Fischer–Spassky (1992 Match)

The 1992 match between former World Chess Champions Bobby Fischer and Boris Spassky was billed as a World Chess Championship, but was unofficial. It was a rematch of the 1972 World Championship match. Fischer won 10–5, with 15 draws.

The match was played in Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which was under UN sports sanctions because of the Breakup of Yugoslavia. This led to a US warrant for Fischer's arrest, and he never returned to the US.

Although there was substantial media coverage, and some drama, public interest in the historic Fischer–Spassky rematch was not nearly as great as it had been in 1972.

Background
After defeating Spassky to win the title of World Champion in the World Chess Championship 1972, Fischer was scheduled to defend his title in 1975 against the winner of the 1974 FIDE Candidates Tournament, Anatoly Karpov. Fischer, however, was unhappy with the format of the World Championship. At the time the format was a 24-game match, with the winner being the first player to score 12½ points; if the match was drawn 12–12, then the match would be stopped, the prize money split, and the Champion retained his title. Fischer disliked this format because the player who was leading could play to draw games instead of win, and with each drawn game coast closer to the title. In his match against Spassky in 1972, games 14 to 20 were all draws. This style of chess offended Fischer. Instead, Fischer demanded the format be changed to that used in the very first World Championship, between Wilhelm Steinitz and Johannes Zukertort, where the winner was the first player to score 10 wins with draws not counting. In case of a 9–9 score, the champion would retain title, and the prize fund split equally. A FIDE Congress was held in 1974 during the Nice Olympiad. The delegates voted in favor of Fischer's 10-win proposal, but rejected the 9–9 clause as well as the possibility of an unlimited match. In response, Fischer refused to defend his title, and Karpov was declared World Champion by forfeit.

Seventeen years later, Fischer entered negotiations with sponsors willing to fund a match under his proposed format, settling on a bid from Yugoslav millionaire Jezdimir Vasiljević. Fischer insisted that since he had not been defeated in a match, he was still the true World Champion. He further claimed that all the games in the FIDE-sanctioned World Championship matches, involving Karpov and his challengers Korchnoi and Kasparov, had prearranged outcomes. He then played a rematch of the 1972 World Chess Championship against Spassky. The purse for the rematch was US$5 million, with $3.35 million of the purse to go to the winner.

Match

The match started in Sveti Stefan near Budva, an island off the coast of Montenegro. The match rules required a player to win ten games (draws not counting), with no adjournments. After a player had won five games, the match would take a 10-day recess and continue in Belgrade, the capital of Serbia.

Bobby Fischer won games 1, 7, 8, 9, 11, 16, 17, 21, 25, and 30 (10 Wins). Boris Spassky won games 4, 5, 12, 20, and 26 (5 Wins). Fischer and Spassky drew games 2, 3, 6, 10, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, 27, 28, and 29 (15 Draws).

Spassky at the time was rated 2545, (tied for 96th–102nd on the FIDE rating list at the time), well below World Champion and world number one Garry Kasparov, who was rated 2790. Fischer's score of 17½ out of 30 (counting draws) against Spassky gave him a performance rating of 2645, which would have put him at No. 12 in the world on the July 1992 list.

Yasser Seirawan believed that the match proved that Fischer's playing strength was "somewhere in the top ten in the world". Kasparov himself was dismissive of Fischer, stating that "Bobby is playing OK, nothing more. Maybe his strength is 2600 or 2650. It wouldn't be close between us." Jeremy Silman wrote that Fischer's level of play was inconsistent: Games 1 and 11 were very highly regarded, but overall the level of play was below that of the world championship matches of Kasparov.

Aftermath
After Fischer's victory, he proclaimed himself as the "Undefeated Champion of the World". His status as a World Champion in 1992 is not widely acknowledged.

Both match locations were at the time part of the same country, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which was under UN sports sanctions because of the Breakup of Yugoslavia. Fischer's participation led to a conflict with the US government, which warned Fischer that his participation in the match would violate an executive order imposing US sanctions on Yugoslavia. The US government ultimately issued a warrant for his arrest. After that, Fischer lived his life as an émigré.

Fischer never played competitively again after this match, and died in 2008.

As for Spassky, this match proved to be his last major challenge. He continued to play occasional events, but never participated in a world championship cycle again.

Games

The games of this match can be found here:

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fischer%E2%80%93Spassky_(1992_match)#Games

Chess Games: https://www.chessgames.com/perl/chess.pl?tid=80204

Personally, my favorite games of this match are games 1 and 11, both of which were won by Bobby Fischer.