Fischer played against multiple opponents at the same time are marked (S).

Games listed do not take account of losses Fischer experienced in early Manhattan Chess Club 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 (U16): Avram won their only meeting, one of two games that Fischer lost at the Log Cabin Open, West Orange, NJ (Feb. 22–24, 1957). [ [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=19233&player=&pid2=&player2=Avram chessgames.com -- Free online chess game search engine ] ] ; Pal Benko: All three of Benko's victories were in international play, with two in World Championship cycle games: the 1958 Portoroz Interzonal and the 1962 Curaçao Candidates Tournament. Benko defeated Fischer in the first round on 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. [ [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=&player=benko&pid2=&player2=fischer chessgames.com] ] ; Arthur Bisguier (U16): Fischer has 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 1957–1970 for what may be the longest consecutive win streak between GM opponents in chess history. [ [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=19233&player=&pid2=16122 chessgames.com] ] ; Robert Byrne: The most well-known Robert Byrne-Fischer game is the 21-move brilliancy Fischer won as Black in the 1963–4 U.S. Championship. Byrne gained a measure of revenge with a victory in the 1965 U.S. Championship in New York. [ [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=19233&player=&pid2=15496 chessgames.com] ] ; Rodolfo Tan Cardoso (U16): In 1957 the Pepsi-Cola company sponsored an 8-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 Portoroz Interzonal. [ [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=19233&player=&pid2=&player2=Cardoso chessgames.com] ] ; Victor Ciocâltea: Fischer had a +2−1=1 record against Ciocâltea. Ciocâltea defeated Fischer at the 1962 Varna Olympiad. [ [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=19233&player=&pid2=&player2=Ciocaltea chessgames.com] ] ; Jan Hein Donner: Fischer had a lifetime record of +3−1=1 against Donner, with Donner's victory coming in the 1962 Varna Olympiad. [ [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=&player=donner&pid2=&player2=fischer chessgames.com] ] ; 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. [ [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=19233&player=&pid2=&player2=Eliskases chessgames.com] ] ; 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. [ [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=&player=euwe&pid2=&player2=fischer chessgames.com] ] ; Maurice Fox (U16): Fox won the only game he played against Fischer, at the 1956 Montreal Open. [ [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=19233&player=&pid2=&player2=Fox chessgames.com] ] ; Efim Geller: Geller has a winning record (+5–4=2) against Fischer. [ [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=19233&player=&pid2=15712 chessgames.com] ] In fact, Geller has a winning record against four World Champions, Botvinnik, Smyslov, Petrosian, and Fischer, as well as defeating four others: Euwe, Tal, Spassky, and Karpov. [ [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=15712 The chess games of Efim Geller ] ] ; 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. [ [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=19233&player=&pid2=&player2=Gheorghiu chessgames.com] ] ; 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. [ [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=19233&player=&pid2=15349 chessgames.com] ] ; Eliot Hearst (U16): Hearst defeated Fischer at the 1956 Rosenwald Memorial in New York. [ [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=19233&player=&pid2=&player2=Hearst chessgames.com] ] ; 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 have been lost.] [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. [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=19233&player=&pid2=&player2=Warner] ; 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 4 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. [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=19233&player=&pid2=&player2=Wexler]

Multiple defeats

The following players beat Fischer more than once.
* Boris Spassky (5)
* Efim Geller (5)
* Svetozar Gligorić (4)
* Tigran Petrosian (4)
* Samuel Reshevsky (4)
* Mikhail Tal (4)
* Pal Benko (3)
* Borislav Ivkov (2)
* Viktor Korchnoi (2)
* Bent Larsen (2)
* Luděk Pachman (2)
* Abe Turner (2)

Exhibition and offhand games

The following people (full first names unknown) also defeated Fischer, with the black pieces, during simultaneous exhibitions in 1964: B. Allen, D La Pierre Ballard, E. Bobe, Ross Carbonell, J. Dedinsky, G. Dilbert, W. Dillard, G. Grant, Chuck Hoey, J. House, S. King, L. Hucks, M. Lister, D. Luban, E. Martin, L. Noderer, J. Platz, E. Puto, M. Sanders, B. Sax, R. Underhill, G. Thornell, C. Weldon, and M. Wilkerson.
*Reuben Fine (Fine and Reshevsky are the only players to beat both Emanuel Lasker 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 (S) (1971 Buenos Aires simul) [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?yearcomp=exactly&year=&playercomp=either&pid=19233&player=&pid2=&player2=Rubinstein]
*Carlos García Palermo (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]

ee also

*List of people who have beaten Alexander Alekhine in chess
*List of people who have beaten José Raúl Capablanca in chess
*List of people who have beaten Garry Kasparov in chess
*List of people who have beaten Emanuel Lasker in chess

Notes

References

*
*cite book
last=Mednis | first=Edmar | authorlink=Edmar Mednis
title=How to Beat Bobby Fischer
year=1998 | publisher=Dover | id=ISBN 0-486-29844-2

External links

* [http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?&playercomp=either&pid=19233&result=2nd Game scores of Fischer's losses at Chessgames.com]