A selection of brilliancies: Spassky faces the Sicilian

by Johannes Fischer
1/30/2022 – When Boris Spassky, World Champion from 1969 to 1972, had to play the Sicilian with the white pieces, he seemed to get particularly inspired. Today, the living legend from Leningrad turns 85, and to celebrate him we share a selection of brilliant games he played with 1.e4 c5 during his illustrious career. | Photo: Gerhard Hund

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Early days

When Spassky discovered chess, he was nine years old. His biographer Andrew Soltis writes:

One day Spassky’s older brother took him to Kirov Park [in Leningrad] ... and they found the chess pavilion, a common feature in large Soviet-era parks. ... Spassky remembered it had “a glass veranda surrounded by trees” with “a large black knight in front”: “It was marvelous weather. The wind from the bay of Finland played with the birch leaves, the sad northern sun shone on the glass of the veranda”. There was no one inside but he was mesmerized by the tables, boards and pieces. “I was seeing a fairy tale world... I lost my sense of reality... A wild passion took possession of me. ... Looking back, I had a sort of predestination in my life. ... I understood that through chess I could express myself and chess became my natural language”.

(Andrew Soltis, Tal, Petrosian, Spassky and Korchnoi: A Chess Multibiography with 207 Games, McFarland 2019, p. 33)

That was in 1946, shortly after the Second World War, which had a lasting impact on Spassky’s life. Spassky was born on 30 January 1937 in Leningrad, the city besieged by the German army during the war from 8 September 1941 to 27 January 1944. The Wehrmacht wanted to starve Leningrad, and it is estimated that about 1.1 million people died during the siege, most of them from hunger and debilitation.

But shortly before the German siege ring closed around Leningrad, Spassky was able to escape with his brother to Perm, where he was placed in an orphanage. But when his parents picked him up in the summer of 1943, he was on the verge of starvation and, as he later confessed, could barely stand on his feet.

After the reunion, Spassky’s parents initially went to Moscow with their children, but when his father left the family, Spassky moved back to Leningrad with his mother and siblings, where they lived in abject poverty.

Chess offered Spassky an escape from this world of poverty, and once the royal game had captivated him in Kirov Park, the magic of the game never left him.

He returned to the pavilion the next day, and the day after that. He was there from the hour that the pavilion opened to when it closed at 9 p.m. ... “I had to play every day. I couldn’t do anything else”. (Soltis, p. 33)

Spassky’s enthusiasm for chess and his talent made him one of the best players in the Soviet Union within a short time, and already in 1948, at the age of only ten, he received a rarely awarded state scholarship for his success as a chess player, with which he was able to support his family.

Boris Spassky in 1948

As early as 1952, he qualified for the semifinals of the USSR Championship, where he obtained a fifty-percent score, and in 1953 FIDE awarded him the title of International Master. In 1955 he became World Junior Champion, and in the same year he qualified for the Candidates Tournament in Amsterdam to be played in 1956, where he finished in 3rd-7th place.

Boris Spassky | Photo: Herbert Behrens / Anefo; / CC BY-SA 3.0 NL

But this rapid rise was followed by a long period of stagnation, and it was not until eight years later, at the 1964 Interzonal Tournament in Amsterdam, that Spassky qualified again for the Candidates Tourneament.

In the 1958 USSR Championship, which was also a qualifying tournament for the Interzonal Tournament, on the other hand, he fell just short. However, he won the beauty prize in that tournament — for a brilliant victory in a Sicilian.

