Garry Kasparov biography personal life children. Garry Kasparov - biography and personal life, interesting facts. Chess player and information technology

“Former world chess champion and now opposition politician” Garry Kasparov left Russia, but intends to “continue to annoy [Russian President] Vladimir Putin to the best of his ability,” although now the main goal of his life is to become president of the World Chess Federation (FIDE ). He spoke about this and much more in an interview with Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin, the Friday supplement to the Bavarian newspaper of the same name.

In Russia, according to the grandmaster, he would hardly face imprisonment, but his international passport could be taken away, as “happens with many opposition politicians in Moscow,” and this would mean for Kasparov “the collapse of his entire life,” since the main source of his earnings - “reports on logical thinking and success strategies”, which he usually reads abroad. “I come to Russia only to fight the regime and defend human rights,” Kasparov described his lifestyle in recent years.

Kasparov has not been in Russia since February 22, 2013 - shortly before that, his mother received a call from the Investigative Committee with a request to ensure his appearance to testify. “Because of this challenge, I decided that it was not worth returning,” he explained his decision. “I don’t want to risk the prospect of being stuck in Moscow any longer. I would willingly take this risk if I was left to my own devices, but next year I I am running for the presidency of FIDE. To do this, I will need to travel around the world to introduce myself to various national associations. Taking high risks as a politician would be dishonest on my part towards those who finance my candidacy in the world of chess. In addition, Moreover, from abroad I can cause much more trouble than from Moscow. A won trial in Strasbourg will help opposition politicians more than me being locked up in Moscow." Kasparov believes that his October victory in this court has “symbolic” significance and “will one day help numerous prisoners in Russian prisons.” However, “Putin doesn’t care about reactions from abroad,” he admitted.

Now Kasparov lives in New York with his wife and youngest daughter, his eldest daughter is also there, but his son and mother remained in Moscow - he travels to Tallinn to meet with them (“not far from Moscow, and people speak Russians,” explained the oppositionist). Living in the USA is “convenient,” Kasparov admitted, but he misses his homeland and the Russian language.

The head of the United Civil Front said that during his last arrest after another protest, he was injured: “Because of this, my elbow still hurts when I write or lift my bag to put it on the luggage rack on the plane. ". At the request of the correspondent, the interlocutor of Süddeutsche Zeitung Magazin briefly spoke about his only administrative arrest, noting that his experience is “ridiculous” compared to the situation in which, for example, Mikhail Khodorkovsky finds himself.

In 2005, the oppositionist hired bodyguards - the reason for this was an incident during one of the last chess events with his participation: “A man approached me with a chessboard. At first I thought that he wanted to ask me for an autograph, but then I had a bad feeling premonition. I was surprised by the smell emanating from the board, it was brand new, and who would sign an autograph on a board they had just bought? Usually they bring an old one... He hit me on the head with it... The man was young, they must have hoped "That I would fight back, that's why two cameras were installed there. This incident became a warning for me. The very next day I hired professional bodyguards."

The ex-champion rejected the assumption that he is running for FIDE president because he is bored with the political struggle: “I will continue to fight injustice... Putin is a problem not only for Russia. Any dictator poisons the lives of neighboring countries. But Putin is much more worse than the Belarusian Lukashenko: Putin is everywhere, he controls more money than anyone in the history of mankind, and does not hesitate to bribe the sympathy of entrepreneurs and politicians. He supports the most brutal regimes around the world. Without him, Assad would not have been able to kill tens of thousands of his fellow citizens. "Putin is a problem, and the problem is growing because every dictator wants to spread his power. Putin is becoming more defiant because he sees no one who can stop him."

Family:

Born on April 13, 1963 in Baku in the family of an engineer. Mother Klara Shagenovna- Armenian (native of Nagorno-Karabakh), father Kim Moiseevich Weinstein– Jew, died in 1970 from sarcoma.

Until the age of 8, he bore his father’s last name, Weinstein. In 1981, Klara Shagenovna left her job (she was an automation specialist, scientific secretary at a research institute) to devote herself entirely to her son’s career. She even received a salary from the sports committee on the same basis as professional coaches. And soon she became the main one confidant son, who accompanied him everywhere. Coaches have finally turned into hired personnel.

Three marriages. First wife Maria Arapova– graduate of the Faculty of Philology of Moscow State University. Maria gave birth to Harry's daughter Polina in 1992. The second wife is a student of the Faculty of Economics Yulia Vovk. This marriage of Kasparov lasted nine years and a son, Vadim, was born (1996), and after the divorce, the chess player married for the third time - to a socialite Daria Tarasova, who in 2006 gave birth to his daughter Aida, and in 2015 his son Nikolos.

Biography before politics:

At the age of 4, Harry learned to read and loved geography and history. At the age of 7, he dreamed of becoming a doctor to save his terminally ill father. He began playing chess at the age of six in the chess club of the Baku Pioneer House. At the age of 9 he fulfilled the norm of the first category, at the age of 10 he became a candidate for master of sports. Since 1973 he studied at a chess school Mikhail Botvinnik.

