Happy birthday to 10th World Chess Champion Boris Spassky

Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2012

Hello everyone,


We wish Grandmaster and tenth world chess champion Boris Spassky a very happy birthday on January 30. You can find a very nice birthday message from Fide President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov for GM Spassky here. Wishes have poured in from around the world including the Gibraltar Chess Festival. You can read their birthday message here.


Here is a nice game to celebrate the birthday of a great chess player. Enjoy.

Spassky Boris V (FRA) (2660) - Fischer Robert J (USA) (2785)

Result: 1-0

Site: Reykjavik (Iceland)

Date: 1972

[...] 1.d4 ¤f6 2.c4 e6 3.¤f3 d5 4.¤c3 ¥b4 5.e3 O-O 6.¥d3 c5 7.O-O ¤c6 8.a3 ¥a5 9.¤e2 (9.cxd5²) 9...dxc4 10.¥xc4 ¥b6 (10...cxd4=) 11.dxc5 £xd1 12.¦xd1 ¥xc5 13.b4 ¥e7 14.¥b2 ¥d7!

(14...b6?! 15.¤f4 ¥b7 16.¤g5 ¤d8 17.¦ac1 h6 18.¤gxe6!± Spassky - Krogius, USSR (ch) Riga 1958)

15.¦ac1?! (15.¥xf6? ¥xf6 16.¦xd7?? ¥xa1µ)  (15.g4? ¦fd8 16.g5 ¤e4 17.h4 ¥e8=)  (15.¤ed4= Gligoric) 

(15.e4! ¦fd8

(15...¥e8 16.¤g3!²15...¥e8 16.¤g3!²

(16.e5?! ¤d7 17.¤g3 ¤b6 18.¥b3 a5! 19.b5 a4 20.¥a2 ¤a5 With counter-play)

)

16.e5 ¤e8 17.¤g3 ¤c7 18.¤e4² Krogius)

(15.¢f1!?² Botvinnik) 15...¦fd8 16.¤ed4 ¤xd4 17.¤xd4 ¥a4= 18.¥b3 ¥xb3 (18...¦xd4? 19.¥xa4² Pair of bishops) 19.¤xb3 ¦xd1+ 20.¦xd1 ¦c8 21.¢f1 ¢f8 22.¢e2 (22.¥xf6 ¥xf6 23.¦d7 ¦c3) 22...¤e4 With the idea Rc2  (22...¦c2+ 23.¦d2) 23.¦c1 ¦xc1 24.¥xc1 f6?!

(24...¢e8 25.¤a5 ¤d6 26.¢d3

(26.¥b2!? With the idea26...g6 27.¥e5 With initiative)

26...¢d7 27.¤c4 b5= Botvinnik)

(24...¥f6!? Krogius) 25.¤a5

(25.f3!? ¤d6 (25...¤c3+ 26.¢d3 ¤a4 27.¤a5 b5 28.¤c6 a6 29.¤b8) 26.¤c5 ¢f7 27.¢d3 b6 (27...b5 28.a4²) 28.¤a6 b5 29.e4² Krogius)

25...¤d6! 26.¢d3 ¥d8 27.¤c4 ¥c7 28.¤xd6 ¥xd6 29.b5! ¥xh2?

(29...¢e7 30.h3 f5=29...¢e7 30.h3 f5= (30...e5= With the idea Ke6) )

30.g3± h5

(30...¢e7 31.a4! ¢d6 32.¥a3+ ¢e5 33.¢e2 h5 (33...¢e4 34.f3+) 34.¢f3 h4 35.¢g2 hxg3 36.fxg3 ¢e4 37.¥c5 b6 38.¥xb6 axb6 39.a5ќ)

31.¢e2 h4 32.¢f3 ¢e7? (32...h3 33.¢g4 ¥g1 34.¢xh3 ¥xf2 35.¥d2!ќ)  (32...g5! 33.¢g2 g4! 34.¢xh2 h3! 35.f3 f5 36.e4 ¢e7±)  (32...a6!?) 33.¢g2 (33.¥d2!?) 33...hxg3 34.fxg3 ¥xg3 35.¢xg3 ¢d6 36.a4! ¢d5 (36...¢c5 37.¥a3+ ¢c4 38.¥f8 g6 39.¥e7 f5 40.¢f4ќ) 37.¥a3 ¢e4 (37...a6! Mednis) 