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.Bc4 Qa5 8.Qd2 e6 9.0-0-0 b5 10.Bb3 Bb7 11.Rhe1 Be7 12.f4 Nc5 13.e5 dxe5 14.Bxf6 Bxf6 15.fxe5 Bh4 16.g3 Be7 17.Bxe6! A typical piece sacrifice. 0-0 Black refrains from accepting the sacrifice and prefers to play on a pawn down. In fact, after 17...fxe6 18.Nxe6 Rd8 19.Nxg7+ Kf7 20.Qh6 Or 17...Nxe6 18.Nxe6 fxe6 19.Qd7+ Kf7 20.Rf1+ with a devastating attack. Kasparov, however, refers here to the computer move 17...Qd8!? but modern engines give White an advantage even then: 18.Bxf7+ Kxf7 19.Qf2+ And not 19.Qf4+ as stated by Kasparov. 19...Kg8 20.Nf5 Qc7 21.e6 h6 22.Nd5 Bxd5 23.Rxd5 Rc8 24.Kb1 Kh7 25.Nxg7 Rhf8 26.Nf5 with an advantage for White. 18.Bb3 Rad8 19.Qf4 b4 20.Na4! Black has rejected the first piece sacrifice, now White offers a second piece sacrifice. In volume 3 of his Predecessors series, Kasparov recommends here the "simple" 20.Nf5 with "obvious" advantage as a better alternative. But modern engines judge things differently and give bxc3! The move given by Kasparov is 20...Nxb3+ 21.axb3 bxc3 22.Nxe7+ Kh8 23.Kb1 with an advantage for White. 21.Nxe7+ Kh8 22.Kb1 Ne4 Black has the advantage. 20...h6 Polugaevsky also rejects the second offer. In fact, after 20...Nxa4 21.Nf5 there is a problem: how does he cover the attacked bishop on e7? Kasparov quotes here a variation given by Spassky and Rovner in their book "Boris Spassky's 300 Wins": Rxd1+ This is the move that modern engines recommend. However, White then simply takes on a4 and after 21...Qc5 22.Bxa4 Rxd1+ 23.Rxd1 Bc8 24.Nd6 he is clearly better. 22.Rxd1 Bc5 After 22...Bd8 Kasparov points out that White can play 23.e6‼ winning, e.g. Nc5 24.e7 Nxb3+ 25.axb3 Bxe7 26.Nxe7+ Kh8 27.Kb1 with a clear advantage for White. 23.Qg5 g6 24.Nh6+ Kg7 25.Ng4 with a devastating attack. 21.Nxc5 Qxc5 The queen is captured with 21...Bg5 but this does not work due to 22.Qxg5 hxg5 23.Nxb7 Qc7 24.Nxd8 Rxd8 25.e6 and White not only has more material, but also a devastating initiative. 22.h4 The tactical skirmish is over: White has an extra pawn and the better position. Spassky exploits his advantage without difficulties. Bd5 23.Nf5 Bxb3 24.axb3 Rxd1+ 25.Rxd1 Rc8 26.Qe4 Bf8 27.e6 fxe6 28.Qxe6+ Kh8 29.Qe4 Qc6 30.Qd3 Re8 31.h5 Be7 32.Nxe7 Rxe7 33.Qg6 Qe8 34.g4 Re1 35.Qxe8+ Rxe8 36.Rd4 a5 37.Kd2 Re5 38.c4 bxc3+ 39.bxc3 Rg5 40.c4 Kg8 41.Rf4 g6 Here the game was adjourned, and Polugaevsky decided to resign. 1–0
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Spassky,B-Polugaevsky,L-1–01958URS-ch25 Final2

On the way to the World Championship

In the 1965 Candidates Matches, Spassky knocked out Paul Keres (5½-4½), Efim Geller (5½-2½) and Mikhail Tal (7-4), and thus gained the right to challenge Tigran Petrosian for the World Championship title in 1966. Spassky lost the match by a narrow margin of 11½-12½, but as the loser of the World Championship match he automatically qualified for the next edition of the Candidates. And he was successful again: he first knocked out Geller (5½-2½), then Bent Larsen (5½-2½) and finally Viktor Korchnoi (6½-3.½) — he was thus allowed to challenge Petrosian for the World Championship title for a second time.

This time things worked out better than three years before: in the second attempt, Spassky won 12½-10½ and thus became the 10th World Champion in chess history. On the way to the coveted World Championship victory, Spassky won a few brilliant games against the Sicilian at decisive moments.

In the quarterfinals of the 1968 Candidates Tournament, Spassky met Efim Geller, an outstanding theoretician who, however, often found himself in time trouble in his search for the best move. That was his undoing against Spassky.

Efim Geller

Efim Geller (unidentified photographer)

Five games of the match ended in draws, while Spassky won three times. In all three games Spassky had white and in all three games a Closed Sicilian appeared on the board. In the first two of these Sicilian games, Geller temporarily had a clear advantage — if not a winning position — but in time trouble he spoiled his positions and ended up losing. In the third and last Sicilian game of the match, Spassky scored a convincing victory with the help of a brutal mating attack.

