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10 unusual facts about Boris Spassky


Bernard Cafferty

He has produced translations of Botvinnik's Best Games 1947-70 and the Soviet world champion's autobiography (Achieving the Aim) as well as collections of the best games of Mikhail Tal and Boris Spassky.

Boris Spassky

Secretary of State Henry Kissinger spoke with Fischer urging him to play the match, and chess was at its apex.

The chess game between "Kronsteen" and "McAdams" in the early part of the James Bond movie From Russia With Love is based on a game in that opening played between Spassky and David Bronstein in 1960 in which Spassky ("Kronsteen") was victorious.

Brad Darrach

His reporting for Playboy on the 1972 Bobby Fischer-Boris Spassky chess match is included as one of four “Best of the Best” in David Halberstam’s Best American Sportswriting of the Century.

Cathy Warwick

In her role as a chess journalist Warwick covered the 1992 match between Fischer and Boris Spassky in Yugoslavia.

Helgi Ólafsson

A native of Heimaey, the largest and sole populated island in the Vestmannaeyjar Westmen Isles archipelago off the south coast of Iceland, Helgi was sixteen when the Bobby FischerBoris Spassky World Chess Championship 1972, dubbed the chess world's "Match of the Century", was held in Reykjavík.

Laugardalshöll

Perhaps the most prominent event to be held at Laugardalshöll was the World Chess Championship 1972, often dubbed the "Match of the Century", in which American challenger Bobby Fischer defeated the Russia champion Boris Spassky.

Leroy Dubeck

He was instrumental in getting Bobby Fischer to play his match for the 1972 World Chess Championship against Boris Spassky, although the match took place after his term of office was over.

Michael Stean

In many respects, the partnerships that developed were reasonably successful; Korchnoi brushed aside some powerful rival Candidates like Boris Spassky, Robert Hübner and Lev Polugaevsky en route to his two finals with Karpov.

Sergio Mariotti

His chess career continued on a positive note for a few years to follow and he finished joint 10th (with Spassky, Uhlmann and Gheorghiu) at the prestigious Manila Interzonal of 1976, though this result was insufficient to advance to the Candidates Matches.


Ortvin Sarapu

In addition to Bogolyubov, other world-class players whom Sarapu played include World Champions Bobby Fischer (a loss at the Sousse 1967 Interzonal), Garry Kasparov (a loss at the Lucerne 1982 Olympiad), and Boris Spassky (a draw at Wellington 1988), and perennial World Championship candidate Viktor Korchnoi (a draw at the Sousse Interzonal).

Two Knights Defense

The Two Knights has been adopted as Black by many aggressive players including Mikhail Chigorin and Paul Keres, and World Champions Mikhail Tal and Boris Spassky.