Members · Prefs · Laboratory · Collections · Openings · Endgames · Sacrifices · History · Search Kibitzing · Kibitzer's Café · Chessforums · Tournament Index · Players · Kibitzing

Boris Spassky

BORIS SPASSKY (born Jan-30-1937, died Feb-27-2025, 88 years old) Russia PRONUNCIATION: [what is this?] Boris Vasilievich Spassky was born in Leningrad, USSR. As a child, in 1943, he escaped from the siege of the city by German forces. Spassky first attracted international attention by finishing equal fourth at Bucharest (1953), celebrating his sixteenth birthday during the event. (Alexander Tolush won, his finest career achievement.) In 1955 Spassky won the World Junior Chess Championship. Spassky tied for third at the USSR Championship (1955) with World Champion Botvinnik, future champion Tigran Petrosian, and Georgy Ilivitsky, half a point behind Smyslov and Geller, who tied for first. Spassky's performance at the Gothenburg Interzonal (1955) made him, up to that date, both the youngest grandmaster ever, and the youngest ever to qualify for the Candidates tournament. Smyslov won the Amsterdam Candidates (1956). In 1956, Spassky tied with Mark Taimanov and Yuri Averbakh for first place at the USSR Championship (1956). He fell ill and finished last among the three players in the playoff. Many people expected Spassky to be world champion before his 25th birthday, but his fifth place in the Soviet Championship of 1958 was not enough to qualify him for the Portoroz Interzonal. This was due to a last-round loss to Mikhail Tal (Spassky vs Tal, 1958), which shook him deeply. After winning one of the four semi-finals by finishing equal first with Rashid Nezhmetdinov Leningrad champion of 1959 [rusbase-1] and 1961 [rusbase-2] and finally Soviet Champion in 1961 [rusbase-3]. Winner of the Russian Zonal [rusbase-4]. Spassky shared the first place with Smyslov and Bent Larsen at Amsterdam 1964 http://www.mark-weeks.com/chess/646.... In 1965 he eliminated Paul Keres, Efim Geller and Mikhail Tal. He faced Tigran Petrosian in the Petrosian - Spassky World Championship Match (1966), but narrowly lost. As the losing player in the title match, Spassky automatically qualified for the next Candidates cycle, where he overcame Geller, Larsen and Korchnoi. He again faced Petrosian in the 1969 World Championship, and this time prevailed. Spassky's style of play can be described best as lively and adaptable; this produced many brilliant victories. A position based on his victory in 1960 against David Bronstein was used in the James Bond movie, From Russia With Love. His polite, friendly disposition and entertaining games made him one of the most popular world champions. In the West, his tournament victory at Santa Monica 1966 is the most remembered http://www.worldchesslinks.net/ezqa.... In 1972, Spassky was challenged by Robert James Fischer for the World Championship; Spassky lost, 12½-8½, ending the reign of nearly 25-year Soviet hegemony over the World Championship. In the next year Spassky won the Soviet Championship ahead of many world-class grandmasters, [rusbase-5], including Anatoly Karpov. In the next series of Candidates matches, Spassky defeated Robert Byrne, but lost to Karpov in their 1974 semifinal match. In 1977 he lost the Candidates final to Viktor Korchnoi, after eliminating Vlastimil Hort and Lajos Portisch. In 1992, Spassky played a rematch with Fischer for US $5 million and lost once again, 10 to 5 (with 15 draws). Spassky died in Moscow on February 27, 2025. Wikipedia article: Boris Spassky https://nsn.fm/sport/umer-10-i-chem... Last updated: 2025-02-28 17:12:50

Try our new games table.

