Fifty years ago, it was Boris Spassky’s turn to shine at the chessboard

It didn’t enthrall the world like a moon landing, didn’t define a generation like Woodstock, didn’t stun the experts like the Mets’ World Series win. But there was also a compelling world chess championship match during that packed year of 1969, one that is worth celebrating 50 years later.

As we’ve written here before, Boris Spassky is too often remembered today as the “Russian guy Bobby Fischer beat.” But Spassky in the mid-1960s was probably the strongest player in the world, with a flexible, harmonious style that set him apart from the great generation of Soviet grandmasters with whom he competed.

Armenian world champion Tigran Petrosian, whose quiet, positional style sometimes masked a unique, revolutionary approach to the game, narrowly held off Spassky in their first world title fight in 1966. But Spassky, 32, was at the peak of his powers in 1969, easily winning the right to a 24-game rematch and entering the Moscow match a betting favorite.

Given the suspicions and machinations that attended so many other world title matches before and after the two Petrosian-Spassky matches, it is nice to learn the two protagonists here genuinely liked and respected each other, despite — or perhaps because of — their deep stylistic differences at the chessboard.

Spassky may have entered the 1969 fight a touch overconfident, for he proceeded to lose the first game with the White pieces in 56 demoralizing moves. But he righted himself with wins in Games 4 and 5, and the play seesawed back and forth for weeks. With the match tied 8-8, Spassky finally broke Petrosian’s resistance with crucial wins in Game 17 and Game 19, the latter the one time in the match when the challenger’s famed attacking skills were on full display.

Petrosian, rightly considered one of the greatest defenders in chess history, here gets bulldozed in a classic Najdorf Sicilian battle. Black’s queenside counterplay never gets going, and with 15. g4!? Nxg4 (trying to gin up counterplay with 15…b5?! 16. g5 hxg5 17. fxg5 Nh5 18. g6! is very strong for White) 16. Qg2 Nf6 17. Rg1 Bd7 18. f5!, White is already threatening tactical tricks such as 19. fxe6 fxe6 20. Nf5!.

White claims a powerful initiative with a second pawn sac: 19. Rfd1 Qd8?! (e5!? might be a better try, since Black survives on 20. Ne6!? [Nde2 preserves a small edge] fxe6 21. fxe6 Rxe6! [Bc6? 22. Rxf6!] 22. Bxe6 Bxe6 23. Rxf6 gxf6 24. Qg6 Bc4 25. Qxf6+ Kh7) 20. fxe6 fxe6 21. e5!, opening new lines while disrupting Black’s defense. Spassky’s follow-up is impeccable: 21…dxe5 22. Ne4! Nh5 (exd4 23. Rxf6! g5 [obviously not 23…gxf6?? 24. Qg8 mate] 24. Qh3 Qe7 [the threat was 25. Rxh6+ Bxh6 26. Qxh6+ Kg8 27. Nxg5 28. Nxe6+ Kf7 29. Rf7 mate] 25. Rxg5 Qh7 26. Rfg6 hxg5 27. Nf6!, and if 27…Qxh3, 28. Rg8 is mate) 23. Qg6! (the silicon engines at first think 23…Nf4 saves things for Black, only to eventually hit on 24. Rxf4! exf4 [exd4 25. Rxf8+ Rxf8 26. Qxg7 mate] 25. Nf3! Qb6 26. Rg5! Rxc8 [hxg5 27. Nexg5 and mate next] 27. Nf6! and wins) exd4 24. Ng5!, and the champion resigns.

The threat is mate on h7, and there’s no hope for Petrosian after 24…hxg5 25. Qxh5+ Kg8 26. Qf7+ Kh7 27. Rf3 g4 [e5 28. Qh5 mate] 28. Rxg4 with checkmate in sight. Amazingly, Petrosian rallied from this debacle to win Game 20, but then lost again and two games later conceded the match, 12½-10½.

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The most talked-about chess game of the week was a 47-move, midtournament draw at the FIDE Chess.com Grand Swiss tournament now underway on the Isle of Man. The reason: Belarus’ GM Vladislav Kovalev had Norwegian world champion Magnus Carlsen — he of the 93-game unbeaten streak, whose last over-the-board loss at classical time controls came in the summer of 2018 — on the ropes, with a slew of chances to deliver the knockout blow.

But it’s not easy to get the champ on the canvas — and get him to stay.

We pick it up from today’s diagram, where Carlsen as Black has been completely outplayed in a Rossolimo Sicilian: Kovalev dominates the center, has a monster passer on d7 and, after the just-played 29…b6-b5, is winning a pawn to boot.

Kibitzers worldwide saw a number of winning paths, but White was facing a dogged superstar with just a few minutes to reach the 40-move time control. There followed 30. Nxc5!? (Rf5! c4 31. Re5!, centralizing the rook, was instantly winning) Bxc5 31. Qxc5 Kh7 32. Qd5 Qg5 33. Qe4+?! (and stronger here was 33. Rf5! Qe3 34. Rf7 a6 35. d4!, and Black has no perpetual check) Qg6 36. Qc7 Qg5 37. Qd6 Qg6 38. Qc7?! (Qd5! gets back on the winning track) Qg5 39. Qc6 Qe7, and with the passed pawn under control, Black has finally reached a defendable harbor.

After 40. Qxb5 Rxd7 41. Qf5+ g6 42. Qf8 Qxf8 43. Rxf8 Kg7 44. Ra8 Kf6 45. Kg2 Rxd3 46. Rxa7 Rd2+ 47. Kg1, White’s extra pawn means nothing with his king pinned on the back rank. A disappointed Kovalev agreed to the draw.

Spassky-Petrosian, Game 19, World Championship Match, Moscow, June 1969

1. e4 c5 2. Nf3 d6 3. d4 cxd4 4. Nxd4 Nf6 5. Nc3 a6 6. Bg5 Nbd7 7. Bc4 Qa5 8. Qd2 h6 9. Bxf6 Nxf6 10. O-O-O e6 11. Rhe1 Be7 12. f4 O-O 13. Bb3 Re8 14. Kb1 Bf8 15. g4 Nxg4 16. Qg2 Nf6 17. Rg1 Bd7 18. f5 Kh8 19. Rdf1 Qd8 20. fxe6 fxe6 21. e5 dxe5 22. Ne4 Nh5 23. Qg6 exd4 24. Ng5 Black resigns.

• David R. Sands can be reached at 202/636-3178 or by email dsands@washingtontimes.com.