Boris Spassky
Cannot say what he loved about chess, that’s “always the enigma”.
Used to say that best product of Soviet system was Fischer.
Said that Russian chess fell into decay after the revolution, so (my inference) Soviet programme started from a low base.
Says that he was not really in the Soviet system. And lost his first big match to a Soviet pillar (says that was lucky!) He was a “beggar”, but loved his chess “power” at the board.
Does not share Fischer’s love of crushing his opponent’s ego. Spassky says he liked to be friendly with his opponents.
Says when he become champion he looked very unhappy, and felt his best years were behind him. Said “that’s why I became a monarchist, because I was an unhappy monarch!” and felt that being champion was a big responsibility, for what he said and did afterwards.
About Fischer: “he was a very nice guy for me”; his strange beliefs were his private affair. Soviet sport committee he felt treated him less than ideally because he was fighting for himself but they treated him as state property. When he emigrated in 1976 he became “a very happy man”. He was able to make “a free choice of the competition” which “was a fantastic sense of freedom”.
To what extent did he have a responsibility as a representative of his country and system in the 1972 championship? “Not so much”, “I was not a communist”. He felt a responsibility for his helpers and friends.
Fischer presented himself as fighting against the Soviet machine; Spassky says he too felt alone. When Fischer arrived seven minutes late every day he said “take half an hour”. “Last time I met Bobby was one-and-a-half year ago, and said ‘let’s do something for our ???, we are not eternal’, ‘we should make film about pre-arranged matches’” as Fischer maintained that all intra-Soviet matches were pre-arranged and that all chess players were KGB officers. Spassky said that when he became a Colonel he would take him to the best restaurant. Fischer: “yeahh…”. After Spassky wrote to Bush (on his behalf), he called him a “frenemy”.
Spassky had never previously lost to Fischer before the championship, but had an extraordinary run of qualifiers 6-0 6-0 6-2. Says that game 3 was the turning point. Move 29 of game 1 was, contends Spassky, part of Fischer’s principle of being on the offensive, not a blunder.
Spassky means “saviour” in Russian, and says he ruined his own chances by agreeing to play in a special room which he’d promised his advisers not to.
On losing: “I was very happy, not immediately” no longer being champion having no longer the responsibility. He was widely believed to have been capable of winning; afterwards he was “debriefed” as a punishment, in an ideologically-motivated meeting. Borislavsky said “in our time it is not necessary to be well-prepared at home, but in the five hours [study time during the match]”, “but I lost the most important thing, I lost endurance during the middle game, this is due to bad neuro-system”. Reckons he was no longer no. 1 by 1970. In 1974 he lost to Karpov.
The 1992 rematch he describes as a “festival”. “In game 6 I wanted to make a draw with white, he played so badly with black”. Fischer hadn’t played in tournaments for 20 years. He was well behind in latest information. “But when he came into his good form, he was very good”, maybe game 8 or 9. “Unforunately the match schedule was very bad, sometimes we had to play 9 hours in a row”, and he made a draw with a queen ending. Spassky says Fischer was exhausted.
Spassky now lives in Paris. “Does chess still give you pleasure?” “Always. I play with some wine, against players much weaker than me. Against ladies I play with a pleasure. But now some of them are very strong.” Says that the game is very different now with computer analysis. That’s why Fischer switched to random chess, but that’s “a typical mésalliance”, “he got his genius from [points up]”.
Prediction for world championship reuniting match? (Anand-Kramnik) “No.”
Enjoys visiting tournaments. Mentions the blind championship.
Questions
In 1972 I was tremendously excited about the game…and flew to Rekjavik. I came to see Bobby Fischer play, but from game 4 I saw mostly Boris Spassky, because Fischer was mostly off-stage. I gained a tremendous respect for the gentlemen of chess. Who were the three gentlemen in the big heavy overcoats with Cossack hats and sunglasses in the first row who stared constantly at the board. (Game 4). It was said they were KGB parapsychologists trying to stare down Fischer. “When I wanted to go in 1975 to France I was robbed, I was taken to KGB HQ, and they protested that they were too honest, but once they studied Fischer’s chair in Reykjavik.”
There’s a film being made about the match. What are your views on it? “I’m a part of this business and I’m very happy that I am.” Why? “I would like to have these recollections…I have some negative emotions about this, or maybe positive. but I would prefer to forget about this.”
Do you regret wasting such a good mind on a game? “Ask second question please.”
Did you think that Garry Kasparov would wind up in gaol? “I think it will be salvation for Garry. I am really afraid that he could lose his life. Not from his political opponents, but from his party making him a martyr. It is really dangerous game now in Russia, politics. For me this is very sad story that Garry changed his game for political game.”
You’ve played Fischer, Karpov and Kasparov. Which was the hardest opponent and why? “My coach was very angry with [game 6] because I did not fulfil with his ideas about the analysis, and Bobby played very well, no, I played very bad, and he really showed his power.”
You’re best known for your loss to Fischer, but that seems to be an unfortunate way to be remembered. Is there some game or event in your career you would prefer to be remembered by? “Yes of course I have several games to be remembered. Or I don’t know how many, maybe many. As for the match with Bobby, that was still big enigma for me, because I used to make a blunder, in some games I lost a game in one move, I never used to do that.” He mentions game 15 in Sveta Stephen as a good one with good ideas in the middle game.
Who and what really encouraged you to take up chess? [From a boy] “[Points up] This very honourable person who is upstairs”.
You’ve said that you’ve played many artistic games of chess, and I think we’d like to hear…your notion of what is artistic in a game of chess. “I mentioned ‘What means chess?’ and I couldn’t give an answer. Maybe this is a concept of the age, when you’re getting older you start to see the objects for many sides. What I like in chess is art, artistry, this is why I get such a big pleasure from studying positions, especially studies. Of course for composer is important to have very well-developed sense of composition, everything must be in harmony…At the moment I’m teaching children and I’m interested in games.” Was in email contact with Fischer about this and got some interesting replies. Fischer studied many Soviet books, particularly on the end-game. “[Fischer was] very solid, very honest, very pure”. But this sort of artistry “never happens in the game…but maybe I’m wrong, this is very complex, I take my move back.”
Question about thinking about chess. Brain studies showed a well-developed pattern recognition part of brain in the world speed chess champion. When you were playing, what were you thinking about? “Next time please make it shorter. I think chess talent is based on synthèse. One time I asked Irina my sister who plays checkers, how do you find the best move? and she said ‘I look and see things here and there and eventually I see things’ and I realised I do the same thing.”
Do you have heroes? “All my heroes in chess are tragic personalities. This is very strange. Paul Morphy, Alekhine, Bobby Fischer. Very strange people. And tragic. Paul Morphy died at age of 47. Alekhine disappeared at age 53. I forgot to mention Pillsbury Also Tchigorin, before he died he burned his chess set. Also Steinitz was very nice person for me, also quite tragic.”
Last updated 2008/05/31