He Defeated Bobby Fischer, but This is Kovačević's Immortal Game

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Follow MprooV on Twitter / mproovapp #agadmator Vladimir Kovacevic vs Milan Matulovic
Vinkovci 1973
1. Nf3 g6 2. e4 d6 3. Bc4 Nc6 4. d4 Nf6 5. Qe2 Bg4 6. c3 e5 7. Bb5 Nd7 8. d5 Ncb8 9. h3 Bxf3 10. Qxf3 Be7 11. g3 Bg5 12. Nd2 h5 13. h4 Bh6 14. Nf1 Bxc1 15. Rxc1 a6 16. Ba4 Kf8 17. Ne3 Nf6 18. O-O Nbd7 19. b4 Kg7 20. a3 a5 21. Ra1 Qe7 22. Bb3 Nb6 23. c4 axb4 24. axb4 Rxa1 25. Rxa1 Ra8 26. Rxa8 Nxa8 27. Bc2 b5 28. cxb5 Qe8 29. Bd3 Nb6 30. Qd1 Qa8 31. Qc1 Ne8 32. g4 hxg4 33. Nxg4 Qd8 34. Qh6+ Kg8 35. Be2 Qe7 36. h5 g5 37. Bf1 Qd8 38. Kh2 Qe7 39. Kg3 Qd8 40. f3 Qe7 41. Bh3 Qd8 42. Ne3 Qf6 43. Nf5 Nc4 44. Bf1 Nb6 45. Kg4 Qxh6 46. Nxh6+ Kg7 47. Nf5+ Kf6 48. Ne3 Nc8 49. b6 cxb6 50. Bb5 Nc7 51. Bd7 Ne7 52. b5 Ng8 53. Nf5 Na8 54. Be8 Nc7 55. Bc6 Ne6 56. dxe6 fxe6 57. Nxd6 Nh6+ 58. Kg3 Ke7 59. Nc8+ Kd8 60. Nxb6
Bobby Fischer won the "Tournament of Peace" by a full two points over his nearest competitors, which included 10 other Grandmasters in a field of 18 players. The tournament was held in two different cities in Yugoslavia; Rovinj from April 12th to April 26th, and Zagreb from April 27th to May 8th. Fischer jumped quickly into the lead, winning 6.5/7 points to claim first place. In the eighth round, Fischer was defeated in 30 moves by a little known Yugoslav by the name of Vlado Kovacevic (Fischer vs V Kovacevic, 1970). This was Fischer's first loss since losing to Efim Geller in Skopje (1967). He defeated Gligoric in the next round and had a point and a half lead over the field through nine rounds. His final three rounds were tough draws against Browne (who should have won), Korchnoi and Petrosian.
The tournament followed the USSR vs. Rest of the World (1970) match in Belgrade and the Unofficial Speed Chess Championship in Herceg Novi (which was also won by Fischer). Several players that played in both of these tournaments made the trip to play in Rovinj/Zagreb: Fischer, Hort, Ivkov, Korchnoi, Petrosian, Smyslov and Uhlmann. Svetozar Gligoric also made the trip from Belgrade to Rovinj/Zagreb, but did not enter the blitz tournament.
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[@itzMoJo67]

Why is this the best chess analysis channel on youtube? Because you went to dig this game out in some obscure Croatian chess forum. It’s obvious that you are a true fan of chess. Great analysis.

[@Chaturanger]

We find this game in Megabase 2018 and 2015

[@GameSolwer]

He is from Croatia . So it's not as unusual as you think ^^

[@mikechambers9129]

I don’t see this as an obscure game at all. There are damned few players that defeated Fischer from 1969 onward and here is a non-GM that out-Fischered Fischer. I can see why Kovacevic might prefer the elegance of this game as his immortal. But to me, Kovacevic will be remembered as the player that confirmed that Fischer was still a mortal

[@mardenhill]

@@mikechambers9129 fischer was a decent player, let’s keep it hyperbole-free. also, kovačević became a gm later, it’s not as if he was a one hit wonder.

[@mardenhill]

he also shows games by some obscure unitedstatesian called fischer that nobody has previously heard of. a true fan of chess.

