Spassky plays the King's Gambit!

The ChessBase Mega Database contains 29 games in classical time format in which Spassky tried the King's Gambit with White. He won 15 of these games, drew 14, but never lost with this double-edged, risky opening.

Spassky's lifelong passion for the King's Gambit can probably be traced back to his first coach, the Leningrad master Vladimir Zak, who was an enthusiastic supporter of the opening and immortalised his passion for the King's Gambit in a book.

Spassky's first win on the white side of the King's Gambit, which is listed in the Mega, was his encounter with Yuri Averbakh in the final of the 1955 Soviet Championships.

Spassky, Boris Vasilievich

1–0

Averbakh, Yuri L

GM

URS-ch22 Final Moscow26.02.1955[Johannes Fischer]

GM

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 Ne7 4.Bc4 d5 5.exd5 Nxd5 6.0-0 Be7 7.d4 c6 8.Nc3 0-0 9.Ne5 Be6 10.Bxf4 f6 11.Bxd5 cxd5 12.Nd3 Bf7 13.Qg4 Kh8 14.Bxb8?! Surprising, unconventional, but not really good. Better was 14.Rae1 Nc6 15.Bg3 and the position is roughly equal. 14...Rxb8 15.Rae1 Re8 16.Ne5

16...Rf8? Now White's concept pays off. But after the cold-blooded retreat 16...Bg8 White would have had difficulties to find a promising way to attack and is objectively worse. 17.Nxf7+ Rxf7 18.Qe6 Kg8 19.Nxd5 White is a pawn up and winning. Bf8 20.Re4 Bd6 21.c4 b6 22.b4 Qf8 23.c5 bxc5 24.bxc5 Bxc5 25.dxc5 Qxc5+ 26.Kh1 Rd8 27.Ne7+ Kf8 28.Nc6 Qb5 29.Rfe1 1–0

This game showed a pattern that would become apparent in many of the later games Spassky played with the King's Gambit: In the opening, Spassky was slightly or even clearly worse with White, but in the middlegame it became clear that he understood the positions better and handled them better than his opponents.

Spassky's victory over Semyon Furman, later Anatoly Karpov's coach, in the semi-finals of the 1959 Soviet Championship is a typical example. Against Furman, who was considered to be a solid player, Spassky allowed himself a little provocation: he played the Steinitz Gambit and on move four charged forward with his king. In the irrational position that resulted from this strategy Spassky was objectively worse, but outplayed his opponent.

Spassky, Boris Vasilievich

1–0

Furman, Semen Abramovich

GM

URS-ch27 Semifinal Tallinn1959[Johannes Fischer]

GM

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nc3 The Steinitz Gambit, named after Wilhelm Steinitz, the first official world champion in chess history. Steinitz was convinced that the king is a "strong piece" and should therefore be involved in the battle from the outset. With 3.Nc3 White invites Black to drive the white king out into the open. White hopes to gain time to develop his pieces by attacking the queen, which is exposed by the early check. The idea is that the white king should be sufficiently protected by the white central pawns. Qh4+ 4.Ke2 d5 Black returns his extra pawn to open lines and to quickly develop his pieces. 5.Nxd5 Bd6 6.Nf3 Bg4 7.d4 Nc6 8.e5 0-0-0 9.Bxf4 After 9.exd6 Black retakes with his rook and has more than adequate compensation for the sacrificed piece, e.g. Rxd6 10.Kd2 10.c4 Nf6 11.Bxf4 Rxd5 12.cxd5 Bxf3+ 13.gxf3 Re8+ 14.Kd2 Nxd5 15.Bg3 Qg5+ 16.f4 Nxf4 17.Kc1 Ne2+ 18.Kb1 Qf5+ 19.Qc2 Nxg3 20.Qxf5+ Nxf5 21.Bh3 Ncxd4 10...Qd8 11.c3 Rxd5 12.Kc2 Qf6 9...Nge7 10.c4 Nf5 11.exd6

