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Boris Spassky
Boris Spassky, 1989
Full name	Boris Vasilievich Spassky
Country	Soviet Union, France
Born	January 30, 1937 (1937-01-30) (age 71) Leningrad, Soviet Union
Title	Grandmaster
World Champion	1969-1972

Boris Vasilievich Spassky (also Spasskij) (Russian: Бори́с Васи́льевич Спа́сский) (born January 30, 1937) is a Russian-French chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1969 to 1972. Image File history File links Question_book-3. ... is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... The title Grandmaster is awarded to world-class chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1937 (MCMXXXVII) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the Western board game. ... The title Grandmaster is awarded to world-class chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. ... The 1984 World Chess Championship was between Anatoly Karpov (left) and Garry Kasparov (right). ...

Spassky won the Soviet Chess Championship twice outright (1961, 1973), and twice more lost in playoffs (1956, 1963), after tying for first during the event proper. He was a World Chess Championship Candidate on seven occasions (1956, 1965, 1968, 1974, 1977, 1980, and 1985). He was in the world's top ten players for most of the years from the mid-1950s to the mid-1980s. Winner list: 1991 (58th,Moscow) Minasian, Artashes 1990 (57th,Leningrad) Beliavsky, Alexander / Yudasin, Leonid / Bareev, Evgeny / Vyzmanavin, Alexey ex aequo 1989 (56th,Odessa) Vaganian, Rafael 1988 (55th,Moscow) Karpov, Anatoly / Kasparov, Garry ex aequo 1987 (54th,Minsk) Beliavsky, Alexander 1986 (53th,Kiev) Zeshkovsky, Vitaly 1985 (52th,Riga) Gavrikov, Viktor / Gurevich... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Look up Candidate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Early life

He was born in Leningrad, and learned to play chess at the age of five on the train evacuating from Leningrad during World War II. Spassky was the most impressive Soviet chess prodigy since Mikhail Botvinnik. He first drew wide attention in 1947 at age ten, when he defeated Soviet champion Botvinnik in a simultaneous exhibition. His early coach was Vladimir Zak, a respected master and trainer. During his youth, from the age of ten, Spassky often worked on chess for up to five hours a day with Master-level coaches. He set records as the youngest Soviet player to achieve First Category rank (age 10), Candidate Master rank (age 11), and Master rank (age 15). At age 15 in 1952, Spassky scored 50 percent in the Soviet Championship semi-final at Riga, and placed second in the Leningrad Championship that same year. Saint Petersburg (Russian: Санкт-Петербу́рг, English transliteration: Sankt-Peterburg), colloquially known as Питер (transliterated Piter), formerly known as Leningrad (Ленингра́д, 1924–1991) and Petrograd (Петрогра́д, 1914–1924), is a city located in Northwestern Russia on the delta of the river Neva at the east end of the Gulf of Finland... Young Sammy Reshevsky Chess prodigies are children who play chess so well that they are able to beat Masters and even Grandmasters, often at a very young age. ... Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik (IPA: ; Russian: ) (August 17 [O.S. August 4] 1911 - May 5, 1995) was a Russian International Grandmaster and long-time World Champion of chess. ... Ten can refer to: 10, a number AD 10, a year 10 BC, a year 10, a 1979 motion picture Ten, any one of a number of rock albums Network Ten, an Australian television network Trans-European Networks (TEN) Total Entertainment Network, an early-1990s attempt at an online server... 5 (five) is the natural number following 4 and preceding 6. ... The hour (symbol: h) is a unit of time. ... // Master (a man having control or authority) or Masters may refer to: Guru, a teacher in Hinduism, Buddhism and Sikhism. ... Look up level in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... // Original meaning and etymology The original meaning of the term coach was: a horse-drawn vehicle designed for the conveyance of more than one passenger — and of mail — and covered for protection from the elements. ... For other uses, see 10 (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... For other uses, see Riga (disambiguation). ...

Towards Grandmastership

At age 16, Spassky scored very impressively in 1953 at a strong international tournament in Bucharest, Romania, finishing tied 4th-6th with 12/19, as the winner was his future trainer Alexander Tolush. He was awarded the title of International Master by FIDE. In his first attempt at the Soviet Championship final, URS-ch22, Moscow 1955, at age 18, he tied for 3rd-6th places with 11½/19, as the joint winners were Vasily Smyslov and Efim Geller. This excellent result qualified him for the Goteborg Interzonal later that year. Nickname: Motto: Patria si Dreptul Meu (My Country and My Right) Location of Bucharest within Romania (in red) Coordinates: , Country County Founded 1459 (first official record) Government  - Mayor Adriean Videanu Area  - City 228 km² (88 sq mi)  - Metro 238 km² (91. ... Alexander Kazimirovich Tolush (1910-1969) was a Russian chess player. ... The title International Master is awarded to outstanding chess players by the world chess organization FIDE. The title is open to both men and women. ... The Fédération Internationale des Échecs or World Chess Federation is an international organization that connects the various national chess federations around the world. ... The Soviet Championship was a rugby union club competition between the domestic teams of the Soviet Union era. ... For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ... Vasily Vasiliyevich Smyslov (Russian: ) (born March 24, 1921, in Moscow) is a Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. ... Efim Petrovich Geller (March 2, 1925 – November 17, 1998) was a Soviet chess player. ... Gothenburg (Swedish: Göteborg [jøːtəbɔrj]) is a city and a municipality on the western coast of Sweden, in the County of Västra Götaland. ... Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation. ...

