World Championship 1966: Petrosian – Spassky
No reigning World Champion had won a title match since Alekhine in 1937. Petrosian ended that long drought, turning back the young Boris Spassky with a record number of exchange sacrifices and holding manoeuvres — the last champion to successfully defend the crown before Kasparov.
◈Spassky arrives
Spassky reached the match through the newly-introduced knockout Candidates matches, emerging as the most dangerous challenger in years. Time and again he conjured promising positions — only to run headlong into Petrosian's sophisticated defensive resources and his uncanny knack for the timely exchange sacrifice. By the tenth game the challenger was two points down.
It was a lesson in how hard the champion was to break.
◈Holding on
Spassky clawed level after the nineteenth game, but Petrosian answered immediately, winning the twentieth and the twenty-second to settle the match 12½–11½ (+4−3=17).
It was the first successful defence of the title in almost thirty years — proof that the 'iron' champion could attack when the moment demanded.
◈Cross Table
| Player | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Petrosian | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 12½ |
| Spassky | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 11½ |
1 win · ½ draw · 0 loss — click a game number to replay it.