Garry Kasparov

Garry Kasparov, born as Garri Kimovich Kasparov on April 13, 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan, U.S.S.R., is a renowned chess player and former World Chess Champion.

In 1975, at the age of 12, Garry Kasparov faced Anatoly Karpov for the first time and lost. This initial encounter marked the beginning of their competitive rivalry in chess.

In January 1976, at the age of 12, Garry Kasparov achieved victory in the Soviet Junior Championship. He repeated this success the following year.

In 1978, Garry Kasparov qualified for the USSR Chess Championship at the age of 15, becoming the youngest-ever player at that level.

Kasparov achieved a score of +7 -0 =6 in the Moscow Interzonal, securing a spot in the Candidates matches.

Garry Kasparov participated in the Skara 1980 Chess Championship as the USSR 2nd reserve, winning 5½ out of 6 games and achieving team gold and board gold.

Garry Kasparov starts his record streak of winning fifteen individual tournaments from 1981 to 1990, placing first or equal first in each.

Kasparov ended Viktor Korchnoi's bid for a third straight challenge to Karpov with a score of +4 -1 =6 in the semifinal.

In January 1984, Garry Kasparov became the No. 1 ranked player in the world with a FIDE rating of 2710, making him the youngest ever world No. 1 at that time.

Garry Kasparov challenged the reigning world champion Anatoly Karpov in a match that ended controversially after 48 games, leading to Kasparov becoming the youngest official champion in the history of chess.

In September 1985, Garry Kasparov earned the right to advance in the competition after defeating his opponents in the candidates matches.

In Game 16 of the World Chess Championship 1985, Kasparov defeats Karpov in a brilliant display of chess, showcasing his strategic prowess.

In October 1986, due to the rematch clause of the 1985 match, Garry Kasparov was forced to defend his title in the World Chess Championship.

In December 1987, Garry Kasparov was obligated to defend his title due to the rematch clause from the 1985 match.

The Kasparov Chess Foundation is a US-based non-profit organization that aims to promote the teaching of chess in education systems globally. It has programs implemented in schools in the United States and various centers in different countries.

In January 1990, Kasparov achieved the highest FIDE rating ever at that time, surpassing 2800 and breaking previous records.

Vasyl Ivanchuk breaks Kasparov's winning streak at Linares 1991, where Kasparov places second after losing their individual game.

In the Debrecen 1992 Chess Championship, Garry Kasparov played for Russia as board 1, scoring 6 out of 8 and earning team gold, board gold, and performance silver.

In response to FIDE's actions, Garry Kasparov and Nigel Short formed the Professional Chess Association (PCA) as a rival organization, leading to Kasparov being stripped of his world champion title by FIDE.

After four draws, Garry Kasparov achieved a 10 ½ - 7 ½ win in the match, with the ninth game becoming a distant memory.

Kasparov plays the first match against IBM supercomputer Deep Blue in February 1996, winning the match 4-2 and showcasing the battle between man and machine in chess.

Garry Kasparov's famous matches against the IBM super-computer Deep Blue in 1996-97 were instrumental in popularizing artificial intelligence and chess.

In 1997, an upgraded Deep Blue won a rematch against Garry Kasparov.

By July 1999, Kasparov reached a 2851 Elo rating, the highest at that time, maintaining his dominance in the chess world.

In October 2000, Garry Kasparov faced off against Vladimir Kramnik in London, England. Despite not being recognized as the champion by FIDE, the match was significant in the world of chess.

Garry Kasparov achieved victory once again at the Wijk aan Zee Tournament in 2001, solidifying his reputation as a formidable chess player.

Between 2003 and 2006, Garry Kasparov authored the My Great Predecessors series, a five-volume collection focusing on former world champions and strong players. This series provided insights into the games of legendary chess figures.

After winning the Linares tournament for the ninth time, Kasparov announced on 10 March 2005 that he would retire from regular competitive chess due to a lack of personal goals in the chess world.

In September 2007, Garry Kasparov entered the Russian presidential race by receiving 379 votes at a congress held in Moscow. He announced his intention to stand for the Russian presidency as the candidate of the 'Other Russia' coalition, advocating for a democratic and just Russia.

Kasparov and Karpov played a 12-game match in Valencia, Spain, from 21 to 24 September 2009, where Kasparov won with a final result of 9–3.

On March 10, 2010, Garry Kasparov was among the key organizers of the online anti-Putin campaign 'Putin must go'. The campaign called for Russian law enforcement to ignore Putin's orders and garnered significant support with 90,000 signatures by June 2011.

On May 12, 2013, Garry Kasparov wrote an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal questioning reports of Russian security agency FSB's cooperation with the FBI regarding the Boston bombers. He highlighted the lack of intelligence sharing from Moscow and criticized the FSB's history of failing to prevent terror attacks.

On June 6, 2013, Garry Kasparov announced that he had left Russia due to fear of persecution for his political views. He expressed concerns about the lack of democracy in what he referred to as Russia's 'dictatorship'.

On October 7, 2013, Garry Kasparov announced his candidacy for the World Chess Federation president during a reception in Tallinn, Estonia.

In February 2014, Garry Kasparov applied for and was granted Croatian citizenship, citing difficulties living in Russia and his past support for Croatian independence.

In August 2014, Garry Kasparov lost the FIDE presidential election to the incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov with a vote of 110–61.

In 2020, Garry Kasparov expressed support for the Republic of Artsakh's right to independence and criticized Azerbaijan's claim over it. He highlighted the autonomous republics' right to self-determination under Soviet law and shared his personal experience during the Karabakh movement in 1988.

In 2021, Garry Kasparov called for targeting the bank accounts of Russian oligarchs to force Russia to rein in its criminals' cyberattacks, stating that the only language Putin understands is power.

On May 20, 2022, Garry Kasparov was designated as a 'foreign agent' by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.

On August 4, 2023, Garry Kasparov participated in a debate on the radio show 'Open to Debate' where he argued for Ukrainian admission into NATO and against appeasement towards Putin.

In March 2024, Russia placed Garry Kasparov on its list of 'terrorists and extremists'.