 
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In the following game Spassky devised a broad, strategic plan in the Closed Variation of the Sicilian Defence. He left the queenside to Black and relied entirely on the king's attack. In this match he had won, with striking consistency, the first two games he played this variation with the help of brilliant sacrifices in front of the king's fortress. (A.Saidy) 1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 It is characteristic of the Closed Variation that White abandons the advance d2-d4 in the early stages of the game. The game is heating up and the focus of the struggle shifts to the middlegame. d6 With this sequence of moves Black allows the transition to the Najdorf system. After 2...Nc6 3.Nf3 along with 4.d4, White can move on to the main variants of the Sicilian Defence, although the Najdorf System and other ways of playing are denied to Black in view of the altered move sequence. 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6 leads to the game after a change in move order. 3.g3 This move and 3.f4 are characteristic of the Closed Variation. 3.Nf3 a6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 Nf6 leads to the Najdorf Variation. 3.f4 g6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Qxd4 Nf6 6.e5 Nc6 7.Bb5 dxe5 8.Qxd8+ Kxd8 9.fxe5 Nxe5 10.Bf4 Ned7 11.0-0-0 a6! 12.Bc4 e6 13.a4 h6 14.Nf3 Bb4 15.Ne5 Ke7 White has compensation for the pawn - but nothing more. Gulko,B-Kuligowski,A/ Buenos Aires 1978. 3...Nc6 4.Bg2 g6 5.d3 Bg7 6.f4 White seeks to gain a space advantage on the kingside. One disadvantage of the move is that it removes the threat of exchanging the black bishops. Therefore, Black can develop his kingside freely. The alternatives are: 6.Nf3 Nf6 7.0-0 0-0 8.h3 Rb8 9.Be3 e5 10.a3 Nd4 11.b4 b6 12.Rb1 Qc7 The chances are approximately the equal. Christiansen,L-Zilberstein,V/ Tallin 1979. 6.Nh3 e6 7.Be3 Nge7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Qd2 Nd4 10.Bh6 Bxh6 11.Qxh6 f6 12.Qd2 e5 13.f4 Qb6 14.Rab1 c4 15.Kh1 cxd3 16.cxd3 Be6 17.Rf2 White's prospects are somewhat more favourable in view of the potential active play on the kingside. Balashov,Y-Timman,J/ Rio de Janeiro IZ 1979. 6.Nge2 e5 7.Be3 Nge7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Qd2 Be6 10.f4 Nd4 11.Rae1 Qd7 The intricate game offers chances to both sides. Kholmov,R-Tal,M/ Kiev URS-ch 1964. 6.Be3 Nf6 7.h3 0-0 8.Qd2 Nd4 9.Nce2 e5 10.c3 Ne6 11.f4 White has better chances (R. Schwarz). 6...Nf6 Black thus solves the problem of developing the kingside in a natural way. In addition, the following possibilities come into consideration: 6...e6 A very elastic and common continuation. 7.Nf3 Nge7 8.0-0 0-0 9.Bd2 Rb8 10.Rb1 b5 11.a3 a5 12.a4 b4 13.Nb5 d5 14.c4 bxc3 15.bxc3 c4 16.Be3 cxd3 17.e5 Ba6 18.Qxd3 Given the domination of the dark squares, White's prospects are preferable. Spassky, B-Larsen,B/ Malmoe CM1968 (Rd 3) 1-0 (52) 6...e5 7.Nh3 Nge7 8.0-0 Nd4 9.f5 gxf5 10.Qh5 10.Bg5 f6! 11.Qh5+ Kd7 12.exf5 Nxc2 13.Rac1 Nd4 14.Ne4 Qf8 Trapl-Pribyl, CSSR 1972 10...h6 11.Rf2 Be6 12.Be3 Qd7 13.Raf1 0-0-0 14.Nd5 A tangled and tense situation has arisen, in which White's more active piece placement compensates for the slight material loss. Spassky,B-Hort,V/ Bugojno 1978/ 1-0 (41) 6...Rb8 7.Nf3 b5 8.0-0 b4 9.Nd5 e6 10.Ne3 Nge7 11.a3! 7.Nf3 0-0 8.0-0 Rb8 Black prepares ...b7-b5. 9.h3 Thus White is ready to occasionally advance his attack by means of g3-g4 and f4-f5 on the kingside. Another plan is connected with the immediate advance f4-f5: 9.Nh4 Nd4 Too passive is 9...Bd7 and after 10.f5! b5 11.Bg5! b4 12.Nd5 White is in control. Spassky,B-Petrosian,T/ Wch 1966 (Rd 17) 10.f5! b5 11.Bg5 b4 12.Ne2 Nxe2+ 13.Qxe2 Nd7 14.Rab1 Ne5 15.Qd2 a5 16.Bh6 Bd7 Black's counterplay on the queenside evens the odds. Lein, A-Sakharov,Y/ URS-ch 1968 9...b5 A retreat of the knight on f6 would be premature: 9...Ne8 10.Bd2 b5 11.Rb1 e6 12.Qe1 Nd4 13.Nxd4! cxd4 14.Ne2 Qb6 15.a3 with better play for White. Spassky,B-Benko,P/ Palma de Mallorca 1968 10.a3 As usual, Black advances on the queenside and White on the kingside. Routinely, White leaves the pawn on a2, but later it will be exposed to attacks or Black will push through with b4-b3 or a4-a3. Furthermore, opening the a-file is useful so that the opponent does not count with the manoeuvre ...Bc8-a6. In case of 10.g4 b4 11.Ne2 Black breaks through with c4! 