11...Nfxd4+? The wrong knight. After 11...Ncxd4+ 12.Kd3 Bxf3 13.gxf3 c6! Black regains the piece and is clearly better. However, after the move played in the game, White is winning. 12.Kd3 Qh5 13.Be2 Ne6 14.Bg3 cxd6 15.b4 Rhe8 16.Re1 Nc7 17.Kc3 Qh6 18.Qc1 Nxd5+ 19.cxd5 Re3+ 20.Bd3 Qf6+ 21.Kc2 Rxe1 22.Bxe1 Bxf3 23.dxc6 Bxc6 24.Bc3 Qf2+ 25.Qd2 Ba4+ 26.Kb2 Qh4 27.Bxg7 Kb8 28.g3 Qg4 29.Bf6 Rc8 30.Rc1 Re8 31.b5 1–0

A year later, in January 1960, Spassky played a game with the King's Gambit that went down in film history: In the final of the 27th Soviet Championship in Leningrad, he sacrificed a knight against Bronstein while allowing his opponent to take a rook with a check - and the end of this spectacular game inspired the makers of the James Bond film "From Russia with Love" to include a chess scene in their film.

Spassky, Boris Vasilievich

1–0

Bronstein, David Ionovich

GM

URS-ch27 Final Leningrad20.02.1960[Ftacnik, Lubomir]

