Chess column

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/03/2014 (4243 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Gary Kasparov is making a considerable amount of noise lately, but it has nothing to do with chess.

The former world chess champion is now a businessman, educator and entrepreneur, but his main public activity is in the political sphere. And his main political target is Vladimir Putin.

For two decades, Kasparov has been active in Russian politics, mostly as a member of the opposition. Over the last few years, his relationship with Putin has deteriorated. Much as the president would like to point to Kasparov as a symbol of Russian intellectual superiority, he now views the chess champion as one of the biggest thorns in his side.

Kasparov has been roughed up, jailed and hounded by Russian authorities for a number of years. He won’t go back to Moscow for fear of retribution, but he continues to lobby salvos at Putin’s government at every opportunity.

During the Sochi Olympics, Kasparov ridiculed the International Olympic Committee for allowing the games to be held in Russia. And when the Ukrainian and Crimean events began to unfold, Kasparov’s Twitter feed went into overdrive.

Kasparov has criticized United States President Barack Obama for not acting forcefully enough to counter Russia’s moves in Crimea. He is now calling on the international community to target the oligarchs who back Putin. He even thinks some sabre-rattling might be in order.

Putin’s government retaliated by blocking access inside Russia to his website; all the while Kasparov keeps up his barrage on blogs, TV appearances and social media.

This is all playing against the backdrop of an election set for August in Norway. Kasparov is running for the presidency of FIDE, the World Chess Federation. His opponent is Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, former head of the Russian republic of Kalmykia and a supporter of Putin.

There have been allegations of dirty election tricks levelled against both sides. Money is not much of an issue for either candidate. Ilyumzhinov made his fortune in the wake of the Soviet Union’s collapse, and his penchant for chess has led to remarkable patronage over the years. Some chess federations are willing to overlook the dodgy politics of Kalmykia as long as the dollars keep flowing to chess projects.

Ilyumzhinov’s last challenger was another former world champion, Anatoly Karpov. Kasparov put aside his long rivalry with Karpov to back his campaign, which came up significantly short.

So when the vote is called in Norway this summer, a mini cold war will be on display. Will the pro- or anti-Putin forces win? It will hardly be the first time a larger political struggle is played out in the chess arena. Just remember Fischer-Spassky in 1972.

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The Manitoba Scholastic Chess and Math Association is holding a fundraising pancake breakfast and chess tournament April 12 at Gordon-King Memorial United Church. More details next column, but see also scholasticchess.mb.ca.

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This week’s problem: Mate in 2 (Holloday). Solution to last problem (a mate in 3, not 2 as stated): 1.Qg3.