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The 1972 World Championship Match between Boris Spassky and Bobby Fischer is one of the most widely-known matches in the history of chess. With the Soviet state actually subsidizing their methodical training program, much pressure was on Spassky to deliver another world championship title to the Soviets and prove the superiority of their system of training. The world championship title was one that the Soviets historically dominated, having won it the previous 24 years. Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, the match became a media sensation as an eccentric and largely self-taught American prodigy challenged the Soviet stranglehold on the world title. Going into the match, Fischer had never beaten Spassky. In fact, an American had yet to claim the title of World Champion.
Fischer would lose the first two games of the match. The second one he lost by forfeit, refusing to play given certain playing conditions. In game three, Fischer would beat Spassky for the first time of his life. Winning seven of the next nineteen games, and drawing eleven, Fischer would go on to win the 1972 world championship match and become the first American World Chess Champion. The final match score was 12½ - 8½. This 1972 world championship was soon labeled "The Match of the Century" and Fischer would return home to the United States a celebrity.
Listed below are the 21 games comprising the World Chess Championship Match of 1972 between Borris Spassky and Bobby Fischer.
Game #1: Spassky vs Fischer - 07/11/1972 1-0, 56 moves, Nimzo-Indian
Game #2: Fischer vs Spassky - 07/13/1972 0-1, 0 moves, Forfeit by Fischer
Game #3: Spassky vs Fischer - 07/16/1972 0-1, 41 moves, Benoni
Game #4: Fischer vs Spassky - 07/18/1972 1/2-1/2, 45 moves, Sicilian, Fischer-Sozin Attack
Game #5: Spassky vs Fischer - 07/20/1972 0-1, 27 moves, Nimzo-Indian
Game #6: Fischer vs Spassky - 07/23/1972 1-0, 41 moves, Queen's Gambit Declined, Tartakower
Game #7: Spassky vs Fischer - 07/25/1972 1/2-1/2, 49 moves, Sicilian, Najdorf
Game #8: Fischer vs Spassky - 07/27/1972 1-0, 37 moves, English
Game #9: Spassky vs Fischer - 08/01/1972 1/2-1/2, 29 moves, Queen's Gambit Declined, Semi-Tarrasch
Game #10: Fischer vs Spassky - 08/03/1972 1-0, 56 moves, Ruy Lopez, Closed
Game #11: Spassky vs Fischer - 08/06/1972 1-0, 31 moves, Sicilian, Najdorf
Game #12: Fischer vs Spassky - 08/08/1972 1/2-1/2, 55 moves, Queen's Gambit Declined
Game #13: Spassky vs Fischer - 08/10/1972 0-1, 74 moves, Alekhine's Defense, Modern
Game#14: Fischer vs Spassky - 08/15/1972 1/2-1/2, 40 moves, Queen's Gambit Declined
Game #15: Spassky vs Fischer - 08/17/1972 1/2-1/2, 43 moves, Sicilian, Najdorf
Game #16: Fischer vs Spassky - 08/20/1972 1/2-1/2, 60 moves, Ruy Lopez, Gligoric Variation
Game #17: Spassky vs Fischer - 08/22/1972 1/2-1/2, 45 moves, Pirc, Austrian Attack
Game #18: Fischer vs Spassky - 08/24/1972 1/2-1/2, 47 moves, Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack
Game #19: Spassky vs Fischer - 08/27/1972 1/2-1/2, 40 moves, Alekhine's Defense
Game #20: Fischer vs Spassky - 08/29/1972 1/2-1/2, 54 moves, Sicilian, Richter-Rauzer Attack
Game #21: Spassky vs Fischer - 08/31/1972 0-1, 41 moves, Sicilian, Taimanov Variation
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