King's Gambit, Fischer Defense King's Gambit, Fischer Defense The Fischer Defense to the King's Gambit is a chess opening variation that begins with the moves: Although 3...d6 was previously known, it did not become a major variation until Fischer advocated it in a famous 1961 article in the first issue of the "American Chess Quarterly". In the "Encyclopaedia of Chess Openings", the Fischer Defense is given the code C34. After Bobby Fischer lost a 1960 game at Mar del Plata to Boris Spassky, in which Spassky played the Kieseritzky Gambit, Fischer left in tears and promptly went to work at devising a new defense
World Chess Championship 1963 as Geller was a candidate at Zurich in 1953 and Filip at Amsterdam in 1956. The favourites were Tal (the recently dethroned World Champion) and Fischer, based on his powerful Interzonal showing. Botvinnik also picked Tal, as did a poll of Russian readers, narrowly ahead of Fischer. Former world champion Max Euwe picked Petrosian. Keres said Fischer deserved to be favourite but had faith that a Soviet player would win; and similarly Alexander Kotov and Svetozar Gligorić thought one of the Soviets would win ahead of Fischer. American magazine Chess Life picked Fischer ahead of Tal. Of the others it