Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov
Garry Kimovich Kasparovis a Russian chess Grandmaster, former World Chess Champion, writer, and political activist, considered by many to be the greatest chess player of all time. From 1986 until his retirement in 2005, Kasparov was ranked world No. 1 for 225 out of 228 months. His peak rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by Magnus Carlsen in 2013. Kasparov also holds records for consecutive professional tournament victoriesand Chess Oscars...
ProfessionChess Player
Date of Birth13 April 1963
CityBaku, Azerbaijan
We are living in a new ice age, and we need to apply the recipes of the Cold War to the Kremlin. That means isolation instead of offers of negotiation. And Ukraine should have been supplied with weapons long ago.
Dictatorships sometimes fall unexpectedly and quickly. And [Vladimir] Putin knows that for him, the loss of power doesn't mean a comfortable retirement, but something completely different.
Nowadays, a 13-year-old would probably know more than Bobby Fischer knew when he retired. They analyse all the moves and prepare themselves on their computers. But that doesn’t mean they are special.
There are many facts showing that Putin's people enriched themselves by using power mechanisms so that's why for them losing power means losing their fortunes.
Chess strength in general and chess strength in a specific match are by no means one and the same thing.
Boris Nemtsov and I began to argue after Putin's return to the presidency in 2012. In my opinion, there was no longer a realistic chance to achieve regime change through peaceful political means, or real elections. Boris, on the other hand, never lost this hope. He felt that my assessment was premature and said: "You have to live a long time to see changes in Russia." He was deprived of that opportunity.
The scale of the man to whom we are bidding farewell today in no way corresponds to the paltry scale of today's authorities.
I don't have to run for Presidency in Russia to feel good about myself. I already completed more than many people could have dreamed of.
Chess was natural for me; I was extremely successful.
It's absolutely vital now for Russia to make sure that democratic institutions will be resurrected and will go through the election process.
I think that it's a vital moment now for Russian democracy to convince people that it's only our actions, our joined actions and protests that could force Kremlin to reconsider its plans to abolish presidential elections.
I think our chances are not looking great today but the only way to fail for me is just not to try.
In chess, we have styles - like in any other field. There are also fashions in the kinds of systems that people play. So I'm trying to know my opponent as much as possible.
I organize a chess festival in Hungary. I support chess in schools, and I have my own chess foundation. And I started writing books.