Vishy v. Spassky

In this post, we shall continue to analyse Vishy's games at the elusive 1989 Tournoi de Generations, held at Cannes. I say elusive because what you're reading in my posts is more or less all the information that's available about the competition. While ChessGames.Com lists some of the games, there is no dedicated tournament page.

For the uninitiated, Spassky is a Seven Time World Championship Candidate, Two Time Soviet Champion and World Champion from 1969-72 (when he lost the fabled 'Match of the Century' against Fischer). When Spassky played against Vishy, he was 52, lived in France with his third wife (would later become a French citizen and represent France in several competitions), had fallen below his Peak Rating of 2690 (January 1971) and was reluctant to pursue chess full-time. Nevertheless, after a brief hiatus, Spassky returned to tournament play; and decidedly plateaued. The year 1987 marked the first time Spassky's ELO Rating dropped outside the World's Top 10. But while his youthful prodigy days were behind him, Spassky was still one of the world's best players, and particularly adept at tactics and sharp lines (including the King's Gambit. One of his games in the King's Gambit has even featured in a Bond film, plan to cover that game soon) i.e., a most formidable opponent.

So, its round 3, Vishy with the White pieces against Boris Spassky, and he opens with the Ruy Lopez.

According to Stockfish Spassky made 2 mistakes and 1 blunder. The blunder was 31...Nf6? Now Spassky knew, 32. Re7 was coming, and his Knight on d5 was hanging. While 31...Nf6 saves the Knight, it does leaves e7 unprotected, and Vishy inevitably plays 32. Re7.

We all know what follows once a rook is on the seventh rank! True to form, Spassky plays the endgame clinically, making no inaccuracies. But it's too late, and Anand manages to convert his advantage. As is the theme with Vishy's games (not unlike Fischer's), the man plays like a computer. Throughout the game, he made 4 inaccuracies, 0 mistakes and 0 blunders. An Average centipawn loss of 15!

There are few GMs who play this precisely even today. Anand and Spassky would play one more match at the same competition, but Anand managed to draw with the Black pieces. Their lifetime score against each other is 1-0, with 1 draw. As on date, Spassky is 85, lives in Russia, and is the oldest living former world champion, with an ELO Rating of 2548.

“Contrasting that with the World Championship match I played against Carlsen in 2013, it’s easy to see how substantially the value of experience has diminished because of the way computers have evolved.”
- Viswanathan Anand, Mind Master: Winning Lessons From A Champion's Life, Page 80