Garry Kasparov

Chess champion, political activist, and writer who held the world No. 1 ranking for a record 255 months overall.

Garry Kasparov was the World Chess Champion from 1985 to 2000 and became the youngest undisputed world champion in 1985 at age 22.^[1][2] After ending his chess career, Kasparov has focused on political activism and authoring books.^[3]

Quick Facts

Full name: Garry Kimovich Kasparov
Birth name: Garik Kimovich Weinstein
Born: 13 April 1963
Birthplace: Baku, Azerbaijan SSR, Soviet Union
Country: Soviet Union (until 1991), Russia (since 1991)
World champion: 1985–1993 (undisputed), 1993–2000 (classical)
Years active: 1976–2005
Peak rating: 2851 (July 1999)

Facts from the source article.

Life and work

He began serious chess study at age seven and at ten started training at Mikhail Botvinnik's chess school.^[4] At age 22, he defeated Anatoly Karpov to become world champion in 1985.^[2][5] After winning the Linares tournament for the ninth time, he announced his retirement from regular competitive chess in March 2005.^[6] In 2008, he announced an intention to run for Russian president but withdrew after encountering logistical problems.^[3]

Kasparov was born Garik Kimovich Weinstein in Baku, which was then part of the Azerbaijan SSR within the Soviet Union.^[7] A conflict with FIDE in 1993 caused Kasparov to establish a competing organization, the Professional Chess Association.^[2] Kasparov created the United Civil Front and participated in The Other Russia coalition, which was opposed to Vladimir Putin's administration.^[3] After the widespread Russian protests that started in 2011, Kasparov departed Russia in June 2013, citing a concern for potential persecution.^[3]

What the cited sources add

A ChessBase article from 2005 reports that Kasparov said "It is time to reclaim my life" as he halted negotiations with FIDE over his match with Rustam Kasimdzhanov.^[8] The same source notes that Kasparov stated "the lies were solely on the FIDE side of the story" regarding the failed match organization.^[8] The same interview states that Kasparov founded the Renew Democracy platform in 2017.^[9] A 2010 ChessBase article reports that FIDE's head, Florencio Campomanes, ended the 1984 match between Karpov and Kasparov after 48 games, a move that is considered extremely controversial within chess.^[10]

References

Wikipedia, "Garry Kasparov" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Who is the Strongest Chess Player?", Bill Wall, 27 October 2008 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Garry Kasparov" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Garry Kasparov Biography & Facts" (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Garry Kasparov" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Putin "heir" on course to win Russia election: poll", Reuters, 13 December 2007; Gessen, "The Man Without a Face: The Unlikely Rise of Vladimir Putin", Riverhead Books, 2012, p. 196–197; Demirjian, "Moscow city elections leave little room for Russian opposition", The Washington Post, 13 September 2014; "Garry Kasparov not returning to Russia out of fear of prosecution", Financial Times, 6 June 2013; Gessen, "Garry Kasparov Says We Are Living in Chaos, But Remains an Incorrigible Optimist", 4 December 2018; Boot, "The political center is en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Garry Kasparov" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Unlimited Challenge, an autobiography by Garry Kasparov with Donald Trelford, (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Garry Kasparov" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "1985 World Chess Championship"; Dylan Loeb McClain, "Record Set for World's Youngest Chess Champion", The New York Times, 24 December 2010}}{{cbignore; "Mikhail Tal", World Chess Hall of Fame; "Kasparov Wins Game 16", The Washington Post; "World Chess Championship 1985: Game 16 (Karpov vs. Kasparov)", Chess.com, 19 December 2020 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Garry Kasparov" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "The Week in Chess 540", Theweekinchess.com; ChessBase, "Kasparov to FIDE: Enough is enough | ChessBase", En.chessbase.com, 18 January 2005 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Wikipedia, "Garry Kasparov" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Masha Gessen, "Chess Champion Garry Kasparov is Russia's Great Red Hope", 7 May 2012; Kasparov, "Garry Kasparov on Garry Kasparov, Part 1: 1973–1985", Everyman Chess, 2011; Biography on Kasparov.ru site; White King and Red Queen by Daniel Johnson,; Kasparov, "A Short Tribute to My Mother", Kasparov, 26 December 2020; "As my namesake Harry Truman said…", ChessBase, 25 February 2022 (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
ChessBase, "Kasparov to FIDE: Enough is enough | ChessBase", En.chessbase.com, 18 January 2005. facts only, no text reused. en.chessbase.com
GARI KASPAROV: 'Vladimir Putin ima previše problema da bi nastavio svoje agresivne politike na području Balkana' . Nacional, 22 December 2020, # 1183, p. 51.. facts only, no text reused. nacional.hr
"25 years ago: termination of the first K-K match", ChessBase, 15 February 2010. facts only, no text reused. en.chessbase.com

Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Garry Kasparov (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.