GM

1.e4 e5 2.f4 Times were different when this game was played. In our time, some openings are considered bad by computers and the King's Gambit is considered 'barely playable'. It used to be a sign of courage and honour to play the King's Gambit... exf4 3.Nf3 d5 4.exd5 Bd6 5.Nc3 Spassky won the chess crown not thanks to his knowledge of openings, but through his universally good play in various positions. 5.Bb5+ Bd7 6.Bxd7+ Nxd7 7.0-0 Ne7 8.c4 0-0 9.d4 b6 10.Nc3 Ng6 11.Qd3 Nf6 12.Bd2 Qd7 13.Rae1 Rae8 14.a3 a5 15.Nb5± Gurgenidze-Radovici/Tbilisi/1960/ Gurgenidze-Radovici/Tiflis/ 1960/ 5.d4 c6 5...Ne7 6.c4 c5 7.b4 b6 8.bxc5 bxc5 9.dxc5 Bxc5 10.Bxf4 0-0 11.Nc3 Re8 12.Be2 Nf5 13.Qc2 Qf6 14.Rd1 Nh4 15.Nxh4 Qxf4-+ 0-1 (23) Shirazi,K (2410)-Jakovenko,D (2760) France 2009 6.Nc3 Nf6 7.Qe2+ Kf8 8.Ne5 cxd5 8...g5 9.h4 Nxd5 10.Nxd5 cxd5 11.Qh5 Qe7 12.Qh6+ Ke8 13.Qg7 Bxe5 14.dxe5 Rf8 15.Qxg5 Qb4+ 16.c3 Qe4+ 17.Be2 Nc6 18.Bxf4± ½ (48) Nunn,J (2630) -Anand,V (2715) Monte Carlo 1995 9.Bxf4 Nc6 10.0-0-0 Bg4 11.Nxg4 Bxf4+ 12.Kb1 Nxg4 13.Qxg4 Bc7 14.Qf3 Bb6 15.Nxd5 Qd6 16.Bc4 f6 17.Nf4 Re8 18.c3+- 1-0 (28) Nepomniachtchi,I (2792)-Alekseenko,K (2703) Moscow 2021 5...Ne7 6.d4 0-0 6...c6!? -> C 31: 2...d5 3.ed5 c6 4.Nc3 ef4 5.Nf3 Bd6 6.d4 Ne7 7.Bd3 / 7.Bc4 / 7.dc6 C 31: 2...d5 3.ed5 c6 4.Nc3 ef4 5. Nf3 Bd6 6.d4 Ne7 7. Bd3 / 7.Bc4 / 7.dc6 7.Bd3 Nd7 7...Bf5!? 8.0-0 Nd7 9.Ng5 8.0-0 h6? Bronstein makes a mistake that is surprisingly common even today, despite a much deeper understanding of chess strategy. Especially in positions with a board full of pieces, it is extremely unlikely that such a pawn move (as opposed to the move of a suitable piece) is the best continuation. 8...Nf6!? 9.Ne5 Nfxd5 10.Nxd5 Nxd5 11.Bxf4 Nxf4 12.Rxf4 Qg5!= 13.Qf3 Be6 14.Rf1 c6 15.Rxf7 Bxf7 16.Nxf7 Qh4 17.g3 Qxd4+ 18.Kg2 g6 19.c3 Qc5 20.Bc2= 8...Ng6!? 9.Ne4 Nf6 10.Nxd6 Qxd6 11.c4 Bg4 12.Qb3 9.Ne4! Nxd5 10.c4 Ne3 10...Nb4 11.Bb1 Nf6 12.Nxd6 Qxd6 13.Qd2 Nc6 14.Qxf4± 11.Bxe3 fxe3 12.c5 Be7 13.Bc2! Spassky realised that Black had weaknesses on the white squares and quickly went on the attack! 13.Qe2 Nf6 14.Qxe3 Re8= 13...Re8 13...g6!? 14.Qd3 Nf6 15.Qxe3 14.Qd3 e2?! Bronstein was one of the most original players and thinkers in chess history. He knew that normal moves were not good enough in this difficult situation and so he fell for this move. 14...Nf8 15.Rae1 b6 16.b4 bxc5 17.bxc5± 14...f5 15.Nc3 Nxc5 16.dxc5 Qxd3 17.Bxd3 Bxc5 18.Rfc1± 15.Nd6? Spassky couldn't resist the temptation to play this move, but objectively it's not the best continuation. 15.Rf2! Nf8 16.Ne5 f5 17.Bb3+ Kh7 18.Rxe2± 15.Qxe2 Nf8 16.Rad1± 15...Nf8? Here Black could have equalised with the bold 15...Bxd6!. 15...Bxd6! 16.Qh7+ Kf8 17.cxd6 exf1Q+ 17...cxd6? 18.Rf2 Nf6 19.Qh8+ Ng8 19...Ke7 20.Rxe2+ Be6 21.Qxg7+- 20.Bh7+- 18.Rxf1 cxd6 19.Qh8+ Ke7 20.Re1+ Ne5 21.Qxg7 Rg8! 22.Qxh6 Qb6! 23.Kh1 Be6 24.dxe5 d5= 15...Nf6? 16.Nxf7 exf1Q+ 17.Rxf1 Kxf7 18.Ne5+ Kg8 18...Kf8 19.Bb3 19.Qh7+! Nxh7 20.Bb3++- 16.Nxf7! exf1Q+ 17.Rxf1 Bf5 Desperation! 17...Kxf7 18.Ne5+ Kg8 19.Qh7+! Nxh7 20.Bb3+ Kh8 21.Ng6# 17...Qd5!? 18.Bb3! 18.N3e5? Bxc5 19.Nxh6+ gxh6 20.Bb3 Rxe5!∞ 18...Qxf7! 18...Qh5 19.Nxh6+ Kh8 20.Nf7+ Kg8 21.N7g5+ Kh8 22.Bf7+- 19.Bxf7+ Kxf7 20.Qc4+ Kg6 21.Qg8! Bf6 21...Be6 22.Ne5+ Kh5 23.Qxg7+- 22.Ne5+ 22.Nh4+ Bxh4 23.Qf7+ Kh7 24.Qxe8 Ng6 25.Rf7 c6 26.Rc7+- 22...Bxe5 23.Qf7+ Kh7 24.Qxe8 Bxd4+ 25.Kh1 Ng6 26.h4+- 26.Rd1 Bxc5 27.Rd8 Ne7 28.h4!+- 18.Qxf5 Qd7 19.Qf4 Oder 19.Qd3 Bf6 20.Bb3 Re6 21.N3e5 Qe7 22.Qf3 Re8 23.Nxh6+ gxh6 24.Qxf6+- 19...Bf6 20.N3e5 20.Bb3 Kh7 21.N3e5 Bxe5 22.Qe4+ Ng6 23.Nxe5 Rxe5 24.dxe5 Qc6 25.Qxc6 bxc6 26.e6+- 20...Qe7 20...Bxe5 21.Nxe5 Qe7 21...Rxe5 22.dxe5 Re8 23.b4+- 22.Qe4 g6 23.Rxf8+ Rxf8 23...Qxf8 24.Bb3+ Kh7 25.Qxg6+ Kh8 26.Nf7++- 24.Bb3+ Kh7 25.Qxg6+ Kh8 26.Qxh6+ Qh7 27.Ng6# 21.Bb3 White has more than one way to win. 21.Qg4!? Qxf7 21...Bg5 22.Bb3+- 22.Nxf7 Kxf7 23.Bb3+ Re6 23...Ke7 24.Qe4+ Kd7 25.Qxb7± 24.d5+- 21...Bxe5 22.Nxe5+ Kh7 22...Ne6 23.Qe4 a5 24.Ng6 Qd7 25.Nf8+- 23.Qe4+ A jewel in the history of chess. 23.Qe4+ Kh8 24.Rxf8++- 1–0

