Rebels and Renegades: Garry Kasparov – My Story, Part 3

Garry Kasparov explains how he fought to the top of the chess elite in the face of political opposition, his stubborn mentality to initiate a new Russian and World Chess Champion, and his necessity to stay true to his chess principles to win. “Garry Kasparov – My Story” is a 500+ minute DVD series that features explosive chess at the very highest level of the game, serving as an incredible addition to any chess player’s study regimen. A close look at Garry Kasparov’s career reveals a remarkable amount of sheer brinkmanship. At a time when the Soviet Union was wired with paranoia and run by invisible connections, the winds of political change were beginning to stir and the brash renegade Kasparov would be in the right place at the right time to capitalize on the new climate.

Kasparov Crushes Korchnoi in Complicated Benoni Defense

Excelling at chess has long been considered a symbol of more general intelligence. That is an incorrect assumption in my view, as pleasant as it might be.” – Kasparov

Korchnoi opens with 1. d4 and Kasparov responds with the sharpBenoni Defense, leading to white playing the Fianchetto Variation. Kasparov employs one of the most complicated continuations called the Hastings Defense with 13. …Ne5 and 14. …Nh5 – leading to a very unusual position where black leaves his knight hanging on e5 for 7 consecutive moves before Korchnoi finally gives in an and captures with 24. fxe5 – leading to a very difficult defense as this considerably weakens white’s control of the dark squares on the kingside. Kasparov continues extremely energetically and forces Korchnoi to sacrifice his queen on 30. Qxf2 – leading to a winning material advantage that Kasparov successfully converted on 36. …Qxh3+.