One Of The Greatest Moves Ever Played || Browne vs Bisguier (1974)

[@pac1261]

Funny story: I was the "wall-board boy" for this game, in Chicago in the summer of 1974. When I put the move Bh6 on the display board, one of the spectators started waving frantically at me from the front row. I tried to ignore him but he soon crossed the rope line and came up on stage, which of course he wasn't supposed to do. He grabbed the bishop from the display board and put it on g5 instead of h6. He obviously thought I had made a mistake. I pointed to the actual board so he could see the bishop sitting there on h6. He looked horrified and sat back down, shaking his head as if he were in the presence of a bunch of lunatics. A few minutes later he walked out of the auditorium and I don't think I ever saw him again.

[@HeWishesForTheClothesOfHeaven]

That's a great memory!

[@percybyssheshelly]

That is hilarious. I did spectate at that tournament for one of the rounds. I remember Walter Browne complaining to Tim Redman (the TD) about the lighting. I was later a spectator at many other tournaments where Walter Browne participated. He was quite a character especially when he was in time trouble which seemed to be often because there were no time increments back then. He was such an intense and ferocious competitor.

[@pac1261]

@@percybyssheshelly He was obsessed by lighting, even when all the other players thought it was just fine. After he had established himself as the #1 active player in the US, he often brought a big desk lamp to tournaments. I later got to know him a little - I 100% agree about his being a ferocious competitor. BTW, his book ("The Stress of Chess") is well worth reading.

[@snatchinyopeople]

That reminds me of the time I caught the ferry over to Shelbyville. I needed a new heel for my shoe, so I decided to go to Morganville which is what they called Shelbyville in those days. So, I tied an onion to my belt which was the style at the time. Now, to take the ferry cost a nickel. And in those days, nickels had pictures of bumblebees on ‘em. ‘Give me five bees for a quarter,’ you’d say. Now, where were we? Oh, yeah! The important thing was that I had an onion on my belt which was the style at the time. They didn’t have white onions because of the war. The only thing you could get was those big yellow ones...

[@jasonbraun3149]

What a great experience! I was the wall-board boy for many of Walter Browne's games in World Opens in the early 70's, when I started playing in tournaments. He was a fixture in NYC and Philadelphia. Always exciting to watch him time-scramble through 15 moves in 3 minutes with an analog clock.

[@HeWishesForTheClothesOfHeaven]

Walter was a good friend of mine, a fellow poker player, and the person who introduced me to chess. He made a series of videos with Ron Henley chronicling his best games, and this was his personal favorite game. I'm glad that the opportunity arose to analyze this; Walter would have been proud to see this. Keep up the great work!

[@saberalgeriano]

Mr Browne looks like the 70's

[@KennedyMister95]

Narcos

[@billderas3420]

That is how Walter looked in the early seventies when he played speed chess with us at Hardcastles in Berkeley, California. And when Hardcastles closed late at night on the weekends, we would adjourn to Walter's apartment to play until the sun came up.

[@loganlasvegas]

Could have been a Columbian drug lord.

[@zak3744]

He would make a good vampire in '"What We Do in the Shadows'. 😁

[@d4slaimless]

You mean 1870's?

[@ugurdeniz2923]

i love pre-computer masterpieces. I'd love to see more of games from classical era.

[@bigredracingdog466]

I remember seeing this game in Chess Life 50 years ago. When I saw the thumbnail I instantly thought, oh, that's the Bh6!! game.

[@coxscorner]

Same. I knew Bh6!!! was coming In my case i didnt see it in chess at the time, maybe it was a later edition, but I remember seeing it somewhere.

[@jjstnwei3147]

I thought I've seen this before somewhere and I believe its from a Chessmaster game a very long long time ago.

[@schwindsichtigaderechte5293]

What a stunning idea! Really deep and strategically complex. Just imagine going through that entire line in just your head! Over the board during a tournament game! This is a piece of art.