Here's the scene from the movie:

Two months after this game, at the Mar del Plata tournament in Argentina, Spassky won another remarkable game with the King's Gambit: the first game he ever played against his great rival Bobby Fischer. Spassky had White and opened with 1.e4, whereupon Fischer deviated from his beloved Sicilian and played 1...e5, inviting Spassky to try the King's Gambit. Spassky didn't blink, took up the gauntlet and played 2.f4. The opening didn't go well for Spassky, but in the middlegame Fischer played too doggedly for a mating attack and blundered a piece.

Spassky,B

1–0

Fischer,R

GM

Mar del Plata1960

GM

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 g5 4.h4 g4 5.Ne5 Nf6 6.d4 d6 7.Nd3 Nxe4 8.Bxf4 Bg7 9.Nc3 Up to this point, both players have followed well-known lines. The theory of these variations goes back in part to games by Morphy and Anderssen, but Fischer and Spassky were probably familiar with these games. 9. Nc3, however, was a novelty at the time. Nxc3 10.bxc3 c5 Black immediately counterattacks White's center. 11.Be2 cxd4 12.0-0 Castling leaves the pawn on h4 en prise, but it is more important to develop one's pieces. Nc6 After 12...Qxh4 13.Qe1 Qxe1 14.Raxe1 0-0 15.Bxd6 Re8 16.Bxg4 Rxe1 17.Rxe1 Bd7 the position is suddenly equal, e.g. 18.Bxb8 Bxg4 19.Re8+ Bf8 20.Nf4 f6 21.Nd5 Kf7 22.Nc7 Bc5 23.Kf1 Bb6 24.Nxa8 Kxe8 25.Nxb6 axb6 26.cxd4 13.Bxg4 0-0 14.Bxc8 Rxc8 15.Qg4 f5 16.Qg3 dxc3 The position is complex and double-edged, but Black is two pawns up. However, before White regains a pawn by capturing on d6, he brings another piece into play. 17.Rae1 Kh8 Black wants to start a counterattack along the g-file. 18.Kh1 Rg8 19.Bxd6 Bf8 20.Be5+ Nxe5 21.Qxe5+ Rg7 22.Rxf5 Qxh4+ 23.Kg1 Qg4 More pragmatic was 23...Qg3 which Spassky indicated during the post-mortem. Black forces the exchange of queens and removes White's tactical threats. After 24.Qxg3 Rxg3 White is a pawn down and has to fight for a draw. However, Fischer wanted to pursue his attack. 24.Rf2 Be7 with the idea 25...Bh4. 25.Re4 Qg5 In "My 60 Memorable Games" Fischer writes: "I started to feel uncomfortable, but little did I imagine that Black's game would collapse in four short moves! I should have taken a draw by repetition with 25...Qd1+ 26.Re1 Qg4 27.Re4 Qd1+ etc." 26.Qd4 Rf8? Black misses White's threat and throws the game away. After 26...b6 the engines evaluate the position as equal. The "threat" 27.Re5 can be parried with Bf6 . 27.Re5 Fischer had missed this move. He writes: "Incredibly, Black must lose a piece. White trying to figure out what was going on in Spassky's head, I blundered and lost the game!" Rd8 28.Qe4 Qh4 29.Rf4 1–0

