Help! I'm going to play Boris Spassky

Do ye remember this post by TadDude,

http://www.chess.com/forum/view/chess-buzz/chess-legends-to-meet-at-zurich-station

Well, I entered the competition. It took me nearly 2 months to get the answers to the questions (I wasn't at it every night). The closing date was June 30. Then Georg from the Zurich chess club wrote today, to tell me I was one of the lucky 100 picked out of the hat. I'm the only one from Ireland. I'm going to be playing Boris Spassky. To be honest, I can't hardly believe it yet. I haven't a clue really. I need help...

Questions: What happens in a Simultan? What colour will I be? How long do I get to move? Better again, did anyone ever see Mr. Spassky play in a Simultan? What opening does he use?

My dream is to draw with him but failing that I would love to go at least 20 moves with him without making a cod of myself. If anyone out there can give me any advice at all I would be extremely grateful.

I'm going to travel with my wife and 8yo daughter who has also taken up chess recently. Maybe somebody knows somewhere where we can get cheap accommodation while we're there. Anyway that's my little outburst of joy. I'm looking forward to all replies.

Just drink a shot of vodka five minutes before the game, and all will be fine, trust me.

He could sidestep the KG by playing the Sicilian, CK, French, Pirc, etc. etc. But if possible I'd study up the black side of the KG and go for it. If you learn your theory really well, and depending on how you handle nerves and how you play OTB you'll have a shot at that draw you want.

I would play the Caro-Kann against Mr. Spassky.

Well ozzie, you would play the Caro-Kann against everybody

Yeah

Remember to record your moves! And post it once you finish!

Spassky seems to be a e4 player...heres a link: http://www.chessgames.com/perl/chessplayer?pid=21136

 Problem I told my wife a while ago that if I won this competition I'd, 1)Give up drink till after the match; 2)Get up early every morning and start the Canadian Royal Airforce exercise plan and 3) as ever 'Become a new man!'.

Gonnasuke, WanderingWinder, Ozzie etc...thanks, I'll take a look at these openings, KG and CK. Guess what , I've never played either of them (I think?).

bobbobbob, I'll definately try and keep a copy of my moves. Usually I make a botch of it but can somehow salvage it afterwards if I go through the game quickly. I've only played OTB with my 2 brothers, daughter and next-door neighbour. I've less than a dozen OTBs since I was a child.

The funny thing is all this interest is making me feel like 'Bobby Fischer'.

I don't think you realise what you just said...

I don't see what's wrong with that; please, enlighten me.

He's not going to draw with Boris Spassky playing the black pieces in the Kings Gambit. It doesn't matter how much he studies, that simply won't happen.

Have you met the guy? For all you know, he could be Master level. In a simul, I'd take an FM who knew the KG was coming and had ample time to study it to have pretty darn good drawing chances, even against Spassky. Now, his subsequent posts show that to be unlikely, BUT there is a LOT of prepared theory on the KG, and if he studies his ever-loving heart out, he might have like a 1% chance to draw. I absolutely realised what I said. I have no idea how strong this guy is, and I said that he had a shot, not a good shot. It's certainly possible, if unlikely, and I was trying to infuse some optimism. If he went into the game with your attitude, he'd assuredly lose.

Mr. Spassky usually plays 1.e4 in simul displays, likes to use his favourite King's Gambit and Closed Sicilian, and is not averse to quick draws (around move 10), provided your position is not already compromised...

I attended one of his simuls a few years ago.

@wanderingknights.

Nope he's a sub 1800 level player. He's going to have fun of course, but it really doesn't matter how much Kings Gambit theory he picks up, he's not going to play Borris Spassky to a draw.

I tend to agree, that the KG does not lend itself to the types of "even" positions around move 10.

The Caro-Kann, on the other hand..........

Kupov & WanderingWinder, ye are probably both right.

Nevertheless, I've only got obsessed with chess in the last 7 months and have to be realistic. Only I can't help being optimistic. I like your energy WanderingWinder. When I read your post the second time the 1% shone out like a beacon of hope...

hicetnunc, that's great advice. I'll be taking any draw that Mr. Spassky offers...BTW, love the latin

Just relax and try to have fun. Even grandmasters make a blunder once in a blue moon. BTW, Good Luck!!

@Kupov: I'm going to presume that by wanderingknights you mean me. Yes, after reading that, it seems incredibly unlikely that he is so strong. But I still find your post directly insulting my intelligence completely unfounded. (It also seems that your qualifications of the black pieces in the KG have very very little to do with things, and that actually he has better drawing chances in the KG than most openings). Show me what I said that isn't absolutely true. There is nothing. "A shot" does not mean a good chance, and I never said that it did. Furthermore, would you have him not even try? I mean, come on, give the guy a break.

@OP: If you want your best drawing chance, I'd go for one of the KG drawing lines. Gonnosuke would, I believe, be an excellent person to ask advice from as to what particular lines will be most critical. However, the KG also gives you a very very good chance of losing quickly and rather spectacularly. Given that there's an enormous chance you'll lose any way you go and that the difference in your drawing chances with the KG as opposed to other openings are only marginally improved, you might decide that your secondary goal of lasting as long as possible is more important. In that case, I'd go for the Caro-Kann. I'd imagine that you'll pretty certainly lose in that opening, but on the other hand, you have a fairly decent chance of surviving twenty moves without being down a piece or having been mated.

Just to point this out, if you get a "drawing" line from someone on this site, then prepare it and go play it, and get a draw in 10 or 11 moves, won't you feel like you wasted a whole lot of time?