Legend Kasparov rolls back the years on return
TWELVE years after trading chess f or poli t i c s, Garr y Kasparov proved on Monday that time hasn’t dulled his edge as he battled to a draw three times with a fellow Russian half his age in the opening game of a keenly anticipated comeback.
The 54-yea r-old Kasparov, whose genius has left a wide mark on the histor y of chess, has brief ly come out of retirement “k ick ing and fighting” to compete t his week at t he Rapid and Blitz tournament in St Louis.
It remains to be seen whether he can beat a new generation of players or if he will instead pass the torch.
In a f itt ing turn of events, his f i rst encou nter aga i nst compatriot Sergey Karja k in had shades of Kasparov’s own brea k t h roug h moment i n 1985 when, aged 22, he defeated t he legenda r y Russia n grandmaster Anatoli Karpov to be c ome t he y ou nge s t champion in histor y.
This time around, it was Kasparov who represented the old guard against Karjakin, the young pretender who narrowly lost last year’s world championship to Magnus Carlsen, the top-ranked player who is not in St Louis this week.
The three games of speed chase between Kasparov and Karjakin ended in a draw each time.
“I’m quite pleased. The plan was to survive to day one. I had to adjust myself to this new reality, to this atmosphere. I’m happy with these draws. I will be more aggressive tomorrow,” Kasparov said.
Centre of attention
Spectators were thrilled. “It was a wonder f ul g a me. Kasparov has been showing confidence. He has been very dramatic,” said 33-year-old Christopher Doty, a longtime Kasparov fan who travelled from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to see his hero.
“Will he win? Of course not. But if Kasparov beats these kids, it will be an embarrassment for them.”
Since his March 2005 withdrawal from a tournament in Linares, Spain, Kasparov ’s absence from the game has left a large hole for many chess fanatics.
So there was considerable surprise when he agreed to play in the event in St Louis, which follows closely after the annual Sinquefield Cup competition, a major stop on the world tour, in the same city on the Mississippi River.
The years have greyed his temples, but Kasparov still exudes the aura of a winner – and the trademark gestures that defined his heyday in the 1980s and 1990s were all present on Monday.
He took off his watch, placing it to the left of the board.
He placed his pieces on the board, one by one, in a meticulous and deliberate manner. The “death stare” was there too – Karjakin got one from Kasparov before the battle began.
Despite making clear the tournament represents a fiveday “hiatus” from his political career, Kasparov said he wasn’t taking it lightly.
“I realise that it’s serious. I will be the most desirable prey in the history of chess,” he said in a Facebook posting he made on Sunday.
Still, it would be foolhardy to write him off, said 26-yearold French grandmaster Maxi me Vach ier-L ag r ave, who played Kasparov in a friendly match – an encounter won by the Russian – and remembers “his wi l l i ngness to f ig ht on ever y turn”.
Though the winner’s purse in St Louis is a not-too-shabby $150,000, Kasparov said he would donate any winnings to promote chess in Africa.