Boris Spassky, Russian chess legend and world champion, dies at 88

NY Post ^ | 2/27/25 | Shane Galvin

[Libloather]

I recall the b+W PBS coverage of at least one Fischer/Spassky match. They would make projected moves on a felt wall for the audience. Moved pieces all over the place, reset the board for the next move and then move pieces all over the place. Learned a lot.

[TheConservator]

Boris Spassky: Chess is like life.
Bobby Fischer: Chess IS life!

Also Boris Spassky: My ex wife and I were like bishops of opposite colors.

(For you non chess players, he is referring to the fact that such bishops move around the same board, but never can meet on the same square).

RIP.

[Alberta's Child]

He famously defended his title against American Bobby Fischer in the "Match of the Century" in 1972 -- a match which, played at the height of the Cold War, became a cultural proxy battle between the US and Soviet Russia.

This guy was quite a fascinating character. He was a Russian nationalist and described himself as a "monarchist," so he didn't quite fit the role of a Cold War icon in the Soviet Union.

[gawatchman]

I thought highly of Spassky even though Fischer accused the Russians of cheating. I thought he was a great humble Chess player but he couldn’t beat the GOAT of Chess who was Bobby Fischer.

[Dr. Franklin]

Spassky moved to France and became a French citizen in 1978.

[Alberta's Child]

Interestingly, I read somewhere that Bobby Fischer had lost every match he had played against Spassky before the 1972 championship.

[TChad]

1972 Championship:

The first game was played on July 11, 1972. The last game (the 21st) began on August 31, was adjourned after 40 moves, and Spassky resigned the next day without resuming play. Fischer won the match 12½–8½, becoming the eleventh undisputed world champion.

[Larry Lucido]

RIP

[No name given]

Rest In Peace, Boris.

[mfish13]

Phenomenal player.

[algore]

I had one of these but it disappeared many years ago

I saw it at a family gathering when it turned out that I must have given it to my sisters kid who is a math teacher at a private school today. He was always good at chess.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Best game of the '72 Fischer-Spassky match (game 13).

[nwrep]

Is that from the 1980s?

[Red Badger]

Checkmate.......

[Dr. Sivana]

He was a Russian nationalist and described himself as a "monarchist,"

It is fitting that a Chess Master would want a king.

[Attention Surplus Disorder]

Impressive, if unspectacular game.

[FatherofFive]

I remember that match was on the front page, every day, of the Buffalo Courier Express

Fischer was my hero, before he went crazy.

[Hebrews 11:6]

Sometimes infantry, or a cascade of pawns, is enough. Indeed, is that not a metaphor for Emmanuel in Bethlehem?

[Retrofitted]

My favorite quote of his was the one I read in “Chess Life” many decades ago: “A man who is willing to commit suicide has the initiative.” I don’t know how many times — and not just in chess — that one thought struck me. RIP, Boris, and thank you for playing a boy with a “fatal delusion” you kept in the game. God bless.

[LRoggy]

Remember it well, hosted by Shelby Lyman with a rotating set of analysts