Spassky: Legendary Loser Of ‘Match Of The Century’ Dies At 88

Boris Spassky, the soviet grandmaster who was famously defeated in the so-called match of the century at the height of the Cold War, passed away on Thursday at the age of 88, according to the Russian Chess Federation.

Generations of chess players had benefited from his victories, the federation claimed, calling his death a “great loss to the country.”

Soviet grandmaster Anatoly Karpov, who was one of the first to react, said to TASS state news agency, “He was always one of my main idols.”

The 1972 duel between Spassky and American Bobby Fischer, which symbolized the conflict between East and West, is best remembered.

The Soviet chess giant alternated between fierce competitions between the best players of the time and periods of escapist rule.

Born in 1937 in Leningrad, now Saint Petersburg, Spassky showed prodigious talent early, becoming junior world champion and the youngest grandmaster in history at the time at 18.

He claimed that he was five when he first started playing chess in an orphanage after escaping Leningrad with his family during World War II’s nazi siege.

His aggressive play without fear of sacrifice was noticed by his peers and encouraged by the state, which gave him a scholarship and a coach after the war.

Having made a strong impression, he found himself in the shadow of another rising figure in Soviet chess, Mikhail Tal, the so-called “Magician of Riga”.

Spassky made a remarkable comeback by winning the USSR Championship in 1961.

Eight years later, he won the world title over Tigran Petrosian and defeated his compatriot.

“I never intended to be a world champion.” Everything worked out by itself. I was progressing in leaps and bounds”, Spassky said in 2016.

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Spassky vs. Fischer

Spassky would continue holding his title for a further three years.

In 1972 in Iceland he played the match that would define his career, against the American prodigy Fischer.

Spassky and the eccentric 29-year-old, who openly criticised Soviet chess players, faced a must-win situation in their match-up with the Soviet Union, which had dominated the game for years.

However, Spassky’s comfortable first half saw him roar back to win, putting an end to his long run of Soviet world champions since 1948.

Although the loss was a slap in the face for Moscow, for Spassky it was a relief to be rid of a “colossal responsibility”.

“You can’t imagine how relieved I felt when Fischer took the title from me.” He declared nearly forty years later, “I breathed freely and released myself from a very heavy burden.”

Numerous books, documentaries, and movies have been written about the iconic Cold War conflict. Most significantly, it was influenced by Walter Tevis’ novel “The Queen’s Gambit,” which was later adapted into the popular Netflix series in 2020.

But at the time, in the wake of his defeat, Spassky fell out of favour.

Four years later, in 1976, he moved to France, after marrying a Frenchwoman of Russian origin. In 1978, he was granted French citizenship.

Prior to his unofficial rematch against Fischer in Yugoslavia in 1992, Spassky had not played in the public eye for many years.

His final years were marred by a mysterious family conflict and poor health.

He had two strokes before returning to Russia in 2012, despite the advice of his sister and wife.

“I have to start over from scratch, but I’m not afraid”, Spassky said on Russian television after his return.

A few years earlier, in 2008, he had visited the grave of his former rival Fischer, who died that year and was buried in a small cemetery in Iceland.

“Do you think that the neighbouring spot is available”? Spassky requested journalists to accompany him during the visit.

The chess federation’s executive director, Alexander Tkachev, informed the RIA Novosti news agency that Spassky had resided in Moscow and that his relatives had informed him of his death.

Source: Channels TV