CHESS PLAYER

Boris Spassky

1937 - 2025

Photo of Boris Spassky

Icon of person Boris Spassky

Boris Vasilievich Spassky (Russian: Бори́с Васи́льевич Спа́сский; January 30, 1937 – February 27, 2025) was a Russian chess grandmaster who 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, 1974, 1977, 1980, 1985). Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Boris Spassky has received more than 2,398,812 page views. His biography is available in 70 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 66 in 2019). Boris Spassky is the 6th most popular chess player, the 111th most popular biography from Russia (up from 122nd in 2019) and the 2nd most popular Russian Chess Player.

Boris Spassky is most famous for being the first world chess champion from the Soviet Union. He is also known for his victory over Bobby Fischer in the 1972 World Chess Championship.

Memorability Metrics

  • 2.4M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 74.35

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 70

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 9.00

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 3.75

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among CHESS PLAYERS

Among chess players, Boris Spassky ranks 6 out of 461. Before him are Bobby Fischer, Wilhelm Steinitz, José Raúl Capablanca, Mikhail Tal, and Alexander Alekhine. After him are Emanuel Lasker, Mikhail Botvinnik, Anatoly Karpov, Tigran Petrosian, Max Euwe, and Garry Kasparov.

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1937, Boris Spassky ranks 14. Before him are Jack Nicholson, Dustin Hoffman, Bobby Charlton, Jane Fonda, Queen Sonja of Norway, and Martti Ahtisaari. After him are Renzo Piano, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, Queen Paola of Belgium, Madeleine Albright, Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Among people deceased in 2025, Boris Spassky ranks 3. Before him are David Lynch, and Gene Hackman. After him are Marianne Faithfull, Jean-Marie Le Pen, Sam Nujoma, Horst Köhler, Aga Khan IV, Denis Law, Sofia Gubaidulina, Ágnes Keleti, and Roberta Flack.

Others Born in 1937

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Others Deceased in 2025

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In Russia

Among people born in Russia, Boris Spassky ranks 111 out of 3,761. Before him are Tokhtamysh (1342), Ilya Prigogine (1917), Sergey Lavrov (1950), Vladimir Komarov (1927), Shamil, 3rd Imam of Dagestan (1797), and Mikhail Lomonosov (1711). After him are Grigory Potemkin (1739), Alexander Kolchak (1874), Olga of Kiev (890), Dzhokhar Dudayev (1944), Grand Duke Michael Alexandrovich of Russia (1878), and Ivan V of Russia (1666).

Others born in Russia

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Among CHESS PLAYERS In Russia

Among chess players born in Russia, Boris Spassky ranks 2. Before him are Alexander Alekhine (1892). After him are Mikhail Botvinnik (1911), Anatoly Karpov (1951), Vasily Smyslov (1921), Viktor Korchnoi (1931), Mikhail Chigorin (1850), Savielly Tartakower (1887), Vera Menchik (1906), Yuri Averbakh (1922), Andor Lilienthal (1911), and Alexander Kotov (1913).

Russian born Chess Players

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