Original: Petrosian - Spassky World Championship Match (1969)

DRAFT EDIT <JFQ>

Boris Spassky

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EDIT <Chessical>:

YOu may find this of use for an introduction:

"(Korchnoi) has some harsh words to say about how he was deprived of the services of his second, Semyeon Furman, in his biography "Chess is My Life". But at the time, Korchnoi admitted "Spassky's superiority in playing the middle game was so great ...". After winning the sixth in a great comeback, "I threw everything into the next game in a style uncharacteristic of me ...Spassky at the present time is ahead of all his contemporaries..."

Spassky had this generous remark to say about his opponent "I feel Korchnoi is a harder worker than I am and is stronger than me in tactics.." <"Korchnoi's 400 Best Games", pages 159-160.>

The match took place in the "October Place of Culture" in Kiev. <"Boris Spassky 300 Wins, page 162.>

This was later renamed as Kiev's "International Centre of Culture and Arts".

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CHESSICAL ON THE ACTUAL TITLE MATCH:

The first packet concerns Petrosian's controversial change of defence to <1.e4> from the more passive Petroff to more active Sicilian and the Ruy Lopez (Spanish) in Games 17, 19 and 21.

"To expect Spassky would again go in for a harmless continuation would have been too optimistic, and the Petroff defence is not one of those reliable openings that should be employed regularly. Petrosian decide to join battle and go in for a complicated game with chances for both sides".

Boleslavsky (Petrosian's trainer) in his note to Game 17 as quoted by Kasparov "My Great Predecessors, Part 3" on p.291

Bondarevsky (Spassky's trainer)appears to support this contention, commenting on Spassky's conservative play against the Petroff in the 13th and 15th games he states, "The depression that began with Spassky after the 9th game had not yet passed. In such a state is there any point in going in for sharp variations. The time for decisive battles had not yet arrived!"; as quoted by Kasparov "My Great Predecessors, Part 3" on p.290

Spassky was quoted as " The 17th Game gave me very valuable psychological information. I realised that the Champion was continuing to avoid any risk. That meant striving to seize the initiative and to impose complicated double-edged play was fully justified"; quoted in Petrosian v Spassky, The World Chess Championship Moscow 1966 and 1969, Golombek and Clarke, Harding Simpole (2004), p. 104.

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<WCC Editing Project> Further material for the introduction to the Game Collection: Game Collection: WCC: Petrosian-Spassky 1969 ...

While preparing for our exhausting contest , I paid serious attention to variations in the Queen's Gambit. I wanted to alter the generally accepted opinion that my speciality is the move <1.e4>.In the long contest , I considered it important to feel confident beginning my game with <1.d4>...however failure awaited me in the 11th Game, and once and for all Petrosian convinced me that I had no business playing <1.d4>, that <1.d4> was not my cup of tea...

Source - Spassky's notes to Game 5, Chess Life and Review p.446, December 1969

The importance of the 9th Game

"Spassky missed a great opportunity in the ninth game. At the start of the game he was leading in the match by a commanding score of 5-3. Conducting the White pieces in the ninth game, he emerged from the opening with a substantial positional advantage...It seemed to all observers that Spassky could not fail to win this game...but he missed several golden opportunities. Had he scored this point the match would have been virtually over...Tension and over-anxiety must have played an important role. Spassky's failure to win the game had an adverse psychological effect on him as was discernable in the next two games which he lost ignominiously."

Source - Reshevsky's notes to Game 9, Chess Life and Review p.35, January 1970

Petrosians' collapse

When the last third of the match began, the score was tied at 8 points each. Since Petrosian had demonstrated his fighting spirit and resilience , he was favoured at this point to retain the title but Spassky showed his determination and fighting spirit to forge ahead in the 17th game, which was the beginning of the end for Petrosian....(he) played very badly in this game committing tactical errors at several stages, which is very unusual for him. This game (17th) seems to have broken his confidence and resistance (Petrosian offered a draw on move 21 but Spassky declined - e.d)

Source - Reshevsky's commentary, Chess Life and Review p.35, January 1970

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More material from <Chessical>

Petrosian's and Spassky's preparation:

"I (Petrosian - ed.), as always, prepared for the match with my old chess friends - Grandmasters Isaac Boleslavsky and Aleksey Suetin. In the "Red Pahra" holiday home near Moscow we spent well our time in the company of Grandmaster Seymen Furman (who had trained Korchnoi and would go onto train Karpov - ed.) Quite a lot of the time I dedicated to physical fitness..."

Source - "Boris Spassky's 300 Wins", CS Chess Stars, 1998, p.165

Spassky was assisted Grandmasters by I. Bondarevsky and N.Krogius. They identified that sharp active play (hence the Tarrasch Defence) would be effective against Petrosian.

Consequently, Spassky planned to "maintain the desire and willingness to fight to the last move of the last game" and "play in a strictly classical manner...(Petrosian is) not a player of strict classical style his style directed towards limiting an opponent's possibilities is unique..."

Spassky stated after the match, "...you can draw the conclusion that passive cautious play 'to hold the balance' became one of the basic reasons for Petrosian's defeat".

Source - Quotes from interview with "Soviet Sport" translated in "Petrosian v Spassky, The World Chess Championships Moscow 1966 and 1969, GOlombek and Clarke, Harding Simpole 2004, p.102-104

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Leonard Barden, "Portrait of a World Champion" "Chess Life and Review" Vol. 29, No.1 Jan 1970, pp.9-13

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Candidates Cycle

<"The year 1965 brought the <<<end of FIDE's Candidates Tournaments>>> and a switch to a series of knockout matches.">

-Andrew Soltis, "Soviet Chess 1917-1991" (McFarland 1997), p.268 (Needs primary source corroboration)

Sousse Interzonal (1967) Sousse Interzonal (1967)

After Robert James Fischer withdrew, Bent Larsen, Viktor Korchnoi, Lajos Portisch, Efim Geller, Svetozar Gligoric and Samuel Reshevsky qualified to compete in an eight-player candidates series of knock-out matches. Boris Spassky and Mikhail Tal qualified directly to these candidates matches due to their semifinal wins in the previous candidates matches: Spassky-Geller Candidates Semifinal Match (1965) and Tal-Larsen Candidates Semifinal Match (1965).

