Fifty years ago, on April 4, 1970, the world witnessed an event in chess with the Soviet Union (USSR) facing the Rest of the World in Belgrade, Yugoslavia.
The USSR was a powerhouse in chess at the time having produced a number of world champions since the 1950s. For the USSR vs Rest of the World match, world champions Mikhail Botvinnik, Vassily Smyslov, Mikhail Tal, Tigran Petrosian, and Boris Spassky were among those who represented the Soviets.
The Rest included Bent Larsen from Denmark who played Board One ahead of Bobby Fischer who was the highest FIDE ranked player in the world at 2720. In 1972, Fischer defeated Spassky and became the new world champion, ending the Soviet hegemony in chess.
The game of the event was Spassky’s defeat of Larsen in 17 moves. Spassky sacrificed a rook for active play then queened his h-pawn. Victor Korchnoi played Board Three for the Soviet team, so did Paul Keres, the famous grandmaster who never became world champion.