In 1975 he won the Baku Cup among adults. Winner of the USSR championships among youths in 1976 and 1977. Since 1978 - master of sports, since 1979 - international master. Played for the team "Spartacus".

In 1980 Garry Kasparov received three gold medals - for excellent completion of school, winning the world championship among juniors, and also for participating in the USSR national team at the World Chess Olympiad. After three convincing victories at international tournaments in Yugoslavia(Banja Luka, 1979, Bugojno, 1982, Niksic, 1983) Yugoslav newspapers, noting the rich imagination and speed of calculating options, called it “a computer with a soul.”

As part of the USSR national team he became the winner Olympics 1980, 1982 and 1986, and as a member of the Russian national team - 1992. Since 1980 - international grandmaster. During the preliminary matches for the world champion title he won against Alexander Belyavsky and Viktor Korchnoi (1983), and in the final candidates match against Vasily Smyslov (1984).

On October 19, 1984, his confrontation with Anatoly Karpov, which kept the chess world on edge for more than 10 years. Their first match in Moscow lasted 159 days (up to 6 victories), which after 48 games remained unfinished for the first time in chess history. Losing with a score of 0:5, Kasparov seemed doomed to lose the match, but managed to hold on and brought the score to 3:5 with 40 draws.

Six months later, in September 1985, their new match took place in Moscow, in which Kasparov won with a score of 13:11 and at the age of 22 became the 13th world champion - the youngest in the history of chess. In 1986, he won a rematch 12.5:11.5 in Leningrad. In 1987 in Seville, their match ended in a draw, which allowed him to retain his world title; in 1990 (New York - Lyon) he won the world championship match against Karpov with a score of 12.5:11.5.

In total, Kasparov played 144 games with Karpov in five matches (won 21, lost 19, 104 ended in a draw).

In 1986, Kasparov graduated from the Azerbaijan Pedagogical Institute foreign languages.

Harry was one of the initiators of the founding PCA (Professional Chess Association), under whose auspices the next World Championship matches were held in 1993 in London with Nigel Short (12.5:7.5) and 1995 in New York with Viswanathan Anand (10.5:7.5). In 2000 in London, Kasparov lost Vladimir Borisovich Kramnik (6,5:8,5).

In 1987, Kasparov initiated the creation of a counterweight FIDE International Grandmasters Association (IGA) and was elected its first president. In 1988-1990, he tried to deprive FIDE of the right to host matches for the men's world championship and limit its rights in general. In this campaign he was not supported by the GMA and left its governing bodies.

Elected president in 1989 USSR Chess Union, which in 1991 was transformed into the International Chess Union.

In 1993, Kasparov and the winner of the candidates' match, Nigel Short, announced their intention to hold a match for the world title outside FIDE. In response to this, FIDE appointed an alternative match for the world title between Jan Timman and Anatoly Karpov.

Kasparov’s fights with the “electronic chess player” - a powerful computer program "Deep blue". Kasparov was one of the first athletes to compete under the Russian flag (1990).

In 1999, he played a unique game against the rest of the world that lasted 124 days on the Internet. Over 3 million chess fans from 75 countries played against Kasparov, which became an absolute Internet record. The game ended with the victory of the world champion in a deep queen endgame.

Was awarded the chess "Oscar" - a prize awarded International Chess Press Association in 1982, 1983, 1985-1989. Awarded Order of the Red Banner of Labor. He managed to turn chess into an exciting show, making this game no less emotional than hockey or football.

Garry Kasparov achieved great success in the business sphere, proof of this is "Order of the Eagle", founded by Russian entrepreneurs and won the competition “Business Person - Formula for Success”.

In 1990 he became one of the co-founders of the radio station "Echo of Moscow", for a long time owned a large block of its shares, which he ceded in the mid-1990s Vladimir Gusinsky.

Continuing the best traditions of world champions, Garry Kasparov pays a lot of attention to social and literary activities in the field of chess; organizes and supports children's chess schools in Russia, Spain, France, England, Germany, USA, Israel; promotes the maximum use of modern computer technology and television in the interests of popularizing chess in the world; defends the idea of ​​professionalizing chess in the interests of its progress as a sport, science and art.

Promoter of Fomenko's historical theories (a complete revision of the entire chronology of human history; professional historians and linguists recognize this theory as the fruit of ignorance and megalomania of its creators).

Political biography:

In 1984, Kasparov joined the CPSU, was elected a member of the Komsomol Central Committee and a member of the Komsomol Central Committee of Azerbaijan.

In 1990 he left the CPSU. During the consideration by the Constitutional Court of the issue of the constitutionality of decrees Yeltsin on the ban on the activities of the CPSU, demanded recognition of the CPSU as a criminal organization and stated that he joined it for career reasons.

In the spring of 1990, he took an active part in the creation of the Democratic Party of Russia (DPR). He became a member of the Free Democratic faction of the DPR (after the First Congress of the DPR in December 1990, this faction was transformed into the Liberal faction).