(Find primary source for the FIDE rule explaining how the winners of the previous candidates semifinal matches were seeded directly into the candidates matches in the next FIDE cycle.)

Spassky - Geller Candidates Quarterfinal (1968)

Spassky - Larsen Candidates Semifinal (1968)

Spassky - Korchnoi Candidates Final (1968)

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Preparation

Barden:

<"Spassky's preparation for the 1969 match... were more thorough than in 1966, when he was tired by the long series of elimination contests. He spent three months in early 1969 studying the openings and Petrosian's games. <<<The team of helpers now included Nikolai Krogius, a psychology lecturer as well as a grandmaster.>>> Boris also worked hard for physical fitness: a cross-country run each morning and Yoga exercises were part of his programme.">

-Leonard Barden, "Forward" in Bernard Cafferty, "Spassky's 100 Best Games- The Rise of Boris Spassky 1949-1971" (Hardinge Simpole 2002) (originally Batsford 1972), p.28

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Petrosian:

<"...I prepared for the match with my old chess-friends- grandmasters Boleslavsky and Alexei Suetin. In the company also of grandmaster <<<Semyon Furman>>> we all spent the time pretty well at the 'Krasnaya Pakhra' Holiday Home near Moscow (before moving on to my favourite Sukhanovo)...

I also devoted not a little time to physical preparation. So far... I cannot complain about my health. All the same, in this most important component my possibilities, I must admit, are closer to those if not of Tal then at least Korchnoi than those of Botvinnik, Smyslov, or my future rival. I did a lot of skiing and walking in the beautiful winter forest...">

-Harry Golombek and Peter Clark, "Petrosian vs. Spassky- The World Chess Championships Moscow 1966 and 1969" (Hardinge Simpole 2004), p.66

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Conditions

<A maximum of 24 games were due to be played, but should one player gain 12 1/2 points then the match is over... (draw odds for Petrosian) ...40 moves in 2 1/2 hours, 16 moves per hour after, 5 hour sessions of play from 4:30pm, <<<three games a week>>> on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, adjourned games played the next day in the Central Chess Club.>

-<Venue> Estrada Theatre

-<Seconds> Boleslavsky (Petrosian) and Bondarevsky (Spassky)

--<Chief Referee> O'Kelly, assistant ref. Filip.

-Harry Golombek and Peter Clark, "Petrosian vs. Spassky- The World Chess Championships Moscow 1966 and 1969" (Hardinge Simpole 2004), p.60

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Course of the Match

1st game

Spassky vs Petrosian, 1969 <0-1>

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2d game

Petrosian vs Spassky, 1969 <1/2>

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3d game

Spassky vs Petrosian, 1969 <1/2>

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4th game

Petrosian vs Spassky, 1969 <0-1>

Tal on Petrosian in game 4:

<"In one game it is too <<<difficult>>> to play for a win and a draw simultaneously.">

Clarke:

<"The World Champion 'won' the theoretical duel carried on from the Second Game, but in trying to justify his initiative he over-reached himself. His bold play was followed up inconsistently, and towards the end of the session he collapsed in a most uncharacteristic way... Spassky had drawn level and also brought off his <<<first win ever with the black pieces>>> against his great rival.">

-Harry Golombek and Peter Clark, "Petrosian vs. Spassky- The World Chess Championships Moscow 1966 and 1969" (Hardinge Simpole 2004), p.68

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5th game

Spassky vs Petrosian, 1969 <1-0>

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6th game

Petrosian vs Spassky, 1969 <1/2>

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Korchnoi, reporting for "64" on the second <Petrosian-Spassky> match.

Summing up games 1-6, with Spassky leading 3.5 - 2.5:

<"I do not think that the World Champion's reserves are exhausted. Throughout the course of six years he has hardly ever considered himself obliged to play at full power. And, if one can so put it, he has become unaccustomed to <<<'manly play.'>>>">

The translator is not listed, but I would be interested to know from a Russian speaker what phrase became "manly play" in English.

--Harry Golombek and Peter Clark, "Petrosian vs. Spassky- The World Chess Championships Moscow 1966 and 1969" (Hardinge Simpole 2004), p.72

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7th game

Spassky vs Petrosian, 1969 <1/2>

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8th game

Petrosian vs Spassky, 1969 <0-1>

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9th game

Spassky vs Petrosian, 1969 <1/2>

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10th game

Petrosian vs Spassky, 1969 <1-0>

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11th game

Spassky vs Petrosian, 1969 <0-1>

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12th game

Petrosian vs Spassky, 1969 <1/2>

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13th game

Spassky vs Petrosian, 1969 <1/2>

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14th game

Petrosian vs Spassky, 1969 <1/2>

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15th game

Spassky vs Petrosian, 1969 <1/2>

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16th game

Petrosian vs Spassky, 1969 <1/2>

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17th game

Spassky vs Petrosian, 1969 <1-0>

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18th game

Petrosian vs Spassky, 1969 <1/2>

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19th game

Spassky vs Petrosian, 1969 <1-0>

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20th game

Petrosian vs Spassky, 1969 <1-0>

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21st game

Spassky vs Petrosian, 1969 <1-0>

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22d game

Petrosian vs Spassky, 1969 <1/2>

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23d game

Spassky vs Petrosian, 1969

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