At age 18 he won the World Junior Chess Championship held at Antwerp, Belgium, with a dominant score of 14/16, and became a Grandmaster, a record at the time. Spassky competed for the Lokomotiv Voluntary Sports Society. By his tied 7th-9th place, with 11/20, at the 1955 Goteborg Interzonal, he qualified into the 1956 Candidates' Tournament, held in Amsterdam. There, he finished in the middle of the ten-player world-class field, tied 3rd-7th places with 9½/18, astonishing for a 19-year-old. Expectations for him were very high, and this put pressure on the young star. At the 1956 Soviet final, URS-ch23, held in Leningrad, Spassky tied for 1st-3rd places on 11½/19 with Mark Taimanov and Yuri Averbakh, but Taimanov won the further playoff to become champion. Spassky then tied for first with Tolush in a strong Leningrad tournament later in 1956. In the 1957 Soviet final, URS-ch24 at Moscow, Spassky finished tied 4th-5th with 13/21, as Mikhail Tal won; Spassky had to that point finished ahead of Tal, who began his meteoric rise with this title. The World Junior Chess Championship is an under-20 event (players must have been under 20 years old on the 1st of January in the year of competition). ... For other uses, see Antwerp (disambiguation). ... The title Grandmaster is awarded to world-class chess masters by the world chess organization FIDE. Apart from World Champion, Grandmaster is the highest title a chess player can attain. ... The emblem of the VSS Lokomotiv Lokomotiv (Russian: ; English:Locomotive) the All-Union Voluntary Sports Society of rail transport workers Trade Unions, one of the first sports societies of workers of the USSR. Established in 1936, it united workers of rail transport, transport construction and metro. ... Voluntary Sports Societies (VSS) of the USSR (Russian: ) were the main structural parts of the universal sports and physical education system, that existed in the USSR between 1935 and 1991, together with Dinamo and Armed Forces sports societies. ... Gothenburg (Swedish: Göteborg [jøːtəbɔrj]) is a city and a municipality on the western coast of Sweden, in the County of Västra Götaland. ... Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation. ... The Candidates Tournament was a triannual chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. ... For other uses, see Amsterdam (disambiguation). ... Mark Evgenievich Taimanov (Марк Евгеньевич Тайманов) (born February 7, 1926) is a leading Russian chess player and concert pianist. ... Averbakh in the 1950s Yuri Lvovich Averbakh (born February 8, 1922) is a Russian chess player and author. ... Mikhail Tal (Latvian: ; Russian: , Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal, IPA: , sometimes transliterated Mihail Tal) (November 9, 1936–June 28, 1992) was a Soviet-Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion. ...

Qualification heartbreaks

But Spassky then went into a comparative slump. He lost to Tal in a very nervy last-round game in the 1958 Soviet final, URS-ch25 at Riga, after having had the advantage for much of the game, and having missed a difficult win after adjournment. He had earlier refused a draw offer from Tal, the eventual champion, which would have left him in a fourth-place tie with Averbakh, necessitating a further playoff between the two for Interzonal qualification. For other uses, see Riga (disambiguation). ...

Spassky tied for first place at Moscow 1959 on 7/11 with Smyslov and David Bronstein. He just missed winning the title at the next Soviet final, URS-ch26 at Tbilisi 1959, finishing half a point behind champion Tigran Petrosian and in a tied 2nd-3rd place with Tal, on 12½/19. Some consolation was provided by his impressive victory at Riga 1959 with 11½/13, well ahead of Tal, who had in the meantime qualified for a 1960 World title match with Champion Mikhail Botvinnik. Spassky was in the middle of the pack at the next Soviet final, URS-ch27 at Leningrad, with 10/19, as fellow Leningrader Viktor Korchnoi won. Spassky journeyed to Argentina, where he tied for 1st-2nd places at Mar del Plata 1960 with Bobby Fischer on 13½/15, and he beat Fischer in their head-to-head game, their first meeting. David Bronstein David Ionovich Bronstein (Дави́д Ио́нович Бронште́йн) (February 19, 1924, Bila Tserkva, Ukraine – December 5, 2006, Minsk, Belarus) was renowned as a leading chess grandmaster and writer. ... Location of Tbilisi in Georgia Coordinates: , Country Established c. ... Tigran Petrosian (Armenian: ) (June 17, 1929 – August 13, 1984) was a former World Chess Champion. ... For other uses, see Riga (disambiguation). ... Mikhail Moiseyevich Botvinnik (IPA: ; Russian: ) (August 17 [O.S. August 4] 1911 - May 5, 1995) was a Russian International Grandmaster and long-time World Champion of chess. ... Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi (also Korchnoy, Kortchnoy, Kortschnoi, etc. ... Robert James Bobby Fischer (born March 9, 1943) is a United States-born chess Grandmaster who became famous as a teenager for his chess-playing ability, and in 1972 became the only US-born chessplayer to become the official World Chess Champion. ...

Another crushing disappointment for Spassky came at the key Interzonal qualifier, the Soviet final URS-ch28 at Moscow 1961, where he again missed advancing by one place, finishing tied 5th-6th with 11/19, as Petrosian won. The Soviet vanguard at this time was extraordinarily deep with world-class players.

