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Spassky 
 
Boris Spassky
Number of games in database: 2,194
Years covered: 1948 to 2009
Current FIDE rating: 2548
Highest rating achieved in database: 2690
Overall record: +725 -222 =1238 (61.5%)*
   * Overall winning percentage = (wins+draws/2) / total games
      Based on games in the database; may be incomplete.
      9 exhibition games, odds games, etc. are excluded from this statistic.

MOST PLAYED OPENINGS
With the White pieces:
 Sicilian (242) 
    B25 B24 B23 B20 B42
 Ruy Lopez (120) 
    C77 C92 C95 C73 C67
 French Defense (86) 
    C18 C11 C16 C19 C10
 Nimzo Indian (71) 
    E30 E31 E53 E21 E54
 Caro-Kann (71) 
    B17 B19 B18 B12 B14
 Ruy Lopez, Closed (58) 
    C92 C95 C96 C93 C86
With the Black pieces:
 Ruy Lopez (230) 
    C95 C64 C84 C93 C67
 Ruy Lopez, Closed (134) 
    C95 C84 C93 C89 C92
 Sicilian (118) 
    B83 B81 B31 B52 B80
 Orthodox Defense (94) 
    D55 D58 D59 D50 D56
 Nimzo Indian (71) 
    E59 E42 E21 E47 E46
 Queen's Gambit Declined (62) 
    D37 D35 D31 D30 D38
Repertoire Explorer

NOTABLE GAMES: [what is this?]
   Larsen vs Spassky, 1970 0-1
   Spassky vs Bronstein, 1960 1-0
   Spassky vs Petrosian, 1969 1-0
   Spassky vs Fischer, 1960 1-0
   Spassky vs Fischer, 1972 1-0
   Spassky vs Fischer, 1972 1-0
   Spassky vs Petrosian, 1969 1-0
   Spassky vs Fischer, 1972 1/2-1/2
   Spassky vs Karpov, 1982 1-0
   Spassky vs Larry Evans, 1962 1-0

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS: [what is this?]
   Petrosian-Spassky World Championship Match (1966)
   Petrosian-Spassky World Championship Rematch (1969)
   Fischer-Spassky World Championship Match (1972)

GAME COLLECTIONS: [what is this?]
   Match Spassky! by amadeus
   Spassky Defeats the Best by Anatoly21
   Road to the Championship - Boris Spassky by suenteus po 147
   Boris Spassky's Best Games by KingG
   Spassky! by chocobonbon
   Spassky The Legend by CharlieLuciano
   Match Petrosian! by amadeus
   Ruy Lopez Breyer Variation by russep
   Spassky: Getting out of Reykjavik by pawn to QB4
   Garry Kasparov's On My Great Predecessors Vol. 3 by Anatoly21
   The Canidates Matches by Poisonpawns
   Favorite Games #4 (1960-1979) by wanabe2000
   fav Anand & Spassky games by guoduke

Search Sacrifice Explorer for Boris Spassky
Search Google® for Boris Spassky


BORIS SPASSKY
(born Jan-30-1937) Russia (citizen of France)

[what is this?]
Boris Vasilievich Spassky was born January 30, 1937 in Leningrad, USSR. As a child, in 1943, he escaped from the siege of Leningrad by the Nazi forces in World War Two. In 1955 he won the World Junior Chess Championship and became a grandmaster, and in 1956 tied for first place as Soviet Champion, becoming the youngest player ever to qualify for the candidates round.

Spassky's style of play can be described best as lively and adaptable; this produced many brilliant victories. His victory in 1960 against David Bronstein was put into a James Bond movie, From Russia With Love. His style of play was key in defeating Tigran Vartanovich Petrosian in 1969 for the World Championship. His polite, friendly disposition and his entertaining games have made him one of the most popular world champions ever.

