SPASSKY, BORIS VASILYEVICH

born Jan. 30, 1937, Leningrad Soviet chess master, world champion from 1969 to 1972. When Spassky was evacuated from Leningrad during World War II to a children's home in Kirov Region, he learned to play chess. While still in his teens he gained the rank of international master (1953). In 1955 he won the World Junior Championship, and the same year he won the title of international grand master. In the following years, however, he was overshadowed by the rise of the young Riga chess genius Mikhail Tal and also was occupied with his journalism studies at Leningrad University. In 1966, still having little international reputation, Spassky first challenged Tigran Petrosyan for the world title, but he was not successful at taking the title until three years later. Spassky's style was characterized by an adaptability rarely matched in the history of chess. His victory over Petrosyan was narrow (12 1/210 1/2), however, and his subsequent tournament results were unremarkable. In 1972 he lost the world title to Bobby Fischer of the United States.