Former World Chess Champion Boris Spassky has died.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/general/former-world-chess-champion-boris-spassky-88-dies/ar-AA1zWEPv?ocid=BingNewsVerp
MOSCOW -- Boris Spassky, a Soviet-era world chess champion who lost his title to American Bobby Fischer in a legendary 1972 match that became a proxy for Cold War rivalries, died on Thursday in Moscow. He was 88.
The death of the onetime chess prodigy was announced by the International Chess Federation, the game's governing body. No cause was given.
Spassky was "one of the greatest players of all time," the group said on the social platform X. He "left an indelible mark on the game."
The televised 1972 match with Fischer, at the height of the Cold War, became an international sensation and became known as the "Match of the Century.".....
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Former world champion Garry Kasparov wrote on X that Spassky "was never above befriending and mentoring the next generation, especially those of us who, like him, didn't fit comfortably into the Soviet machine."
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Many fond memories of his 1972 match against Fischer. RIP, Mr. Spassky. You were a true champion and gentleman.