In 1972, Spassky was challenged by Robert James Fischer for the World Championship; Spassky lost, 12˝-8˝, ending the reign of 35-year Soviet hegemony over the World Championship. In 1992 he played a rematch against Fischer for five million dollars and lost once again, 10 to 5 (with 15 draws). He currently resides in France.


 page 1 of 88; games 1-25 of 2,194  PGN Download
Game  ResultMoves Year Event/LocaleOpening
1. Spassky vs Rodgaisky 0-18 1948 URSB45 Sicilian, Taimanov
2. Korchnoi vs Spassky 1-012 1948 LeningradB71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation
3. Spassky vs A Aftonov 1-021 1949 Soviet Junior QualifyersD28 Queen's Gambit Accepted, Classical
4. Korchnoi vs Spassky 0-151 1949 LeningradB71 Sicilian, Dragon, Levenfish Variation
5. Spassky vs Avtonomov 1-021 1949 LeningradD28 Queen's Gambit Accepted, Classical
6. V Liavdansky vs Spassky 0-151 1949 LeningradB23 Sicilian, Closed
7. Estrin vs Spassky 0-119 1951 RigaC44 King's Pawn Game
8. Y Gusev vs Spassky 0-124 1951 RigaA00 Uncommon Opening
9. Korchnoi vs Spassky 0-147 1952 LeningradD10 Queen's Gambit Declined Slav
10. Levenfish vs Spassky ½-½32 1952 TournamentD71 Neo-Grunfeld
11. G Chepukaitis vs Spassky 0-135 1952 tC31 King's Gambit Declined, Falkbeer Counter Gambit
12. Spassky vs J Yuchtman 1-028 1952 Rostov on DonE28 Nimzo-Indian, Samisch Variation
13. Taimanov vs Spassky ½-½59 1952 LeningradD45 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
14. Furman vs Spassky  0-136 1952 LeningradD43 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav
15. B Vladimirov vs Spassky 0-127 1953 LeningradD25 Queen's Gambit Accepted
16. Spassky vs Sajtar  ½-½30 1953 BucharestD86 Grunfeld, Exchange
17. Sliwa vs Spassky 1-032 1953 BucharestD49 Queen's Gambit Declined Semi-Slav, Meran
18. Boleslavsky vs Spassky ½-½29 1953 BucharestD87 Grunfeld, Exchange
19. O Barda vs Spassky 0-140 1953 BukharestA43 Old Benoni
20. Spassky vs Smyslov 1-035 1953 1, BucharestE31 Nimzo-Indian, Leningrad, Main line
21. Spassky vs Tolush ½-½15 1953 BucharestA54 Old Indian, Ukrainian Variation, 4.Nf3
22. O Troianescu vs Spassky 0-140 1953 BucarestC22 Center Game
23. Spassky vs Filip  0-172 1953 BucharestA84 Dutch
24. Spassky vs S Szabo 1-055 1953 BucharestD31 Queen's Gambit Declined
25. Szabo vs Spassky 0-129 1953 BucharestE99 King's Indian, Orthodox, Taimanov
 page 1 of 88; games 1-25 of 2,194  PGN Download
  REFINE SEARCH:   White wins (1-0) | Black wins (0-1) | Draws (1/2-1/2) | Spassky wins | Spassky loses  
 

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Kibitzer's Corner
< Earlier Kibitzing  · PAGE 48 OF 48 ·  Later Kibitzing >
Jun-18-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  parisattack: The chapter on Portoroz 1958 in Russians versus Fischer seems to well indicate the Soviets were more than just 'aware' of Fischer.

Koblenz - 'Bobby passed a serious examination in his games against the four Soviet participants, who, I will not hide the fact, very much wanted to 'punish' the youth.'

Jun-18-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: How could they not take him seriously? He had a plus score against almost russian or soviet sattellite player, except Spassky, and, I think, Leonid Stein.
Jun-20-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  jackpawn: Again, to repeat my point, absolutely nobody in history achieved Fischer's success at age 14-15 up to that time. Remember, this was in the 1950's, well before computers made it much easier for youngsters to become very strong at an early age. I think nearly everyone in the chess community saw him as a potential world champion in the future.
Jun-20-09   slomarko: <but in fact the Soviets were guilty of the opposite sin: failing to take him seriously enough until it was far too late.> Petrosianic trolling like usual.
Jun-20-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  keypusher: <Petrosianic> <jackpawn> I think he was seen as a possible future WC 1958-1962. But for the rest of the 1960s his temperment and results worsened. I think between one and the other the Soviets started to think he would never get it together to make a real run at the title. Based purely on results I think Botvinnik was justified in thinking he would suffer a narrow defeat, but nothing worse, in early 1970. But I also agree with Petrosianic that Botvinnik would have gotten killed because it turned out that Fischer had seriously raised his game.
Jun-20-09   visayanbraindoctor: <jackpawn: Again, to repeat my point, absolutely nobody in history achieved Fischer's success at age 14-15 up to that time. Remember, this was in the 1950's, well before computers made it much easier for youngsters to become very strong at an early age.>