[@Ceber911]

What I like is your love for chess history, Bobby Fischer was like that, he paid attention to the players nobody cared about. I like that about you. It’s almost addicting to watch your movies. It makes me respect unknown chess players.

[@agadmator]

+Cameron Smith Thanks Cameron :)

[@Ceber911]

Welcome and i meant videos not movies but oh well

[@12jswilson]

For being an egotistical maniac, Fischer usually respected the abilities of his opponents and was generally complimentary in press conferences and interviews.

[@TestChannel-rt8st]

I rarely subscribe to channels. But if there were more around like this one, I would have to change my ways. You've got an excellent blend of dry humor and chess analysis, along with a great mix of chess history (facts and stories). Keep 'em coming...

[@agadmator]

+Test Channel Thank you. I'm honored :)

[@Tom_Het]

13:33 " these knights aren't going anywhere " I never laughed at a chess position before this

[@timanderson6005]

Watch Ivanchuk's opening game vs Kasparov at Linares 1991 on this channel. Classic commentary and a genius game.

[@arvindshastry]

Lovely game play...no surprises or sacrifice. Just gradually improving the position

[@jojoyoussef2017]

Love how you narrate. Best chess narrator ever, in my humble opinion 😉

[@gxtmfa]

Thank you for bringing us this game that would otherwise be inaccessible to many of us.

[@rmendeljacobs2832]

Yay, you posted it, as promised :D Thank you!

[@Shockprowl]

Superb game, thank you Agadmator. I love tense positional masterpieces like this.

[@alexandre588]

Amazing game and commentary, love the channel!

[@chesstomax5771]

Extremely nice game and commentary thanks for all these nice videos :)

[@BeerdyBruceLeeCentral]

This game is pretty mortal.

[@Narrowcros]

Mortal but very logical good play, black had 0 counter the whole game. That's quite nice for white. It reminded me of Petrocian play in his prime in the 60's.

[@gunjangod]

Instead of first Qe7, black could have released the tension by Nf6. Haven't run through an engine, but seems too natural. maybe I am missing something..

[@fairytalejediftj7041]

Thanks for presenting this game for us. :)

[@onlygoodmusic2460]

Samo nastavi da snimaš odličan si zabavan sa lakoćom objašnjavaš i ne zbunjuješ gledaoce svaka čast

[@bussin1337]

Thank you sir, much love

[@gheffz]

Two players who have (each) defeated Fischer! Great line!

[@ivandugandzic4014]

Your channel is great i 'm huge fan. Keep up with great videos and analysis. 👍 Since you put few videos with Vlado Kovačević i would love to see his game with Željko Boto 1992 Split. #suggestion This little bit crazzy man is my neighbor, little bit crazzy man but great chess player and artist. This game shows some of his chess creativity. Pozdrav iz Hercegovine 😜

[@richarddeese1991]

Thanks! A very well-played game by White. It's an incredible feeling when you realize that you see something so deep, subtle & powerful across the chess board, and you know that, no matter what, you've played exactly the right move! I think this is probably the chess player's equivalent of being "in the zone" - as athletes put it. Seeing so clearly can almost be frightening; it's a level of focus & concentration few people ever attain. Thanks again. Rikki Tikki.

[@amyalindaily3781]

A fantastic game. Thanks

[@jccharp4745]

Harry the H pawn does it again! Love the reference! ❤️

[@johngrey5806]

14:14 "Harry is unstoppable." - who was the player who named all of his pawns? And better yet, what were their names?

[@gampuraz]

it's a reference to something u might not know LuL

[@johngrey5806]

You're not being very helpful.

[@Jonathan-ec9pp]

Simon Williams

[@johngrey5806]

Ahhh yes, thank you!

[@johngrey5806]

I named my pawns Stinky, Sweaty, Twitchy, Nerdy, Crappy, Poopy, Smelly and Joe.

[@leonardobaracchi7040]

Well in 73 ljubojevic was getting strong as well, and not only him.. We need to check if matulovuc was indeed first after gligoric&ivkov.. Perhaps yes but not sure.. A very strong player though!

[@redel37]

5:15 It's nice you give advice also for engines!

[@akmhiarn]

best commentator...

[@discodan1002]

"A crime against chess". Well put.