Bobby Fischer at the Chess Olympiad 1960 in Leipzig | Photo: Tournament book

Fischer later included this game in his book "My 60 Memorable Games", making it even more famous. He also analysed the King's Gambit in depth and a year later published his famous article "A Bust to the King's Gambit" in the first issue of the American Chess Quarterly, in which he claimed, "In my opinion, the King's Gambit is busted. It loses by force."

Master Class Vol.1: Bobby Fischer

No other World Champion was more infamous both inside and outside the chess world than Bobby Fischer. On this DVD, a team of experts shows you the winning techniques and strategies employed by the 11th World Champion.

Grandmaster Dorian Rogozenco delves into Fischer’s openings, and retraces the development of his repertoire. What variations did Fischer play, and what sources did he use to arm himself against the best Soviet players? Mihail Marin explains Fischer’s particular style and his special strategic talent in annotated games against Spassky, Taimanov and other greats. Karsten Müller is not just a leading international endgame expert, but also a true Fischer connoisseur.

However, this did not stop Fischer from playing the King's Gambit with White in three games later in his career (against Larry Evans at the US Championship in New York in 1963, against Robert Wade at the tournament in Vinkovci in 1968 and against Dragoljub Minic, also in Vinkovci 1968). Fischer won all three games, but after 1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 he always played 3.Bc4 and not 3.Nf3 as Spassky had done against him in Mar del Plata.

In games with classical time control Spassky played 3.Bc4 only once, in 1960 against Mammed Nurmamedov in the semi-finals of the Soviet Championship in Rostov-on-Don, and in this game he scored a clear victory.

However, in a rapid match against his old rival Viktor Kortschnoi in St Petersburg in 1999, Spassky once again resorted to 3.Bc4 in the King's Gambit. This led to an interesting position in which Spassky, at the crucial moment, lacked the courage to free his bad bishop with a pawn sacrifice.

Today the King's Gambit is not considered to be refuted, as Fischer had claimed, but theory is sceptical about White's attempt to revive the age of romantic chess with 2.f4. As can be seen from the games above, Spassky was often worse off after the opening with the King's Gambit, but was then able to turn the tide. His most astonishing rescue came against Karpov in the 1982 TV World Cup in Hamburg.

The TV World Cup was a knockout tournament with eight participants competing in two groups of two rounds, playing rapid games with one hour for the whole game. The winners of each group - Karpov and Spassky - then met in the final and played for the tournament title.

Karpov was always a difficult opponent for Spassky, and in his King's Gambit game against Karpov in the TV tournament, Karpov seemed to be on his way to victory, but then grossly blundered, which allowed Spassky to win the game. Despite this bitter defeat, Karpov went on to win the final and the TV World Cup.

Spassky, Boris Vasilievich2625

1–0

Karpov, Anatoly2720

GM

TV Worldcup Final Hamburg1982[Johannes Fischer]

GM

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 d6 4.Bc4 h6 5.d4 g5 6.0-0 Bg7 7.g3 g4 8.Nh4 f3 9.Nc3 Nc6 10.Be3 Nf6 11.Qd2 Nxe4?! The opening went well for Black, but this move gives a huge part of his advantage away. Better was the surprising 11...Be6 after which Black has a clear advantage. After 12.d5 Black has Ne5 12.Nxe4 d5 13.Nc3 dxc4 14.Rae1 0-0 15.d5 Ne7 16.Bxh6 Ng6 17.Nxg6 fxg6 18.Bxg7 Kxg7 19.Qd4+ Qf6 20.Re7+ Kg8 21.Qxf6 Rxf6 22.Rxc7 Bf5 23.Rxc4 Re8 24.h3 Bxc2 25.Rd4 gxh3 26.Kh2 f2 27.Kxh3? This costs the exchange. Better was 27.Rd2 Bf5 28.Rdxf2 with equality. 27...Re1 28.Kg2 Rxf1 29.Kxf1 Rf3 30.Rd2 Bd3+ 31.Rxd3 Rxd3 32.Kxf2 Kf7 33.g4 Rd2+ 34.Ke3 Rxb2 35.Kd4 White is an exchange up and completely winning. Ke7 36.Ke5 Rg2 37.d6+ Kd8 38.Kf4 Kd7 39.Ne4 Rxa2 40.Ke5 Ra5+ 41.Kf6