In January 1991, he was elected chairman of the Moscow organization of the Democratic Party of Russia (replacing Valentin Poluektov).

Obtained consent from DPR leader Travkin for the party to join the Movement on January 13, 1991 "Democratic Russia"(DR), was delegated from the DPR to the Council of Representatives of the DR and, on an individual basis, elected to the Coordination Council of the DR.

He was one of the co-owners and president of the joint-stock company "Information and Publishing Association "Democratic Russia", which published the newspaper "Democratic Russia". At the II Congress of the Democratic Party of Russia in April 1991, having failed to achieve the adoption of his draft Party Program, he left it and announced the creation of " Liberal Union" (LS).

In June 1993, he took part in the creation of the pre-election Bloc of reformist forces “Choice of Russia”.

In September 1993, he fully supported the Decree Boris Yeltsin about the dissolution of parliament and new elections, saying that this is how one can open the way to the establishment of true democracy in the country.

In December 1993, he supported the Russia's Choice bloc in the parliamentary elections and took part in the election campaign.

At the presidential elections in the Russian Federation in 1996, he was a confidant of the candidate for President of the Russian Federation Yeltsin.

In the spring of 1997, he supported the initiative of the general Alexandra Lebed on the creation of the alliance "Third Force" and the Russian People's Republican Party, became his financial advisor.

On January 19, 2004, the “2008: Free Choice” Committee was created, the main goal of which was to counter the regime of personal power of the president. In September 2004, shortly after the hostage taking in Beslan, he published The Wall Street Journal article "Putin must leave."

In December 2004, he was one of the organizers of the All-Russian Civil Congress (VGK), on December 12, 2004 he became a member of its founders and the “Action Committee”, and was elected one of the four co-chairs of the VGK (along with, Georgy Satarov And Alexandrov Auzan).

On March 10, 2005, immediately after winning the chess tournament in Linares, he announced his retirement from his sports career:

"In chess, I did everything I could, even more. Now I intend to use my intelligence and strategic thinking in Russian politics. This is not a departure, but a transition. I am moving to an area where I can positively apply my potential. I believe that now the country is moving in the wrong direction, so we need to help Russia, help Russian citizens to make the country comfortable, fair and free... I will do everything possible to resist Putin's dictatorship. It is very difficult to play for a country whose government is anti-democratic. And this problem I will decide together with those who care about Russia".

On April 6, 2005, Kasparov took the initiative to create a special public Fund for Assistance to Victims of Terrorist Attacks in Putin's Russia and made a down payment of $25 thousand.

On May 16, 2005, he took part in a rally in front of the Meshchansky Court building among supporters during the announcement of the verdict in the case. The police, pushing the protesters away from the courthouse, tried to detain him, but Kasparov’s security did not allow this.

On May 18, 2005, at a public meeting in Novosibirsk, he announced the creation of a United Civil Front capable of “dismantling the Putin regime.” According to Kasparov, the main task of the front will be “to create a free political platform on which normal elections can be held in 2008.”

May 30, 2005 at "Novaya Gazeta" The “Manifesto of the United Civil Front” was published, which was signed by several politicians, including Kasparov. It said, in particular:

“Our country is ruled by a regime that is contrary to the interests of both Russia as a whole and almost all of its citizens... Today it is already clear to many that the further rule of Vladimir Putin will ultimately inevitably lead to the complete degradation of our state and to its imminent collapse... It is no coincidence that we called the new organization a “front.” We are not just in opposition to the regime of Vladimir Putin, we, in principle, do not recognize the current regime as legitimate".

"The verdict draws a bold line under an entire phase of Putin's rule. Kremlin officials have demonstrated that they are ready to do anything to remain at the helm, and that there will be no legal transfer of power in Russia as a result of democratic elections and within the framework of the constitution. Now the Putin regime has only take the last step on the path to a bright Turkmen-Belarusian future - use armed force against popular uprisings...".

On November 15, 2005, the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation registered United Civil Front(OGF) as an interregional public association.

In January 2006, he proposed to support a member of the Communist Party of the Russian Federation in the by-elections to the State Duma of the Russian Federation in the Medvedkovsky electoral district in Moscow Elena Lukyanova, as a single opposition candidate.

On February 25, 2006, at the first conference, the UGF invited all opposition forces to adopt a “single candidate program” in which he identified two directions: the return by the state of internal debt, first of all, various deposits of the population, as well as “the issue of responsibility of today’s leaders for the fact that happening in the country."

“We must include such a word as “lustration” in our vocabulary. And when there is a change of power, some category of senior officials who are at the forefront of the fight against the law - this category should be legally deprived of the right to hold public office for a certain time.” .

In March 2006, he signed with and Georgy Satarov an appeal by the Action Committee of the All-Russian Civil Congress to the parliaments of the G7 countries, which stated that "The disastrous and threatening state of affairs in Russia has developed with the tacit consent and obvious connivance of the governments of the leading world powers, which, paying due attention to threats to democracy and the violation of the rights and freedoms of citizens in different parts globe, show amazing indifference to what is happening today in Russia, where it is bad and scary to live.”

