In this 1966 game between Bobby Fischer – who later went on to become the first and only American world chess champion – and Bent Larsen, the best Danish player of all time, Fischer outplayed Larsen by using piece development to gain tempo and place his opponent on the backfoot, ultimately causing him to resign.
Fischer vs. Larsen
Fischer played White in this game, and Larsen played Black. Larsen was known to be a very aggressive player, and Fischer decided to use this trait against him.
After an exchange of pawns early in the game, Fischer moved his knight to f7 to fork Larsen’s queen and rook, leading Larsen to capture it with his king to avoid losing a major piece. This brought Larsen’s king out into the open, where kings are at their most vulnerable, and revoked his right to castle.
Fischer immediately used his queen to check the king, then continued to bombard Larsen with one check after another. The game nearly ended in a draw (tie) by repetition, which occurs when a position is repeated three times in a row, but Larsen was known for disliking draws; to avoid triggering one, he moved his king to a new square:
Next, Fischer applied more pressure to the center by attacking Larsen’s knight and delivering another pair of checks. Larsen captured the d4 pawn with his queen, opening the door for Fischer to develop one of his pieces with tempo.
A piece develops with tempo (the chess term for a turn) when the move that brings it off of its starting square for the first time creates a threat that requires an immediate response. In this case, Fischer’s knight developed to c3 and attacked Larsen’s queen, forcing it to flee:
Fischer continued to attack the black queen, then developed a second piece with tempo by moving his light-square bishop to c4 to check the king. Within a few moves, checkmate was on the horizon for White, and Larsen resigned the game:
Conclusion
Developing with tempo is a way for players to use a turn to its maximum potential and gain the initiative, or the upper hand, by forcing their opponent into defensive play and limiting their ability to launch attacks. To learn more about tempo and other elements of strategic play, students can take classes through our online Academy program, which serves students from all 50 states and produced 11 state champions in 2025.