Resurgence with trainer change

Spassky decided upon a switch in trainers, from the volatile attacker Alexander Tolush to the calmer strategist Igor Bondarevsky. This proved the key to his resurgence. He won his first of two USSR Championships, URS-ch29, at Baku 1961, with a powerful 14½/20. Spassky tied 2nd-3rd at Havana 1962 with 16/21, behind winner Miguel Najdorf. He placed joint 5th-6th at Yerevan 1962, URS-ch30, with 11½/19. At Leningrad 1963, the site for URS-ch31, Spassky tied for 1st-3rd with Leonid Stein and Ratmir Kholmov, but Stein wound up the playoff winner. Spassky won at Belgrade 1964 with 13/17, ahead of Korchnoi and Borislav Ivkov. He was fourth at Sochi 1964 with 9½/15, as Nikolai Krogius won. Alexander Kazimirovich Tolush (1910-1969) was a Russian chess player. ... Igor Zakharovich Bondarevsky (May 12, 1913, Rostov-on-the-Don, Russia – June 14, 1979, Piatigorsk) was a Soviet Russian chess grandmaster in both over the board and correspondence chess, International Judge, trainer and author of chess books. ... The Soviet Top League (Russian: ) was the top division of Soviet Union football. ... Location in Azerbaijan Coordinates: , Country Government  - Mayor Hajibala Abutalybov Area  - Total 260 km² (100. ... This article is about the capital of Cuba. ... Miguel Najdorf (born as Mieczysław Najdorf; 1910 - 1997) was a Polish-Argentine chess player. ... Location of Yerevan in Armenia Coordinates: , Country Established 782 BC Government  - Mayor Yervand Zakharyan Area  - City 227 km²  (87. ... Leonid Stein (1934 – 1973), Soviet chess player from Ukraine. ... Ratmir Kholmov (13 May 1925 – 18 February 2006) was a Russian chess grandmaster. ... For other uses, see Belgrade (disambiguation). ... Borislav Ivkov (born November 12, 1933 in Belgrade) is a Serbian chess player. ... Sochi (Russian: , IPA: [soʨɪ]) is a Russian resort city, situated in Krasnodar Krai just north of the southern Russian border. ... Nikolai Krogius (sometimes spelled Nikolay) (born Saratov, July 22, 1930) is a Russian Chess Grandmaster, psychologist, chess coach, chess administrator, and author. ...

Then, in the 1964 Soviet Zonal at Moscow, a double-round event and one of the strongest tournaments ever organized, Spassky won with 7/12, to advance to the Amsterdam Interzonal the same year. At Amsterdam, he tied for 1st-4th places, along with Tal, Vasily Smyslov, and Bent Larsen, on 17/23. He qualified for the Candidates' Matches the next year. With Bondarevsky, Spassky's style broadened and deepened, with poor results mostly banished, yet his fighting spirit was even enhanced. He added psychology and surprise to his quiver, and this proved enough to send him to the top. For other uses, see Amsterdam (disambiguation). ... Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation. ... Vasily Vasiliyevich Smyslov (Russian: ) (born March 24, 1921, in Moscow) is a Russian chess grandmaster, and was World Chess Champion from 1957 to 1958. ... Bent Larsen Bent Larsen (born March 4, 1935) is a Danish chess player. ... The Candidates Tournament was a triannual chess tournament organized by the world chess federation FIDE as the final contest to determine the challenger for the World Chess Championship. ...

World Champion

Spassky was considered an all-rounder on the chess board, and his adaptable "universal style" was a distinct advantage in beating many top Grandmasters. In the 1965 cycle, he beat Paul Keres at Riga 1965 with careful strategy, triumphing in the last game to win 6-4 (+4 =4 -2). Also at Riga, he defeated Efim Geller with mating attacks, winning with 5½/8 (+3 =5 -0). Then, in his Candidates' Final match (the match which determines who will challenge the reigning world champion for the title) against Mikhail Tal the legendary tactician (Tbilisi 1965), Spassky often managed to steer play into quieter positions, either avoiding former champion Tal's tactical strength, or extracting too high a price for complications. He won with 7/11 (+4 =6 -1). This led to his first World Championship match against Tigran Petrosian in 1966. Paul Keres Paul Keres (born January 7, 1916, in Narva, Estonia; died June 5, 1975, in Helsinki, Finland) was an Estonian chess grandmaster and one of the strongest chess players of all time, apart from the World chess champions. ... For other uses, see Riga (disambiguation). ... Efim Petrovich Geller (March 2, 1925 – November 17, 1998) was a Soviet chess player. ... Mikhail Tal (Latvian: ; Russian: , Mikhail Nekhemievich Tal, IPA: , sometimes transliterated Mihail Tal) (November 9, 1936–June 28, 1992) was a Soviet-Latvian chess player, a Grandmaster, and the eighth World Chess Champion. ... Location of Tbilisi in Georgia Coordinates: , Country Established c. ... Year 1965 (MCMLXV) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar) of the 1965 Gregorian calendar. ... Tigran Petrosian (Armenian: ) (June 17, 1929 – August 13, 1984) was a former World Chess Champion. ... Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ...

Spassky won two tournaments in the run-up to the final. He shared first at Sochi 1965 with Wolfgang Unzicker on 10½/15. Then he tied for first at Hastings 1965-66 with Wolfgang Uhlmann on 7½/9. Sochi (Russian: , IPA: [soʨɪ]) is a Russian resort city, situated in Krasnodar Krai just north of the southern Russian border. ... Wolfgang Unzicker (26 June 1925 in Pirmasens – 20 April 2006 in Albufeira) was one of the strongest German chess grandmasters from 1945 to about 1970. ... Wolfgang Uhlmann (born March 29, 1935) is a prominent German International Grandmaster of chess. ...

