The King of Chess: Garry Kasparov

Over the nearly 1,500 years that chess has been around, many great players have surfaced. However, one name stands above all the rest: Garry Kasparov. Born on April 13, 1963, in Baku, Azerbaijan, Kasparov began playing chess at the age of six. His father, an engineer, and his mother, a doctor, provided him with the support he needed to develop his skills. Taught by many experienced tutors, his abilities quickly progressed. His first coach, Vladimir Makogonov, introduced him to chess strategy, laying a solid foundation for the growth of his skills.

At ten years old, Garry Kasparov started training at Mikhail Botvinnik’s chess school under the guidance of Vladimir Makogonov. Makogonov taught the young boy how to play the Tartakower Variation of the Queen’s Gambit Declined and the Caro-Kann Defense. In 1976, at the age of thirteen, Kasparov won the Soviet Junior Championship, scoring 7/9 points. The very next year, he won the Soviet Junior Championship again with a score of 8.5/9 while training under Alexander Shakarov.

In 1978, at the young age of fifteen, Kasparov qualified for the USSR Championship, becoming the youngest player ever to compete at that level. Kasparov quickly rose through the FIDE rankings.

In 1985, at just twenty-two years old, Kasparov faced the reigning world champion, Anatoly Karpov, in a series of very intense chess games. After much hard work, Kasparov finally defeated Karpov after 144 games. The first match was originally set to be a best-of-six but was canceled after 48 games, with Karpov leading 5-3, as no player had reached the required six victories.

Eventually, the games resumed, and in Game Twenty-Four, on November 9, 1985, in Moscow, USSR, Kasparov claimed victory after forty moves, becoming the youngest World Chess Champion at just twenty-two. In the final game, Karpov played with the white pieces, while Kasparov played with the black pieces.

In 2005, after Garry Kasparov retired from competitive chess, he pursued various activities in the fields of politics, writing, business, and human rights advocacy. Kasparov became a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin. He was actively involved in opposition politics in Russia, leading political movements such as "The Other Russia," a coalition of opposition groups.

In 2007, Kasparov attempted to run for the Russian presidency. However, due to political obstacles and alleged government interference, he withdrew from the race. Kasparov has been a global advocate for democracy and human rights. He serves as the Chairman of the Human Rights Foundation, an organization focused on promoting civil liberties around the world.

Kasparov has also authored several influential books on politics, history, and chess:

"Winter Is Coming: Why Vladimir Putin and the Enemies of the Free World Must Be Stopped" (2015), a political critique of authoritarianism and Putin’s regime.
"How Life Imitates Chess" (2007), where he uses chess as a metaphor to discuss decision-making in life and business.
His multi-volume series "My Great Predecessors", a comprehensive analysis of the world champions who came before him, blending chess history and in-depth analysis.