[@ajayshankar10106]

Agadmator's videos never fail to amaze us !

[@jamesholcomb]

Walter Browne's last chess game was a poignant finale to his illustrious career. Here are the key details about his final game: The game was played at the 2015 National Open in Las Vegas Browne's opponent was Hans Niemann, who was a national master at the time The game took place just four days before Browne's unexpected death Browne won the game, ending his chess career on a victorious note

[@DavidAnderson-m5c]

His chess spoke for itself, and Hans has playing catchup ever since.

[@UncleDansVintageVinyl]

Imagine Bisguier's response on seeing that move. It's hard to imagine even identifying that as a candidate move. Yet it's the strongest move in the position. Just amazing.

[@michaelmassaro4375]

Great game from Mr Walter Browne he must’ve been a great player winning the Championship 7 times Bh6!! was like a pitcher throwing a curve ball to a batter and striking him out his opponent scratching his head ‘ where did that come from ?’ Thanks for the Game Agadmator Enjoy your day

[@jansugalski546]

I had some conversations with Walter Browne on a cruise ship shortly before his death. He was a very nice guy, He was also a top-tier poker player and backgammon player.

[@BrettAlt41]

Wow. Once Walter Browne played Bxh6!!, you knew that black was completely screwed. That was one of the most brilliant moves ever played in that game. Thanks for showing this game Antonio

[@TBoldi]

No x there

[@bigwombat7286]

Nice to see a Walter Browne game. I remember him and Igor Ivanov playing in tournaments in the mid 80's in California. Igor was a monster back then. Kasparov couldn't beat him.

[@John-p7i5g]

Watching Walter Browne live is a joy to see. In interviews he is about the most humble, based individual imaginable.

[@aconsideredmoment]

I enjoyed this game. There is a concern that people are only interested in the few popular names. I think you are doing a great service educating us on all the different players and eras emphasizing the beauty of the chess itself.

[@strooomon]

Played 7 card stud with Walter Brown at The Golden Nugget, Las Vegas NV, in mid 1980s.

[@zanesthename]

I watched Browne playing simultaneous blindfold matches with odds at the chess tables in Santa Monica before the 1976 American Open. I played in that same tournament. Used my last $35 dollars to enter. Losing meant my electricity would be off. I won first place in the B class, for which I had to beat an expert in the final round. Won $350 and moved on to programming computers. Have only played one game since, and I lost. :)

[@a.j.animations2235]

So basically you play Bh6 because the queen X-rays the hanging rook on h8, therefore winning you an extra tempo, which helps you activate your rooks and trade into a winning endgame… absolutely deserves a brilliant double check mark.

[@dalesharp8707]

I was playing in the Open of the National Open in 2015 on the Board one board away from Walter in Round 1. My reaction was that he looked like he was on death's door. I was not surprised to hear that he died on the Wednesday after the tournament. Brown was famous for his intense and nervous activity at the board. Having seen him eat a meal, he displayed much of the same behavior eating.

[@jasonbraun3149]

I played in that tournament too, saw him do a simul but he looked old and tired. I had watched him play and studied his games since 1971, and I was sad to hear the news when we arrived back home in Maryland the day after the tournament.

[@xethnyrrow]

I was going to suggest showing some Walter Browne games, you could even do a mini saga of him. He's such an overlooked talent because of the era he played in.

[@exponentmantissa5598]

I once saw Walter Browne playing speed chess and one of his tricks was when his opponent was in time trouble he would move and say check. His opponent would waste precious time looking for the check.

[@DavidAnderson-m5c]

Quite a lot of people here commenting that they had some personal interaction with or connection to Mr. Browne. That's a testament to *YOUR* channel, sir, because you clearly appeal to a better class of viewer.

[@SUPREMELEGEND]

Im afraid I’ve got some bad news. The much more likely case is that they’re lying. Welcome to the internet.

