RIP Boris Spassky: "one of the greatest chess players of the Soviet era and the world, but also a true gentleman"

Chad postage stamp honoring Boris Spassky, circa 2012 (rook76/shutterstock.com)

Boris Spassky, the World Chess Champion who faced Bobby Fischer in the legendary "Match of the Century," died Thursday at age 88.

Spassky was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), where he became a grandmaster at 18. He claimed the world championship in 1969 and held it unti…