Boris Spassky is best remembered for his duel with American Bobby Fischer in a legendary 1972 match that became a proxy for Cold War rivalries.

The Soviet-era former chess prodigy, who played in “one of the most iconic” games in history against American Bobby Fischer at the height of the Cold War, died at age 88.

When Mr. Spassky, a Russian, played Bobby Fischer, an American, in Iceland at the height of the Cold War, the media attention reduced them to pawns in a wider drama.