The 10th World Champion Boris Spassky was recently asked to give a talk at the opening of a photographic exhibition dedicated to his match with Bobby Fischer and the 70th anniversary of the USA vs. USSR Radio Match. Although Spassky couldn’t attend in person he passed on what he’d like to say, including how he already sensed Fischer was a tragic figure when the American visited Moscow in 1958 and later tried to help Bobby when he was in trouble in Japan.

The 15th undisputed World Chess Champion Vishy Anand with the 10th, Boris Spassky, after the 2014 World Championship match in Sochi | photo: official website

The opening of the exhibition in the Russian National Public Library for Science and Technology in Moscow was attended by 93-year-old Grandmaster Yuri Averbakh, who didn’t play but did work as a controller during the 1945 USA vs. Russia match, which we covered in a recent article.

Part of the exhibition on the 1945 USA-USSR Radio Match | photo: Vladimir Barsky, official website

Boris Spassky couldn’t attend, but Vladimir Barsky’s report for the Russian Chess Federation website includes the following speech by Sergey Voronkov. Note the World Chess Rapid and Blitz Championships start in Berlin on October 9th, which might be another reason for Spassky’s trip.

Sergey Voronkov: In recent days I spoke on the telephone with Boris Spassky a couple of times, trying to persuade him to take part in this evening, especially as he’s already been in our library twice. He said he’d willingly come, but he was "sitting on suitcases": he’s soon travelling to Berlin for some kind of event. "And what’s that dedicated to?" “"They’re going to commemorate the match in Reykjavik. I was invited as a guest of honour. I’ll be there like the elephant from Krylov’s fable. If you recall: “Along the streets Big Elephant was led / To show him off, most likely…”? And then how does it go? “Since Elephants are not a common thing to see / A crowd of gapers followed on his heels…”. So they’re going to lead me around like that!"

Yuri Averbakh with Sergey Voronkov | photo: Vladimir Barsky, Russian Chess Federation website

Disappointed that Spassky wasn’t going to be here, I came up with a solution: to ask him what he’d like to say about Fischer and read out his words to the guests. He graciously agreed.

Boris Spassky: “I’ve kept good memories of Fischer. I don’t have any grudges against him. I always forgave him the fact that he behaved like a child. Bobby was very pure and friendly. He liked children, animals. He was an avid cat lover! I also preferred cats to dogs, like Bobby. Did he have any cats? I don’t think so, although I never went to his house. I wanted to visit him in Pasadena, but didn’t get the chance. His house was robbed there and almost his whole archive was lost… I also want to save my archive, which remained in Paris. I’m planning to appeal to Ilyumzhinov and FIDE for help. I’ve got a small archive in Moscow, but that’s only a little part…

I like to remember Bobby. He belonged to that category of tragic people. I felt that, observing him back in 1958 when he came to Moscow with his sister. Yes, I was in the Central Chess Club then and I saw him playing blitz, and Bronstein also watched. I remember Petrosian was there too… For Bobby that was a sad experience, since he saw nothing at all of Moscow. He sat for days on end in the CCC and just played. And then he was asked to leave Moscow… Yes, it was a sad experience for him. And there was one thing he never grasped: that he had a huge number of fans in Russia! During the match in Reykjavik as well I know that many rooted for him…

You can find another trailer for the Bobby Fischer film Pawn Sacrifice, which is now in American cinemas, in our previous report on the film

He considered all the Soviet grandmasters KGB officers. I jokingly asked: “Bobby, am I also an officer?” He said nothing… “OK, the moment I receive the rank of colonel I’ll invite you to a restaurant!” I promised him.

A cartoon with Brezhnev (with Kosygin alongside him) asking Spassky, "But Boris, what if he doesn't play 1.e4?" | photo: Vladimir Barsky, Russian Chess Federation website

He didn’t respect Karpov, or Kasparov, or Korchnoi or Campomanes… You know what he called them? Karpy, Kaspy, Korchy, Campy…

In Iceland Bobby found himself in zugzwang. The Americans insisted that he was given up to the USA and he could never leave the island for fear of arrest. And he died because he didn’t trust his doctors. He had severe kidney problems but rejected an operation… He also tried to dissuade me when I had acute appendicitis during my match with Hort. He phoned and said I shouldn’t go to hospital. He thought that I, like him, was on a “blacklist” and that I might die at the hands of the doctors…

Back when he was sitting in a Japanese prison I wrote a letter to the US President and sent it to Mioko Vatai, his last very close friend. She passed the letter to the Americans, but nothing came of it… Then I wrote that they should shut Fischer and me up in one room, give us a chess set and leave us in peace!”

See also:

• Report at the Russian Chess Federation website (in Russian)
• 70th Anniversary of the USA vs. USSR Radio Match
• Bobby Fischer movie Pawn Sacrifice trailer released
• Spassky: “I still look at chess with the eyes of a child”
• Boris Spassky’s chess24 profile
• Bobby Fischer’s chess24 profile