Boris Spassky, Soviet chess champion who lost famed Cold War-era match to Bobby Fischer, dies at 88

MOSCOW (AP) — Boris Spassky, a Soviet-era world chess champion who lost his title to American Bobby Fischer in a legendary 1972 match that became a proxy for Cold War rivalries, died Thursday in Moscow. He was 88.

The death of the one-time chess prodigy was announced by the International Chess Federation, the game's governing body. No cause was given.

Spassky was "one of the greatest players of all time," the group said on the social platform X. He “left an indelible mark on the game.”

The televised 1972 match with Fischer, at the height of the Cold War, became an international sensation and was known as the “Match of the Century.”

When Fischer won the international chess crown in Reykjavik, Iceland, the then-29-year-old chess genius from Brooklyn, New York, brought the U.S. its first world chess title.

Fischer, known to be testy and difficult, died in 2008. After his victory of Spassky, he later forfeited the title by refusing to defend it.

Former world champion Garry Kasparov wrote on X that Spassky “was never above befriending and mentoring the next generation, especially those of us who, like him, didn’t fit comfortably into the Soviet machine.”

Spassky emigrated to France in 1976.

On its website, the chess federation called Spassky's match with Fischer “one of the most iconic” in the history of the game.

Yugoslav grandmaster Svetozar Gligoric said that Spassky's secret strength “lay in his colossal skill in adapting himself to the different styles of his opponents,” the Washington Post reported.

The chess federation called Spassky “the first genuinely universal player” who “was not an opening specialist, but he excelled in complex and dynamic middlegame positions where he was in his element.”

At the time of their famous match, the Soviet Union had compiled an unbroken streak of world chess championships that stretched back decades.

After his loss, Spassky went home to a cold reception in the Soviet Union, where he had become a national disappointment, the Post said. He said he was not allowed to leave the country, and his marriage, his second, fell apart.

“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. “Our chess kingdom does not have borders.”

FILE - Boris Spassky, left and Bobby Fischer analyze their match in Sveti Stefan, Yugoslavia, Sunday, Sept. 20, 1992. (AP Photo/Milos Vukadiovic, File)

FILE- Bobby Fischer, left, and Boris Spassky discuss a point at a cocktail party after a news conference, Monday, Sept. 15, 1992 in Sveti Stefan, Yugoslavia. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - Russian world chess champion Boris Spassky, center, is followed by a member of the Soviet Delegation to the world chess championships in Reykjavik, Iceland on July 5, 1972, after they walked out of a meeting representatives of Bobby Fischer, Spassky's challenger from America. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - Reigning chess world champion Boris Spassky, left, of Russia, and international grandmaster Bobby Fischer of the United States, are seen during a game at the XIX World Chess Olympiad in Siegen, Germany, Sept. 20, 1970. (AP Photo/Heinz Ducklau, File)

FILE - Bobby Fischer, right, and Boris Spassky play their last game together in Reykjavik, Iceland, Aug. 31, 1972. (AP Photo/J. Walter Green, File)

A lawyer for Phil Mickelson says the six-time major winner resigned from a country club near San Diego where he was accused of inappropriate contact with a female employee.

Golf Digest last week reported that Mickelson was no longer a member of The Farms Country Club and that the golfer was asked by club management to leave the course during his round after the employee reported the allegations of misconduct. Tom Clare, a defamation lawyer hired by Mickelson, said that the golfer later resigned from the club.

The Golf Digest story broke at a low point for Mickelson. He withdrew from the Masters and PGA Championship this year, citing a personal health matter with his family that kept him out of all but one of the nine LIV Golf events this year. The one major golf tournament that has eluded him — the U.S. Open, where he has been runner-up a record six times — is happening this weekend, and he is no longer eligible to compete after running out of exemptions.

Golf Digest cited sources in reporting Mickelson approached the woman in the clubhouse and made nonconsensual and inappropriate physical contact with her. The woman rejected his advances and reported it to her supervisors.

Club management investigated and confronted Mickelson on the course. Mickelson, 55, was told to leave the premises.

“Following a staff member report of member misconduct, the club provided immediate and ongoing support to the staff member, conducted a thorough independent investigation of the incident and took decisive action. This individual is no longer a member of The Farms Golf Club," The Farms said in a statement to Golf Digest.

“To protect the safety and privacy of our staff and member, we are unable to speak further on the matter.”

A spokesperson for the golfer issued a statement in response to the Golf Digest reporting that said: “Any misunderstanding has been cleared up. Phil continues to attend to a family health matter and is uncertain when he will be able to return to professional golf.”

Mickelson became the oldest major champion in golf history when he won the 2021 PGA Championship. A year later, he was a central figure in helping to launch Saudi-funded LIV Golf. He lost major sponsorships when he was quoted in early 2022 as calling the Saudis “scary mother (expletives)” and that he was only thinking of joining the league to gain leverage over the PGA Tour.

The Farms, located about 10 miles from Torrey Pines, is a private club where several top players are members, such as Annika Sorenstam and Xander Schauffele.

AP Golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf

FILE - In this June 18, 2006, file photo, Geoff Ogilvy, left, of Australia, and Phil Mickelson talk on the 18th green where Ogilvy was presented the U.S. Open trophy after winning the golf championship at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)

FILE - Phil Mickelson tees off on the 13th hole during the first round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Oakmont Country Club, June 12, 2025, in Oakmont, Pa. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster, File)