Chess: Russian grandmaster Boris Spassky dies aged 88

Boris Spasskygrandmaster (chess)

I never set myself the goal of becoming world champion. Everything worked out by itself. I was progressing in leaps and bounds,

Spassky said in 2016.

He was always one of my main idols."

One of the first to react was Soviet grandmaster Anatoly Karpov, who told TASS state news agency

You can't imagine how relieved I was when Fischer took the title away from me. I freed myself from a very heavy burden and breathed freely,

he said nearly four decades later

Boris Spasskygrandmaster (chess)

I have to start over from scratch, but I'm not afraid,

Spassky said on Russian television after his return

Boris Spasskygrandmaster (chess)

Do you think that the neighboring spot is available?"

Spassky asked journalists accompanying him on the visit

A great personality has passed away, generations of chess players have studied and are studying his games and his work. This is a great loss for the country,

Russian Chess Federation President Andrei Filatov told the TASS news agency

Boris Spasskygrandmaster (chess)

It was my desire to return to Russia, because my time in France had run its course. It was time to start a new stage. I understood it was time to leave,

he said at the time

My idols in chess were Jose Capablanca and Boris Spassky. And when I managed to beat Spassky, it was the greatest of victories and, in a sense, defeating something inside me by beating my teacher,

Karpov told state news agency RIA

Hans Niemanngrandmaster (chess)

1972 was the greatest chess match of all time. Spassky demonstrated unparalleled fighting spirit and character on and off the chess board."

American chess grandmaster Hans Niemann wrote

I feel at home at the chessboard,

he was quoted as saying in a recollection of the Reykjavik match published by the World Chess Hall of Fame in 2022, the Post said

The tenth world champion Boris Spassky has died at 88,

the federation said in a statement on its website, calling it a “great loss for the country”.

It is, of course, a huge loss for the entire chess world. Boris Vasilevich lived in Moscow and was in contact with everyone close to him... I knew him in a different way than from books. It was always interesting to speak with him. He was a very interesting story-teller and it's hard for me to talk about him leaving us,

Alexander Tkachev, executive director of the Russian Chess Federation, told state news agency RIA