Hero of the Launch
Boris Spassky, with Paul Motwani, Glasgow 1987
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This
month's hero was born on 30 January 1937, but even now at age 62 he still produces
some magical masterpieces reminiscent of his beautiful 23-move victory playing
the King's Gambit against GM David Bronstein at Leningrad in 1960. The finish
became immortalised on film in a scene from the James Bond movie "From Russia
With Love", and appropriately our hero's surname has 007 letters. His first
name is an anagram of "orbis" (Latin for "globe"), and indeed he was the World
Chess Champion from 1969-72. Grandmaster Boris Spassky is a living legend,
and it will be a treat for us to revisit his aforementioned stunning win when
we get into group four.