How many political figures do we know who play chess?

Someone thought that Senator Obama plays chess. We know that action-hero-turned-governor Arnold Schwartzenegger playes chess. And that Russian dissident-guy Kasparov. I heard he's played chess before too.

Any other political leaders who push the wood?

Chuck Norris. There's no such thing as politics. Only sucking up to Chuck Norris.

Ok, that was a bad Chuck Norris joke. Me, I can think of Garry Kasparov, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and one of my local representatives--I forgot the name.

Vaclav Havel was about master strength wasn't he? Tito was also about master strength. Sharansky was elo 2000+ and drew Kasparov in a simul.

Lol idk does Will Smith count? He claimed he was gonna run for president at the kids choice awards 4 or 5 years ago lol.

 O RLY?

I think Obama is one of Dan Heismans students on ICC.  I don't remember where I heard it, it may have been the Howard Stern show (Howard is also one of Heisman's students).

You know who would be good at chess thou? Dick Cheney cuz he's a straight up G. He shot a dude in the face and the guy apoligized... Like i said straight G status.

May be the great man G bush jr ; he know;s how to win;

just ask dad .

You're forgetting Stephen Harper, who used the fact that he played chess as a reason for why he would be a good Prime Minister.

And he won.

Really?? I can't believe I missed that one.

i just can't picture TR playing chess

" In government and politics, chessplayers include: John Quincy Adams, Spiro Agnew, Yasser Arafat, Menachem Begin, Napoleon Bonaparte, Willy Brandt, Zbigniew Brzesinski, Aaron Burr, Jimmy Carter and family, Fidel Castro, Che Guevara, Grover Cleveland, Francisco Franco, Benjamin Franklin, Muammar Gadaffi, James Garfield, Joseph Goebbels, Ulysses S Grant, H.R. Halderman, perhaps Adolf Hitler, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Ivan the Terrible, Thomas Jefferson, John F Kennedy Jr, Henry Kissinger, Lenin, Abraham Lincoln, James Madison, Ferdinand Marcos, Karl Marx, Juan Peron, Richard Riordan (former mayor of Los Angeles), Theodore Roosevelt, Anwar Sadat, Pierre Salanger, Josip Tito, Leon Trotsky, and Woodrow Wilson."

Wow. there is a lot skum in that group. Serveral stinking commies and some facists.

I heard that Napolean was an avid but terrible chess player.

Chess was the game of "kings", not "presidents". I would assume that the reason that alot of leaders are interested in chess is simply a self worship kinda thing. After all, if you ask all of chess.com members what they think the game of chess is about many will say it's mentally crushing your opponent. It's about power. Now when you look at it that way, why WOULDNT tyrants love the game.

FIDE President Kirsan Ilyumzhinov has to be considered a political figure. Benjamin Franklin was mentioned, but not those he played in France, not for amusement, but for political connections. It is off topic to mention Garibaldi was known to play checkers. However, we could add the topical question: How many political figures learned to play chess while in captivity?

I only wish Bush and his cohorts could attempt to learn while they were in captivity......

Maybe they'll get their chance...

Haus... your entry has had me laughing all evening!  Outstanding!

Those of you who want to incarcerate people based on political differences do not believe in democracy. If what you want is done, you deserve no expectation that the politicians you favor should remain free along with yourselves.

More than likely, the politicians that they favor didn't pre-emptively pardon themselves while they were still in office when the finger was pointed at them for war crimes.

 So, they oppose democracy because they favor politicians who are angels who are not accused of fictitious crimes. That is what happens when you criminalize political policy differences. You, in the name of "they," would make thought and speech into war crimes.