page 1 of 100; games 1-25 of 2,483  Game   Result Moves Year Event/Locale Opening 1. Smyslov vs Spassky 1-0 21 1948 Simul B76 Sicilian, Dragon, Yugoslav Attack 2. Spassky vs Rodgaisky 0-1 8 1948 URS B45 Sicilian, Taimanov 3. Korchnoi vs Spassky 1-0 12 1948 Leningrad B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 4. Spassky vs Shman 1-0 35 1948 Trud Ch D37 Queen's Gambit Declined 5. Spassky vs A Nikitin   ½-½ 20 1949 Ch URS (team) (juniors) A18 English, Mikenas-Carls 6. V Liavdansky vs Spassky 0-1 51 1949 Leningrad Junior Championship B23 Sicilian, Closed 7. Spassky vs A Vilup 1-0 27 1949 Leningrad Junior Championship D30 Queen's Gambit Declined 8. Spassky vs S Avtonomov 1-0 21 1949 Leningrad Junior Championship D28 Queen's Gambit Accepted, Classical 9. Korchnoi vs Spassky 0-1 51 1949 Leningrad Junior Championship B71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation 10. V P Zakharov vs Spassky   1-0 55 1949 Leningrad Junior Championship B74 Sicilian, Dragon, Classical 11. Spassky vs Polugaevsky   ½-½ 15 1950 USSR Junior Team Championship D31 Queen's Gambit Declined 12. M Aizenshtadt vs Spassky 0-1 33 1951 Chigorin Memorial qual-12 D50 Queen's Gambit Declined 13. Y Gusev vs Spassky 0-1 24 1951 URS-ch qf A00 Uncommon Opening 14. Y Estrin vs Spassky 0-1 19 1951 URS-ch qf C44 King's Pawn Game 15. Korchnoi vs Spassky 0-1 47 1952 Leningrad D10 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav 16. Spassky vs J Yuchtman 1-0 28 1952 URS-chT Juniors E28 Nimzo-Indian, Samisch Variation 17. Levenfish vs Spassky ½-½ 32 1952 Leningrad D71 Neo-Grunfeld 18. G Chepukaitis vs Spassky 0-1 35 1952 Minsk C31 King's Gambit Declined, Falkbeer Counter Gambit 19. Taimanov vs Spassky ½-½ 59 1952 Leningrad D45 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav 20. Furman vs Spassky 0-1 36 1952 Leningrad D43 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav 21. B Vladimirov vs Spassky 0-1 27 1953 Leningrad D25 Queen's Gambit Accepted 22. Petrosian vs Spassky ½-½ 15 1953 Bucharest D10 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav 23. Spassky vs Smyslov 1-0 35 1953 Bucharest E31 Nimzo-Indian, Leningrad, Main line 24. V Ciocaltea vs Spassky ½-½ 21 1953 Bucharest C50 Giuoco Piano 25. Spassky vs Z Milev 0-1 69 1953 Bucharest D87 Grunfeld, Exchange  page 1 of 100; games 1-25 of 2,483

REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Spassky wins | Spassky loses

< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 45 OF 99 ·  Later Kibitzing> Nov-11-08    stoy: About 1968-1970 Victor Korchnoi said: "I consider the true masters of attack to be Alekhine, Keres and Spassky!" Nov-12-08    capatal: <stoy>: About 1968-1970 Victor Korchnoi said: "I consider the true masters of attack to be Alekhine, Keres and Spassky!" Seems an odd comment by Korchnoi, when Tal had plus attacking scores vs. both Keres and Spassky. Nov-12-08    percyblakeney: <Seems an odd comment by Korchnoi, when Tal had plus attacking scores vs. both Keres and Spassky> Korchnoi was maybe influenced by the fact that Spassky had 9-2 against Tal at the moment (and that after losing a game where he missed a win). Nov-13-08    pawn to QB4: Well, FWIW, Korchnoi doesn't seem to have rated Tal. A fuller quote from "Chess is My Life": "I...called him "the great routine" player...I had noticed the stereotyped nature of Tal's attacks back in 1957...his skill in building up his game is inadequate, and is often based on routine assessments and routine methods. I consider the genuine masters of attack to be Alekhine, Keres and Spassky". Korchnoi backed this up with good scores against Tal, but I wonder whether other top players agree. Nov-13-08    AnalyzeThis: Probably the ones Tal slapped around don't agree. Nov-13-08    Zonszein: There was a Spassky before 1969, and another afterwards. After The Beatles broke up...that was all Nov-24-08    Eyal: A fascinating 55-minutes press conference with Spassky, hosted by S. Polgar: http://www.chessvibes.com/reports/o... Nov-25-08    shintaro go: <Eyal> Yes, quite refreshing to see a playful former World Champion. Surely, Spassky was a gentleman and was a great entertainer. My favorite part of the interview: <So Boris, what are you doing nowadays (after you've stopped playing chess)? Spassky: I'm preparing myself to die.> Priceless. Nov-25-08    Anyi: Yes, the interview is great. And indeed full of humour... I also do like the part shintaro go mentions. <Eyal>, I have read your profile. Your interest in narrative theory intrigues me. In my profile you find the link to my website with a chess-related story. Nov-30-08    Billy Vaughan: "You are the eleventh....or the tenth world champion. Tenth, I think, yes?" "Still tenth, according to the FIDE rules." Nov-30-08    Billy Vaughan: http://images.yuku.com/image/png/bf... This could be a caption contest. Dec-12-08    The Rocket: I saw the spassky conference with susan polgar, What a nice guy he really seems to be. Spassky was a very strong player in his own right but was overshadowed by Fischer and later Karpov. Dec-12-08    veigaman: <Spassky was a very strong player in his own right but was overshadowed by Fischer and later Karpov.> I tryly believe that boris spassky is one the most natural players in the chess history. Dec-13-08    brankat: Boris Spassky has been much more than just a "very strong player". -- He became the 1st Category player at the age of ten. Not counting computer-generated "prodigies" of the last few years, nobody achieved that designation so early. -- Became a GM at the age of 18 (in 1955). The youngest by then. By today's standards it'd be like a 12 years old. -- The run he had between 1964 Amsterdam Interzonal and the Title Match of 1969, can be matched by very few others in all of Chess history. A master of Initiative and Attack, a brilliant technician. His best years, his best games, stand at par with anyone's. By 1972 his heart was not in it anymore, the title and associated responsibilities had become a burden, He was only glad to rid himself of it. And, unlike many others, always a true gentleman. Dec-18-08    M.D. Wilson: Well said, brankat. Spassky has always been one of my favourite players, both stylistically and for his manner. With Spassky, you get the impression that his life never revolved around chess, and that when he forced himself to 'live the chess', he was all the worse for it. A lesson for others. Dec-18-08    shintaro go: I'm not a big fan of his games, but I admire his character. It seems he always has something nice to say about everybody, even to Fischer. Dec-23-08    WhiteRook48: reportedly the Fischer-Spassky, 1992 was an illegal match, and FIDE went after Fischer because of this. Fischer called the U S an evil, brutal dictatorship and moved to Asia. After the 9/11/2001, attacks on America, Fischer... celebrated?! "This is all wonderful news," he said. "I applaud the act... I want to see the US wiped out." sorry, should've said this on the Fischer page. Dec-28-08    nimh: I have added Spassky and Petrosian. http://web.zone.ee/chessanalysis/su... Jan-02-09    M.D. Wilson: Spassky once made a statement claiming that Korchnoi "had no chess talent". I don't know the exact quotation, but I read it a few years ago and just remembered it. Does anyone know what Spassky said? I have a feeling it was regarding Korchnoi's perceived lack of intuition, or something along those lines. Cheers! Jan-02-09    M.D. Wilson: Interesting article, thanks Ziggurat. http://www.kevinspraggett.com/humou... Jan-24-09    WhiteRook48: "When I play Fischer he is almost a gentleman, but not quite." -Spassky Jan-28-09    M.D. Wilson: <veigaman>: <Spassky was a very strong player in his own right but was overshadowed by Fischer and later Karpov.> <I tryly believe that boris spassky is one the most natural players in the chess history.> Absolutely. I will always count Spassky on my top ten list. I think he is one of a handful of the most talented players of all time. Despite his brilliant successes, I don't think he pushed himself to the very limits of his ability; in other words, chess wasn't the centre of his universe, but rather a game or sport to be mastered and played in the right spirit, but a game or sport nonetheless. In this respect, he is like Tal, and, perhaps, Capablanca. Jan-30-09    onemorechessplayer: Happy birthday, Mr.Champion !! Jan-30-09    Augalv: Happy birthday former world champion Boris Spassky! Jan-30-09    Open Defence: http://www.chessbase.com/news/2008/... cool Jump to page #   (enter # from 1 to 99) search thread:    < Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 45 OF 99 ·  Later Kibitzing>

NOTE: Create an account today to post replies and access other powerful features which are available only to registered users. Becoming a member is free, anonymous, and takes less than 1 minute! If you already have a username, then simply login login under your username now to join the discussion.

Please observe our posting guidelines: No obscene, racist, sexist, or profane language. No spamming, advertising, duplicate, or gibberish posts. No vitriolic or systematic personal attacks against other members. Nothing in violation of United States law. No cyberstalking or malicious posting of negative or private information (doxing/doxxing) of members. No trolling. The use of "sock puppet" accounts to circumvent disciplinary action taken by moderators, create a false impression of consensus or support, or stage conversations, is prohibited. Do not degrade Chessgames or any of it's staff/volunteers. Please try to maintain a semblance of civility at all times. See something that violates our rules? Blow the whistle and inform a moderator. NOTE: Please keep all discussion on-topic. This forum is for this specific player only. To discuss chess or this site in general, visit the Kibitzer's Café.

Messages posted by Chessgames members do not necessarily represent the views of Chessgames.com, its employees, or sponsors. All moderator actions taken are ultimately at the sole discretion of the administration.

Copyright 2001-2025, Chessgames Services LLC