41...b5? With little time on the clock, Karpov blunders. After 41...Rb5 Black should win without much trouble, e.g. 42.Kxg6 a5 43.Nc3 Rc5 44.Na4 Rc6 45.Kf5 b5 and the black pawns decide. 42.Nc5+ Incredible, but now Black loses his rook. Kxd6 Oder 42...Kc8 43.d7+ Kd8 44.Nb7+ Kxd7 45.Nxa5 43.Nb7+ Kc7 44.Nxa5 Kb6 45.Nb3 a5 46.Kxg6 a4 47.Nd2 Kc5 48.Kf5 Kb4 49.g5 a3 50.g6 a2 51.g7 a1Q 52.g8Q The engines know that this position is a draw, but with little time on the clock it is almost impossible to defend it. Qd4 53.Ne4 Ka3 54.Qa8+ Kb2 55.Qa6 b4 56.Qe2+ Ka3 57.Nd2 b3 58.Nb1+ Kb4 59.Qe1+ Ka4 60.Nc3+ Ka5 61.Ne2+ Qb4 62.Qa1+ Kb6 63.Qb2 Qc5+ 64.Kf4 Qc4+ 65.Ke3 Qc5+ 66.Nd4 Qe7+ 67.Kd3 Qb4 68.Nxb3 Qb5+ 69.Ke4 Qb4+ 70.Ke3 Qe7+ 71.Kd3 Qh7+ 72.Kc3 Qh3+ 73.Kb4 Qd7 74.Qf2+ Kc7 75.Nc5 Qe7 76.Qg3+ Kc6 77.Qg2+ Kb6 78.Qg6+ Kc7 79.Kb5 Qe2+ 80.Nd3 Qe7 81.Qc6+ Kd8 82.Qa8+ Kc7 83.Qa7+ Kd8 84.Qb8+ 1–0

YouTube has some old footage from this tournament.

Spassky's last victory for White in the King's Gambit in a game with classical time-control was against Zsuzsa Polgar in 1988. In this game he once again demonstrated how well he handled all types of positions.

Spassky, Boris Vasilievich2565

1–0

Polgar, Zsuzsa2475

GM

Wellington 1988[Johannes Fischer]

GM

1.e4 e5 2.f4 d5 3.exd5 c6 4.Nc3 exf4 5.Nf3 Bd6 6.d4 Ne7 7.dxc6 Nbxc6 8.d5 Nb4 9.Bc4 Bf5 10.Bb3 0-0 11.0-0 Bg4 12.Ne4 Nf5 13.c3 Na6 14.Bc2 Bc7 15.Nf2 Bxf3 16.Qxf3 Ne3 17.Bxe3 fxe3 18.Ng4 Qg5 19.Rae1 Rae8 20.Kh1 e2 21.Rxe2 Rxe2 22.Qxe2 Qxd5

In this position with opposite-coloured bishops White is better. The pawn on f7 is weak and White's pieces are more active. 23.Bb3 Qd7 24.Ne5 Bxe5 25.Qxe5 After the exchange of minor pieces White is still better. Nc7 26.h3 Qc8? Now Black's position quickly collapses. Better was 26...Ne6 e.g. 27.Rd1 Qc8 28.Bxe6 fxe6 29.Rd6 Rf1+ 30.Kh2 Kf7 31.Rd3 and Black can still fight though White is clearly better. 27.Qe7 Kh8 28.Rxf7 Rxf7 29.Bxf7 b6 30.b4 a5 31.b5 h6 32.a4 Na8 33.Be6 Qb8 34.Bd5 Nc7 35.Bc6 White's bishop and queen completely dominate Black's knight. Qc8 36.c4 Na8 37.Qb7 Qxb7 38.Bxb7 Nc7 39.c5! The quickest and easiest way to win. bxc5 40.b6 Ne6 41.Bd5 Nf8 42.Bc6 1–0