Spassky lost the final match in Moscow narrowly, with three wins against Petrosian's four wins, with the two sharing 17 draws. However, a few months after the match, Spassky finished ahead of Petrosian and a super-class field at Santa Monica 1966 (the Piatigorsky Cup), with 11½/18, half a point ahead of Bobby Fischer. Spassky also won at Beverwijk 1967 with 11/15 ahead of Anatoly Lutikov, and shared 1st-5th places at Sochi 1967 on 10/15 with Krogius, Alexander Zaitsev, Leonid Shamkovich, and Vladimir Simagin. Santa Monica Pier Santa Monica is a coastal city located in Los Angeles County, California USA, by the Pacific Ocean, south of Pacific Palisades and Brentwood, west of Westwood, Los Angeles, and north of Venice. ... The Piatigorsky Cup was a triennial series of double round-robin grandmaster chess tournaments held in the United States in the 1960s. ... Robert James Bobby Fischer (born March 9, 1943) is a United States-born chess Grandmaster who became famous as a teenager for his chess-playing ability, and in 1972 became the only US-born chessplayer to become the official World Chess Champion. ... The Corus chess tournament takes place every year, usually in January, in a small town called Wijk aan Zee, part of the larger Beverwijkin the province of North Holland in the Netherlands. ... Sochi (Russian: , IPA: [soʨɪ]) is a Russian resort city, situated in Krasnodar Krai just north of the southern Russian border. ... There have been more than one well-known Russians named Alexander Zaitsev, including: Alexander Zaitsev (chess player) Alexander Zaitsev (skater) This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Leonid Shamkovich (June 1, 1923 - April 22, 2005) was a chess Grandmaster. ... Vladimir Simagin (born Moscow June 21, 1919, died Kislovodsk September 25, 1968) was a Russian Grandmaster of chess. ...

As losing finalist in 1966, Spassky was seeded into the next Candidates' cycle. In 1968, he faced Geller again, this time at Sukhumi, and won by the same margin as in 1965 (5½/8, +3 =5 -0). He next met Bent Larsen at Malmö, and won with 5½/8. The final was against his Leningrad rival Viktor Korchnoi at Kiev, and Spassky triumphed with 6½/10. Destroyed shop in Sukhumi Sukhumi (Georgian: , Sokhumi; Abkhaz: , Aqwa; Russian: , Sukhumi) is the capital of Abkhazia, a de facto independent republic, which is internationally recognized as being an autonomous republic within Georgia. ... Bent Larsen Bent Larsen (born March 4, 1935) is a Danish chess player. ... Motto: FrÃ¥n arbetarstad till kunskapsstad (eng: From industrial city to knowledge city) Location of Malmö in northern Europe Coordinates: , Country  Sweden Municipality Malmö Municipality County SkÃ¥ne County Province Scania (SkÃ¥ne) Charter 13th century Government  - Mayor Illmar Reepalu Area  - City 335. ... Viktor Lvovich Korchnoi (also Korchnoy, Kortchnoy, Kortschnoi, etc. ... Map of Ukraine with Kiev highlighted Coordinates: , Country Ukraine Oblast Kiev City Municipality Raion Municipality Government  - Mayor Leonid Chernovetskyi Elevation 179 m (587 ft) Population (2006)  - City 4,450,968  - Density 3,299/km² (8,544. ...

This earned him another challenge against Petrosian, at Moscow 1969. Spassky's flexibility of style was the key to his eventual victory over Petrosian by two points in the 1969 World Championship, by adopting Petrosian's negative style. Spassky won with 12½/23. Also: 1969 (number) 1969 (movie) 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ...

During Spassky's three-year reign as World Champion, he won several more tournaments. He placed first at San Juan 1969 with 11½/15. He won a very strong tournament at Leiden 1970 with 7/12. Spassky shared 1st-2nd at Amsterdam 1970 with Lev Polugaevsky on 11½/15. He was third at Goteborg 1971 with 8/11, behind winners Vlastimil Hort and Ulf Andersson. He shared 1st-2nd with Hans Ree at the 1971 Canadian Open Chess Championship in Vancouver. For other uses, see San Juan. ... Coordinates: , Country Province Area (2006)  - Municipality 23. ... For other uses, see Amsterdam (disambiguation). ... Lev Polugaevsky (sometimes transliterated Polugayevsky; (20 November 1934-30 August 1995) was an International Grandmaster of chess and frequent contender for the world chess championship, although he never achieved that title. ... Gothenburg (Swedish: Göteborg [jøːtəbɔrj]) is a city and a municipality on the western coast of Sweden, in the County of Västra Götaland. ... Vlastimil Hort (b. ... Ulf Andersson (born June 27, 1951 in VästerÃ¥s, Sweden) is a leading Swedish chess player. ... Hans Ree is a Dutch Grandmaster of chess and is a columnist and chess writer for the NRC Handelsblad. ... The Canadian Open Chess Championship is Canadas Open chess championship, first held in 1956, and held annually since 1973, usually in mid-summer. ... For other uses, see Vancouver (disambiguation). ...

Spassky's reign as a world champion only lasted for three years, as he lost to Bobby Fischer of the United States in 1972 in the "Match of the Century". The contest took place in Reykjavík, Iceland, at the height of the Cold War, and consequently was seen as symbolic of the political confrontation between the two superpowers. Going into the match, Fischer had never won a game from Spassky in five attempts, while losing three times. In addition, Spassky had secured Geller as his coach, and Geller also had a plus score against Fischer. However, Fischer was in excellent form, and won the title match convincingly, with 12½/21. Although Spassky did lose the title match, he performed much better than had the three other Candidates (Mark Taimanov, Bent Larsen, and Tigran Petrosian) whom Fischer had defeated convincingly on his approach to the finals. Robert James Bobby Fischer (born March 9, 1943) is a United States-born chess Grandmaster who became famous as a teenager for his chess-playing ability, and in 1972 became the only US-born chessplayer to become the official World Chess Champion. ... Year 1972 (MCMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The World Chess Championship match between challenger Bobby Fischer and defending champion Boris Spassky in Reykjavík, Iceland 1972, has been dubbed the Match of the Century. ... Location in Iceland Coordinates: , Constituency Government  - Mayor (Borgarstjóri) Dagur B. Eggertsson Area  - City 274. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... Mark Evgenievich Taimanov (Марк Евгеньевич Тайманов) (born February 7, 1926) is a leading Russian chess player and concert pianist. ... Bent Larsen Bent Larsen (born March 4, 1935) is a Danish chess player. ... Tigran Petrosian (Armenian: ) (June 17, 1929 – August 13, 1984) was a former World Chess Champion. ...

