World champion and Croatian citizen Garry Kasparov soon to be in action in Zagreb.
Famous Russian chess grandmaster, a former world champion and the chess player whom many consider to be the greatest ever, 52-year-old Garry Kasparov, will take part in simultaneous exhibition match in Zagreb on Sunday, 27 December. Among his opponents, there will be many Croatian dignitaries and celebrities, including outgoing government ministers Predrag Matić and Gordan Maras, TV journalist Aleksandar Stanković and many others. The match will start at 7 pm at the Westin Hotel, and it will be broadcast live on the Third Channel of Croatian Radio-Television, reports Vecernji List on December 24, 2015.
Kasparov retired from professional chess in 2005, after 20 years at the very top, and has since devoted himself to the struggle for democracy in Russia. He has recently published the Croatian edition of book “Winter is Coming” about why Putin and other enemies of the free world must be stopped, criticizing Western leaders for not being interested enough in what is happening with democracy in Russia.
Kasparov is convinced that chess can be very useful for the development of young people. As a child, he learned about chess in school led by then world champion Mikhail Botvinnik, and by the age of 13 he had already become the champion of the Soviet Union in the under-18 category. With the goal of popularization of chess among children and youth, he founded the Kasparov Chess Foundation. Croatia is also taking part in this initiative with the Chess in Schools project, with all users of the CARNet electronic identity being able to learn chess by model established by the Garry Kasparov Chess Foundation. The school lasts for three years, and the project is supported by the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports. In Zagreb, in just ten primary schools, more than 1,000 students have applied. Some of them will take part in the Sunday’s match against Kasparov, who has already played several simultaneous matches in Croatia, including in Split and Pula.
In the book, Kasparov uses his chess knowledge to warn world leaders that they must consider the overall situation in the world, and not just focus on one region. As in chess, the one who does not look at the whole situation will certainly lose the game, writes Kasparov. He now lives in New York, after being repeatedly detained in Russia for taking part in political demonstrations.
He has strong connections with Croatia. During the war in the 1990s, he was a strong advocate of Croatian independence. It is interesting that his greatest chess rival Anatoly Karpov, with whom he played matches which are remembered even today, has always been on the opposite side of the political spectrum. During the Soviet Union times, Karpov was allied with the regime, and during the war Karpov supported Serbia and Montenegro, while Kasparov stood by Croatia. He has often stayed at Crveni Otok near Rovinj, and now has a house in Makarska and Croatian citizenship.
