Boris Vassilievich Spassky (b. 1937,
Leningrad) was the
10th
World Chess Champion
between 1969-1972 winning the
title from
Tigran Petrosian and losing it to
Bobby Fischer
in a famous televised match in
Reykjavik,
Iceland.
His defeat meant punishment when he returned to the
USSR, for
not only did his loss to an American disgrace the Soviets, he
had ignored orders to return home with the lead when Fischer
failed to show up for a game mid-match. Spassky left to live
and compete in
France. In 1992, Fischer again defeated Spassky
in a rematch in
Yugoslavia.
Spassky learned the game of chess at the age of 5 and became
an international grandmaster in 1955. His said of his own
playing,
"When I am in form my style is a bit stubborn, almost brutal."
He resurrected the Tarrasch Defense for Black and for White
he used the so-called Leningrad Variation (4. Bg5)
of the Nimzo-Indian
Defense. He was a master tactitian and one of the most feared
attackers of the 20th century.
Spassky is still following chess, and a November 2000
interview with him appeared in Chess Today.