Editing Boris Spassky (section)

==Legacy==
[[File:Boris Spasski 3-2.jpg|left|thumb|upright|Spassky, 2009]]
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Spassky's best years were as a youthful prodigy in the mid-1950s, and in the mid- to late 1960s. He applauded Fischer in Game 6 of their 1972 match,<ref>{{cite book |last=Gligorić |first=Svetozar |author-link=Svetozar Gligorić |title=Fischer vs. Spassky &bull; The Chess Match of the Century |page=55 |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |year=1972 |isbn=978-0-671-21397-8}}</ref> and defended Fischer when the latter was detained near [[Narita Airport]] in 2004.<ref>{{cite web |url= http://en.chessbase.com/post/spaky-to-bush-arrest-me- |title= Spassky to Bush: Arrest me! |publisher= | website= chessbase.com |date= August 10, 2004 |access-date= October 7, 2015 |quote= I would not like to defend or justify Bobby Fischer. He is what he is. I am asking only for one thing. For mercy, charity. If for some reason it is impossible, I would like to ask you the following: Please correct the mistake of President François Mitterrand in 1992. Bobby and myself committed the same crime. Put sanctions against me also. Arrest me. And put me in the same cell with Bobby Fischer. And give us a chess set. |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150928045413/http://en.chessbase.com/post/spaky-to-bush-arrest-me- |archive-date= September 28, 2015 |url-status= dead }}</ref>

Spassky has been described by many as a universal player.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://crestbook.com/en/node/1783 |title=KC-Review of 2012 with Sergey Shipov |publisher= | website= crestbook.com |access-date=October 20, 2013 |archive-date=October 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020183935/http://crestbook.com/en/node/1783 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.chessintranslation.com/2012/05/anands-whychess-interview/ |title=Anand's WhyChess interview |publisher= | website= chessintranslation.com |date=May 11, 2012 |access-date=October 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141128140311/http://www.chessintranslation.com/2012/05/anands-whychess-interview/ |archive-date=November 28, 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kramnik.com/eng/interviews/getinterview.aspx?id=61 |title=The most important interviews by GM Vladimir Kramnik, World Chess Champion 2000–2007 |publisher= | website= kramnik.com |access-date=October 20, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080512052013/http://www.kramnik.com/eng/interviews/getinterview.aspx?id=61 |archive-date=May 12, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Never a true [[chess opening|openings]] expert, at least when compared to contemporaries such as Geller and Fischer, he excelled in the [[Chess middlegame|middlegame]] and in [[Chess tactics|tactics]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Борис Спасский |trans-title=Boris Spassky |url=https://chesspro.ru/statistic/spassky.shtml |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=ChessPro |language=ru}}</ref>

{{bq|text=He was not only one of the greatest players of the Soviet era and the world, but also a true gentleman. His contributions to chess will never be forgotten.|author=Arkady Dvorkovich, FIDE president<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-02-28 |title=Boris Spassky: 1937–2025 |url=https://en.chessbase.com/post/boris-spassky-1937-2025 |access-date=2025-02-28 |website= chessbase.com |language=en}}</ref>}}

Spassky succeeded with a wide variety of openings, including the [[King's Gambit]], 1.e4 e5 2.f4, an aggressive and risky line rarely seen at the top level.<ref name=":1" /> The chess game between "Kronsteen" and "McAdams" in the early part of the [[James Bond]] movie ''[[From Russia with Love (film)|From Russia With Love]]'' is based on a game in that opening played between Spassky and [[David Bronstein]] in 1960 in which Spassky ("Kronsteen") was victorious.<ref name=":0">{{cite web |url=http://www.chessbase.com/newsprint.asp?newsid=1882 |title=Spassky–Bronstein |publisher=| website = chessbase.com |date=August 29, 2004 |access-date=November 12, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121007073815/http://www.chessbase.com/newsprint.asp?newsid=1882 |archive-date=October 7, 2012 }}</ref>

His contributions to opening theory extend to reviving the [[Marshall Attack]] for Black in the [[Ruy Lopez]] (1.e4 e5 2.Nf3 Nc6 3.Bb5 a6 4.Ba4 Nf6 5.0-0 Be7 6.Re1 b5 7.Bb3 0-0 8.c3 d5),<ref name=":12">{{Cite book |last=Pavlovic |first=Milos |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1198581727 |title=The modernized Marshall attack |date=2020 |others=Romain Edouard |isbn=978-94-92510-85-3 |edition= |location=Landegem, Belgium |oclc=1198581727}}</ref> developing the Leningrad Variation for White in the [[Nimzo-Indian Defence]] (1.d4 Nf6 2.c4 e6 3.Nc3 Bb4 4.Bg5),<ref>{{Cite web |last=Smith (BryanSmith) |first=Bryan |date=2015-10-09 |title=Boris Spassky And The Leningrad Variation |url=https://www.chess.com/article/view/boris-spassky-and-the-leningrad-variation-of-the-nimzo-indian |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=Chess.com |language=en-US}}</ref> the Spassky Variation on the Black side of the Nimzo-Indian, and the Closed Variation of the [[Sicilian Defence]] for White (1.e4 c5 2.Nc3).{{Cn|date=March 2025}} A variation of the B19 Caro-Kann (1.e4 c6 2.d4 d5 3.Nc3 dxe4 4.Nxe4 Bf5 5.Ng3 Bg6 6.h4 h6 7.Nf3 Nd7 8.h5) also bears his name,<ref>{{Cite web |title=B19: Caro-Kann, classical, Spassky variation |url=https://www.365chess.com/eco/B19_Caro-Kann_classical_Spassky_variation |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=365Chess}}</ref> as does a rare line in the [[King's Indian Attack]] (1.Nf3 Nf6 2.g3 b5[[Chess annotation symbols|!?]]).<ref>{{Cite web |title=A05: Reti, King's Indian attack, Spassky's variation |url=https://www.365chess.com/eco/A05_Reti_King's_Indian_attack_Spassky's_variation |access-date=2025-03-01 |website=365Chess}}</ref>

Spassky was played by [[Liev Schreiber]] in the 2014 film ''[[Pawn Sacrifice]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Rich |first1=Katey |title=Watch a Russian-Speaking Liev Schreiber Throw Down the Chess Gauntlet |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2015/09/pawn-sacrifice-liev-schreiber-clip?srsltid=AfmBOoqhtn22KHgnZw4fiWMrFLwYqJbGv5rAog0mqw7teOzrazPiAZr7 |access-date=28 February 2025 |magazine=Vanity Fair |date=September 16, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Pawn Sacrifice |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/pawn_sacrifice#cast-and-crew |access-date=2025-02-28 |website=Rotten Tomatoes |language=en}}</ref>