12.Be3 12.dxc4? Nxe4 12...Ba6 with counterplay. Smyslov,V-Taimanov,M/ Moscow 1959 1-0 (27) 10...a5 11.Be3 Deserves attention 11.g4 b4 12.axb4 axb4 13.Ne2 because now c4 is no longer so strong due to 14.Be3 cxd3 15.cxd3 Bb7 16.Qd2 Ra8 17.Ned4 Nxd4 18.Bxd4 Ba6 19.f5! and White has a more active position. Borngaesser,R-Marjanovic,S/ Dortmund 1978 11...b4 12.axb4 axb4 13.Ne2 Bb7 Black takes up the fight for the a-file. Weaker is ≤13...Bd7 14.g4 could be followed by Ne8 15.Rb1 Nc7 16.Qe1 Nb5 17.Qf2 Ra8 18.f5 and White has the initiative. The retreating ≤13...Ne8 is insufficient. White continues with 14.Rb1 Nc7 15.f5 Nb5 16.Qd2 Nbd4 17.Nh4 Nxe2+ 18.Qxe2 Ne5 19.Nf3 Nxf3+ 20.Qxf3 Bb7 21.h4 and gets better chances. Reshevsky,S-Kortschnoj,V/ Amsterdam CM 1968 14.b3! Geller put an exclamation mark on this move in his notes because of Spassky's foresight. White forms a solid pawn chain whose base (the c-pawn) will be held until it no longer matters. In the fourth game of the match, Spassky played 14.Qd2 and after Ra8 15.Rab1 Qa5! 16.b3 Black did not find the strongest reply. d5! For example: ≤16...Rfc8 Spassky,B-Geller,E/ Sukhumi CM (Rd 4) 1968 1-0 (48) 17.e5 d4 18.Bf2 Nd5 14...Ra8 15.Rc1! That is Spassky's idea. After c2 is fixed, White can move on to active operations on the kingside. Ra2 The occupation of the a-file by the heavy pieces is part of Black's plan, but it must be consistent and energetic. At a suitable moment it should also be combined with the advance d6-d5 if possible. 16.g4 The critical position of the game. The white attack on the other side of the board starts modestly. It is not at all clear who will penetrate first. Practice teaches that the white prospects in the centre and on the kingside are stronger than the black counterplay on the queenside. Black now undertakes a queenside manoeuvre, which ultimately turns out to be not very effective and leaves too few defenders for the king. Qa8?! Black loses valuable time. Much better is 16...Qa5 and if 17.Qe1 Qb5 18.Qf2 Rfa8 combined with 19...Nd7 and 20...Ra1. 16...e6 Saidy 17.Qe1 Qa6? The decisive mistake. Now the white attack develops at a brisk pace. Chances to organise a defence would have been increased by 17...d5 18.e5 Nd7 19.Qh4 e6 18.Qf2 Spassky avoids the trap 18.Qh4?? Rxc2 Also simple is 18...Nxe4 19.dxe4 Qxe2 with good play. 19.Rxc2 Qxd3-+ and the white position suddenly falls apart. (Saidy) 18...Na7 Black shifts to a protracted knight manoeuvre and ignores the dangers looming on the kingside. The last defensive attempt again was 18...d5 although Black loses a pawn in the process: 19.e5 d4 20.exf6 dxe3 21.Qxe3 Bxf6 22.Qxc5 18...e6 Saidy 19.e5 Nd5 20.Bd2 Or 20.exd6 Nxe3 21.Qxe3 Nd4 with complicated intricacies. 19.f5 Nb5 20.fxg6 hxg6 21.Ng5 Na3 22.Qh4 Rc8 Black gives his king the escape square it needs before capturing the exposed c-pawn. The slowly developing white attack has reached its climax - the time for combinatorial blows has come... (Saidy) 23.Rxf6! A great exchange sacrifice. exf6 24.Qh7+ Kf8 25.Nxf7‼ Spassky mercilessly exposes the black king. Rxc2 Too late! But there is no defence. 25...Kxf7 26.Bh6 Rg8 27.Nf4 d5 27...Rxc2 28.Rf1 g5 29.Bxg5! 29.Nh5 Rxg2+ 29...Qxd3 30.Nxf6+- 30.Kxg2 Qxd3 31.Nxf6+- 29...d5 29...fxg5 30.Nd5+ Ke8 31.Qxg8+ Kd7 32.Rf7+ along with 33.Rc7#. 30.Nh5+- 28.e5! fxe5 29.Nxd5+- 26.Bh6! Rxc1+ 27.Nxc1 Kxf7 In case of 27...Bxh6 there is 28.Nxh6 Ke8 29.Ng8! and the black king will not survive, e.g.: Rc7 29...Kf8 30.Ne7 Ke8 31.Nxg6 30.Qxc7 Kf8 31.Qd8+ Kg7 32.Nxf6 Kf7 33.Nh7 Kg7 33...Ke6 34.Qe8# 34.Qd7+ Kg8 35.Nf6+ Kf8 36.Qe8+ Kg7 37.Qe7+ Kh6 37...Kh8 38.Qf8# 38.Ng8# 28.Qxg7+ Ke8 29.g5! This silent move brings in two connected passed pawns. Also possible was 29.e5! threatening mate after e5-e6. d5 30.exf6 Qe6 31.Qxb7 29...f5 29...fxg5 30.Bxg5 with inevitable mate. 30.Qxg6+ Kd7 31.Qf7+ Kc6 32.exf5+ Black gave up. It is extremely important for Black to create counterplay on the queenside when White attacks on the kingside, where both kings are located. By forcing White to take his plans into account, Black prevents him from throwing a greater part of his forces onto the kingside and thus "alleviates" the opponent's threats. 32.exf5+ would be followed by Kb6 33.Bxb7 Qxb7 34.Qxb7+ Kxb7 35.f6 the rest is a walk in the park for White. The black knight stands pointlessly on a3 as a silent witness while his own king stands in mortal danger. (Saidy) 1–0
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Spassky,B-Geller,E-1–01968Candidates qf Spassky-Geller +3-0=56

