Russian chess grandmaster Boris Spassky has died at the age of 88, International chess federation (FIDE) general director Emil Sutovsky told Reuters on Thursday.

Spassky, who took French nationality in 1978, was the 10th World Chess Champion, holding the title from 1969-1972, when he lost it to American Bobby Fischer in Reykjavik in a contest later dubbed as the “Match of the Century”.

During that match in the midst of the Cold War, which he lost 12.5-8.5 despite winning the first two games, Spassky showed great sportsmanship, applauding Fischer after losing the sixth game.

Former world champion Anatoly Karpov, who beat Spassky in the semi-finals of the Candidates tournament in 1974, paid a warm tribute.

“My idols in chess were Jose Capablanca and Boris Spassky. And when I managed to beat Spassky, it was the greatest of victories and, in a sense, defeating something inside me by beating my teacher,” Karpov told state news agency RIA.

“For me, Boris Spassky was an entire era for chess. He became most famous, of course, for being the man who handed over the title to Bobby Fischer.

“But he had chances to win that match. He may have lost by a wide margin, but when everything was in his favour, he let his chances slip away.”

Spassky had been the oldest living world chess champion.

“A great personality has passed away, generations of chess players have studied and are studying his games and his work. This is a great loss for the country,” Russian Chess Federation President Andrei Filatov told the TASS news agency.

Alexander Tkachev, executive director of the Russian Chess Federation, said Spassky’s death was a huge loss for the world of chess.

“Boris Vasilevich lived in Moscow and was in contact with everyone close to him… I knew him in a different way than from books. It was always interesting to speak with him. He was a very interesting story-teller and it’s hard for me to talk about him leaving us,” Tkachev told RIA news agency.

Spassky represented France in three chess Olympiads in 1984, 1986 and 1988, and was seen playing in the Jardin du Luxembourg in Paris during the 1990s.

After his health deteriorated in the early 2000s, Spassky disappeared from Paris in August, 2012 before resurfacing in Moscow in October that year.

“It was my desire to return to Russia, because my time in France had run its course. It was time to start a new stage. I understood it was time to leave,” he said at the time.

-Reuters

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The third edition of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP) invitational chess tournament was held in Benin City at the weekend.

 The tournament was organized by the Management of Life and Chess Club and it was powered by Community Sport and Educational Development Initiative (CSED).

The event was held at the premises of Edo Innovates, along ICE Road in Benin City.

Despite the heavy rain, the participants were not deterred, as they did not want to miss this date in the chess calendar of Edo State.

The event was attended by chess players from far and wide, with no age limit and or high ranking on the chess board. The event which lasted for about six hours, is a seven rounds rapid FIDE rated tournament.

During and after the tournament event, participants were provided with light refreshment by the tournament organisers.

At the end of the tournament, participants of the event praised the efforts of the tournament Coordinator, Princess Omoyemwen Adeyinka-Afolabi, CSED Initiative and other sponsors of the event, for their unrelenting effort at developing chess at the grassroots level.

They also expressed their desire to continue to make good efforts in improving themselves in the game of chess, as well as pledged to take part in future IDSDP Chess Invitation Tournaments.

The Management of Life and Chess Club and CSED Initiative, are current working out modalities of how to introduce chess to some selected secondary school in Benin City, as well as in other interested secondary schools in the three senatorial areas of Edo State.

They hope to achieve this goal through a ‘Chess4schools’ community outreach programme, which will involve teaching the students other basic soft skills and emotional intelligence skills.

An Iranian chess player who moved to Spain in January after she competed without a hijab and had an arrest warrant issued against her at home has been granted Spanish citizenship, Spain said on Wednesday.

Sarasadat Khademalsharieh, better known as Sara Khadem, took part in the FIDE World Rapid and Blitz Chess Championships held in Kazakhstan in late December without the headscarf that is mandatory under Iran’s strict Islamic dress codes.

Laws enforcing mandatory hijab-wearing became a flashpoint during the unrest that swept Iran when a 22-year-old Iranian-Kurdish woman, Mahsa Amini, died in the custody of the morality police in mid-September.

The 26-year-old has told Reuters she had no regrets over her gesture in support of the protest movement against her country’s clerical leadership.

Spain’s official gazette said the cabinet approved granting Khadem citizenship on Tuesday “taking into account the special circumstances” of her case.

-Reuters