On July 11-12, 2006, a conference was held in Moscow "The Other Russia", prepared by the leadership of the Supreme High Command headed by Kasparov, And Satarov. The conference delegates signed a joint declaration in which they stated the need to restore democratic institutions and create a “permanent meeting operating in a regime of regular consultations,” and also supported the proposal to develop a program of national harmony.

In the fall of 2006 "The Other Russia" from a consultation “round table” on the basis of the All-Russian Civil Congress, it was actually transformed into a radical opposition right-left political coalition; in November 2006, a permanent Political Conference was created "Other Russia", which included Kasparov (from the OGF), (RNDS), (NBP), (RPR) and Victor Anpilov(Party "Labor Russia").

In organized by "The Other Russia" "dissent marches" Regional organizations (in particular, Moscow and St. Petersburg) of the radical democratic “Defense” and the Stalinist “Vanguard of Red Youth” (AKM) also participate.

Continues to advocate the creation of a broad, non-ideological opposition coalition. However, attempts to attract people to the “Other Russia” were not crowned with success; in March 2007, he left the “Political Conference of the Other Russia” V. Anpilov, in the summer of 2007 he left “The Other Russia”.

On September 30, 2007, a campaign began to nominate Kasparov as a candidate for the post of President of Russia in the March 2008 elections "Another Russia": The coalition congress elected Kasparov as a single candidate. In November, he was sentenced to five days of arrest for participating in an unauthorized march. Kasparov's arrest was condemned by a non-governmental organization organization Amnesty International, which recognized Kasparov as a prisoner of conscience and called for his release. On December 13, Kasparov announced that he was withdrawing his candidacy because he had failed to hold the meeting of voters required to nominate an independent candidate.

On January 17, 2008, two co-chairs of the Supreme State Committee - head Moscow Helsinki Group Lyudmila Alekseeva and the president fund "Indem" Georgy Satarov- resigned, explaining their resignation due to disagreements with the third co-chairman, Garry Kasparov.

On April 5, 2008, he participated in the conference “A New Agenda for the Democratic Movement” in St. Petersburg. At the conference, it was decided to create a coordination group of 12 people to prepare for the Congress of Democratic Forces of Russia, scheduled for the fall of 2008 ( G. Kasparov, , , Vladimir Bukovsky, Maxim Reznik, co-chairman of the youth group, executive director of the UCF Denis Bilunov, member of the UCF bureau Alexander Ryklin, director of the museum. Sakharov Yuri Samodurov, economist Vladimir Milov, leader of the movement "For Human Rights", head of the Samara Igor Ermolenko; On July 29, 2008 he joined the group Andrey Illarionov).

On June 28-29, 2008, at the Extraordinary V Congress of the All-Russian Civil Congress, he was elected as its co-chairman.

In 2008, he became one of the founders and a member of the Federal Bureau of the United Democratic Movement, and became a member of the Bureau of the movement’s Federal Political Council.

On March 10, 2010, Kasparov signed an appeal from the Russian opposition "Putin must go". In the process of preparing the appeal, Kasparov was part of the author’s group and coordinated the text with other signatories. In the spring and summer of 2010, there was an active collection of signatures for the appeal, and meetings between the organizers and signatories took place. In the fall and winter, rallies were held in Moscow for Putin’s resignation, at which Kasparov also spoke.

In the fall of 2011, he advocated a boycott of the State Duma elections, and spoke at mass rallies in Moscow in December 2011 and 2012.

On August 17, 2012, Kasparov was detained at the Khamovnichesky Court on the day of the verdict in the case Pussy Riot. According to law enforcement agencies, during his arrest, Kasparov bit a police warrant officer. According to Kasparov himself, this statement is false, and the police, on the contrary, beat him during his arrest. On August 24, the magistrate’s court acquitted Kasparov of charges of insubordination to police officers.

On October 22, 2012, in the elections of the Coordination Council of the Opposition on the general civil list, he took third place, gaining 33 thousand votes, losing to and.

On April 7, 2013, at the fourth congress, it was announced that Kasparov would not run for its political council, although he would remain a member of the movement. He himself explained the decision by disagreement with becoming an “appendage of the party” and participating in “actions that work to legitimize the existing government,” such as elections.

In June 2013, Kasparov said that he had no plans to return to Russia from abroad and would continue to fight “Kremlin criminals” on the international stage. A number of politicians criticized Kasparov's decision; and accused Kasparov of cowardice.

On February 27, 2014, Kasparov received Croatian citizenship, where he is a member of the chess club of the city of Vukovar.

In March 2014 website Kasparov.ru became one of four resources that were blocked by Roskomnadzor at the request of the Prosecutor General's Office and without a court decision. According to the position of the prosecutor's office, they contained "calls for illegal activities and participation in mass events held in violation of the established order."