Continued to challenge

Spassky continued to play some excellent chess after losing his crown, winning several championships. In 1973, he tied 1st-3rd at Dortmund on 9½/15, along with Hans-Joachim Hecht and Ulf Andersson. A very important victory for him was the 1973 Soviet Chess Championship at Moscow (URS-ch41). He scored 11½/17 to finish ahead of a super-class field. Dortmund is a city in Germany, located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. ... Ulf Andersson (born June 27, 1951 in VästerÃ¥s, Sweden) is a leading Swedish chess player. ... Winner list: 1991 (58th,Moscow) Minasian, Artashes 1990 (57th,Leningrad) Beliavsky, Alexander / Yudasin, Leonid / Bareev, Evgeny / Vyzmanavin, Alexey ex aequo 1989 (56th,Odessa) Vaganian, Rafael 1988 (55th,Moscow) Karpov, Anatoly / Kasparov, Garry ex aequo 1987 (54th,Minsk) Beliavsky, Alexander 1986 (53th,Kiev) Zeshkovsky, Vitaly 1985 (52th,Riga) Gavrikov, Viktor / Gurevich... For other uses, see Moscow (disambiguation). ...

In the 1974 Candidates' matches, Spassky first defeated American Robert Byrne in Puerto Rico with 4½/6 (+3 =3 -0). But he then lost the semi-final match to the up-and-coming Anatoly Karpov in Leningrad, (+1 -4 =6). Karpov had publicly acknowledged that Spassky was superior, but had nevertheless outplayed him over the board. However, Spassky's chances were badly damaged by the defection of his coach Efim Geller to Karpov's side before the match. Spassky's play lacked its usual assuredness in this match; he had to be wondering whether Geller had betrayed his secrets to Karpov. Robert E. Byrne (born April 20, 1928) is a leading American chess player who won the U.S. Championship in 1972. ... Anatoly Yevgenyevich Karpov (Russian: ) (born May 23, 1951) is a Russian chess grandmaster and former World Champion. ... Efim Petrovich Geller (March 2, 1925 – November 17, 1998) was a Soviet chess player. ...

In 1976, Spassky had to return to the Interzonal stage, failed to qualify from the Manila Interzonal, but was seeded into the Candidates' matches when Fischer declined his place. Spassky won an exhibition match with rising Dutch Grandmaster Jan Timman at Amsterdam 1977 with 4/6. He triumphed narrowly in extra games in his first Candidates' match over Vlastimil Hort at Reykjavík 1977 with 8½/16. This match saw Spassky fall ill, exhaust all of his available rest days while recovering; then the healthy Hort, in one of the most sportsmanlike acts in chess history, used one of his own rest days, to allow Spassky more time to recover; Spassky eventually won the match. For other meanings of the word, see Manila (disambiguation). ... Interzonal chess tournaments were tournaments organized by FIDE, the World Chess Federation. ... Jan Timman Jan Timman (born December 14, 1951) is a famous Dutch chessplayer who had his greatest successes in the 1970s and 1980s. ... For other uses, see Amsterdam (disambiguation). ... Vlastimil Hort (b. ... Location in Iceland Coordinates: , Constituency Government  - Mayor (Borgarstjóri) Dagur B. Eggertsson Area  - City 274. ...

Spassky won an exhibition match over Robert Hübner at Solingen 1977 with 3½/6, then defeated Lubomir Kavalek, also at Solingen, by 4/6 in another exhibition match. His next Candidates' match was against Lajos Portisch at Geneva 1977, and Spassky won again with 8½/15, to qualify for the Candidates' final. But at Belgrade 1977, Spassky lost to Viktor Korchnoi, +4 -7 =7. Doctor Robert Hübner (born November 6, 1948 in West Germany) is a respected German chess Grandmaster and papyrologist (recognised as an expert in Egyptian hieroglyphics). ... Müngstener Brücke, a railroad bridge between Solingen and Remscheid. ... Lubomir (Lubosh) Kavalek is a noted Czech-American chess player. ... Lajos Portisch (born April 4, 1937 in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary) is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster, whose positional style earned him the nickname of the Hungarian Botvinnik. One of the strongest non-Soviet players from the early 1960s into the late 1980s, he participated in twelve straight Interzonals, and qualified for the... For other uses, see Geneva (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Belgrade (disambiguation). ...

Spassky, as losing finalist, was seeded into the 1980 Candidates' matches, and faced Lajos Portisch again in Mexico. After 14 games, the two players were tied at 7-7, but Portisch advanced since he had won more games with the Black pieces. Spassky missed qualification from the 1982 Toluca Interzonal with 8/13, finishing half a point short in third place behind Portisch and Eugenio Torre. The 1985 Candidates' event was held as a round-robin tournament at Montpellier, France, and Spassky was seeded in as an organizer's choice. He scored 8/15 to tie for 6th-7th places, behind joint winners Andrei Sokolov, Rafael Vaganian, and Artur Yusupov, but only four players advanced to matches. This was Spassky's last appearance at the Candidates' level, 29 years after his first qualification in 1956. Lajos Portisch (born April 4, 1937 in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary) is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster, whose positional style earned him the nickname of the Hungarian Botvinnik. One of the strongest non-Soviet players from the early 1960s into the late 1980s, he participated in twelve straight Interzonals, and qualified for the... Eugenio Torre (born November 4, 1951) is a chess Grandmaster. ... Montpellier (Occitan Montpelhièr) is a city in the south of France. ... Andrei Yurievich Sokolov (Андрей Юрьевич Соколов; born March 20, 1963 in Vorkuta) is a Russian chess Grandmaster, now living in France. ... Rafael Vaganian Rafael Artemovich Vaganian, also transliterated Vahanyan (Armenian: , Russian: ) is an Armenian chess grandmaster known for his sharp tactical style of play. ... Artur Mayakovich Yusupov (in German - Jussupow), born February 13, 1960 is a naturalised German International Grandmaster of chess. ...

