USSR vs. Rest of the World 1970

USSR vs. Rest of the World 1970 was a team match held in Belgrade from March 29 to April 5. The Soviet selection faced leading players from other countries on ten boards, with reserves available to replace starters. Four rounds produced forty games; the regular opponents on each board met several times, alternating colors.

The Soviet team included five world champions: Botvinnik, Smyslov, Tal, Petrosian, and Spassky. Bent Larsen played first board for the Rest of the World, with Bobby Fischer on second board. Fischer faced Tigran Petrosian and scored 3 points from 4, one of the match's leading individual results.

The match also reached an audience outside the hall. Contemporary reports collected by Douglas Griffin describe spectators gathered outside the Dom Sindikata around a large illuminated demonstration board, with commentary by Milan Bertok relayed through loudspeakers.

Where the match was won

The USSR won 20.5-19.5 , but the points were distributed very unevenly. On the top four boards, the Rest of the World won 10.5-5.5. On the remaining six, the Soviets scored 15 points to 9. The depth of their lineup had a concrete expression: the margin on those six boards outweighed the deficit on the top four. Winning the team match did not require winning the contests between its most prominent figures.

Larsen versus Spassky, Belgrade 1970

In the second round, Spassky exploited an uncastled king and incomplete white development to win the first-board game. The knight and rook sacrifices sustained an attack in which a pawn reached promotion. Larsen resigned after promotion with check; the subsequent mate belongs to analysis.

But that defeat does not sum up Larsen's performance. In round three he beat Spassky, and in round four he beat Spassky’s replacement, Leonid Stein. Larsen finished with 2.5 points from 4, while his three games against Spassky left each player with 1.5. The very board that produced that spectacular defeat thus ended up giving the Rest of the World a one-point advantage.