An interesting observation. Continuously active competitive chessplayers keep on getting stronger until at some point in their careers, they hit a plateau, and then sometime in middle age begin sliding down; with intermittent valleys and peaks interspersed all throughout. Within a population of interacting players, this is reflected in their ratings. For most chessplayers before the computer age, the chess plateau seemed to occur at around the ages of 26 to 40. There are notable exceptions. Morphy, Lasker, Pillsbury, Reshevsky, Fine, Keres, Tal, Karpov, Kasparov, and Kramnik seemed to have been playing near their plateau right out of their teens or in their early 20s; but in general this trend can be seen for such luminaries as Anderssen, Steinitz, Rubinstein, Capablanca, Alekhine, Euwe, Botvinnik, Bronstein, Smyslov, Petrosian, Spassky, Korchnoi, Fischer, and Anand. At the other end, Anderssen, Steinitz, Lasker, Botvinnik, and Karpov were still close to their high plateau even at 50.

With the advent of computer-assisted learning, it's possible that this plateau has been moved to younger ages. This could account for the glut of youthful prodigies since 2000. However, unless something fundamentally changes to the human genome such that it can now blueprint brains that function like computers, youthful prodigies would be expected to reach their high plateaus too; only that this would more often occur earlier than in past generations. Eventually, it will be the individual's innate chess abilities as determined by his genes, chess opportunities in his social setting, motivation, and health which will determine how high his plateau would be and how long it would last.

Jun-20-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: One could make the point that this computer assitance, deeper opening theory, computer-assisted middle game planning, deeper end game calculations, etc., also benefits the players in their 30s who have to play against the teen prodigies.

ALL players now have a deeper repertoire, so it is unclear if the advent of chess software benefits one group more than the other.

The appearance of several teen GMs might be due to ratings 'devaluation.' When Bobby Fischer was a teenager, there were approximately 200 GMs in the world. Now, I guess, there are several thousand. This makes the GM title a bit watered down. Of all these teen prodigies in the last few years, only Magnus Carlson and Hou Yifan have shown real promise for cracking the top ten and staying there.

Jun-20-09   visayanbraindoctor: <HeMateMe: One could make the point that this computer assistance, deeper opening theory, computer-assisted middle game planning, deeper end game calculations, etc., also benefits the players in their 30s who have to play against the teen prodigies. ALL players now have a deeper repertoire, so it is unclear if the advent of chess software benefits one group more than the other.>

Good point. Instead of going through dozens of printed chess magazines, openings books, and tournament books, the masters of the 1990s (including Anand, Kramnik, Topalov, Ivanchuk, Gelfand, Shirov, Kamsky and so on) just have to press a few buttons on the keyboard. Computers make research easier for every one.

Had good computer chess software existed in 1980s, then there could have been a glut of of teen GMs right in 1990, beginning with the above players. They probably would have reached their plateau earlier. Or maybe not, as there are other hypotheses given below.

<The appearance of several teen GMs might be due to ratings 'devaluation.' When Bobby Fischer was a teenager, there were approximately 200 GMs in the world. Now, I guess, there are several thousand. This makes the GM title a bit watered down.>

Indeed, there seems to be a popular feeling that the term Grandmaster had a higher value before the 1990s. Has any mathematician made a thesis on <ratings devaluation>?

Thus in the above discussion, the appearance of numerous teen GMs in the 2000s may be due to

1. Computer chess softwares.
2. Ratings devaluation.
3. The existence of numerous GMs today makes it easier for non GMs to make the norms.

Other hypotheses:

4. I think there was a time when FIDE required only 2 norms; or in brief made it easier to become a GM, resulting in a sudden increase of GMs, which in turn would lead to #3 above.