At the 1969 World Championship match against Petrosian, Spassky also obtained a victory in the Sicilian in a deciding moment, which was as brilliant as it was important.

 
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At a 9.5:8.5 score in favour of Spassky, defending champion Petrosian certainly still had high hopes, especially as 12:12 was enough for him. This 19th game finally put Spassky on course for the title. 1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 Nbd7 7.Bc4 Qa5 8.Qd2 h6 This was heavily criticised, as were many other moves by Black. The main variation is 8...e6 (also played a few times by Petrosian), after which Black tends to go for b7-b5. 9.Bxf6 Nxf6 10.0-0-0 e6 11.Rhe1!? Whether this move, in addition to the also played 11.Bb3, has the advantage of defusing the black setup with Bd7 and 0-0-0, I can't say. In any case, in the few games with this position the text move is not answered with 11...Bd7 (while 11.Bb3 regularly results in 11...Bd7 with 0-0-0). Be7 11...b5? 12.Bb3 b4 13.Nd5! is another idea connected to 11.Rhe1 11...Bd7!? 12.f4 0-0 13.Bb3 Re8 If this move (followed by Bf8) is necessary, the black position must be really bad, because Black would have to show some activity. Actually, it would be high time to develop the queenside further, but after 13...Bd7 14.Kb1 White can choose between Nd5, e4-e5 and f4-f5. 14.Kb1± Bf8 15.g4! This is not absolutely necessary, but White wants to exploit his developmental advantage. Nxg4 Necessary, because otherwise the attack slips away. 15...e5!? 16.fxe5 dxe5 17.Nf5 Bxf5 18.gxf5 Rad8 19.Qg2 Qc7 20.Rxd8 Rxd8 21.Rg1 Kh8 22.Nd5± ->>> Boleslavsky 16.Qg2 Nf6 17.Rg1 Bd7 The black moves are more or less forced, White has more room for manoeuvre. 18.f5 Kh8 This looks logical, because the king leaves the diagonal a2-g8 and at the same time the g-file. Criticism is unnecessary, because generally speaking the white attack is simply too strong. Let's look at the alternatives: 18...exf5 19.Qg6! 19.exf5 b5? 19...Qe5! 20.Bxf7+! (Fritz) Kxf7 21.Nd5+- 19...Kh8 20.Bxf7 Nxe4!? 20...fxe4 !-/+ was said at the time, but 21.Rdf1+- 21.Nd5! Re5 22.Nf3 18...e5 19.Nf3 d6 is hanging, Qg6 is a threat 18...Qe5 This is the move that throws the most sand into the gears of the white attack. 19.Nf3! Qc5 19...Qf4 20.Rd4 Bc6 20...exf5?! 21.e5 Ne4 22.Nd5 Qg4 23.Qf1 21.fxe6 fxe6 22.Nd5 20.Qh3 Kh8 20...exf5 21.Qxh6 Nxe4 22.Qh5+- 21.Ng5 Re7 22.Nxf7+! Rxf7 23.fxe6 Bc8 24.Ne2! Ne8 24...Nh7 25.Qg3 Rc7 26.Nf4 g5 27.Ng6+ Kg7 28.Nxf8 Kxf8 29.Rd5 Qb4 30.Rxd6+- 24...Rc7 25.Nf4 Be7 26.Ng6+ Kh7 27.e5 dxe5 28.Qf5 Kg8 29.Rd8++- 25.Qxh6+‼ gxh6 26.Rg8+ Kh7 27.exf7 Nc7 28.Rxf8 d5 29.Re8 Bg4 30.Rxd5 Qf2 31.Rxa8+- 19.Rdf1 Threatening fxe6 and Rxf6 Qd8?! After this move White is winning. There are two alternatives: 19...e5 However, after the simple 20.Nde2! 20.Ne6?! fxe6 21.fxe6 Rxe6!= is displayed by Fritz right away and refutes the variation: Then 21...Bxe6 loses because of 22.Rxf6+- 22.Bxe6 Bxe6 23.Rxf6 gxf6 24.Qg6 Bc4 White must give perpetual check. 20...Re7 21.Rd1 Qb4 (or right after b6) 22.a3 Qb6 23.Nd5 Nxd5 24.Rxd5 f6 25.Rd3 White has the plans Ne2-c3-d5 and Rd3-h3xh6+; Black is in no enviable position. 19...Qe5!? (O'Kelly, Geller, Bondarevsky) 20.Nf3 Qf4 20...Qc5 21.h4 /\ Ng5 20...Qa5 21.fxe6 Bxe6 22.Bxe6 fxe6 23.e5 dxe5 24.Nh4± (-> Bondarevsky) is correct. 21.Qh3 /\ Ng5 Qe3 22.Rg3 Qc5 23.Ng5 20.fxe6 fxe6 20...Bxe6 21.Nxe6 fxe6 22.Ne2 e5 23.Bf7+- 21.e5! frees the square e4. dxe5 22.Ne4 Nh5 23.Qg6! exd4 23...Nf4 24.Rxf4! exf4 25.Nf3 Qb6 26.Rg5‼ Bc6 26...Qd8 27.Ne5+- 27.Nf6 Be4 28.Qxh6+‼+- (Geller) 24.Ng5 Sources: i7/428 (Geller) Master Games (Teschner) Mega 99. 24.Ng5 hxg5 25.Qxh5+ Kg8 26.Qf7+ Kh7 27.Rf3 /\ Rh3# 1–0
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Spassky,B-Petrosian,T-1–01969World-ch26 Spassky-Petrosian +6-4=1319

Tigran Petrosian — World Champion from 1963 to 1969

Reykjavík 1972: The match against Fischer

Three years later, Spassky had to defend his title against Bobby Fischer in the legendary 1972 World Championship match in Reykjavík. The match made headlines all over the world and took an unusual course due to Fischer’s airs and graces. In the first game, Fischer captured a poisoned pawn in an even position and shortly afterwards lost his bishop. He could not hold the difficult ensuing endgame, and so Spassky took a 1-0 lead.

