Mumbai: Boris Spassky, the 10th World Chess Champion whose 1972 clash with Bobby Fischer became a defining tableau of Cold War rivalry, has died at 88 in Russia.

A luminous mind and a paradoxical soul, Spassky transcended the chessboard to embody grace, intellect, and the quiet resilience of a man who found freedom in surrender. Born in Leningrad in 1937, Spassky’s life mirrored the tumult of his century. Evacuated during the WWII siege of his city, he discovered chess on a train ride to safety—a serendipitous spark that ignited a lifelong romance. By age 10, he defeated reigning Soviet champion Mikhail Botvinnik in a simultaneous exhibition, foreshadowing a career steeped in brilliance.

His ascent was methodical yet poetic: world junior champion at 18, grandmaster at 19, and Soviet champion by 22. But it was his 1969 dethroning of Tigran Petrosian, after two grueling title matches, that crowned him chess’s sovereign. Spassky’s reign, however, was immortalized not by his triumphs but by a loss. The 1972 Reykjavik match against Bobby Fischer—a........

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