In an interview with Gordon, he stated that “a trip to Russia is a one-way ticket for me. If you’re lucky, there will be house arrest”.

On July 6, 2015, the ex-world chess champion had a son, Nicholas. "My wife Dasha and I are pleased to announce that our son Nicholas was born on July 6th. Mom and baby are happy and healthy. Thank you for your well wishes.", Kasparov said on his Twitter page.

From Daria Tarasova Harry's daughter Aida was born in 2006.

September 5, 2015 in an interview Fox Business stated that the president Vladimir Putin together with the leadership of Iran, seeks to create chaos in the Middle East.

"I am sure that he will focus on provoking chaos in the Middle East. We have just received reports that the Russian military is heading to Syria, that they are establishing a presence there. I am sure that the alliance between Russia and Iran is trying to seize control of region."

According to him, the Russian president "very good chances of setting the entire Middle East on fire" ostensibly in order to cope with the economic situation within Russia.

On September 18, 2015, Kasparov in an interview with the Canadian La Presse Canadienne stated that after death in Russia there was no longer any opposition as such, only some elements.

“As an opposition, we missed our chance in December 2011. On December 24, 120 thousand people gathered on Sakharov Avenue, the government was in panic. Medvedev was still president, and we should have taken the chance to stay there! – Kasparov states with regret. – We had to create an analogue "Maidana" in Ukraine. But we held several demonstrations and returned home."

Scandals, gossip:

When it comes to Kasparov’s personal life, the first thing that is mentioned is his affair with Marina Neelova. Harry was 16 years younger than the actress, but managed to win her heart. Their relationship in the mid-80s lasted about two years, but the question of marriage did not arise. Klara Shagenovna, Kasparov's mother, convinced him that for the sake of his career he had to break up with his beloved. When their meetings stopped, it turned out that Neelova was pregnant. Harry's mother Klara Shagenovna made an official statement in the press: “This is not our child” and convinced her son: “If you want to marry an actress, it’s better to marry the whole factory dormitory right away.” Valentin Gaft publicly stated that “Kasparov is not worthy to be received in a decent home.” The actress herself did not say a word, but simply gave birth to a charming girl, Nika.

Kasparov's first wife was Maria Arapova- a graduate of the Faculty of Philology of Moscow State University, whom Garry Kimovich courted for three whole years. Maria worked as a translator and her pleasant manners and excellent education impressed Kasparov’s mother, Klara Shagenovna, whose opinion always meant a lot to her son. Three years after their marriage, Maria gave birth to a daughter, Polina. The birth took place in a hospital in Finland, where Kasparov’s wife’s parents worked. But a year after the birth of their daughter, the family broke up. As they say, the grandmaster’s mother played a significant role in this. When the question of improving living conditions arose, Maria expressed a desire to leave her mother-in-law, which she could not forgive.

This led to the fact that Garry Kasparov’s personal life was overshadowed for a long time by difficult divorce proceedings related to the financial claims of his ex-wife, who demanded an increase in payments for the maintenance of her daughter and her share in the acquired property.

"I am neither a supporter nor an instigator of divorce, - told Maria Arapova in one of the interviews. - I'm sad and offended. On the contrary, I tried to talk to him, but he does not want to return to us... They are putting pressure on me. In particular, if I do not agree to its terms, I will be deprived of my credit card. And, by the way, they were already in a hurry to carry out the threat. I feel that he is fighting us as if he were his chess players or political opponents. But we are just talking about a woman with your own child. I'm disappointed in Harry. God will be his judge."

In the end, they were divorced, and the ex-wife and daughter were sent to America, where Kasparov bought them an expensive apartment. A few years after the divorce, a new love came knocking on Garry Kasparov’s personal life - for an eighteen-year-old economics student. Yulia Vovk. The chess player met this beautiful girl in Riga at a banquet held as part of the memorial to Mikhail Tal. They soon got married, and after some time Garry Kasparov became a father again. This marriage of Kasparov lasted nine years, the wife gave her husband a son, Vadim.

It seemed that after his new marriage, the champion’s life had stabilized, family harmony had arrived... But at the end of 2004, Harry began to be increasingly noticed in society by students of the University of Trade Unions of St. Petersburg and superstars Dasha Tarasova. The girl is twenty years younger than Kasparov. Harry visited different countries with her, including America, and bought an apartment in the Northern capital - Dasha used to live outside the city, but now she has moved to the center. It is known that she practiced in Washington under a program supported by the American government. The money earned was enough to open his own store in the city on the Neva. The girl is well known in St. Petersburg. Her face and extensive interview adorned almost a full-length thick glossy magazine published in St. Petersburg.

According to rumors, Harry also bought housing for his second wife Julia (do not throw her out onto the street). After which he sent his son on vacation to Turkey, and he himself flew to St. Petersburg, where he registered his marriage with Dasha. By the way, at the beginning of 2005, at one of Kasparov’s press conferences, where he was accompanied by Dasha, she was asked an immodest question: “Who are you related to Harry?” “I’m his wife,” the girl answered with dignity. She was a little hasty then, but now it seems that this answer is just right. The couple had a daughter, Aida.

