50 Fun Facts About Garry Kasparov

In which city was Garry Kasparov born in 1963?

Then in the Azerbaijan SSR; his family fled anti-Armenian pogroms there in January 1990.

What was Kasparov's surname at birth?

At twelve he adopted his Armenian mother's surname, Kasparov, after his Jewish father died of leukaemia.

According to Kasparov, after which US president was he named?

His father admired Truman's stand against communism; the name was rare in Russia 'until Harry Potter came along'.

Which former world champion ran the chess school Kasparov joined at ten and hailed him as the future of chess?

Kasparov's coach there, Vladimir Makogonov, taught him the Caro-Kann and the Tartakower Queen's Gambit.

In which year did Kasparov become world champion?

He beat Anatoly Karpov 13–11 in Moscow on 9 November, winning the final game with the Sicilian Defence.

How old was Kasparov when he became the youngest undisputed world champion?

He broke Mikhail Tal's record of over 20 years' standing and held it himself until 2024.

Whom did Kasparov defeat for the title, and then face in three further title matches?

Their five matches produced 144 games: 21 Kasparov wins, 19 losses and 104 draws.

What was unprecedented about the 1984–85 world championship match?

FIDE president Florencio Campomanes ended it after 48 games and five months, citing the players' health, with Karpov leading 5–3.

How many games had been played when the 1984–85 match was called off?

The previous record for a title match was 34 games, Capablanca versus Alekhine in 1927.

What was the score after nine games of the 1984 match, before the long run of draws began?

The format was first to six wins; seventeen straight draws followed, and Kasparov did not win a game until game 32.

Who, as head of FIDE, terminated the 1984–85 match?

Some authors have alleged he was a KGB asset tasked with preventing Karpov's defeat; Kasparov later declared 'war to the death' on him.

Which game of the 1985 match, won by Kasparov with Black, was voted the best of Chess Informant's first 64 issues?

Its 'octopus knight' on d3 dominated all three of White's major pieces.

The 1986 rematch was split between which two cities?

Kasparov sacked his second Evgeny Vladimirov mid-match, accusing him of selling opening preparation to Karpov's team.

Kasparov kept his title in Seville in 1987 by winning the final game to level the match at what score?

Karpov blundered a pawn just before the time control, and Kasparov ground out the ending; a drawn match kept the title with the champion.

In 1993 Kasparov broke with FIDE and played Nigel Short under which new organisation?

He later called the split the worst mistake of his career; the title stayed divided for 13 years.

Whom did Kasparov defend his PCA title against at the World Trade Center in 1995?

He won four games to one with thirteen draws; fifteen years later he secretly helped Anand prepare to beat Topalov.

Which former pupil took Kasparov's classical world title in 2000?

Kramnik had studied at the Botvinnik/Kasparov school and served on Kasparov's team against Anand in 1995.

Which opening did Kramnik use with Black to neutralise Kasparov's White in the 2000 match?

Kasparov could not crack the passive but solid line and drew all his games with White.

Which IBM computer beat Kasparov in 1997, the first machine to defeat a reigning champion in a match?

Kasparov had won the first match in Philadelphia in 1996 by 4–2; the New York rematch went 3½–2½ to the machine.

What was the score of the first match against the IBM machine, in Philadelphia in 1996?

The machine did win the opening game, the first computer win against a reigning champion under regular time controls.

What did Kasparov accuse IBM of after the 1997 match?

He alleged a grandmaster was behind a certain move; IBM declined a rematch and the machine was later reported (wrongly) to have been dismantled.

How many positions per second could IBM's 1997 chess machine evaluate?

It began life at Carnegie Mellon in 1985 as ChipTest and was renamed Deep Thought before becoming Deep Blue in 1989.

What was the title of the documentary about the 1997 IBM rematch?

IBM's winning share of the $700,000 prize went back to the company; Carnegie Mellon added a $100,000 prize.

On 22 October 1989 Kasparov beat which computer 2–0, eight years before his famous defeat?

Deep Thought was the direct ancestor of Deep Blue; in 1985 he had beaten 32 computers at once in Hamburg.

