Boris Spassky Boris Spassky Boris Vasilievich Spassky (; born January 30, 1937) is a Russian chess grandmaster. He was the tenth World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1969 to 1972. Spassky played three world championship matches: he lost to Tigran Petrosian in 1966; defeated Petrosian in 1969 to become world champion; then lost to Bobby Fischer in a famous match in 1972. Spassky won the Soviet Chess Championship twice outright (1961, 1973), and twice lost in playoffs (1956, 1963), after tying for first place during the event proper. He was a World Chess Championship candidate on seven occasions (1956, 1965, 1968,
World Chess Hall of Fame D.C.; and Miami, Florida, it moved to St. Louis on September 9, 2011. The brainchild of Steven Doyle, USCF president from 1984 to 1987, the World Chess Hall of Fame was created in 1986 as the U.S. Chess Hall of Fame. Opened in 1988 in the basement of the Federation's then-headquarters in New Windsor, New York, the small museum contained a modest collection, including a book of chess openings signed by Bobby Fischer; a silver set awarded to Paul Morphy, American chess player and unofficial World Champion; and cardboard plaques honoring past grandmasters. In 1992, the U.S. Chess Trust purchased