It was something of a shock tonight to learn that Garry Karsparov has announced he is retiring from professional chess competition.
For the last 20 years, Kasparov has been unquestionably the best chess player in the world - probably ever. I’m struggling to find something to write here - I’m still a little stunned.
I read about his retirement on The Week In Chess website, which I frequently drop in on. I’m guessing those who regularly read my blog will know I like playing chess, and while not exactly a “student” of the game, am what you might describe as an enthusiastic amateur. I don’t play in a club or anything like that - just the odd game against colleagues at work and on the internet at Red Hot Pawn (what a fantastic name for a website!).
The chess world has been blighted in recent years by the fragmentation of the “World Championships”, and continual corruption within the upper eschelons of it’s management by officials in Russia and Eastern Europe. In the press conference announcing his decision to retire, Kasparov stated the current situation as one of his reasons for stopping. In a repeat of events that happened in centuries past, the current “champion”, and the various governing bodies have seen to it that Kasparov has been effectively excluded from playing for any kind of “World Championship” since his split from FIDE with Nigel Short in 1992 - although during the entire period since then he has been ranked world number 1, and held a higher rating than anybody else in history.
The synics among you will wonder if Kasparov has deliberately announced his retirement to force some kind of world title match, but for that to really happen, FIDE needs to stop any associations with dirty money and a succession of corrupt presidents - easier said than done.
For more information on Kasparov and his retirement, please visit the links below;
The Week in Chess Retirement Story
Garry Kasparov (Wikipedia)