(37...e5!? 38.¢f3 g6 39.¥e7 ¢e6 40.¥d8 ¢f7 41.¢e4 ¢e6 42.¢d3± With the idea Kc4-c5 Krogius)

(37...¢c4?! 38.¥f8 g6 39.¥e7 ¢b3 40.a5 ¢a4 41.b6 a6 42.¥xf6 ¢xa5 43.¢f4 ¢xb6 44.¢e5 a5 45.¢xe6ќÅ¾e Smyslov)

38.¥c5 a6 (38...b6? 39.¥xb6! axb6 40.a5ќ) 39.b6! f5

(39...e5 40.¢g4

(40.¥f8 g6 Botvinnik

(40...¢xe3 41.¥xg7 ¢d4 42.¥xf6 ¢c5 43.¥d8 ¢b4 44.¢f3 ¢xa4 45.¢e4 ¢b5 46.¢d5! e4 47.¢d6 a5 48.¢c7 ¢a6 49.¥g5! a4 50.¥c1!ќ Zugzwang)

)

40...g6 41.¢g3! f5 42.¢h4 f4 43.exf4 ¢xf4 (43...exf4 44.¢g5ќ) 44.¥e7! e4 45.¥g5+ ¢f3 46.¥c1! e3 47.¢g5 e2 48.¥d2 ¢f2 49.¢xg6 e1=£ 50.¥xe1+ ¢xe1 51.¢f6ќ Pachmann)

40.¢h4! f4?

(40...¢d5! 41.¥b4! (41.¥e7 ¢e4 42.¥g5 e5 With the idea e4)

(41.¥d4 e5 42.¥c3 ¢e4 43.¢g5 f4 44.exf4 exf4² With the idea Kd5-c4)

41...¢c6 42.¥a5!! ¢c5 43.¢g5 ¢c4 44.¢g6 ¢d3 45.¢xg7 ¢xe3 46.¢f6ќ Mednis)

41.exf4 Sealed move 41...¢xf4 42.¢h5!ќ ¢f5

(42...g5 43.¢g6! g4

(43...e5 44.¥d6 ¢e4 45.¢xg5 ¢d5 46.¥c7 e4 47.¥f4 ¢c5 48.¥e3+ ¢b4 49.¢f6 ¢xa4 50.¢e6 ¢b5 51.¢d7 a5 52.¢c7 ¢a6 53.¥d2 a4 54.¥c1ќ Krogius)

44.¢f6 e5 45.¥d6ќ Gligoric)

(42...¢e5 43.¢g6 ¢d5 44.¥g1 ¢c4 45.¢f7! ¢b4 46.¢xe6 ¢xa4 47.¢d7 ¢b5 48.¢c7ќ Mednis)

(42...e5 43.¢g6 e4 44.¢xg7 e3 45.¥xe3+ ¢xe3 46.¢f6 ¢d4 47.¢e6 ¢c5 48.a5! ¢b5 49.¢d6 ¢xa5 50.¢c7ќ Botvinnik)

43.¥e3! ¢e4 44.¥f2

(44.¥c1 ¢d5 (44...¢f5 45.¥g5 e5 46.¥c1 e4 47.¥e3ќ)

(44...¢d3 45.¢g6 ¢c2 46.¢xg7! ¢xc1 47.¢f6 ¢c2 48.¢xe6 ¢b3 49.¢d6 ¢xa4 50.¢c7ќ)

45.¢g6 ¢c5 46.¥e3+ ¢b4 47.¢f7! (47.¢xg7? ¢xa4 48.¢f6 ¢b5 49.¢xe6 ¢c6=) 47...¢xa4 48.¢xe6 ¢b5 49.¢d7 a5 50.¢c7 ¢a6 51.¥d4 g5 52.¥f6 g4 53.¥e5 a4 54.¥d6!ќ Zugzwang Botvinnik)

44...¢f5 45.¥h4! e5 46.¥g5 e4 47.¥e3! ¢f6 48.¢g4 ¢e5 49.¢g5 ¢d5 50.¢f5 a5 51.¥f2! g5 52.¢xg5 ¢c4 53.¢f5 ¢b4 54.¢xe4 ¢xa4 55.¢d5 ¢b5 56.¢d6 (56.¢d6 a4 57.¢c7 ¢a6 58.¥d4ќ)

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