Spassky was considered an all-rounder on the chess board, and his adaptable " universal style " was a distinct advantage in beating many top grandmasters.

Instead, Fischer was an incredible player in 1972, having won an unprecedented 20 games in a row, and Spassky probably showed he was number 2, and the match saw many enjoyable games.

The Two Knights has been adopted as Black by many aggressive players including Mikhail Chigorin and Paul Keres, and World Champions Mikhail Tal and Boris Spassky.

Many commentators, particularly from the USSR, have suggested that all this ( and his continuing demands and unreasonableness ) was part of Fischer's plan to " psych out " Spassky.

Karpov improved so quickly under Botvinnik's tutelage that he became the youngest Soviet National Master in history at fifteen in 1966 ; this tied the record established by Boris Spassky in 1952.

Karpov defeated Lev Polugaevsky by the score of + 3 = 5 in the first Candidates ' match, earning the right to face former champion Boris Spassky in the semifinal round.

Spassky won the first game as Black in good style, but tenacious, aggressive play from Karpov secured him overall victory by + 4 − 1 = 6.

He had been living in seclusion in Yugoslavia due to an arrest warrant issued by the United States for violating the U. N. blockade of Yugoslavia with his 1992 match against Spassky, and for tax evasion.

In 1952, at fifteen, Spassky scored 50 percent in the Soviet Championship semifinal at Riga, and placed second in the Leningrad Championship that same year, being highly praised by Botvinnik.

Spassky made his international debut in 1953, aged sixteen, in Bucharest, Romania, finishing equal fourth with Laszlo Szabo on 12 / 19, an event won by his trainer, Alexander Tolush.

In March – April 1970, Spassky played first board for the Soviet side in the celebrated USSR vs. World event at Belgrade, where he scored + 1 − 1 = 1 in the first three rounds against Larsen before Stein replaced him for the final match, as the Soviets won by the odd point, 20½ – 19½.

In November and December, Spassky finished the year by tying for sixth with Tal, scoring + 4 − 2 = 11, at the Alekhine Memorial in Moscow, which was won by Stein and Anatoly Karpov, the latter's first top-class success.

In September, Spassky went 10 / 15 to finish second to Tal in the Chigorin Memorial at Sochi by a point.

In the 41st Soviet Championship at Moscow, Spassky scored 11½ / 17 to win by a full point in a field which included all the top Soviet grandmasters of the time.

In the 1974 Candidates ' matches, Spassky first defeated American Robert Byrne in San Juan, Puerto Rico by 4½ – 1½ (+ 3 − 0 = 3 ); he then lost the semifinal match to Anatoly Karpov in Leningrad, despite winning the first game, (+ 1 − 4

During 1975, Spassky played two events, the first being the annual tournament at Tallinn, where he finished equal second with Fridrik Olafsson, scoring 9½ / 15 (+ 5 − 1 = 9 ), one point behind Keres, the last international event won by the latter before his sudden death in June 1975.

Spassky won an exhibition match with Dutch grandmaster Jan Timman at Amsterdam 1977 by 4 – 2.

Spassky won an exhibition match over Robert Hübner at Solingen, 1977 by 3½ – 2½, then defeated Lubomir Kavalek, also at Solingen, by 4 – 2 in another exhibition.

His next Candidates ' match was against Portisch at Geneva 1977, and Spassky won by 8½ – 6½, to qualify for the final.

At Belgrade 1977 – 78, Spassky lost to Korchnoi, by (+ 4 − 7 = 7 ).

Spassky then played young female prodigy Judit Polgár in a 1993 match at Budapest, losing narrowly by 4½ – 5½.

Some might suggest his preparation was largely bypassed by Fischer, but the match saw several important novelties by Spassky.

* Boris Spassky vs Efim Geller, Sukhumi Candidates ' match 1968, game 6, Sicilian Defence, Closed Variation ( B25 ), 1 – 0 One of three beautiful wins by Spassky over Geller in this match using the same variation, which is one of Spassky's favorites.

* No Regrets: Fischer – Spassky by Yasser Seirawan ; International Chess Enterprises ; March 1997.