5. The dissolution of the Soviet Union allowed numerous local players there, who were already playing chess at GM levels but could not make the norms because the tournaments they played in were mostly unrated or were all limited to Soviet Union citizens, to play in international tournaments in Western Europe which were rated and which had the required participants from multiple countries to create GM norms.

6. And how about: People today are inherently more intelligent than they were in the 1980s? As mentioned above, human genomes are more or less the same in the 1980s and today, so unless the human genome gets significantly altered to begin the production of brains that function like computers, IMO this is simply a form of present-generation narcissism.

Jun-20-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  HeMateMe: the more GMs, and the more tournament activity--the more new GMs are created. There is probably some kind of math formula that tells you just how much expansion occurs, given a few known variables.

I guess its irrelevant, given that, after following a few strong tournaments each year, you realize who the real killers are.

One interest aspecet about changing physiology--its been suggested that kids are bigger today (athletes for example, are much bigger) because of certain foods like milk have changed. Because livestock are fed with feed that contains steroids, some of this is thought to be going into the reproduction cycle, we are 'growing' bigger, larger kids. Could they mean a larger, more efficiant brain? Who knows...

Jun-21-09   visayanbraindoctor: <I guess its irrelevant, given that, after following a few strong tournaments each year, you realize who the real killers are.>

Quite right. For any given population of interacting active chessplayers, every one gets to quickly know who the real killers are.

<HeMateMe: Because livestock are fed with feed that contains steroids, some of this is thought to be going into the reproduction cycle, we are 'growing' bigger, larger kids. Could they mean a larger, more efficiant brain?>

Unfortunately not. Our genes program the number of neurons we have at birth, and neurons do not divide to form more neurons after they have differentiated. They can die though; but fortunately there is usually enough to keep our brains functional for a lifetime.

The upright stance of humans also result in narrower pelvises. Larger pelvises would result in women who could not walk upright. For more than a hundred thousand years, any baby born with too large a head, resulting in a cephalo-pelvic disproportion, died. Often along with its mother. "Died at childbirth" was quite common before modern Medicine, and this was one of the reasons. I would guess that this was one of the evolutionary constraints regarding growing a larger brain.

By the way, there is a theory that the evolution of larger brains is the result of neoteny. But this is another story.

Jul-07-09   Tripler: Didn't Spassky say recently that he wished he had been playing in the C19th? "Now you lose when your phone rings." Still, Chigorin used to have a bottle of brandy by the table in his match with Steinitz. (As you do when you're trying to become the world chess champion.) It's well known that Spassky's results were dire for a champion after 1969 - in the 60s he was probably the best player (apart from the 1966 loss to Petrosian) - but he was not a Party Member and is really an old fashioned Russian monarchist who, er, lives in France...
Jul-16-09   swissfed: [Chess Drawing]
1.Former World Chess Champion Boris Spassky, beaten by Bobby Fischer in the legendary Match of the Century in Reykjavik 1972, celebrates his 70th birthday.

http://www.oliverschopf.com/html/e_...

Aug-07-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  parisattack: < Tripler: ... Didn't Spassky say recently that he wished he had been playing in the C19th? It's well known that Spassky's results were dire for a champion after 1969>

True. Aside from the 1966 match with Petrosian, Spassky's best chess (Chessmetrics to the contrary) seemed to be 1965-1969.

Aug-10-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  kamalakanta: <Tripler:> <It's well known that Spassky's results were dire for a champion after 1969 - in the 60s he was probably the best player (apart from the 1966 loss to Petrosian) - but he was not a Party Member and is really an old fashioned Russian monarchist who, er, lives in France...>

I have read somewhere that Spassky said that the years in which he was World Champion were the worst years of his life.

He is writing an autobiography. I hope he explains to us what he means by that statement.

Aug-11-09   WhiteRook48: maybe it was about Russian rule
Aug-14-09   patzer of patzers: <kamalakanta>: Here are two Spassky quotes from the <unsourced> section of <Wiki>quote (that is my disclaimer):

"After I won the title, I was confronted with the real world. People do not behave naturally anymore - hypocrisy is everywhere."