[@DavidAnderson-m5c]

@@SUPREMELEGEND That's not news, bad or otherwise. It's speculation. But if people were going to make up schmooze stories about someone, why not choose someone more prominent? Also, FYI, I'm 68 years old. I'm very familiar with the propensity to concoct tall tales.

[@SUPREMELEGEND]

@@DavidAnderson-m5c liars lie because they enjoy lying. and they will lie about anything and everything for reasons, or for no reasons. throw logic out the window when it comes to these mentally ill weirdos.

[@michael-uq7dn]

please show more older games like these

[@amyalindaily3781]

Tks for the game, and yes, I did enjoy it ❤

[@robertphillips93]

You're not wrong, Antonio, in describing the era as the Golden Age of chess -- as would any renaissance chessplayer such as yourself! But, seriously . . . no one skulking about checking reference materials between moves (even the "best" opening lines were weeks or months out of date) top GMs playing backgammon for cash in the hallway between rounds. For patzers it was like stepping from the gallery onto the fairway, club in hand, at Augusta -- and I can tell you from personal experience, Bisguier was every bit as magnanimous in victory as I'm sure he was being defeated in such a fine game as this.

[@williammorris584]

Browne had many strong results, particularly in the mid to late 1970’s. He was at home in sharp lines but regularly in time trouble. He was also a very strong blitz player. Browne also played successfully in poker tournaments beginning in the 1970’s. He died at age 66 in 2015.

[@reacher74]

I can't wait to tell my friends about this move at the bar and at the library.

[@rggndfw]

Walter Browne was featured in many of the 'The Master Game' BBC series. He is a treat to watch and listen to with his unique voice and his calculation thoughts.

[@quirkasaurussaurus2896]

i had never heard of Walter Browne! I can only attribute this to all the attention that Fischer/Spassky, Kasporov/Karpov were getting during the 70's and 80's.

[@kong-ba-pao]

#suggestion dear Antonio, here's a game which flew under the radar that you'll definitely love. Immortal territory for sure, and I dare say the winning player's immortal game. Tan Zhongyi vs Anna Muzychuk from Round 6 of this year's FIDE Women's Candidates. It features a perfectly played best move b4, followed by sacs in increasing intensity. First sacking a pawn, followed by a bishop, then the other bishop, then a simultaneous queen/knight/exchange sac(?!), and then one more queen sac to finish the game! (not even considering the alternative lines yet.) Absolute 🔥!!!

[@abdumalikshukurov9241]

09:02 Agad being my uncle for 5 seconds straight!

[@wallysullivan9315]

Yeah lets maybe consider not blundering mate in 1 😂

[@DavidAnderson-m5c]

And he's bad, bad, Walter Browne Baddest dude in the whole chess town.

[@alanassante9995]

I'm completely on par with using the "Brilliant" sign whenever the move is ...well brilliant, and a series of those could award a morphy's head ? Depending on the game context obviously. Anyway keep up the good work Antonio.

[@3211Co]

12:51 haaa thaaah That's the game again! Brings a smile eveytime I hear it. lol

[@mr.nobody2515]

In fact this variation was named after Walter Brownie, what a genius idea, I wasn’t even thinking about this move

[@stepniak18]

Walter Brown looks like hippie Hikaru Nakamura

[@michaelblankenau6598]

I always think Hikaru looks like a smaller version of Mr French from the old Family Affair sitcom . Sebastian Cabot but Japanified .

[@gooddognigel9992]

If Bobby Fischer is the God of chess, I'm the Devil. - Walter Browne

[@yonetmen]

We want Morphy Head back! 😅

[@dbillings]

Concur!

[@finnkoepke2250]

Morphy Head >>>> Brilliant Sign

[@srdjanstrkic6458]

#sugestion

[@mikhailfranco]

Saw Ken Rogoff's name on that old leaderboard - fascinating!