International team play standout

Spassky played five times for the USSR in Student Olympiads, winning eight medals. He scored 38½/47 (+31 =15 -1), for an outstanding 81.9 percent. His complete results, from http://www.olimpbase.org/playersy/59pz3v1e.html (1955, 1957, 1958, 1960), and from http://www.olimpbase.org/1962y/1962urs.html (1962), follow.

• Lyon 1955, board 2, 7½/8 (+7 =1 -0), team gold, board gold;
• Reykjavík 1957, board 2, 7/9 (+5 =4 -0), team gold, board gold;
• Varna 1958, board 2, 6½/9 (+4 =5 -0), team gold;
• Leningrad 1960, board 1, 10/12 (+9 =2 -1), team silver;
• Marianske Lazne 1962, board 1, 7½/9 (+6 =3 -0), team gold, board gold.

Spassky played twice for the USSR in the European Team Championships, winning four gold medals. He scored 8½/12 (+5 =7 -0), for 70.8 percent. His complete results, from http://www.olimpbase.org, follow. This article is about the French city. ... Location in Iceland Coordinates: , Constituency Government  - Mayor (Borgarstjóri) Dagur B. Eggertsson Area  - City 274. ... This article is about the city in Bulgaria. ... Leningrad (Russian: Ленинград) may mean: St. ... Mariánské Lázně (German: Marienbad) is a spa town in the Carlsbad Region of the Czech Republic. ...

• Vienna 1957, board 5, 3½/5 (+2 =3 -0), team gold, board gold;
• Bath, Somerset 1973, board 1, 5/7 (+3 =4 -0), team gold, board gold.

Spassky played seven times for the Soviet Olympiad team. He won 13 medals, and scored (+45 =48 -1), for 73.4 percent. His complete results, from http://www.olimpbase.org, follow. For other uses, see Vienna (disambiguation). ... , Bath is a small city in Somerset, England most famous for its historic baths fed by three hot springs. ...

• Varna 1962, board 3, 11/14 (+8 =6 -0), team gold, board gold medal;
• Tel Aviv 1964, 2nd reserve, 10½/13 (+8 =5 -0), team gold, board bronze;
• Havana 1966, board 2, 10/15, team gold.
• Lugano 1968, board 2, 10/14, team gold, board bronze;
• Siegen 1970, board 1, 9½/12, team gold, board gold;
• Nice 1974, board 3, 11/15, board gold, team gold;
• Buenos Aires 1978, board 1, 7/11 (+4 =6 -1), team silver.

Spassky played board one in the USSR vs. Rest of the World match at Belgrade 1970, scoring 1½/3 against Larsen. This article is about the city in Bulgaria. ... Tel-Aviv was founded on empty dunes north of the existing city of Jaffa. ... This article is about the capital of Cuba. ... Population 52,993  (2007)   - Density 1,104 /km² (2,859 /sq. ... Siegen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. ... This article is about the French city. ... For other uses, see Buenos Aires (disambiguation). ... There have so far been three official chess matches featuring Russia (USSR) vs Rest of the World. ... For other uses, see Belgrade (disambiguation). ...

Spassky then represented France in three Olympiads, always on board one. For Thessaloniki 1984, he scored 8/14 (+2 =12 -0). At Dubai 1986, he scored 9/14 (+4 =10 -0). Finally at Thessaloniki 1988, he scored 7½/13 (+3 =9 -1). He also played board one for France at the inaugural World Team Championships, Lucerne 1985, where he scored 5½/9 (+3 =5 -1). Thessaloniki or Salonica (Greek: ) is Greeces second-largest city and the capital of Macedonia, the largest Region of Greece. ... Location of Dubai in the UAE Coordinates: , Country Emirate Dubai Incorporated (town) June 9, 1833 Incorporated (emirate) December 2, 1971 Founder Maktoum bin Bati bin Suhail (1833) Seat Dubai Subdivisions Towns and villages Jebel Ali Hatta Al Hunaiwah Al Aweer Al Hajarain Al Lusayli Al Marqab Al Shindagha Al Faq... Thessaloniki or Salonica (Greek: ) is Greeces second-largest city and the capital of Macedonia, the largest Region of Greece. ... For other uses, see Lucerne (disambiguation). ...

Later career

Spassky's later years showed a reluctance to totally devote himself to chess. He relied on his natural talent for the game, and sometimes would rather play a game of tennis than work hard at the board. Since 1976, Spassky has been happily settled in France with his third wife; he became a French citizen in 1978, and has competed for France in the Chess Olympiads. The Chess Olympiad is a chess event which has been officially organised by FIDE since 1927 and takes place in even years. ...

