Fischer - Najdorf, 1962 Varna

When I compared Fischer's annotations against Kasparov's for the game Fischer - Tal, Bled 1961, I expected to find only one point in the game where Tal could have changed the outcome. That was the point discussed in When Is a Blunder Not a Blunder.

For the next game in 18 Memorable Games -- Fischer - Najdorf, 1962 Varna Olympiad -- I expect to find similar. Here is the PGN, showing the annotation symbols of the two former World Champions. The game is no.40 in Fischer's 60 Memorable Games and no.69 in Kasparov's Predecessors IV.

[Event "Varna ol."]
[Site "?"]
[Date "1962.??.??"]
[Round "2"]
[White "Fischer, R."]
[Black "Najdorf, M."]
[Result "1-0"]
[ECO "B90"]

1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.h3 b5 {FIS: !?; KAS: !?} 7.Nd5 {FIS: !?; KAS: !?} 7...Bb7 {FIS: ?; KAS: ?!} 8.Nxf6+ gxf6 9.c4 {FIS: !; KAS: !?} 9...bxc4 {KAS: ?!} 10.Bxc4 Bxe4 11.O-O d5 12.Re1 {FIS: !; KAS: ?!} 12...e5 {KAS: ?} 13.Qa4+ {FIS: !; KAS: !} 13...Nd7 14.Rxe4 {FIS: !; KAS: !} 14...dxe4 15.Nf5 {FIS: !; KAS: !} 15...Bc5 16.Ng7+ {FIS: !; KAS: !} 16...Ke7 17.Nf5+ Ke8 18.Be3 Bxe3 19.fxe3 Qb6 20.Rd1 Ra7 21.Rd6 {FIS: !; KAS: !} 21...Qd8 22.Qb3 Qc7 23.Bxf7+ Kd8 24.Be6 1-0

The key sequence is 12.Re1 {FIS: !; KAS: ?!} 12...e5 {KAS: ?}, where (interpreting Kasparov's symbols) Fischer let Najdorf off the hook, Najdorf in turn missed the best continuation, and Fischer failed to flag the double error in his notes. To play through the complete game, see...

Robert James Fischer vs Miguel Najdorf; Varna Olympiad Final 1962
http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessgame?gid=1008414

...on Chessgames.com.