Jun 16, 2022 - Sale 2609

Sale 2609 - Lot 73

Price Realized: $ 2,750
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 2,500 - $ 3,500
FISCHER VS. ULF ANDERSSON FISCHER, ROBERT JAMES ("BOBBY"). Autograph Manuscript Signed, "Fischer" twice, his complete score sheet for the exhibition game against Ulf Andersson in Siegen on September 26, 1970. Signed after the last notated move ("Resign") and again in recording the player names at upper edge of sheet. 1 page, 4to, ruled paper; marked cockling overall, folds, four punch holes in left margin. [Siegen, 26 September 1970]
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Additional Details

Fischer used descriptive chess notation, which was widely used until the 1970s, when it was replaced by algebraic notation. The first move in this game was Fischer's, who notated "P[awn to]-Q[ueen's k]N[ight ]3"--that is, the pawn nearest the knight on the queen's side of the board moves to the third square. In algebraic notation, the move is completely and unambiguously described by "b3."
The heading, "Game for Expressen," was written out in unknown hand and refers to the sponsor of this particular match, Swedish newspaper Expressen, founded in 1944 and still publishing today. In 1970, an analysis of this game was published in the paper, which likely obtained the moves from this very sheet.
After a game, players sometimes sign each other's score sheets to keep as mementos, while some competitions require signing one's own sheet before submitting it to officials. Presumably, either Fischer wasn't interested in Andersson's signature, Andersson delined an invitation to sign, or Fischer was obligated to turn in his score sheet after the game.