I’ve never really been a fan of Gary Kasparov’s style (personal style, that is, not his style of chess). But his retirement is a milestone in chess, which in the 1970s and 1980s became a symbol and surrogate for the grand political fissuers in the world. More importantly, the reasons for retirement seem to me to be quite decent ones, especially given the course of politics in Russia under Putin.
He said Friday he wanted to concentrate more on politics in Russia. He has emerged as an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin and is playing a leading role in the Committee 2008: Free Choice, a group formed by prominent liberal opposition leaders.
‘As a chess player, I did everything I could, even more. Now I want to use my intellect and strategic thinking in Russian politics,’ Kasparov said Friday in a statement cited by the Interfax news agency.
‘I will do everything in my power to resist Putin’s dictatorship. It is very difficult to play for a country whose authorities are antidemocratic,’ he said.
Alexander Roshal, chief editor of a popular Russian chess magazine called 64, said Kasparov had no peers in the chess world.
‘There’s no one else of his caliber. No one comes close. He saw that, and said ‘you go on without me,” Roshal said.