Scandals accompanied other aspects of the champion’s life. Thus, in 2003, the Israel Bank "First International Bank of Israel" accused former champion chess world champion Garry Kasparov in violation of the terms of a loan of 1.6 million dollars provided to the company "Kasparov Chess Online Inc." in September 2000. The Tel Aviv-based bank accused Kasparov of shutting down the company's website and ceasing to do business when one of the terms of the loan was to keep the site operational. Thus, according to the bank, Garry Kasparov is impeding the company's profitability.

The bank announced it was remanding the case to Delaware County Court. Now the financiers are asking for an injunction to block the closure of the website, to prohibit Garry Kasparov from opening a site that could become a competitor to the existing one, and are also demanding the return of unintentional damages and legal costs, ABC reports.

Another scandal broke out at the chess super tournament in Linares, which ended with the victory of the Hungarian chess player Peter Leko. During the festive closing ceremony, the results of the journalistic vote for the best game of the tournament were announced. The journalistic fraternity, led by the famous Spanish chess columnist Leontho Garcia, awarded the “beauty prize” to 15-year-old Teimur Radjabov for his victory over Kasparov. Harry Kimovich could not bear such insult. Losing the power of speech for only a second, he jumped to the microphone and attacked the journalists who made such an “amateurish decision,” as well as the organizers who “contributed to this disgrace.” Having accused everyone present of malicious intrigues, Kasparov announced that he was leaving and would not return, after which he actually left the hall where the ceremony took place.

In October 2014, Kasparov published an article on his website of the same name entitled “Khodorkovsky and Navalny ignore the primary task of the opposition.” Earlier, an opposition blogger and the ex-head of Yukos expressed the opinion that Crimea has de facto finally come under Russian jurisdiction, and this must be recognized as an objective reality.

In his article, oppositionist Kasparov accused former comrades in the fight against the current President of Russia Vladimir Putin in a “verbal balancing act” around the issue of annexing Crimea to Russia.

September 8, 2015 committee FIDE on ethics found world champion Garry Kasparov guilty of violating the moral code of the federation.

Chess players from South Africa, Romania, the Dominican Republic, Belgium and Nepal who make up the ethics commission concluded that he offered or attempted to offer a bribe to influence the outcome of presidential elections FIDE, thereby violating paragraph 2.1 of the organization’s moral code.

Last year, the 13th world champion tried to unseat the permanent Kirsana Ilyumzhinova from the post of FIDE President, but in the midst of the election campaign The New York Times published a murderous article for Kasparov. The newspaper noted that the FIDE Secretary General, a Singaporean Ignatius Leong unexpectedly defected to Kasparov’s camp, and found a sensational explanation for this. The publication published a contract under which Leong pledged to provide Garry Kasparov with more than 10 votes in the elections and received half a million dollars from his foundation. Kasparov lost the election then and became president again Kirsan Ilyumzhinov.

IN chess world Garry Kasparov was never called anything other than “The Great and Terrible.” The famous champion left the sport at the peak of his fame. Some are convinced that it is in vain, while others say that it is on time. Nevertheless, the great grandmaster has something to tell about himself, because Garry Kasparov’s biography, personal life and children are of interest to many of his admirers. And today’s activities of the champion cause a lot of talk in society.

Today, the former chess player has devoted himself almost entirely to politics and is a prominent positionator, accusing the Russian government of unleashing an armed conflict in the Donbass and annexing the Crimean Peninsula. But first things first.

So, below is the biography of Garry Kasparov: personal life, children, sporting achievements and others interesting points from the life of a great grandmaster.

Childhood

The future champion was born in Baku on April 13, 1963. The boy's parents were intelligent people and kept themselves apart from the lower, so to speak, working class. As for the nationality of Garry Kasparov, this point caused a lot of controversy in sports circles.

The fact is that the chess player’s father (Kim Moiseevich) is Jewish, and his mother (Klara Shagenovna) is Armenian. Both he and the other were purebred almost to the fifth generation. Therefore, in the sports community, both Jews and Armenians, as they say, each pulled the blanket over themselves, disputing the nationality of Garry Kasparov in their favor. However, in the Soviet Union he was considered an Armenian and simply a Soviet citizen.

The parents of the future grandmaster worked as engineers and staged chess battles almost every evening. It was thanks to them that Garry Kasparov became so passionate about this sport. Starting at the age of five, he began to master the basics of chess art. And this absorbed him so much that he did not need any toys, or the street, or other yard delights. Only chess, books and newspapers.

Youth

At the age of twelve, a turning point occurred in the biography of Garry Kasparov: the young prodigy became the champion of the Soviet Union in chess among youths. Since then, this sport has become the meaning of his whole life for him.

