Who is Boris Spassky?
Born in Saint Petersburg on January 30, 1937, Boris Vasilievich Spassky was a Russian Chess grandmaster and one of the most talented players of his generation. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, having held the title from 1969 to 1972.
Historically, Mr. Boris played three world championship matches: he lost to Tigran Petrosian in 1966 and defeated Petrosian in 1969 to become world champion. He then lost to Bobby Fischer in a famous chess match in 1972.
Grandmaster debut
Spassky was considered a chess prodigy. He attained the Grandmaster title at the age of 18 and made his debut in the Candidates Tournament (Amsterdam, 1956) at 19.
After defeating Keres (1965), Geller (1965), and Tal (1965) in Candidates matches, he earned the right to challenge Petrosian but lost the title match (Moscow, 1966). Spassky made it all the way up again in the next cycle and won the crown in his second match against the ninth world champion.
Spassky played seven times for the Soviet Olympiad team (1962–1978). In 1976, Spassky immigrated to France; he competed for France in three more Olympiads (1984–1988).
Death
GM Spassky died on Thursday, 27 February 2025 aged 88 years.