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
Bobby Fischer tour to Cuba, where he gave a 12-board simultaneous exhibition at Havana's Capablanca Chess Club, winning ten games and drawing two. On this tour the club played a series of matches against other clubs. Fischer played , behind International Master Norman Whitaker. Whitaker and Fischer were the leading scorers for the club, each scoring 5½ points out of 7 games. In July 1956, Fischer won the US Junior Chess Championship, scoring 8½/10 at Philadelphia to become the youngest-ever Junior Champion at age 13. At the 1956 US Open Chess Championship in Oklahoma City, he scored 8½/12 to tie for 4–8th