CHESS PLAYER

Boris Spassky

1937 - 2025

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Boris Vasilyevich Spassky (Russian: Борис Васильевич Спасский; January 30, 1937 – February 27, 2025) was a Russian chess grandmaster who was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1969 to 1972. Spassky played three world championship matches: he lost to Tigran Petrosian in 1966; defeated Petrosian in 1969 to become world champion; then lost to Bobby Fischer in a famous match in 1972. Spassky won the Soviet Chess Championship twice outright (1961, 1973), and twice lost in playoffs (1956, 1963), after tying for first place during the event proper. He was a World Chess Championship candidate on seven occasions (1956, 1965, 1968, 1974, 1977, 1980, 1985). Read more on Wikipedia

His biography is available in different languages on Wikipedia. Boris Spassky is the 3rd most popular chess player (up from 6th in 2019), the 66th most popular biography from Russia (up from 111th in 2019) and the most popular Russian Chess Player.

Boris Spassky is most famous for being the first world chess champion from the Soviet Union. He is also known for his victory over Bobby Fischer in the 1972 World Chess Championship.

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Among CHESS PLAYERS

Among chess players, Boris Spassky ranks 3 out of 461. Before him are Wilhelm Steinitz, and Bobby Fischer. After him are José Raúl Capablanca, Mikhail Tal, Alexander Alekhine, Emanuel Lasker, Mikhail Botvinnik, Anatoly Karpov, Tigran Petrosian, Max Euwe, and Garry Kasparov.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1937, Boris Spassky ranks 10. Before him are Morgan Freeman, Valentina Tereshkova, Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and Ridley Scott. After him are Ahmed Yassin, Martti Ahtisaari, Bobby Charlton, Jane Fonda, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, and Queen Sonja of Norway. Among people deceased in 2025, Boris Spassky ranks 8. Before him are David Lynch, José Mujica, Gene Hackman, Mario Vargas Llosa, Marianne Faithfull, and Jean-Marie Le Pen. After him are Richard Chamberlain, Val Kilmer, Brian Wilson, Sebastião Salgado, Leo Beenhakker, and Eddie Jordan.

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In Russia

Among people born in Russia, Boris Spassky ranks 66 out of 3,761. Before him are Peter Kropotkin (1842), Frederick I of Prussia (1657), Otto Wallach (1847), Yaroslav the Wise (978), Andrei Tarkovsky (1932), and Andrei Sakharov (1921). After him are Grand Duchess Maria Nikolaevna of Russia (1899), Turhan Hatice Sultan (1627), Vladimir the Great (958), Rudolf Nureyev (1938), Mikhail Kutuzov (1745), and Anna Pavlova (1881).

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Among CHESS PLAYERS In Russia

Among chess players born in Russia, Boris Spassky ranks 1. After him are Alexander Alekhine (1892), Mikhail Botvinnik (1911), Anatoly Karpov (1951), Vasily Smyslov (1921), Viktor Korchnoi (1931), Vera Menchik (1906), Mikhail Chigorin (1850), Savielly Tartakower (1887), Olga Rubtsova (1909), Yuri Averbakh (1922), and Andor Lilienthal (1911).

Russian born Chess Players

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