Boris Spassky | Photo: Dagobert Kohlmeyer

Spassky plays against the King's Gambit

Spassky liked to play the Spanish with Black, but after 1.e4 e5 only four of his opponents were brave - or presumptuous - enough to challenge Spassky with the King's Gambit. All of them suffered a or more or less swift and brutal defeat. Like the Englishman William Hartston in the 1965/1965 Hastings tournament.

Hartston, William R

0–1

Spassky, Boris Vasilievich

IM

Christmas Congress 1965/66-41 Premier Hastings31.12.1965[Johannes Fischer]

GM

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 d5 4.exd5 Nf6 5.Bb5+ c6 6.dxc6 Nxc6 7.d4 Bd6 8.Qe2+ Be6 9.Ne5 0-0! Black counters the King's Gambit with a gambit of his own - he sacrifices a pawn to develop quickly. 10.Bxc6 bxc6 11.Bxf4 Nd5 12.Bg3 f6 13.Nf3 Bxg3+ 14.hxg3 Re8 15.Kf2 Bf5 16.Qc4 Kh8 17.Nc3 Ne3 18.Qc5 Ng4+ 19.Kg1 Qd7 20.Rf1 Bxc2 21.Rh4 Ne3 22.Rc1 g5 23.Rh6 Bg6 24.Na4 Ng4 25.Rh3 Qe6 26.Qc3 Qxa2 27.Nc5 Re3 28.Qd2 Rae8

0–1

The German player Wolfram Hartmann, who regularly plays the King's Gambit himself, was true to his principles when he had to play Spassky with White in the Bundesliga: he tried the King's Gambit twice, but in both games he was quickly on the defensive.

Hartmann, Wolfram2275

0–1

Spassky, Boris Vasilievich2625

Bamberg

FM

Bundesliga 1981/82 Germany07.03.1982[Johannes Fischer]

GM

Solingen

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 c6 5.Qf3? White misplaces the queen and allows Black to seize the initiative - after only five moves! d5! Black gives back his extra pawn to develop quickly. 6.exd5 Bd6 7.h3 0-0 8.Nge2 b5 9.Bb3 b4 10.Nd1 Re8 11.0-0 g5 12.Nf2 cxd5

Black is a pawn up, White is not yet fully developed and the white pieces do not harmonize. The opening went completely wrong for White. 13.c3 After 13.Bxd5? Nxd5 14.Qxd5 Rxe2 15.Qxa8 Qe7 Black has a devastating attack, e.g. 16.Qd5 Bb7 17.Qf5 Rxf2 18.Rxf2 Qe1+ 19.Rf1 Qg3 20.Rf2 f3 21.Rxf3 Bxf3 22.Qxf3 Qe1+ 23.Qf1 Bh2+ 24.Kxh2 Qxf1 However, the game move is not much better. 13...Qe7 14.Nd4 Bc5 15.Nc2 Ba6 16.d3 Nc6

17.d4 This costs material, but White is lost in any case. Be2 18.Re1 Bxf3 19.Rxe7 Bxe7 20.gxf3 bxc3 21.bxc3 Na5 Black is an exchange and a pawn up - and has the better position. 22.Ba4 Rec8 23.Bd2 Rab8 24.Nd3 Nc4 25.Be1 Bd6 26.Ncb4 Rb6 27.Bb3 Ne3 28.Bd2 a5 0–1

Hartmann, Wolfram2315

0–1

Spassky, Boris Vasilievich2610

Erlangen

FM

Bundesliga 1985/86 Germany23.02.1986[Johannes Fischer]