Kasparov drew a 2003 match against which program, using a virtual board and 3D glasses?

He won $175,000 and a golden trophy but regretted a blunder in game two.

In 'Kasparov versus the World' in 1999, roughly how many people voted on the moves against him?

Hosted by the MSN Gaming Zone, it lasted 62 moves over four months, and Kasparov called it the greatest game in chess history.

Which teenage US women's champion was among the four young players advising the World team in 1999?

The others were Étienne Bacrot, Florin Felecan and Elisabeth Paehtz; GM Daniel King moderated.

Kasparov's 'Immortal' game of 1999 was played against whom?

Played at Wijk aan Zee, it opened with a Pirc Defence, and Chess.com has ranked it the greatest game ever.

What peak FIDE rating did Kasparov reach in 1999?

It stood as the highest ever until Magnus Carlsen passed it in 2013.

For how many months in total was Kasparov ranked world number one?

He first reached the top in January 1984 at 20, then the youngest ever, a record Kramnik broke in 1996.

How many Chess Oscars did Kasparov win, a record?

He also won a record 15 consecutive professional tournaments between 1981 and 1990.

Who ended Kasparov's streak of 15 straight tournament wins in 1991?

Ivanchuk beat him in their individual game and finished half a point ahead.

After winning which tournament for the ninth time did Kasparov announce his retirement in March 2005?

He said he lacked personal goals in chess and was frustrated by the failure to reunify the title.

Which future world champion did Kasparov coach for about a year from February 2009?

Carlsen rose from world number four to number one and passed 2800 during the collaboration, which ended in 2010.

Kasparov and his old rival played an exhibition in Valencia in September 2009 timed to mark what?

Kasparov won 9–3, taking the rapid games 3–1 and the blitz 6–2.

What is the title of Kasparov's multi-volume history of the world champions before him, begun in 2003?

He followed it with How Life Imitates Chess in 2007 and Winter Is Coming in 2015.

Kasparov's 2015 book on Vladimir Putin borrows its title from which TV series?

Winter Is Coming argues for a new organisation of democracies to replace the United Nations.

Which opposition coalition against Putin's administration was Kasparov a member of?

He founded the United Civil Front, planned a 2008 presidential run, and left Russia in 2013 fearing persecution.

Which country granted Kasparov citizenship in 2014?

He has a home in Podstrana near Split and had lobbied for Croatian independence in 1991.

Which advocacy organisation did Kasparov chair from 2011 to 2024?

He also founded the Renew Democracy Initiative in 2017; Russia labelled him a 'foreign agent' in 2022.

Kasparov has controversially written in support of whose pseudohistorical 'New Chronology'?

He later renounced his support but kept insisting mainstream history is inconsistent.

Where was Kasparov's 1983 Candidates semi-final against Korchnoi moved after Soviet authorities barred Pasadena?

Raymond Keene organised it at short notice; Kasparov lost the first game but won the match 7–4.

Kasparov won the World Junior Championship in 1980 in which city?

That year he also made his Olympiad debut for the USSR in Malta and became a grandmaster.

What position did Kasparov unsuccessfully stand for in 2013–2014?

He lost to the incumbent Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.

How old was Kasparov when his father died of leukemia?

At twelve he took his Armenian mother Klara's surname, Kasparov, at her request.

Kasparov became a Grandmaster in 1980 after debuting for the USSR at the Chess Olympiad held where?

He played as second reserve, the same year he won the World Junior Championship in Dortmund.

Whose record as youngest world champion did Kasparov break in 1985?

Kasparov clinched the crown 13-11 by winning the 24th game with the Sicilian Defence at age 22.

With whom did the teenage Kasparov share the 1981 USSR Chess Championship title?

By July 1982 he had climbed to second in the world rankings behind Karpov.

Which American political organisation did Kasparov found in 2017 and chair?

Russia designated him a 'foreign agent' in 2022; he has lived in New York City for years.

How many times has Kasparov been married?

His children are Polina, Vadim, Aida and Nickolas; his wife Daria manages his business affairs.