But Spassky did score some notable triumphs in his later years. He tied for first at the elite tournament Bugojno 1978 on 10/15, with World Champion Anatoly Karpov. He was clear first at Montilla-Moriles 1978 with 6½/9. At Munich 1979, he tied for 2nd-4th places with 8½/13 behind Yuri Balashov. He tied for 1st-2nd at Baden-Vienna 1980 on 10½/15 with Alexander Beliavsky. He won his preliminary group at Hamburg 1982 with a powerful 5½/6, but lost the final playoff match to Anatoly Karpov in extra games (Learn From Your Defeats, by Anatoly Karpov, Batsford 1985). His best result during this period was clear first at Linares 1983 with 6½/10, ahead of World Champion Karpov and Ulf Andersson, who shared second. At London Lloyds' Bank Open 1984, he tied 1st-3rd with John Nunn and Murray Chandler, on 7/9. He won at Reykjavík 1985. At Brussels 1985, he placed second with 10½/13 behind his old rival Korchnoi. At Reggio Emilia 1986, he tied for 2nd-5th places with 6/11 behind Zoltan Ribli. He swept Fernand Gobet 4-0 in a match at Fribourg 1987. He tied for 1st-3rd at Wellington 1988 with Chandler and Eduard Gufeld. Spassky maintained a top ten world ranking into the mid-1980s. Municipality of Bosnia and Herzegovina General Information Entity Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina Canton 6 Land area 366 km² Population 2002 46496 Population density 128/km² Coordinates Area code +387 30 Mayor Hasan Ajkunić (SDA) Website http://www. ... Montilla a town of southern Spain, in the province of Cordova, 32 miles south of the city of Cordova, by the Cordova-Bobadilla railway. ... For other uses, see Munich (disambiguation). ... Yuri Sergeyevich Balashov (Russian: , born March 12, 1949) is a Russian chess grandmaster. ... Baden is a historical state in the southwest of Germany, on the right bank of the Rhine. ... For other uses, see Vienna (disambiguation). ... A. Beliavsky, at 35th chess olympiad Bled 2002 Alexander Beliavsky (born December 17, 1953) is a Ukrainian chess grandmaster. ... For other uses, see Hamburg (disambiguation). ... Batsford is a village and civil parish in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England. ... The annual Linares chess tournament, usually played around the end of February, takes its name from the city of Linares in the Jaén province of Andalusia, Spain, in which it is held. ... Ulf Andersson (born June 27, 1951 in VästerÃ¥s, Sweden) is a leading Swedish chess player. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... John Denis Martin Nunn (born April 25, 1955) is an English chess player and mathematician. ... Murray Graham Chandler (born 4 April 1960, Wellington, New Zealand) is a New Zealand-born chess player and grandmaster who now represents England internationally. ... Location in Iceland Coordinates: , Constituency Government  - Mayor (Borgarstjóri) Dagur B. Eggertsson Area  - City 274. ... This article is about the settlement itself. ... Zoltán Ribli (born September 6, 1951 in Mohács) is a Hungarian chess grandmaster and three times national champion. ... Fribourg (French), (German: or , often Fribourg) is the capital of the Swiss canton of Fribourg and the district of Sarine. ... For the first Duke of Wellington, see Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington. ... Eduard Yefimovich Gufeld (March 20, 1936 – September 23, 2002) was an Ukrainian International Grandmaster of chess. ...

However, Spassky's performances in the World Cup events of 1988 and 1989 showed that he could by this stage finish no higher than the middle of the pack against elite fields. At Belfort WC 1988, he scored 8/15 for a joint 4th-7th place, as Garry Kasparov won. At Reykjavík WC 1988, he could manage just 7/17 for a joint 15th-16th place, with Kasparov again winning. Finally, at Barcelona WC 1989, Spassky scored 7½/16 for a tied 8th-12th place, as Kasparov shared first with Ljubomir Ljubojevic. Belfort is a town and commune of northeastern France, préfecture (capital) of the Territoire de Belfort département in the Franche-Comté région. ... Garry Kasparov (Russian: ; Russian pronunciation: , Armenian: [1]) (born as Garri Kimovich Weinstein [2] on April 13, 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR; now Azerbaijan) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer and political activist. ... Location in Iceland Coordinates: , Constituency Government  - Mayor (Borgarstjóri) Dagur B. Eggertsson Area  - City 274. ... Location Coordinates : Time Zone : CET (GMT +1) - summer: CEST (GMT +2) General information Native name Barcelona (Catalan) Spanish name Barcelona Nickname Ciutat Comtal (City of Counts) Postal code 08001–08080 Area code 34 (Spain) + 93 (Barcelona) Website http://www. ... Ljubomir Ljubojevic is a Grandmaster of chess. ...

Spassky played in the 1990 French Championship at Angers, placing fourth with 10½/15, as Marc Santo Roman won. At Salamanca 1991, he placed 2nd with 7½/11 behind winner Evgeny Vladimirov. Then in the 1991 French Championship, he scored 9½/15 for a tied 4th-5th place, as Santo Roman won again. Maison dAdam, House of Adam, the oldest house of Angers. ... Salamanca (population 160,000) is a city in western Spain, the capital of the province of Salamanca, which belongs to the autonomous community (region) of Castile-Leon (Castilla y León). ... Evgeny Vladimirov is a chess grandmaster from Kazakhstan. ...

In 1992, Bobby Fischer, after a 20-year hiatus from chess, re-emerged to arrange a "Revenge Match of the 20th century" against Spassky in Montenegro and Belgrade; this was a rematch of the 1972 World Championship. At the time, Spassky was rated 106th in the FIDE rankings, and Fischer did not appear on the list at all (owing to his 20-year inactivity). This match was essentially Spassky's last major challenge. Spassky lost the match with a score of +5 -10 =15. Spassky then played young female prodigy Judit Polgar in a 1993 match at Budapest, losing narrowly with 4½/10. This article is about the country in Europe. ... For other uses, see Belgrade (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Judit Polgár (born July 23, 1976) is a Hungarian chess player. ... For other uses, see Budapest (disambiguation). ...

Spassky continued to play occasional events through much of the 1990s, such as the Veterans versus Women series.