[@trruthawareness]

When the Mechanics club ( San Francisco) had some books on display for sale i picked up a weathered and torn book ( My Best Games of Chess by Alekhine), signed by "Brownie"; "This book is the property of W.S.Browne, and stamped with his name and his address from Brooklyn. It was 5 bucks, but shucks i knew him. When entering his place of residence in Berkeley we are met with a huge photo of Freud on the living room wall, i guess his wife was a psychologist. In the end of that fine video of that game, the list of folks playing in that tournament, mentioned Larry Gilden, John Grief, both friends as well. Larry stayed with me, promising he would leave after a day or two, but six weeks later my wife had a fit and he had to leave. John I knew really well, and he wanted me to visit the 12 year old guru in Chicago ( the one who loved chocolate and comic books), so we went. Zuckerman, i played him in 1960, and he was or became "Zuck the Book", because of his co authoring(?) the opening bible book of that day. I do remember beating him, although he won't to this day admit it. Brownie was beloved around Berkeley in his heyday, as well as John, who i never beat ever, with many speed games and a few tournament games. Thanks for the memories!

[@geoffreyhui830]

He used to play a lot of Swiss system tournaments. In about 1972 i played in a tournament in Cleveland. I was paired up to Board 2, and Walter Browne was on Board 1. Looked just like his picture.

[@harryposner7584]

He played in a Swiss system tournament in Toronto in 1971 that I helped to organize, finishing with only 3 1/2 out of 6. Suffice to say, he was not a happy camper. Several other grandmasters played, including world champion Boris Spassky (who i had the honour of being matched with in round 4). At one point, when Browne's opponent grabbed an extra queen for when he was about to push a pawn to the 8th rank, Walter grabbed the queen and flung it as hard as he could across the playing hall! Yes, he was intense!

[@geoffreyhui830]

@@harryposner7584 He was reputed to play blitz games giving time handicaps for a dollar a game, and making good money. I didn't personally witness this.

[@zanti4132]

Browne spent 45 minutes on his 14th move. (Incidentally, Bisguier spent even more time - 50 minutes - on his reply, evidently suspecting he had walked into some home preparation.) The position after 13 moves had occurred in at least three other published games prior to this one, including one from the 1972 British championship. There is the story, quite possibly apocryphal, that a group of chessplayers led by Larry Evans was analyzing the position at a club one evening when a spectator stepped forward and played Bh6. That spectator was some guy from Brooklyn named Bobby Fischer. If this story is in fact true, is it possible Walter Browne found out about it? As much a showman as Browne was, it wouldn't surprise me if he burned 45 minutes on a prepared novelty to make it *seem* like he found it over the board. Having said that, his article on this game in the October 1974 "Chess Life" does make it sound like 14. Bh6 was found during the game. He calls this battle "one of the best games of my life. Innovating in the opening with a piece offer and making a similar offer later, I ended up in a rook ending which was an easy win, the perfect finish to a tense struggle."

[@tychoMX]

Agreed with the "human" use of the exclamation marks. What kind of sorcery is this?!!

[@ianbergerurra8021]

It should be in the Sorcery series.

[@joepoppy3264]

Reading about this game (50 years ago) somewhere I read that Fischer knew about this move but apparently didn't have the opportunity to play it

[@Calibrownsfan]

I like the brilliantly sign especially for a move like this.

[@reallynobody9748]

Yeah, I am not surprised Browne would be good at playing the Browne attack :)

[@gump1005]

Great game. keep the brilliancy sign if it truly fits. We trust you.

[@joezzagaming7677]

Walter browne: Walter white’s chess playing counterpart

[@DavidAnderson-m5c]

Say his name.

[@MrFootofDavros]

#suggestion Spassky vs Petrosian 1966 Game 7. Pawn Push. Just came across this game and was surprised to see you didn't have a video of it.

[@metalhead4010]

Bh6 is the reason why we love chess

[@andersonarmstrong2650]

Fantastic story thank you for sharing it.

