Boris Spassky

Spassky – Bronstein · 1960 · 1–0

27th USSR Championship, Leningrad 1960 — Spassky's most celebrated King's Gambit. The knight leap 15.Nd6 and the sacrifice 16.Nxf7! tore open Bronstein's king in 23 moves; a position from this game was later re-created on the board in the James Bond film From Russia with Love.

→

Spassky – Fischer · 1960 · 1–0

Mar del Plata 1960 — Spassky beat the 17-year-old Bobby Fischer with the King's Gambit in their first encounter. The loss in this 3.Nf3 g5 4.h4 Kieseritzky line is often cited as the spur for Fischer's article 'A Bust to the King's Gambit.'

→

Spassky – Tal · 1965 · 1–0

1965 Candidates final — a Closed Sicilian win over former World Champion Mikhail Tal. Spassky exchanged into a superior ending and queened a passed c-pawn (39.c6, 41.Rc6) to take the match +4−1 and earn his first shot at the world title.

→

Spassky – Petrosian · 1966 · 1–0

1966 World Championship match — a French Defence win over titleholder Tigran Petrosian during Spassky's first, narrowly lost, title challenge. After 15.Qg5 forced the queens off, he converted the ending with a passed b-pawn (30.b5, 31.Bc6+).

→

Spassky – Geller · 1968 · 1–0

1968 Candidates quarterfinal — one of three Closed Sicilian wins with which Spassky swept Efim Geller +3−0. The f-file attack crashed through with 23.Rxf6! and 25.Nxf7!, exposing Geller's king to a decisive assault.

→

Spassky – Larsen · 1968 · 1–0

1968 Candidates semifinal — a hard-fought Closed Sicilian against Bent Larsen. Spassky broke through on the kingside and ground out a sharp minor-piece endgame in 52 moves on the way to a +4−1 match victory.

→

Spassky – Kortschnoj · 1968 · 1–0

1968 Candidates final — the King's Indian Sämisch win over Viktor Korchnoi that made Spassky the challenger. Castling long, he stormed the kingside with h4–h5 and finished with 34.Ne6+ and 35.Qh6+.

→

Spassky – Petrosian · 1969 · 1–0

1969 World Championship match — a Semi-Tarrasch win over Tigran Petrosian in the match that made Spassky the tenth World Champion. He seized the centre with 15.d5 and drove the passed d-pawn to the seventh rank (22.d7).

→

Spassky – Petrosian · 1969 · 1–0

1969 World Championship match, Game 19 ('Taming the Tiger') — a 24-move Sicilian crush that swung the match Spassky's way. He castled queenside, stormed with 15.g4 and 18.f5, broke open the centre with 21.e5, and mated after 23.Qg6 and 24.Ng5.

→

Spassky – Fischer · 1970 · 1–0

Siegen Olympiad 1970 — Spassky's celebrated last win over Bobby Fischer before their 1972 title match. In a Grünfeld Exchange he won the two bishops, planted the knight on f6 (28.Nf6+), and broke through with 29.Qxe6 and 39.Rf8+.

→

Larsen – Spassky · 1970 · 0–1

USSR vs Rest of the World, Belgrade 1970 — one of the most famous miniatures ever played. Answering Larsen's 1.b3 on board one, Spassky (Black) attacked at once, deflected with 14…Rh1!, queened on g2, and forced resignation in just 17 moves.

→

Spassky – Fischer · 1972 · 1–0

1972 World Championship match, Game 11 ('Crime and Punishment') — Spassky met Fischer's Poisoned Pawn Najdorf head-on. The surprising retreat 14.Nb1 caught Fischer unprepared and Spassky trapped his queen, handing Fischer his only defeat ever as Black in the Poisoned Pawn.

→

Spassky – Portisch · 1977 · 1–0

1977 Candidates semifinal — a Ruy Lopez Breyer win over Lajos Portisch. Spassky sacrificed a knight on the kingside with 27.Nxh5, tore open the black king, and mopped up with the two bishops (38.Rxf8+, 39.Bxd6+) to help win the match and reach the Candidates final.

→

Spassky – Seirawan · 1985 · 1–0

Montpellier Candidates 1985 — at 48, Spassky was still wheeling out his beloved King's Gambit, even walking his king to f2 (8.Kf2). He outplayed Yasser Seirawan in the resulting complications to win in 32 moves.

→

Andruet – Spassky · 1988 · 0–1

Bundesliga 1987–88 — a late brilliancy from the 51-year-old former champion. Playing Black in a Bogo-Indian, Spassky lifted his rook with 25…Ra3, planted a knight on e5, and landed the queen on f3 (28…Qf3) to force resignation.

→