A legendary confrontation — Spassky versus Fischer, Reykjavík 1972 | Photo: Icelandic Chess Federation / Skáksamband Íslands

Fischer did not play the second game in protest against the allegedly overly loud cameras on stage and lost by forfeit — the competition was about to be abandoned, it seemed. But Fischer was persuaded to play the third game, when he defeated Spassky for the first time in his career. Including the first game of the 1972 match, the two had previously played six times against each other, with Spassky winning three and drawing three.

But after his victory in the third game, Fischer played as if unleashed, and scored 5½ points in the next seven games, which gave him a commanding 6½-3½ lead. If Spassky wanted to have any chance of turning the tide again, he needed a victory as quickly as possible. And that is exactly what he achieved in the eleventh game of the competition: as in the seventh game, Spassky went for the double-edged Poisoned Pawn variation in the Najdorf Sicilian, one of Fischer’s favourite variations. Fischer had analysed this provocative variation in detail and achieved a series of sensational victories with it before the match, but in the eleventh game Spassky upset the American with a surprising knight retreat — 14.Nb1. Fischer found no convincing answer and suffered one of the most crushing defeats of his entire career.

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qb6!? This is the starting move of the Poisoned Pawn Variation. Black neglects his development in order to capture the pawn on b2 - a procedure that every beginner's book warns against. Today the variation has been analysed intensively and thoroughly - at that time it was considered theoretically disreputable. However, Fischer had achieved a number of successes with it and a clear refutation of the provocative black play had not been found. Yes, in the 7th game of the match against Spassky, Fischer had gained an advantage with 7...Qb6 and Spassky could only save a draw with a lot of luck. 8.Qd2 Qxb2 9.Nb3 Qa3 10.Bxf6 gxf6 11.Be2 h5 12.0-0 Nc6 13.Kh1 Bd7 14.Nb1! Spassky thought for 30 minutes before playing this move - which suggests that the surprising knight retreat was not in his preparation, but that Spassky found the move on the board - proof of his creativity and his ability to find unusual solutions. The knight retreat seems so paradoxical because White has a developmental advantage and one would actually think that White should seek his salvation in the attack. But 14.Nb1 pursues a different idea: with the retreat White gets the black queen into serious trouble. Qb4 15.Qe3 d5? Fischer is thrown off his game by the unexpected turn of events and quickly gets into a losing position. Subsequent analyses have established that after 15...Ne7 Black gets a playable position, e.g. 16.a3 Qa4 and the black queen can get to safety via c6. 16.exd5 Ne7 17.c4 Nf5 18.Qd3 h4? After this second inaccuracy, the black position quickly collapses. The possibility of sacrificing a knight on g3 proves to be harmless. The best chance was 18...exd5 e.g. 19.Nc3 dxc4 20.Qe4+ Ne7 21.Nd5 Qd6 22.Bxc4 White is better, but Black can still fight. 19.Bg4! With this move White parries possible threats on the h-file and deprives Black of any counterplay. Nd6 20.N1d2 This simple development move shows how bleak the black position is: he has given back the pawn he won on b2, the black queen is still highly endangered, the black king doesn't know how to get to safety and black lacks any counterplay. After 20 moves, Black is lost. f5 The engines give 20...Rc8 as the best move, but after e.g. 21.a3 Qa4 22.dxe6 fxe6 23.Qg6+ Ke7 24.Rae1 h3 25.Nd4 hxg2+ 26.Kxg2 Rh6 27.Qg8 they judge the position to be clearly won for White. 21.a3 Qb6 22.c5 Qb5 23.Qc3 fxg4 24.a4 Black loses the queen. Fischer could have resigned here with a clear conscience, but perhaps he was so shocked by the course of the game that he simply played on for a few more moves. h3 25.axb5 hxg2+ 26.Kxg2 Rh3 27.Qf6 Nf5 28.c6 Bc8 29.dxe6 fxe6 30.Rfe1 Be7 31.Rxe6 Fischer has rarely suffered such a tough defeat in his entire career. 1–0
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Spassky,B-Fischer,R27851–01972World-ch27 Fischer-Spassky +7-3=1111

Boris Spassky in Reykjavík, 1972 | Photo: Icelandic Chess Federation / Skáksamband Íslands

But Spassky was unable to win another game against Fischer in Reykjavík in the remainder of the match, and so the competition finally ended after 21 games with a 12½-8½ victory for the American. Fischer had become the eleventh World Champion in chess history.