By the age of seventeen, Garry Kasparov (photos presented in the article) received the title of Master of Sports. At the same time, the chess player graduated from school, with a gold medal, and then entered the local pedagogical university in the department of foreign languages. Harry was accepted into the institute after passing one single exam, which, by the way, he passed with a solid five points.

In 1980, Garry Kasparov, already known throughout the Union, was awarded the title of grandmaster.

After his father's death in 1970, the talented chess player's mother became more than a parent to him. She was his coach, mentor and devoted herself entirely to her son and his career. Klara Shagenovna was with him almost everywhere. Championships were held not only in the Union, but also abroad, and Garry Kasparov’s mother followed her son everywhere and solved all his problems, from domestic ones to some kind of professional friction.

It was then that she decided to radically change the grandmaster’s image, changing not only Harry’s nationality, but also his last name. So after 1980, he ceased to be the Jewish chess player Weinstein, but turned into the Armenian Kasparov.

Career

The career of Kasparov Garry Kimovich is replete with victories and all sorts of awards. The venerable grandmaster took first places in various championships and chess competitions for 13 years. At that time, Harry’s Elo rating reached 2800 points, and this is an exceptionally highly professional level.

After unpleasant events in 1990, when brutal reprisals against Armenians began in his homeland, he was forced to leave Azerbaijan and moved to the capital of the USSR. A little later, in 1993, Harry left the International Chess Federation, while creating its analogue - the Professional Chess Association.

Later, in 1996, the grandmaster organized a virtual sports organization - the Kasparov Club. The resource gained popularity year by year, and already in 1999, the famous chess player beat all users on the Internet in a match organized by Microsoft. At that time, this game with all non-professional chess players, which lasted almost four months, was watched by more than 3 million users of the World Wide Web. This indicator still cannot be beaten by any virtual chess resource.

Kasparov vs Deep Blue

In 1996, the leading corporation at the time, IBM, challenged Kasparov, inviting him to oppose their most advanced computer, Deep Blue. The designers assured users that the machine was capable of processing up to 200 million moves per second and making decisions with proper competence.

Kasparov won the competition with a good score - 4:2, but lost to a computer opponent in the first game.

The next time Deep Blue and the great grandmaster met was a year later - in 1997. The game was difficult and tense for Kasparov. And on move 46, the famous chess player admitted defeat and surrendered to the computer. After the game, Harry asked for detailed logs of the game, suspecting human interference in the process, but the company refused him, citing trade secrets.

Champion

In 1985, the chess player officially became the thirteenth world champion. Sports experts called the game of Karpov and Kasparov enchanting. But the previous champion was unable to retain his title and lost it to the newcomer. Kasparov managed to cleverly play the little-used Nemtsovich Defense and win the first game. Neither one nor the other gave in and held on until the end, reducing the pieces to a draw. But by the end of the 16th game, Harry won a spectacular victory and won the World Championship.

Kasparov became the youngest grandmaster. During the game with Karpov he was 22 years old. Only the athlete from Norway Magnus Carlsen, who also turned 22 when he took the champion title, was able to win such a “youth” record.

End of career

In 2005, the grandmaster decided for himself that he had achieved everything he wanted in chess and told his fans that he was leaving this sport. As an alternative to the board and pieces, Harry preferred politics, declaring that in Russia there are a dime a dozen colonels and generals, but too little intelligence.

It was precisely the latter that he decided to compensate with his presence, deciding, with the help of his talent for comprehensive and including strategic thinking, change the Motherland for the better and contribute to its development. Some perceived such impulses very enthusiastically, but a good half of the grandmaster’s fans, as well as politicians, were quite skeptical about this.

Over the next years, the chess player devoted himself almost day and night to the opposition movement “United Civil Front” that he created. The main policy of the party was aimed at counteracting the current leadership of the Russian Federation. This movement began a serious political life famous chess player.

Together with his comrades in the movement, Karpov opposed the actions of Russian President Vladimir Putin and his team. Garry Kimovich organized marches of dissent under his banners wherever possible, for which he was detained by law enforcement more than once.

A little later, in 2008, Kasparov created a new democratic movement and called it Solidarity. The latter, again, was aimed at fighting the current government, where the main priority was the resignation of the president.

Not everyone liked the chess player’s radical plans and ideas, so he did not receive support from the media. He also did not become a member of the Opposition Coordination Council. Alexey Navalny was ahead of Garry Kimovich by a fairly large margin.

After all these ups and downs, the chess player moved with his family to America and settled in New York. In 2013, he stated that he was not going to return to the Russian Federation and would fight the Russian authorities where he lived. Garry Kasparov continues to fight “Kremlin crimes” from abroad at the international level. It is also worth noting that in 2014, the chess player’s main website was blocked by Roskomnadzor for calls for extremist actions.

After the events in Ukraine in 2014, Kasparov openly supported the leadership in Kyiv and, using all available means, accused Russia of seizing the Crimean Peninsula and supporting the military militia in the Donbass.

