Battle of the Giants - Korchnoi and Spassky in a match

Sunday, 20 December 2009 05:30

The match between two chess legends, 10th World Champion Boris Spassky and "eternal challenger" Viktor Korchnoi, will be a final event in the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the union between Kalmykia and Russia. Eight games will be played in Elista from 17th until 27th December, for a prize fund of 20.000 USD. On the rest day veteran players from Kalmykia, Moscow and St.Petersburg will compete in a blitz tournament. Viktor Korchnoi, although tired after a long trip from London, seized a win with the white pieces in the first game of the match. Boris Spassky employed a rare variation against Korchnoi's French defence in the second game, gained the advantage, but let the win slip away after a careless move in the rook ending. Live games and more information on the official website