Boris Spassky

Boris Spassky, born in 1937, Ukrainian-born chess player, who became an international grandmaster in 1955 and was world champion from 1969 to 1972. Spassky is best known for his 1972 world championship match against American challenger Bobby Fischer. In what was the most publicized world championship in chess history, Fischer defeated Spassky.

Boris Vasiliyevich Spassky was born in Leningrad, Ukraine, in what was then the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). He learned to play chess while living in the Ural Mountains, where his family sought shelter during World War II (1939-1945). After the war the family returned to Leningrad, where Spassky was trained by Soviet chess theoreticians Vladimir Zak and Aleksandr Tolush.

In 1955 Spassky won the world junior championship at Antwerp, Belgium, and took third in the Soviet national championship. He then began to play in a series of candidates tournaments, which determine who can challenge for the world championship. In 1959 Spassky placed second in the Soviet championship and first in an international tournament held at the Moscow Central Chess Club.

In 1961 Spassky began training under Soviet international grandmaster Igor Bondarevsky. In the early and mid-1960s he won a series of candidates tournaments that led to a 1966 world championship match against Soviet player Tigran Petrosian. Spassky lost the match by the slightest of margins (3 wins, 17 draws, and 4 losses). Afterward, he continued to play strong chess, winning several major international tournaments and playing in another series of candidates matches. In a 1969 world championship rematch, he defeated Petrosian to take the title.

Spassky held the world championship until 1972, when Fischer challenged him. The highly publicized match was held in Reykjavík, Iceland. Because the championship was held during the height of the Cold War between the United States and the USSR, both players were under considerable pressure to win. When Fischer triumphed, 35 years of Soviet domination of the world title ended, and Spassky returned to his country in disgrace.

Spassky quickly reasserted his dominance in his homeland, however, winning the 1973 Soviet championship and playing well in a number of international tournaments throughout the 1970s. In 1992 Spassky and Fischer met on the Adriatic island resort of Sveti Stefan and in Belgrade, Serbia, for a rematch of their famous 1972 duel. Fischer won the match 10 games to 5.