Boris Spassky, a Soviet-era chess grand master who lost his world champion title in 1972 to American Bobby Fischer in one of the most famous duels in the history of the game as well as a metaphor for the competition for Cold War supremacy,

When Mr. Spassky, a Russian, played Bobby Fischer, an American, in Iceland at the height of the Cold War, the media attention reduced them to pawns in a wider drama.

Russian chess grandmaster Boris Spassky has died at the age of 88, International chess federation (FIDE) general director Emil Sutovsky told Reuters on Thursday. Spassky, who took French nationality in 1978,

Soviet chess grandmaster Boris Spassky, who was famously defeated in the so-called match of the century at the height of the Cold War, has died aged 88, the Chess Federation of Russia said Thursday. With the Cold War at its height and the Soviet Union having dominated the game for years,

Boris Spassky was a Soviet chessboard ace who became an émigré to France in 1976 and a French citizen in 1978. View on euronews