GM

Solingen

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Bc4 Nf6 4.Nc3 c6 5.d4 Hartmann deviates from his previous game against Spassky... Bb4 6.Qf3? ...but stubbornly insists to put his queen to f3. Better was 6.Nge2 Nxe4 7.0-0 d5 8.Nxe4 dxc4 9.Bxf4 with a roughly equal position. 6...d5 7.exd5 0-0 8.Nge2 cxd5 9.Bd3 Bg4 10.Qxf4

10...Bxe2! With this surprising exchange Black forces White's king to stay in the middle. 11.Kxe2 After 11.Bxe2 Re8 White is in trouble on the e-file, e.g. 12.Be3 Bxc3+ 13.bxc3 Qe7 and White loses material. 11...Re8+ 12.Be3 Nc6 13.Raf1 Qd7 14.Nd1 Bd6 15.Qh4 Ne4 16.c3 f5 17.Nf2 Na5 18.Qh3 g6 19.Bxe4 dxe4 20.b3 Qb5+ 21.Ke1 f4 22.Ng4 Rf8 23.Bc1 Rae8 24.c4 Qb4+ 25.Bd2 Qa3 26.Qc3 e3 27.Bc1 Qb4?! An inaccuracy. Spassky probably wanted to stop counterplay along the long diagonal a1-h8. But after 27...Qxa2 White has no dangerous threats, e.g. 28.d5 h5 29.Bb2 Bb4 30.Qxb4 Qb1+ 31.Ke2 Qxb2+ 32.Kd3 Nxb3 and Black is winning. However, after the game move Black is still better. 28.Qxb4 Bxb4+ 29.Ke2 Nc6 30.Bb2 h5 31.Ne5 Nxe5 32.dxe5 g5 33.Rd1 Bd2 34.Bc1 Bxc1 35.Rxc1 Rxe5 Black is a pawn up and clearly winning. 36.Rcd1 g4 37.Rhf1 Kg7 38.Rd4 f3+ 39.gxf3 gxf3+ 40.Kd3 e2 41.Rg1+ Kh8 42.Rd6 Re7 0–1

In the first Spassky game with a King's Gambit, which is included in the Mega, Spassky had Black and won against the Russian master Chepukaitis. And in his last victory in a game with classical time control, in which the King's Gambit was on the board, Spassky also had Black - and won a nice game.

Boulard, Eric2300

0–1

Spassky, Boris Vasilievich2550

FRA-chT2 9495 France1994[Johannes Fischer]

GM

1.e4 e5 2.f4 exf4 3.Nf3 h6 4.Bc4 d6 5.d4 g5 6.0-0 Bg7 7.c3 Nc6 8.g3 g4 9.Ne1 f3 10.Nd3 Nf6 11.Re1 0-0 The opening did not go well for White: He is a pawn down and the black pawns on g4 and f3 strangle him. 12.Nf4 Ne7 13.Nd2 d5 14.Bd3 Ng6 15.Nxd5 Nxd5 16.exd5 Qxd5 17.Ne4 f5 18.b3

18...fxe4! A nice queen "sacrifice". Black gets more than enough material for the queen. 19.Bc4 f2+ 20.Kg2 fxe1N+ 21.Qxe1 Be6 22.Bxd5 Bxd5 23.Be3 Rf3 24.Qd2 Ne7 25.Re1 Nf5 26.c4 h5! Black remains tactically alert and finds a quick way to win. 27.cxd5 Nxe3+ 28.Rxe3 Bh6 29.Qc2 Rxe3 30.d6 cxd6 31.Qc4+ Kh8 32.Qb5 Rf8 33.Qxh5 Re2+ 34.Kg1 Kh7 35.h3 e3 White resigned - he will be mated in a few moves. 0–1

Obviously Spassky enjoyed playing the double-edged, often unconventional positions that can arise in the King's Gambit. They gave him room for creativity and unusual moves. The King's Gambit was never Spassky's main weapon after 1.e4 e5 - he usually played 2.Nf3, very rarely 2.Nc3 - but he remained faithful to the opening throughout his life and used it again and again with astonishing success - and played a number of impressive, remarkable and beautiful games with it.

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