Soviet Championship 1973

Fischer’s victory in Reykjavík upset the Soviet chess world, and the Soviet authorities did everything they could to recover from the defeat. Above all, they demanded commitment and dedication from their best players — and so the 1973 Soviet Championship turned out to be one of the strongest Soviet championships ever. Almost everyone who was anyone in Soviet chess took part.

Spassky was sanctioned after his defeat against Fischer. He was not allowed to travel abroad after the competition, despite having received numerous invitations to play attractive international tournaments. These sanctions, as Spassky later explained, led to a crisis — but he seemed to have overcome it at the 1973 Soviet Championships. Spassky won the championship with an 11½ out of 17 score, with Karpov, Petrosian, Polugaevsky, Korchnoi and Gennady Kuzmin trailing a full point behind. In this tournament, Spassky also collected brilliant victories against the Sicilian in important games:

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Qc7 8.Bd3 Nbd7 9.Qe2 b5 10.0-0-0 Bb7 11.Rhe1 Be7 12.e5 dxe5 13.fxe5 Nd5 14.Bxe7 Nxc3 After 14...Nxe7 White wins with 15.Bxb5 e.g. axb5 16.Ncxb5 Qb6 17.Nd6+ Kf8 18.Qf1 Nf5 19.N4xf5 Rxa2 19...exf5 20.Qc4! 20.Nc4 and White is winning. 15.Qg4 A surprising move that poses great problems for Black and makes this a brilliant game in which White sacrifices material to create a mating attack. But engines have destroyed many a shine and here, too, they point out that 15.bxc3 would have been "objectively" stronger, because after Kxe7 16.Qg4 Bd5 17.Be4 White has a slight advantage, while Black would have equalised after the game continuation 15.Dg4 with best play - at least according to the engines. 15...Nxd1 16.Nxe6 Qc6? Here the engines recommend 16...fxe6 and after 17.Bd6 Qb6 18.Qxe6+ Kd8 19.Bf5 Bc6 20.Rxd1 they evaluate the position with a 0.00, i.e. as completely balanced. However, Black is a whole rook up, while White has a strong attack. The practical chances should be better for White. After the game move, the white attack quickly takes hold. 17.Nxg7+ Kxe7 18.Qg5+ f6 After 18...Kf8 White wins with 19.Nf5 Qg6 20.Qe7+ Kg8 21.e6! 19.exf6+ Kd8 20.f7+ Kc7 21.Qf4+ Black gave up - he "lost house and farm". 1–0
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Spassky,B-Rashkovsky,N-1–01973URS-ch41 Final8
 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nf3 d6 3.d4 cxd4 4.Nxd4 Nf6 5.Nc3 a6 6.Bg5 e6 7.f4 Nbd7 8.Qf3 Qc7 9.0-0-0 b5 10.Bd3 Bb7 11.Rhe1 Qb6 12.Nb3 b4 13.Na4 Qc7 14.Nd4 Be7 15.Qh3 Nc5?! With this move Tukmakov provokes White into the subsequent piece sacrifice. According to Henrique Mecking and Kasparov, better was 15...0-0-0 with chances for both sides. 16.Nxc5 dxc5 17.Nxe6 fxe6 18.Bc4! This move is the real punch line of the piece sacrifice. White does not immediately take the queen on e6, because then Black parries the white threats with 18...Qc6, but this does increase the pressure on the black position. Black is not immediately mated, but he gets into trouble. The engines judge the position after 18.Bc4 as clearly better for White. Rd8 19.Qxe6 Rxd1+ 20.Rxd1 Rf8 21.Bxf6 Rxf6 22.Qg8+ Bf8 23.g3 White has two pawns for the piece, a very active queen, very mobile pawns in the centre, and Black has to be careful not to be mated. Bc8 After 23...Bxe4 24.Re1 Qe7 25.Bd5 White wins back the sacrificed piece, and some more. 24.e5 Rb6 25.Qxh7 Kasparov refers here to the spectacular possibility of 25.Rd8+ Kxd8 25...Qxd8 26.Qf7# 26.Qxf8+ Kd7 27.Qxg7+ Kd8 27...Kc6 28.Bd5+ 28.Qg8+ Kd7 29.Qxh7+ Kd8 30.Qh8+ Kd7 31.f5 Qd8 32.e6+ Kc7 33.Qg7+ Kd6 34.h4 and White is winning. Black is a whole rook up, but he is helpless against the white pawns. The move is calmer and also leads to a win without much excitement. 25...Be6 26.Qg6+ Qf7 27.Qe4 Qc7 28.h4 Bxc4 29.Qxc4 Qc6 30.b3 g6 31.Qe2 Qe6 32.h5 Rb7 33.Qe4 Rg7 34.hxg6 Qxg6 35.f5 1–0
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Spassky,B-Tukmakov,V-1–01973URS-ch41 Final4

Such games demonstrate the fact that Spassky continued to be one of the strongest players in the world even after his defeat against Fischer. But he never got to play another World Championship match. In 1974 he lost 4-7 to Karpov in the semifinals of the Candidates Tournament; in 1977 he lost 7½-10½ to Korchnoi in the final of the Candidates, in a match in which both sides outdid each other with bizarre behaviour; and in 1980 he was eliminated by Lajos Portisch already in the quarterfinals of the same event — albeit by the narrowest of margins. The match ended in a 7-7 draw after 14 games, but since Portisch had won more games with Black, he was declared the winner.

