Fischer, Robert James vs Petrosian, Tigran V, Candidates final

Round 5 of the 1971 Candidates Final between Fischer and Petrosian in Buenos Aires was a Petrov’s Defense played by Fischer with the Black pieces. Fischer was leading the match 3-1 (in won games) at this point. The Petrov is a defense often associated with drawing tendencies; Fischer’s choice signalled that he was satisfied with the match position and willing to consolidate.

The game was drawn in 38 moves. Both sides reached an endgame with roughly balanced material and clear technical drawing chances. Petrosian, then 42 years old, was the world’s strongest defensive player of the era. He was not going to lose drawn positions, and Fischer was not going to find winning chances in this particular ending.

The draw maintained Fischer’s substantial match lead. The 1971 Candidates Final was scheduled as a 12-game match; Fischer needed 6.5 points to qualify for the 1972 World Championship match against Spassky. After Game 5 he had 3.5 points (3 wins, 1 draw, 1 loss). The remaining seven games would produce four more wins for Fischer and one for Petrosian, with two draws, for a final score of 6.5-2.5.

The Buenos Aires Candidates Final was Fischer’s most demanding match before his 1972 World Championship qualification. Petrosian had been world champion 1963-1969 and remained one of the strongest players in the world. Fischer’s dominant scoreline against him — particularly the four-game winning streak at the end of the match — ended any doubt about which player would face Spassky in Reykjavik.

The Petrov’s Defense game from Round 5 is rarely cited as a brilliancy — it was a quiet draw between two positional masters. But it is part of the larger historical record of Fischer’s 1971 campaign, in which he won 18 of 21 games against Taimanov, Larsen, and Petrosian on his way to the World Championship match.