Karpov was on record saying that he believed Spassky would easily beat him and win the Candidates ' cycle to face Fischer, and that he ( Karpov ) would win the following Candidates ' cycle in 1977.

Garry Kasparov argued that Karpov would have had good chances, because he had beaten Spassky convincingly and was a new breed of tough professional, and indeed had higher quality games, while Fischer had been inactive for three years.

Spassky thought that Fischer would have won in 1975 but Karpov would have qualified again and beaten Fischer in 1978.

* 1972 – The first game of the World Chess Championship 1972 between challenger Bobby Fischer and defending champion Boris Spassky starts.

* 1972 – In Reykjavík, Iceland, American Bobby Fischer beats Russian Boris Spassky to become the world chess champion.

Spassky defeated Tigran Petrosian in 1969 to become World Champion, then lost the title in the Fischer – Spassky match in 1972 – one of the most famous chess matches in history.

Spassky travelled to Argentina, where he shared first place with Bobby Fischer, two points ahead of Bronstein, at Mar del Plata 1960 on 13½ / 15, defeating Fischer in their first career meeting.

Spassky then finished ahead of Petrosian and a super-class field at Santa Monica 1966 ( the Piatigorsky Cup ), with 11½ / 18, half a point ahead of Bobby Fischer, as he overcame the American grandmaster's challenge after Fischer had scored 3½ / 9 in the first cycle of the event.

The Fischer vs Spassky World championship was the most widely covered chess match in history, as mainstream media throughout the world covered the match.

Going into the match, Fischer had never won a game from Spassky in five attempts, losing three.

In addition, Spassky had secured Geller as his coach, who also had a plus score against Fischer.

Before Spassky, Mark Taimanov, Larsen, and Petrosian, had lost convincingly to Fischer, but Spassky maintained his composure and competitiveness.

In 1976, Spassky was obliged to return to the Interzonal stage, and finished in a tie for tenth place in Manila, well short of qualifying for the Candidates matches, but was nominated to play after Fischer declined his place.

In 1992, Bobby Fischer, after a twenty-year hiatus from chess, re-emerged to arrange a " Revenge Match of the 20th century " against Spassky in Montenegro and Belgrade ; this was a rematch of the 1972 World Championship.

At the time, Spassky was rated 106th in the FIDE rankings, and Fischer did not appear on the list at all, owing to his inactivity.

* Boris Spassky vs Robert Fischer, Santa Monica 1966, Grunfeld Defence, Exchange Variation ( D87 ), 1 – 0 Fischer seems to equalize in a sharp game, but he makes a small mistake and Spassky finishes nicely.

Spassky succeeded with a wide variety of openings, including the King's Gambit, 1. e4 e5 2. f4, an aggressive and risky line rarely seen at the top level.

Topalov has also been similarly denounced by numerous top players, including former World Champions Anatoly Karpov, Boris Spassky, and Viswanathan Anand, grandmaster Viktor Korchnoi, former US Champions Lev Alburt and Yasser Seirawan, and others.

Since 1938, there has been a long list of famous winners, including: Max Euwe, Bent Larsen, Tigran Petrosian, Paul Keres, Efim Geller, Lajos Portisch, Boris Spassky, Mikhail Botvinnik, Mikhail Tal, Viktor Korchnoi, Jan Timman, Anatoly Karpov, Vladimir Kramnik, Garry Kasparov, Viswanathan Anand, Veselin Topalov, Levon Aronian, Sergey Karjakin, Magnus Carlsen, and Hikaru Nakamura.

Evans has also commentated on some of the most important matches for Time magazine and ABC's Wide World of Sports, including the 1972 Fischer versus Spassky match, the 1993 PCA world title battle between Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short and the Braingames world chess championship match between Vladimir Kramnik and Garry Kasparov in 2000.

Bobby Fischer occasionally adopted it, with good results, including a win in the significant third game of the 1972 world championship match against Boris Spassky.

Tal popularised the defence in the 1960s by winning several brilliant games with it, and Bobby Fischer occasionally adopted it, with good results, including a win in his 1972 World Championship match against Boris Spassky.