[@md.ahsanulhoque1955]

enjoyed it

[@arsenalfanrichi]

Excellent game. A lesson in how to dominate knights with a strong Bishop. Pretty Crazy, as during the early stages of the game, The Light Square Bishop was very weak.

[@yourdedcat-qr7ln]

Great endgame technique.

[@isolotaroff]

Surprised you didn't mention his nickname of "J'adoubovic," after he took a move back against István Bilek at the Sousse Interzonal in 1967, and apparently again, including against Fischer, I think also from that Interzonal

[@j.d.2896]

1:59 - "I'm not saying this happened, I'm just saying if it did." 😂

[@chasecoleman4135]

In the position from 11:10, Knight to F6 would have been a stronger move over Queen to G5. This would trade off the Knights and win the G5 pawn, but the position would have been slightly better. None of this was played anyway, but I thought I would share my observation.

[@AlwaysToxic]

I love that Williams' reference :)

[@ItzNatesLife]

#suggestion Hey man love your videos. Could you show us 2 super computers play each other!

[@marcomorpheus6455]

I love how he says zugzwang. I have to smile every time

[@kavyanshagrawal5279]

I like the game he played against fischer even though I will call this "the positional immortal" game

[@timothysiahaan8977]

This game is a nice victory for Kovacevic since it is achieved without big mistakes from a strong opponent. White outplay Black with simple chess, gaining small advantage by another small advantages. Quite similar strategy to what Karpov usually did, or what Ivanchuk did against Kramnik in the last World Cup.

[@saadarshad3723]

Go harry!!! my favourite pawn

[@koenvanalebeek6346]

You're a wizard, h8!

[@chengzhou8711]

Epic sequel with Krovačevič attacking

[@jovanstojanovic9841]

Jedan od najboljih igraca ikad na balkanu

[@mislavivkovic9996]

Vlado Kovacevic great player

[@Hojsholm71]

Great game and it is in the chessbase megadatabase.

[@aryamarwaha1641]

Yea 50 k Antonio we can do it!

[@EdmarcioGuedes86]

Hi Agadmator, thank you again for a nice video. I have a question: What is it considered for himself his best game? I'm not an especialist in chess, but this game seemed to me a normal game, nothing special about it. That do you think? Moreover, the game against Fisher is in truth a really complex and beautiful game.

[@alekhinesgun9997]

The amount of restriction he had over his opponent. He was in zugzwang moving Qd8 Qe7 and the knights could only shuffle on the back ranks for the whole game. Making your opponent so powerless/paralyzed like that definitely makes if worthy of considering it an immortal game

[@velvety2528]

Immortal Harry: the unstoppable pawn.

[@philipstrange60]

8m 25s - LOL! "Too many red squares" or "too many Red Squares" after we were talking about the Soviets...?

[@colemanadamson5943]

I can see why Kavacevic holds this is his best game. It shows how in an equal position white still completely dominated black. Especially how one continually improves a position, still dominating and procuring more space, squeezing black to the point of zugzwang. I feel this is the best example of white's power of the first move.

[@ChrizPhenom]

I think Bobby's games was a lot better to watch and i consider it that as an immortal especially he beat Bobby

[@singlecan2]

Hey man great vid...why dont you show us that game between Timanov and that guy ...so we can get a sense of the game ..was it really a bribe behind it or not....

[@mubaraksenju7521]

taimanov vs bobby fischer? fischer won 6-0, and Agadmator already covered these games :)

[@sevdatalibova4048]

Hi there :) You can try game played by Martin Ortueta vs Joze Sanz. The most amazing end game that you'll probably ever see.

[@keythegeek3497]

The h pawn is unstoppable lol

[@jankoljubicic8062]

Antonio, zanima me da li si cuo za Stanimira Nikolica, velemajstora koji je pobedio Matulovica i igrao remi sa Ivkovim i Gligoricem, inace covek koji nije postovao teoriju saha i nije znao nista o njoj, ali je bio jedan od najboljih sahista Jugoslavije? Ukoliko te interesuje imam dosta njegovih partija, skoro je napisana i knjiga o njemu, a s obzirom na to da zaista postujem tvoj rad i gledam svaki tvoj klip, rado bih ti je poklonio! :) Pozdrav iz Cacka.

