Boris Spassky, the tenth World Chess Champion, was a chess prodigy who became a grandmaster at the young age of 18. He won the World Chess Championship in 1969, and held the title until 1972, when he lost to Bobby Fischer in the famous "Match of the Century". Boris passed on Thursday at the age of 88. He was a decades-long personal friend of the author. | Photo Frederic Friedel, taken in June 2007