[@michaelpowell7908]

Another Browne story. I was kibitzing his game against some 2400 player who forgot to press his clock after maybe move 9. Walter, of course, said nothing and studied the position for some 15 minutes. The opponent looked at his clock and was flustered to see he had “spotted” Browne all that time, pressed his clock, and waited while Browne studied the position another 20 minutes, found a killing line, and won easily. A class act.

[@northshores7319]

WB was a player who could really calculate deeply and intensely over critical positions. I watched him up close once and was amazed at the ferocity of his facial features displaying an intensity seldom seen. It was then I realized just how much mental work went in to playing top level Chess.

[@Ireniicus]

What a fantastic move to find from the romantic pre Stockfish era.

[@rkrmtest]

Agad, Walter games MORE pleeasee!!🎉🎉🎉

[@akashnadar1449]

The absolute worst result in a simultaneous exhibition was two wins and 18 losses (10%) by Joe Hayden, aged 17, in August 1977. Hayden wanted to set an American record by playing 180 people simultaneously at a shopping center in Cardiff, New Jersey, but only 20 showed up to play. Hayden lost 18 of the games (including one to a seven-year-old). His two wins were scored against his mother and a player who got tired of waiting and left mid-game, thus forfeiting the game.[123]

[@slurpat7162]

He IS the 70's, especially the early ones. Check out some of his games at Lone Pine, a "forgotten" tournament north of Los Angeles in Hollywood's cowboy country that attracted many strong and famous players. Of course, their moves are not "engine perfect", but then it wouldn't be the 70's, would it? What IS the 70's is the fight the players put up against each other, no holds barred.

[@DavidAnderson-m5c]

#suggestion Well, now, Antonio, you're going to have to start awarding the Browne Head for such moves.

[@johnfrancis4401]

Great move ! THANKS

[@zoranvucenovic3824]

Amazing how such a sacrifice can be that good... After playing Bh6!! I may say, "Compliments of Walter Browne...1974"... :) I may start to look for similar moves in my games... It appears that the purpose of "Bh6" is too open lines and double pawns... Doubling pawns, with purpose^, may be an end game weakness to build on...

[@cattycats4]

brilliant stuff, very well presented antonio

[@luciferlight5082]

I remember many years ago I made a comment to the regards that the explanation is too complicated,but now as I Improved everything is perfect and I understand 👌💯-1...-99+,-😁

[@ZPotch]

“Lets try not to talk about Bobby Fischer” Quote at the top by Fischer

[@shounakbanerjee1586]

I wonder if legends like levon wesly maxim will be forgotten like these legends in the future

[@newil_yovac]

Unlikely. The internet can really immortalize people. And we don't really have that many historical Chess Channels, so it's no wonder guys like Browne go under the radar. Even Agadmator that shows tons of historical Chess games barely has any videos on random Chess figures from the old era

[@hume1234561]

I didn't see the move. It was too brilliant for me. The freedom of thought to sacrifice in that manner is something very few are capable of at the top level.

[@euclideszoto997]

Browne was a heck of a poker player. Probably better at Poker than chess. Browne made more money at Poker than chess.

[@naromsky]

Mr Browne already has the Morphy head.

[@kalodont1916]

Arthur is the famous Polish actor Jerzy Stuhr! 😮

[@giovannicorno1247]

Really brilliant!

[@ehglt]

Walter browne one of the greatest 🎉🎉❤

[@tttmcbride]

Love this one!

[@MzeeMoja1]

I’ve been playing “simple chess when it really matters” since 2015 and I’m okay with that 🙃

[@gabormolnar3641]

Thanks

[@lakshmananandan1195]

#suggestion : 5 vs 5 wc game. I mean game between Vishy vs Magnus Global chess league 2024.Kindly analyse this game.Thanks

[@rioricojohn7455]

I drew both in simuls with the black pieces. With Brown I played the Benoni, and with Bisguier I played the Alekhine. I think Brown at the time was US Champion.

[@felipeblin8616]

amazing move!!

[@joshpinchuk7061]

How come we've never heard of Walter Brown before on this channel? And I've never heard of him ever. What happened to him?