[@DBADruid]

Me gusta

[@divepeace1]

Harry!! Nice GingerGM quote Agadmator!

[@nonchablunt]

why are you not playing rapid games on chess.com Antonio? my #suggestion is that you also mix in a couple engine games into your channel.

[@brightmalsawma]

Why do I think Kovačević is footballer Kovačić dad? 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@phomjachana]

do you have a link to the fischer game?

[@sohansubrat4669]

Hello sir. Do you have new videos of Mikhail tal

[@Fandartmartiaux]

At 13:15 , why doesn't black play Knight capture on b6? Is it to free the c7 square so the knight on e8 can escape bishop to b5? (I don't know the correct notation, sorry)

[@TheBelleNades]

Hey, could you make a video on fischer vs spassky game 13 ?

[@sudeepchopra4315]

Each move comes with a tempo if you can calculate

[@pranavnk7478]

Great game but I feel it is inappropriate to call it an immortal game.

[@agadmator]

+ULTIMATOR KASHYAP I called it that because he doesn't like his game against Fischer being called thay. This way, people will notice it.

[@ilikecommenting6849]

Agree with you, Kashyap

[@Hallands.]

ULTIMATOR KASHYAP Yes. Nowhere near anything immortal...

[@nonchablunt]

'immortal' is a subjective term. since truth is immortal and this game has really been played, all chess games are immortal.

[@mubaraksenju7521]

i agree. this is a really nice game with nice tactics, but this is nothing close to any other immortal games. even the winner says that this is not his immortal game lol

[@intolerantkaafir3320]

Can you show tal vs d. V. Prasad 1979

[@martinprieto9713]

5:40 you don't wanna do this if you're human lol

[@rmendeljacobs2832]

#suggestion show the training match that you mentioned at the end of your video pleaseeee

[@agadmator]

+Ninnifier O.o Only the one game Fischer lost was saved in database

[@rmendeljacobs2832]

agadmator's Chess Channel Ok, so show that one XD (unless you meant the one you showed yesterday) I'm not sure if you mean that only the training match where Fischer lost, was saved.

[@tomislavblazevic2742]

J'adoubović :D

[@young_dan_kee]

He didn’t say why he resigned, because Agadmator knows that in this particular game, that would be a waste of everyone’s times

[@martindimitrov5609]

did you ever played ""Hello, This is Mato"". It will be fun for subscribes.

[@herzwatithink9289]

14:52 was a horrible zugzwang. Only one legal move that doesn't immediately lose a piece, but loses anyway :(

[@rchuso]

More games from Vladimir since this one?

[@samuelrickert6828]

"You do not want to do this if you are a human" Computers ftw

[@mardenhill]

f3 is the ZUKERTORT opening, nothing réti about it.

[@mstalcup]

Could it be that b5 was Matulovic's worst move in the game, at 7:06 ?

[@fadikhousho7711]

I would've thought the expansion on the kingside with moves like G3 only served to weaken the defences around the king?

[@ryanarya2806]

Me too. Agad said that the move played to lured the bishop to even more move to lose some tempo. Unbelievable reasoning but yeah, strong player can do whatever they want.

[@user-jt1tm1qo2z]

Vladimir defeated Bobby Fischer and the person who is the fist person to stop Bobby Fischer from winning in the tournament, which is Milan

[@lakinther7183]

which chess engine are you using?

[@eiyaz00]

In non-chess news Matulovic also killed a woman

[@chihlimbar2]

Haha harry the h pawn I can see a gingergm fan:)

[@thisnicklldo]

Nice game, maybe his best for all I know, but a bit dry to be called immortal for me - but then I'm no GM.

[@The_Kirk_Lazarus]

This is probably okay if you are an engine @ 5:19. 😆

[@ericmol5698]

The luck of chess. When you don't see a position and then it shows up.

[@chronicmasterbaiter5467]

Jaajaa eikai tässä muuta

[@maxnullifidian]

Near the end, after black plays Kg7, why couldn't white have played Kg5, capturing the g-pawn, instead of Nf5? Was it simply unnecessary to do so at that time?

