Russian chess grandmaster Spassky dies

PARIS: Russian chess grandmaster Boris Spassky has died at the age of 88, the International Chess Federation (FIDE) said on Thursday.

Spassky, who took French nationality in 1978, was the 10th world chess champion, holding the title from 1969 to 1972, when he lost it to American Bobby Fischer in Reykjavik, Iceland, in a contest later dubbed as the “Match of the Century”.

During that match in the midst of the Cold War, which he lost 12.5-8.5 despite winning the first two games, Spassky showed great sportsmanship, applauding Fischer after losing the sixth game.

Former world champion Anatoly Karpov, who beat Spassky in the semi-finals of the Candidates tournament in 1974, paid a warm tribute.

“My idols in chess were Jose Capablanca and Boris Spassky. And when I managed to beat Spassky, it was the greatest of victories and, in a sense, defeating something inside me by beating my teacher,” Karpov told state news agency RIA.

“For me, Boris Spassky was an entire era for chess. He became most famous, of course, for being the man who handed over the title to Bobby Fischer.

“But he had chances to win that match. He may have lost by a wide margin, but when everything was in his favour, he let his chances slip away.”

Spassky, born in 1937, had been the oldest living world chess champion.

Spassky represented France in three chess Olympiads in 1984, 1986 and 1988, and was seen playing in the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris during the 1990s.

After his health deteriorated in the early 2000s, Spassky disappeared from Paris in Aug 2012 before resurfacing in Moscow in October that year.

“It was my desire to re­turn to Russia, because my time in France had run its course. It was time to start a new stage. I understood it was time to leave,” he said at the time.

Published in Dawn, February 28th, 2025