On October 1, 2006, Spassky suffered a stroke during a chess lecture in San Francisco; his wife Marina reported several days later that Spassky was doing well. In his first major post-stroke play, he drew a six-game rapid match with Hungarian Grandmaster Lajos Portisch in April 2007. is the 274th day of the year (275th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see Stroke (disambiguation). ... This page is a candidate for speedy deletion. ... Blitz chess (also known as speed chess or blitzkrieg chess) is a game of chess where each side is given very little time to make all of their moves. ... Lajos Portisch (born April 4, 1937 in Zalaegerszeg, Hungary) is a Hungarian chess Grandmaster, whose positional style earned him the nickname of the Hungarian Botvinnik. One of the strongest non-Soviet players from the early 1960s into the late 1980s, he participated in twelve straight Interzonals, and qualified for the...

Legacy

Spassky's best years were as a youthful prodigy in the mid 1950s, and then again as an adult in the mid to late 1960s. He seemed to lose ambition once he became World Champion. Perhaps since the climb had been so difficult, through so many super-strong Soviet players, he had little left at that stage. The first match with Fischer took a severe nervous toll; his preparation was largely bypassed by Fischer. He keenly felt the disappointment of his nation for losing the title.

Never a true openings maven, at least when compared to contemporaries such as Geller and Fischer, he excelled in the middlegame with highly imaginative yet usually sound and deeply planned play, which could erupt into tactical violence as needed. A chess opening is the group of initial moves of a chess game (the opening moves). ... In chess, a tactic refers to a short sequence of moves which limits the opponents options and which results in tangible gain. ...

Spassky succeeded with a wide variety of openings, including the King's Gambit, 1.e4 e5 2.f4, an aggressive and risky line rarely seen at the top level. Indeed, his record of 16 wins (including wins against Bobby Fischer, David Bronstein, and Anatoly Karpov), no losses, and a few draws with the King's Gambit is unmatched.^{[citation needed]} His contributions to opening theory extend to reviving the Marshall Attack for Black in the Ruy Lopez (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d5), developing the Leningrad Variation for White in the Nimzo-Indian Defence (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bg5), the Spassky Variation on the Black side of the Nimzo-Indian, and the Closed Variation of the Sicilian Defence for White (1.e4 c5 2.Nc3). Another rare line in the King's Indian Attack bears his name: 1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 b5!? Moves 1. ... Moves 1. ... Nimzo-Indian Defence 1. ... This article uses algebraic notation to describe chess moves. ... In chess, the Kings Indian Attack (KIA) is an opening setup of moves typically characterized by the setup in the diagram. ...

Spassky is respected as a universal player, a great storyteller, a bon vivant on occasion, and someone who is rarely afraid to speak his mind on controversial chess issues, and who usually has something important to relate.

Trivia

The chess game between "Kronsteen" and "McAdams" in the early part of the James Bond movie From Russia With Love is based on a game[1] played between Spassky and David Bronstein in 1960 in which Spassky ("Kronsteen") was victorious. This article is about the spy series. ... For the Ian Fleming novel, see From Russia with Love. ... David Bronstein David Ionovich Bronstein (Дави́д Ио́нович Бронште́йн) (February 19, 1924, Bila Tserkva, Ukraine – December 5, 2006, Minsk, Belarus) was renowned as a leading chess grandmaster and writer. ...

Notable chess games

• Boris Spassky vs Robert Fischer, Santa Monica 1966, Grunfeld Defence, Exchange Variation (D87), 1-0 Fischer seems to equalize in a sharp game, but he makes a small mistake and Spassky finishes nicely.
• Boris Spassky vs Efim Geller, Sukhumi Candidates' match 1968, game 6, Sicilian Defence, Closed Variation (B25), 1-0 One of three beautiful wins by Spassky over Geller in this match using the same variation, which is one of Spassky's favorites.
• Boris Spassky vs Tigran Petrosian, World Championship match, Moscow 1969, game 19, Sicilian Defence, Najdorf Variation (B94), 1-0 Aggressive style of play and brilliant sparkles of combinations shows Spassky at his heights.
• Bent Larsen vs Boris Spassky, Belgrade 1970 (match USSR vs. Rest of the World), Nimzo-Larsen Attack, Modern Variation (A01), 0-1 Another nice short win over a noted grandmaster.
• Boris Spassky vs Robert Fischer, Siegen Olympiad 1970, Grunfeld Defence, Exchange Variation (D87), 1-0 Fischer tries the Grunfeld again against Spassky, and the game is remarkably similar to their 1966 encounter.
• Boris Spassky vs Robert Fischer, World Championship match, Reykjavík 1972, game 11, Sicilian Defense, Najdorf, Poisoned Pawn Variation (B97), 1-0 Fischer's first and only loss with the Poisoned Pawn variation.
• Anatoly Karpov vs Boris Spassky, Candidates' match, Leningrad 1974, game 1, Sicilian Defence, Scheveningen Variation (B83), 0-1 Spassky lost the match, but he started very strongly in the first game with this fine win.

Further reading

• Spassky's Best Games by Bernard Cafferty, Batsford, 1969.
• World chess champions by Edward G. Winter, editor. 1981 ISBN 0-08-024117-4
• Twelve Great Chess Players and Their Best Games by Irving Chernev; Dover; August 1995. ISBN 0-486-28674-6
• No Regrets: Fischer-Spassky by Yasser Seirawan; International Chess Enterprises; March 1997. ISBN 1-879479-08-7
• Bobby Fischer Goes to War: How the Soviets Lost the Most Extraordinary Chess Match of All Time by David Edmonds and John Eidinow; Ecco, 2004.
• Garry Kasparov (2004). My Great Predecessors, part III. Everyman Chess. ISBN 1-85744-371-3

Edward Winter is a noted journalist and author about chess. ... Garry Kasparov (Russian: ; Russian pronunciation: , Armenian: [1]) (born as Garri Kimovich Weinstein [2] on April 13, 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan SSR; now Azerbaijan) is a Russian chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer and political activist. ...

External links

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to:

Boris Spassky

• FIDE rating card for Boris Spassky
• Boris Spassky at ChessGames.com

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References