[@rrevh12345]

You’ve never heard of him because you only watch chess videos

[@newil_yovac]

He has a Wikipedia page (as he's in the US Chess Hall Of Fame, would be weird to not have him on there), so you can skim that for some info on him.

[@joshpinchuk7061]

@@rrevh12345 hey I resemble that remark! I'll have you know that a friend of mine gave me a chest book a year ago and I'm going to look at it any day now

[@benjamindillard2391]

Because you probably live in a chess bubble where you don't know many players outside of Magnus and Hikaru. I had certainly known about the great Walter Browne. He was a tremendous attacker

[@joshpinchuk7061]

@@benjamindillard2391 Good for you, you should be proud.

[@adamleckius2253]

Brilliant !! sign for Bh6, okay fine - but what about a Morphy head?

[@anthonysellers6455]

Brilliant sign -> double exclam

[@earlking6430]

!! Well deserved Agadmator: "...what is this?" Haha. !!

[@xerxesmanalo1812]

Ohhhh! That's Nasty!

[@trulyfacts2857]

bh6, looks like anand's bg6 against lautier.

[@thomaskember3412]

Walter Browne was originally Australian. He was probably the greatest chess player Australia has ever produced.

[@bigredracingdog466]

His family moved to the US when he was 3.

[@tjpoobah1244]

I felt so good about finding Re5, for all of a second haha.

[@JohnChappell-fh5sb]

Awesome. What a bomb!😃

[@soson001]

I am not surprised Walter was not interested in that as he would get checkmated in 1 lmao hilarious game

[@KrastyoKrastev]

give us more of those hidden gems :) And please make a new saga series :)

[@BREAKocean]

You should all check out ben finegold talking about browne. Beautiful hour lecture with stories. Apparently Browne won tens of thousands of dollars in poker as well as being a gm in chess. Quite the monster of you ask me

[@KennedyMister95]

The guy was cooking with lava🔥

[@tombessoir3108]

I suggested this game and another Browne game a few years ago! #suggestions

[@percybyssheshelly]

There was a game Walter played against Bent Larsen at the 1972 US Open involving a queen sacrifice that was also quite impressive. Browne won that tournament over Larsen. I played in that tournament and got to see Larsen analyze several games of the Fischer-Spassky match that was going on at the same time. Larsen was a very gregarious and impressive man and seemed to have completely recovered from the crushing 6-0 defeat he had suffered from Fischer the previous summer. Also there was no player I have ever seen quite like Walter Browne. He put incredible energy and focus into his chess games and he was often in time trouble but through his sheer will power he rarely flagged. This was way before time increments came into play.

[@tombessoir3108]

@@percybyssheshelly i also suggested that game. I became friends with Walter in the late 90's. He was focusing more on poker then.

[@joehenry9546]

I like the brilliant sign

[@RaviKiran-kr4wk]

Walter's hairstyle resembles Paul Morphy's. I expected Morphy's head when such a move is played, not a double exclamation mark!!

[@benjaminschooley3108]

I had the same haircut as Walter Browne did when I was 5 years old.

[@DavidAnderson-m5c]

And it was as of move 16 that Walter Browne showed all future champions how it's played. And all future champions ignored him.

[@vaibhavgarg240]

Everyone Hello!!!

[@tonylove4800]

I always remember him as Walter Shawn Brown. The Australians used to claim him.

[@pac1261]

He moved to Australia in the late 1960s. Possibly it was to avoid the draft (it was the Vietnam era), but I might be mistaken about the motivation. He won the Australian chess championship once. He returned to the US about 1973 or so.

[@LukeLongboneOfficial]

Nobody does it better 😬

[@mariuszpudzianowski8400]

If only online games in Petrov resembled this in 10%.

[@JoyMutasa]

I think we should also start awarding Morphy faces😅

[@Nintendoman851]

"WHAT IS THIS?" -Agadmator

[@cloudforest4087]

Nice simple Chess.