Soviet chess grandmaster Boris Spassky, who was famously defeated at the height of the Cold War, has died at 88, the Russian Chess Federation announced Thursday.

"The tenth world champion Boris Spassky has died at 88," the Russian Chess Federation said in a statement on its website, calling this a "great loss for the country."

The statement did not say when exactly he died or from what cause.

Spassky is best remembered for his duel with American Bobby Fischer in 1972, which was emblematic of the confrontation between East and West.

The iconic Cold War duel has been the subject of numerous books, documentaries and films. Most notably it inspired the Walter Tevis novel The Queen's Gambit, which was adapted into the acclaimed Netflix series in 2020.

Spassky became world champion in 1969 and held the title until he played the match that would define his career, facing the eccentric American prodigy.

With the Soviet Union having dominated the game for years, Spassky faced a must-win situation and initially took the lead.

But the American roared back to win, ending an unbroken streak of Soviet world champions since 1948.

Although the loss was a slap in the face for Moscow, Spassky admitted decades later it was a relief to be rid of a "colossal responsibility."

Born in 1937 in Leningrad, now St. Petersburg, Spassky showed prodigious talent early, becoming junior world champion and the youngest grandmaster in history at the time at 18.