MOSCOW, February 27. /TASS/. Boris Spassky, the 10th World Chess Champion, has died at the age of 88 in Moscow, Russian Chess Federation President Andrey Filatov told TASS. "A great personality has passed away. Generations of chess players have learned and are learning chess from his games and work. It is a great loss for the country. My condolences to his family and friends. Eternal memory," Filatov said. Spassky won the World Championship title in 1969. He defeated Tigran Petrosian in a match in Moscow. In 1972, Spassky failed to defend the title, losing to American Bobby Fischer in Reykjavik. In 1972, the chess grandmaster emigrated to France and played three times in the World Chess Olympiads for that country. In the 2000s, Spassky was involved in popularizing chess in Russia, traveling extensively throughout the country and opening chess schools and clubs. He returned to Russia in 2012 and was granted Russian citizenship in 2013.