Garry Kasparov

Garry Kasparov’s Key Accomplishments Include . . .
Garry Kasparov has been the highest-rated chess player in the world for over twenty years and is widely considered the greatest chess player that ever lived. He was born in Baku, Azerbaijan, USSR.

Garry Kasparov’s chess talent was evident from an early age. Taught to play by his father, by the age of 12 Garry Kasparov was setting new standards. After becoming the youngest player to win the USSR Junior Championship he went on to win the World Junior Championship at age 16.

On his seventeenth birthday, Garry Kasparov achieved Grandmaster status. His most notable achievement was the title of World Champion; the youngest ever, at the age of 22. This match was against the reigning champion Anatoly Karpov and lasted six months, ending inconclusively due to player fatigue. A re-match was ordered in November 1985 and Kasparov was victorious.

Garry Kasparov gained global notoriety for his matches against the world’s strongest computers. In ’96 and ’97 Kasparov played matches against IBM’s Deep Blue. The series was tied at one win each when IBM dismantled the program.

Garry Kasparov’s books include the My Great Predecessors series, about all the world chess champions and How Life Imitates Chess.
From Strategy and Tactics to Logical Thinking and Politics, “forceful, compelling and knowledgeable” are words used to describe a speech by Garry Kasparov.

More About Garry Kasparov. . .
Garry Kasparov has gained international recognition as a prominent spokesman for political, educational and social reforms in Eastern Europe. He is also active in charity and created the Kasparov Foundation in Moscow (the first private Foundation since the Revolution) to handle this side of his activities. Garry Kasparov is active in promoting the use of chess in schools as an educational subject and has set up the Kasparov Chess Foundation.

Widely recognized as an expert on Russian affairs, Garry Kasparov is the youngest-ever contributing editor for the Wall Street Journal. In 1993, Kasparov helped form the Professional Chess Association (PCA) to create “a new era for professional chess and to make our sport a household game.”

Garry Kasparov has been active in Russian politics, as he explains, “We are not fighting to win elections – we are fighting to have elections. The goal is to bring all opposition groups into a broad coalition to return Russia to the path of democracy.”

Garry Kasparov is a regular guest speaker at conferences worldwide, including the World Economic Forum at Davos and the Cursos de Verano in Madrid.