17 October 1956 · Rosenwald Memorial, Marshall Chess Club, New York

The Game of the Century: Fischer vs Byrne, 1956, move by move

The Game of the Century is a 1956 chess game between Robert James Fischer, aged 13, and Donald Byrne in New York. Fischer, playing Black, won with the sacrifice 11…Na4!! and the mate 41…Rc2#. It was named by Hans Kmoch in Chess Review, and Fischer went on to become world champion in 1972.

Date: 17 October 1956
Place: Rosenwald Memorial, Marshall Chess Club, New York
Players: Robert James Fischer (Black, aged 13) vs Donald Byrne (White)
Result: 0-1 in 41 moves
Opening: King’s Indian Defence (1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.d4 O-O)
On Chess History: You play Bobby Fischer, who hosts the course himself

Play the story Interactive: the moves, the characters, the endings to find.

The moves

1.Nf3 Nf6 2.c4 g6 3.Nc3 Bg7 4.d4 O-O 5.Bf4 d5 6.Qb3 dxc4 7.Qxc4 c6 8.e4 Nbd7 9.Rd1 Nb6 10.Qc5 Bg4 11.Bg5 Na4 12.Qa3 Nxc3 13.bxc3 Nxe4 14.Bxe7 Qb6 15.Bc4 Nxc3 16.Bc5 Rfe8+ 17.Kf1 Be6 18.Bxb6 Bxc4+ 19.Kg1 Ne2+ 20.Kf1 Nxd4+ 21.Kg1 Ne2+ 22.Kf1 Nc3+ 23.Kg1 axb6 24.Qb4 Ra4 25.Qxb6 Nxd1 26.h3 Rxa2 27.Kh2 Nxf2 28.Re1 Rxe1 29.Qd8+ Bf8 30.Nxe1 Bd5 31.Nf3 Ne4 32.Qb8 b5 33.h4 h5 34.Ne5 Kg7 35.Kg1 Bc5+ 36.Kf1 Ng3+ 37.Ke1 Bb4+ 38.Kd1 Bb3+ 39.Kc1 Ne2+ 40.Kb1 Nc3+ 41.Kc1 Rc2# 0-1

The turning point is 11…Na4!!, a knight move that gives up material to open the way for the attack. 12.Nxa4? loses to 12…Nxe4, and Fischer’s attack carries on to the mate 41…Rc2#.

A 13-year-old against a master

Byrne was a leading American master and had won the U.S. Open in 1953. Fischer was 13, and the game was played in the Rosenwald Memorial at the Marshall Chess Club. The course puts you in Fischer’s seat, and Fischer hosts the course in his own voice.

Byrne could have resigned long before the end. The story goes that he played on as a courtesy, and the mating net at the end is the reason the game is still studied.

The sacrifice and the mate

After 11…Na4!! spectators gathered round the board. 12.Nxa4? loses to 12…Nxe4, and the engine rates 11…Na4 at about −2.3 from White’s point of view: clearly better for Black.

The later key is 17…Be6!!, a quiet bishop move that is not a check but makes the attack unstoppable. The engine shows 18.Bxb6?? as the losing try, and the game ends with the mate Rc2# after a long series of checks by the knight.

Questions and answers

Why is it called the Game of the Century?

Hans Kmoch named it so in Chess Review. It was played in 1956, and Fischer, aged 13, won against a strong American master.

How old was Fischer in the Game of the Century?

Thirteen. He became world champion in 1972.

What is the key move?

11…Na4!!, a knight sacrifice that opens the attack. The game is also remembered for the quiet 17…Be6!!.

Can I play the Game of the Century for free?

You can start it for free, with no account and no card: the first challenges are free, and the rest of the game, its mate and its what-if lines are in the Chess History Pass.

Sources and checks

Byrne–Fischer, New York 1956 (Wikipedia, chessgames.com 1008361)
Hans Kmoch in Chess Review
Engine check on this site: Stockfish 17 (depth 22)

The moves on this page are checked for legality, and the engine evaluations come from Stockfish 17. Where a game is more legend than fact, the story says so.