Boris Spassky, a Russian grandmaster who went against American Bobby Fischer in a 1972 chess game known as the “Match of the Century,” has died. He was 88. The Chess Federation of Russia announced that Spassky passed away in Moscow on Thursday but did not provide a cause of death. At the 1972 World Chess Championship in Iceland, Spassky lost his title to Fischer in a high-profile duel that also became a metaphor for Cold War supremacy. Spassky resigned from the match and went home to a cold reception in the Soviet Union. “I was in a state of depression,” he told The New York Times in 1985. Born and raised in Leningrad, now known as St. Petersburg, Spassky began playing chess at age five. By 16, he was an international master; by 18, he was the world junior champion. He was also the first Soviet player to be named chess prince. Spassky had three children from three different marriages. Andrei Filatov, president of the Russian Chess Federation, mourned Spassky’s death in a statement to Russian outlet Tass: “A great personality has passed away,” he said. “Generations of chess players learned and continue to learn from his games and work. A great loss for the country.”
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