In 1985, 29 years after his debut in Amsterdam in 1956, Spassky took part in the Candidates Tournament once more in Montpellier and finished in sixth place. After that, Spassky no longer qualified for the Candidates competitions.

However, he remained a welcome guest at numerous top tournaments and team competitions. But by then Spassky lacked the great ambition which propelled him to immense success earlier in his career, and was often satisfied with a quick draw. When he wanted to play, though, he still managed to play beautiful games — even against the Sicilian.

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 Towards the end of his career, Spassky generally dispensed with theoretical duels and relied on his playing strength and talent. Nc6 3.g3 g6 4.Bg2 Bg7 5.d3 d6 6.Nge2 e5 7.Nd5 Nge7 8.Bg5 h6 9.Bf6 Bxf6 10.Nxf6+ Kf8 11.Nc3 Kg7 12.Nfd5 Be6 13.Ne3 Qd7 14.f4 exf4 15.gxf4 f5 16.Qd2 Rab8 17.0-0-0 b5 18.Rhg1 b4 19.exf5 Nxf5 20.Bxc6 Qxc6 21.Ncd5 Kf7 22.Rxg6! Theoretically, Spassky may no longer have been at his best, but he still had a feeling for dynamics. Kxg6 23.Nxf5 Fascinating. Both white knights are hanging and Black can capture them in four different ways - but no matter how he captures, White always wins by a knight check on e7. Kf7 24.Nfe7 Qb7? The position proves to be too difficult for Black. Better was 24...Qd7 and White has enough compensation for the exchange, but nothing more. 25.Qg2 Rhg8 After 25...Bxd5 26.Nxd5 Rhg8 27.Qf3 the black king is too exposed. 26.Qe4 Rg7? Black has lost his bearings. After 26...Bxd5 27.Nxd5 Qd7 White still has to show a path to victory. The engines, however, evaluate the position as balanced. 27.Re1 Now the black position falls apart. After 27...Qd7 28.f5 Bxd5 29.Qxd5+ Kf8 20.Ng6+ White wins. 1–0
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Spassky,B2560Ostl,A23351–01990Bundesliga 8990

At the 2005 Unzicker Gala in Mainz, Spassky scored a prestigious victory against the Sicilian, as he defeated an old rival of his: Viktor Korchnoi.

 
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1.e4 c5 2.Nc3 e6 3.Nf3 Nc6 4.d4 cxd4 5.Nxd4 d6 6.g3 a6 7.Bg2 Bd7 8.Nb3 Nf6 9.0-0 Be7 10.f4 b5 11.a4 b4 12.Nb1 Rc8 13.a5 e5 14.Be3 Be6 15.N1d2 Rb8 16.f5 Bxb3 17.Nxb3 0-0 18.Re1 Qc8 19.Qf3 Bd8 20.Red1 Ne7 21.Rxd6 Qxc2 22.Qd1 Qxb2 23.Bc5 Rc8 24.Rd2 Qc3 25.Rc1 Rxc5 26.Rxc3 bxc3 27.Rxd8 c2 28.Rxf8+ Kxf8 29.Qd2 Rc8 30.Nc1 g6 31.fxg6 hxg6 32.Bh3 Rb8 33.Qxc2 Kg7 34.Nb3 Rb4 35.Nc5 Rb5 36.Qc3 Nc6 37.Ne6+ fxe6 38.Qxc6 Rb1+ 39.Kg2 Rb2+ 40.Kf3 Rb3+ 41.Ke2 Rb4 42.Kd3 Rd4+ 43.Ke3 1–0
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Spassky,B2548Kortschnoj,V26171–02005B80Mainz Unzicker Gala805

Like Spassky, Korchnoi was born in Leningrad (though six years earlier, on 23 March 1931), so the two had been rivals during their childhood and early youth years.

Viktor Korchnoi at the 1985 Hoogovens Tournament | Photo: Rob Croes / Anefo

They faced each other for the first time in 1948 in Leningrad, and their last encounter was played in December 2009, in a 6-game match which took place in Elista. Spassky won the match by a 3½-2½ score (+2 =3 -1).

Graying with honour: Boris Spassky | Photo: Dagobert Kohlmeyer

Statistics

In total, the ChessBase Mega Database contains 290 games (not counting simultaneous exhibitions) with 1.e4 c5 in which Spassky had the white pieces. Spassky won 122 of these games, 145 ended in draws, and 23 times he suffered a defeat. An impressive record. If you replay even only a few of the best games in this collection, you might get to feel the magic of chess which captivated Spassky as a 9-year-old.

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Johannes Fischer was born in 1963 in Hamburg and studied English and German literature in Frankfurt. He now lives as a writer and translator in Nürnberg. He is a FIDE-Master and regularly writes for KARL, a German chess magazine focusing on the links between culture and chess. On his own blog he regularly publishes notes on "Film, Literature and Chess".

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