[@markjohntowse5347]

qg2, not g1, pawn hanging ;-)

[@marcwordsmith]

SUGGESTION: Hartston vs. Gligoric, 1966. Sweet little tactic! www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1308540

[@agadmator]

+Marc Polonsky This is one good game. Thank you :) I will show it :)

[@marcwordsmith]

wow I'm honored! Thank you! :-)

[@n43510]

This is the Matulovic who is also known as "J'adoubovic" for a number of incidents in which he basically tried to cheat. See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milan_Matulović . He did jail time for a crime not connected with chess.

[@jonaske8049]

15:05 Why not King takes E6? It would open F6 for the knight and stop Knight Takes D6. King would take G5 but thats not a forced loss, atleast i cant see it...

[@TheMe26]

Jonas Keß cuz you lose the g pawn and then the h pawn would be unstopable

[@egidijuskuprusevicius4225]

7:50 black could win if capturing 3 pawns for 1 knight

[@Kovione996]

at @3:36 why not capturing the knight with king please?

[@MrHtowntrucker]

I bet you wish chess players were named John Smith.

[@479deep]

#Why don't you start series of controversy games.

[@dudleemoore]

Otkud si ti čovječe, mislio sam da si Rus, al sad po izgovoru Rovinj i Vinkovci vidim da si tu negde s ovih prostora

[@agadmator]

+Robert Kopasić Križevci :)

[@notmyname998]

Nikad nisam ni razmišljao od kud je, ali sad kad sam vidio ova 2 videa o Kovačeviću i onda mi je bilo baš čudno kako netko tko nije s naših prostora tako dobro izgovori Kovačević, Rovinj i Zagreb :) Ali eto ispada da ipak je s naših prostora

[@dudleemoore]

ako možda netko od vas dvojice zna gdje bi ja kao nekakav 35 godišnjak mogao početi učiti ozbiljnije igrati šah, jako sam fasciniran šahom al sam apsolutni amater i neznalica teorije i ozibljnije prakse, trenuni ELO (ako sam dobro napisao) bi mi bio negdje oko 25 :-)

[@esetendo]

Znaci pratim te vec dosta dugo i sad tek shvatim da si ti nas :o

[@misterteaser400]

11:58 What if black moves his knight to e3?

[@jpeps_8842]

They trade queens and then black is down a knight

[@giuseppesaba3307]

Why "I did read"?

[@shareemshaikh7004]

If this is immortal i play immortal everyday -___-

[@jingerstorm]

this felt completely one sided.

[@Derisoireetsardonique]

I honestly do not agree on this narrative on tajmanov paying for his opponent's resignation. Tajmanov was a great artist and a great chess player. Although you say that you are just reporting someone else's claim, I think this is not fair. Moreover Tajmanov is passed away so he can't defend himself anymore. He lost 6 games to Fischer and has paid a huge price for these losses. I would love that people remember him for his great piano performances and his contribution in chess theory rather than these episodes based on claims with no proof whatsoever. I am telling you this only because you have a huge amount of followers.

[@morghmorghi6528]

Hi Agadmator why do u prefer the bishop than the knight? u always mention it in ur videos which i totally disagree i think knight is more useful it can create beautiful forks and it's also better in the end game as if a past pawn is on an opposite square which ur bishop can reach then ur bishop is useless but knight can reach both dark and light squares

[@dariobarisic3502]

It's bishop pair that is valued, not the bishop itself.

[@lucag.b.5994]

at a high level of strength players won't (/much less) fall for forks so the bishops start to shine because a) they move much "faster" and b) (given that they're on a central square) they have immediate impact on both sides of the board (especially importand in endgames with pawns on both sides). in addition, having a bishop while you opponent doesn't means that you have a piece that can't be opposed - it simply dominates its diagonal. it comes with the downside that bishops need an open position for max effectivity. thats the way it was explained to me (props to ben finegold).

[@harryandruschak2843]

Black was in a bad King's Indian setup.

[@timangar9771]

Why do you call the h pawn harry?

[@SuperKrizma]

timangar it was a joke, bcs there is a GM (forgot the name) who named all his pawns, agadmator made a video about it. So h pawn was Harry😂

[@AlwaysToxic]

GM Simon Williams