World Chess Championship 1969

1969 World Champion Boris Spassky (in 1984)

The 1969 World Chess Championship was played between Tigran Petrosian and Boris Spassky in Moscow from April 14 to June 17, 1969. Spassky won.

1967 Interzonal

The 1967 Interzonal Tournament was played in Sousse, Tunisia in October and November. Bobby Fischer was leading the tournament with seven wins and three draws in ten rounds, however he abandoned the event over a dispute with the organisers. Because Fischer withdrew before he had played half his games, the results of his games were not included in his opponents' totals. Bent Larsen went on to win ahead of Viktor Korchnoi, Efim Geller, and Svetozar Gligorić, who shared second place.

Boris Spassky and Mikhail Tal were seeded into the Candidates matches as finalists of the previous tournament, and the top 6 finishers in the Interzonal would join them. Larsen, Korchnoi, Geller, Gligorić, and Lajos Portisch took the top five places. There was a three-way tie for sixth place among Samuel Reshevsky, Vlastimil Hort, and Leonid Stein, who played a round-robin playoff to determine the final place in the Candidates matches. The spot eventually went to Reshevsky, who drew all his eight games in the playoff. All three players ended up with 4 points, but Reshevsky had the best tie break score from the main tournament.

1967 Sousse Interzonal Tournament

		1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	Total	Tie break
1	Bent Larsen (Denmark)	-	0	½	½	0	1	1	1	1	½	1	1	1	½	0	1	½	1	1	1	1	1	15½
2	Viktor Korchnoi (Soviet Union)	1	-	½	½	1	½	½	½	0	½	0	0	½	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	½	1	14	136.00
3	Efim Geller (Soviet Union)	½	½	-	½	½	0	1	½	1	½	½	1	½	½	1	½	½	1	½	1	1	1	14	135.75
4	Svetozar Gligorić (Yugoslavia)	½	½	½	-	½	½	½	1	½	½	½	½	½	1	1	½	½	½	1	1	1	1	14	135.00
5	Lajos Portisch (Hungary)	1	0	½	½	-	½	½	1	0	½	½	½	½	1	1	½	1	½	½	1	1	1	13½
6	Samuel Reshevsky (United States)	0	½	1	½	½	-	½	½	1	½	½	1	½	½	½	½	1	1	0	1	1	½	13	129.75
7	Vlastimil Hort (Czechoslovakia)	0	½	0	½	½	½	-	1	½	½	1	½	½	½	½	½	½	1	1	1	1	1	13	120.25
8	Leonid Stein (Soviet Union)	0	½	½	0	0	½	0	-	½	½	½	1	1	½	1	1	1	1	1	1	1	½	13	117.00
9	Milan Matulović (Yugoslavia)	0	1	0	½	1	0	½	½	-	0	1	1	½	1	0	½	½	1	1	½	1	1	12½
10	Aleksandar Matanović (Yugoslavia)	½	½	½	½	½	½	½	½	1	-	½	1	½	½	½	½	1	½	0	1	½	½	12
11	Borislav Ivkov (Yugoslavia)	0	1	½	½	½	½	0	½	0	½	-	0	½	½	1	½	1	½	1	0	1	1	11	103.50
12	Henrique Mecking (Brazil)	0	1	0	½	½	0	½	0	0	0	1	-	1	1	1	½	½	½	1	½	1	½	11	102.50
13	Aivars Gipslis (Soviet Union)	0	½	½	½	½	½	½	0	½	½	½	0	-	½	0	1	½	0	1	½	1	1	10	93.75
14	Lubomir Kavalek (Czechoslovakia)	½	0	½	0	0	½	½	½	0	½	½	0	½	-	½	1	½	1	0	1	1	1	10	90.00
15	Duncan Suttles (Canada)	1	0	0	0	0	½	½	0	1	½	0	0	1	½	-	½	1	0	½	1	½	1	9½
16	István Bilek (Hungary)	0	0	½	½	½	½	½	0	½	½	½	½	0	0	½	-	½	½	1	0	1	1	9
17	László Barczay (Hungary)	½	0	½	½	0	0	½	0	½	0	0	½	½	½	0	½	-	½	1	½	½	1	8
18	Robert Byrne (United States)	0	0	0	½	½	0	0	0	0	½	½	½	1	0	1	½	½	-	1	½	½	0	7½
19	Miguel Cuéllar (Colombia)	0	0	½	0	½	1	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	1	½	0	0	0	-	0	1	1	6½	61.00
20	Lhamsuren Myagmarsuren (Mongolia)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	½	0	1	½	½	0	0	1	½	½	1	-	0	1	6½	54.50
21	Ortvin Sarapu (New Zealand)	0	½	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	½	0	0	0	0	½	0	½	½	0	1	-	½	4
22	Slim Bouaziz (Tunisia)	0	0	0	0	0	½	0	½	0	½	0	½	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	½	-	3½

1968 Los Angeles playoff

		1	2	3	Total
1	Samuel Reshevsky (United States)	-	====	====	4
2	Vlastimil Hort (Czechoslovakia)	====	-	=0=1	4
3	Leonid Stein (Soviet Union)	====	=1=0	-	4

1968 Candidates Tournament

Spassky won the Candidates Matches to challenge Petrosian for the World Championship, which he did successfully. (Spassky had unsuccessfully challenged Petrosian in 1966.)

Larsen and Tal contested a third place playoff in the Dutch town of Eersel in March 1969, which Larsen won 5½-2½.

1969 Championship match

The match was played as best of 24 games. If it ended 12-12, Petrosian, the title holder, would retain the Championship.

Spassky won.

• 1969 World Chess Championship at the Internet Archive record of Graeme Cree's Chess Pages