New Delhi: Russia chess grandmaster Boris Spassky on Thursday passed away at the age of 88, the Chess Federation of Russia confirmed the tragic news. There was no reason mentioned for the cause of the death or where and what time did it happened.
“Boris Spassky, the tenth World Chess Champion, has passed away at the age of 88,” the statement from the Russian Chess Federation read. It was termed as a great loss for the country.
The iconic “Match of the Century” against Bobby Fischer
Spassky was well known for the domination of Soviet Union in the world of chess in the 1960s. He won the 10th world champion title after defeating ‘Iron’ GM Tigran Petrosian in 1969, as per Chess.com. He is well-known for the ‘match of the century’ with Bobby Fischer of America in 1972. It was that match when Fischer won to take away the world champion title from the Russian.
“You can’t imagine how relieved I was when Fischer took the title off me,” Spassky later said, as quoted by Chess.com. “Honestly, I don’t recall that day as unhappy. On the contrary, I’ve thrown off a very strong burden and breathed freely.”
Spassky took the lead initially before the American bounced back tremendously to end the domination of Soviet Union holding the world championship title since 1948.
According to news agency AFP, some 50 million television viewers had tuned into the two-month tussle between Spassky and Fischer which was played in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland.
Born in Leningrad (now known as St. Petersburg), Spassky was a promising talent for the Soviet Union and went on to claim the junior world championship crown and then the honour of becoming the youngest grandmaster in the history (at the age of 18 back then).
Just at the age of 19, he became the world champion. He is said to have represented France in three chess Olympiad editions in 1984, 1986 and 1988. He was the oldest living world champion and after his demise, compatriot Anatoly Karpov (aged 73) will be recognised for the aforementioned accolade.
Grandmaster Boris Spassky, the tenth World Chess Champion, passed away. His career highlights include winning the world championship in 1969 and his legendary “Match of the Century” against Bobby Fischer in 1972. Other Sports Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
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