Boris Spassky, endlessly witty and a free soul, was more than just Fischer’s victim or a Soviet Union foot soldier
In the many obituaries for Boris Spassky that popped up after his demise last week, not many mentioned what the 10th world champion did to Danish grandmaster Bent Larsen on the top board of the clash between USSR and the Rest of the World in 1970. Incidentally, this was the first ‘Match of the Century’ that both Spassky and his nemesis Bobby Fischer played in. But this one was a team event in Belgrade, which featured players like Tigran Petrosian, Vasily Smyslov, Mikhail Botvinnik and Mikhail Tal besides Spassky and Fischer. In that match, Larsen was picked as the top board player over Fischer for the Rest of the World side, while Spassky, as reigning world champion, was given the honour of leading an outfit that had his predecessors on the throne like Petrosian, Smyslov, Botvinnik and Tal. It’s a game that starts with Larsen playing the off-beat 1.b3 (which has since been named after him as the Larsen Opening). The provocative opening is the 6th most common opening move with white pieces and offers …
