Boris Spassky is best remembered for his duel with American Bobby Fischer in a legendary 1972 match that became a proxy for Cold War rivalries.

The world champion, dethroned by the American in the middle of the Cold War, died on February 27 in Moscow at the age of 88 after a life worthy of the movies

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.

Boris Spassky, who has died aged 88 was among the finest chess players of the 20th century, but found his reign at the summit of the game ended by the outstanding American Bobby Fischer, with whom he had an epic encounter for the world championship in the summer of 1972.

Fifty years ago, the Cold War was transposed to a chessboard as Bobby Fischer of the United States took on defending world champion Boris Spassky of the Soviet Union, who has died aged 88, in a thrilling East-West clash dubbed the "match of the century".

Forever hyphenated with American Bobby Fischer, the genial Russian GM's most iconic moment came when he stood to applaud rival Fischer after Game 6 of the 1972 match - as it upended all Cold War narratives.

Boris Spassky, the Soviet chess grandmaster best known for his historic 1972 match against American Bobby Fischer, has passed away at 88 in Moscow. His legendary encounter with Fischer was a defining moment of Cold War-era chess,

His 1972 match against American Bobby Fischer is considered one of the most famous duels in the history of the game as well as a metaphor for the competition for Cold War supremacy.

He defended his World Chess champion title against American Bobby Fischer in the “Match of the Century” in 1972 — which became a cultural proxy battle between the US and Russia during the Cold

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, has died in Moscow.

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 Thursday in Moscow.