"In my country, at that time, being a champion of chess was like being a King. At that time I was a King … and when you are King you feel a lot of responsibility, but there is nobody there to help you."

He also apparently said that he wanted never to be champion again.

Aug-15-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  kamalakanta: <patzer of patzers> <kamalakanta>: <Here are two Spassky quotes from the <unsourced> section of <Wiki>quote (that is my disclaimer):>

<"After I won the title, I was confronted with the real world. People do not behave naturally anymore - hypocrisy is everywhere.">

<"In my country, at that time, being a champion of chess was like being a King. At that time I was a King … and when you are King you feel a lot of responsibility, but there is nobody there to help you.">

<He also apparently said that he wanted never to be champion again.>

It's funny...in the video interview with Susan Polgar at the Olympics last year, he showed he could be ironic with a totally straight face, when he said something like: "...you know, I did not know it, but Morozevich was the author of the Merano variation...". Of course, he was being ironic. The Meran variation was pioneered by Rubinstein in Meran, 1924, and it takes its name from that tournament.

So when he says that he is a monarchist, I do not quite believe him.

Aug-19-09   patzer of patzers: Um...I think I'll let you handle all of that. I don't really know much about this conversation, just saw you talk about Spassky's unhappiness about being World Champion and thought I'd use some quotes from him.
Sep-29-09   piroflip: I asked this question a while back but nobody seemed to know the answer. Time to try again.

Do any Boris fans here know what became of the stunning Larrisa?

Sep-29-09   Petrosianic: <Do any Boris fans here know what became of the stunning Larrisa?>

She became less stunning.

Sep-30-09   Capabal: Spassky strikes one as a gentleman, smooth, well-mannered, but with a certain wry wit, and not prone to excessive work or to obsessive endeavors. He practices the truest gentleman games available: chess and tennis, with proper detachment and never losing sight of the fact they are games, leasure activities. He may not have been as cavalier regarding hard work as Capablanca, but along similar lines.

Karpov once wrote the following about Spassky:

“I consider myself to be an idler, too, but the dimensions of Spassky’s laziness were astounding” (Karpov on Karpov: ‘Memoirs of a Chess World Champion’, page 98)

No wonder he did not like the pressure of being champion.

Of all the world champions, the hardest working ones (in chronological order) must be:

Alekhine, Fischer, Kasparov

Oct-30-09
Premium Chessgames Member
  waustad: The match with Korchnoi could be fun. It's a shame that Smyslov may be a bit too old to get in on these.
Nov-01-09   Everett: Well, at least Alekhine and Kasparov did some work AFTER becoming champion.
Nov-08-09   drnooo: What a guy, Spassky. When people start to say how Fischer overwhelmed him, it was more his antics than talent: at least for me. Until that year Fischer never had the guys number. I have always had the feeling that he just, Spassky that is, just pushed his chips in and walked away from the game, the money not being enough to endure the antics of whatever Fischer had become. A high level of disgust, Boris had, even though I am sure he liked Fischer, felt grateful for the money etc, but jeez, you cannot say the things he did about the flood of hypocrisy that rushed in on him after the crown. Odd how many have said the same thing after winning it by either word or deed. Lasker needed it for the gold, period. Good reason. Capa more or less frittered it away. Alekhine, flat drank it away with Euwe. Botvinnik certainly could not hold onto it consistently, and wuld have less without the return match clause. Tal, well, even healthy might have kept it longer, but it never seemed to mean much to him, you had the feeling that he would just as soon be playing all night blitz in some Moscow coffee house as with the top crew, Petrosian himself said he lost the desire. Then came the Ks: they were true maniacs, the first two anyway, the only ones since Lasker and Alekhine that fought tooth and toenail to hang onto it. That's quite a list of ho humness about a world championship once its won.
Nov-08-09   drnooo: In a nutshell: Fischer, hated to lose even more than he wanted to win. Spassky (ultimately) didn't want to win. How could the result have been otherwise in 72.
As for the rematch in Yogoslavia. Well Steve Martin could have come out during adjournments for those games and done his King Tut number. Anyone who took those games seriously, other than Fischer of course, should have had their head examined.
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