Wednesday, February 1, 2012 at 1:27AM Their comments about Boris Spassky are fairly brief, but coming as they do from such legends of the game they are noteworthy nonetheless. (HT: Brian Karen)
Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 10:06AM Apparently the interview was made back in September, but when Boris Spassky's health took a turn for the worse after a stroke its publication was delayed. Now it has been published and translated, and you can read it here. (HT: Brian Karen)
Boris Spassky Monday, January 30, 2012 at 8:07PM The former world champion is 75 years old today (January 30). For the past couple of decades he has primarily been an elder statesman and goodwill ambassador of the game, but for many years he was a tremendous player, often cited as a model of universality in his style. In his day he was the youngest grandmaster ever, won the World Junior championship, became a Candidate as a teenager (and back then the latter was not the result of the former), won every event in sight, played three world championship matches and all while being liked by everyone (except Viktor Korchnoi, for a time).
Among his many gifts, industry doesn't seem to have been one of them, and unfortunately for chess fans and for his reputation with generations that didn't see him play, he hasn't written a chess autobiography. (And it doesn't seem likely, given his current health, that it will ever happen.) It's a real pity that his best games are so unfamiliar to most of us, so do yourself a favor. Celebrate his birthday by looking up some of his best games online - they're worth seeing!
Boris Spassky