Robert James Fischer vs Boris Spassky · World Chess Championship, Reykjavik, 1972 · Queen's Gambit Declined · 1-0
The 1972 World Chess Championship match between Fischer and Spassky was the height of Cold War chess rivalry — America versus the Soviet Union, Fischer versus the Soviet chess machine. Game 6 is considered the greatest game of that match and one of the finest positional masterpieces in chess history. Fischer, who had demolished Spassky tactically in previous games, here shows his positional depth. He builds up a slow, crushing queenside advance, sacrificing a rook for a bishop to open files toward Spassky's king. The position by move 40 is a study in positional domination — Fischer's bishop on c4 surveys the board like a colossus while Spassky's pieces are all passive. Spassky reportedly applauded Fischer's play after resigning, an extraordinary gesture of sportsmanship between Cold War rivals.