Kasparov strongly calls on Europe and the United States to increase pressure on the Russian President with the help of sanctions and other political instruments. Then, in 2014, Harry Kimovich repeatedly visited the capital of Ukraine and gave a simultaneous game to everyone in support of the authorities.

A year later, Kasparov wrote a book where he presents to readers his vision of the world situation and problems modern Russia in particular. In his publication, the chess player speaks extremely negatively about the current government in the Russian Federation and specifically about Vladimir Putin. One of the key roles in modern history Kasparov gave credit to Ronald Reagan, who in the 1980s did a lot to put an end to the “Evil Empire.”

Personal life of Garry Kasparov

The children of the great chess player are much more willing to talk about their father, while he himself tries to avoid uncomfortable questions about his personal life. As such, the grandmaster's personal life began when he turned 21.

The already famous chess player met a popular actress, Marina Neelova, at one of the social events. For many, she remained the capricious little princess from the “Old, Old Fairy Tale.” The actress differed from other stage personalities with her diminutive size, plump lips and delicate taste.

Marina Neelova

The young chess player was not at a loss and invited the “princess” to take a walk. This is how the romance between Garry Kasparov and Marina Neyolova began. Literally the entire inner circle of both the chess player and the actress took such a relationship with hostility. The fact is that Kasparov was 21 years old, and Neelova was 37 years old.

The mother of the future grandmaster was obsessed with her son and his victories and, naturally, she did not even want to see any actress, much less 16 years older than him. Nevertheless, Garry Kasparov still carved out several hours and even days from his busy schedule for his personal life and devoted them entirely to Marina.

The actress introduced the future grandmaster to high circles Soviet bohemian youth. At social events he was introduced to the most talented people. Thanks to great games and similar acquaintances, the chess player’s name began to appear not only in specialized media.

But as mentioned above, Kasparov’s mother was categorically against such a relationship, and soon the romance between the actress and the chess player came to naught. Marina Neelova gave birth to a daughter some time later and named her Nika. But the strict mother forbade her son to recognize the child, even though Nika was like two peas in a pod like a chess player.

Maria Arapova

In 1989, Garry Kimovich officially signed with Maria Arapova. She worked as a guide-translator at the Intourist hotel complex. A little later, in 1992, they had a daughter, Polina. A year later, Kasparov's marriage began to fall apart, and the couple decided to separate. The divorce proceedings lasted a full year and a half. The chess player’s ex-wife and her daughter decided to leave Russia and settled for permanent residence in America.

Yulia Vovk

Kasparov’s next chosen one was 18-year-old student Yulia Vovk. From her, the chess player has a son, Vadim, born in 1996. The couple lived together for 9 years, after which the marriage began to crack and subsequently broke up.

Daria Tarasova

But the grandmaster, after a relatively quick divorce, again became entangled in Cupid’s net. And this time Kasparov again got a bride noticeably younger than himself. The age difference with socialite Daria Tarasova was almost 20 years. They got married in 2005, and a year later the couple had a daughter, Aida. In the summer of 2015, there was a replenishment; Tarasova made her husband happy with her son Nikolai.

The children of Garry Kasparov have no connection with the world of chess and do not even consider this sport as a hobby. But the great grandmaster himself does not insist on this, believing that everyone should choose their calling independently and without the guardianship of parents.

These days

The former world champion is still actively involved in politics. The chess player’s position, thoughts, some conclusions and other information can be found on Twitter. There he shares latest news with his subscribers and comments on what is happening in the world and in Russia.

Kasparov invariably follows the previously chosen political course and believes that “the Russian Federation must return to the European family of nations.” A good half of his compatriots criticize the chess player’s ideas, plans and position regarding Russia.

Kasparov, in addition to housing in New York, also has real estate in St. Petersburg, Moscow and Croatia. He visits the latter very often and lives for months in the town of Makarska with his wife and children. The former champion's main sources of income are chess master classes and thematic lectures. This also includes literary activity. Political prose is not so in demand among readers, but they are ready to buy professional works related to the sport of chess, and in decent quantities.

Since 2002 and to this day, Garry Kasparov has been making his own, and considerable, contribution to the development of the chess field throughout the world. Ex-champion tries to introduce chess as sports discipline into educational systems different countries, on a par with the same physical education. Over the past ten years, Harry Kimovich has organized an impressive network of cooperation with hundreds of schools in Europe, Asia and the United States.

On April 13, the legendary Russian chess player, 13th world champion, eight-time winner of the World Chess Olympiad Garry Kasparov celebrates his 56th birthday. During the Soviet era, his name was well known to every schoolchild, but recently almost nothing is known about him - after he moved from Russia to America. What made him make such a decision, what secrets did he keep? long years and other little-known facts - further in the review.

The chess player's real name is Harry Weinstein. His father was of Jewish origin, and his mother was of Armenian origin, so his nationality has repeatedly caused controversy. Until the age of 11, Harry bore his father’s surname, and then his mother, frightened by the growing anti-Semitic sentiments in the USSR, insisted that her son take her surname. His parents worked as engineers in Baku and were also seriously interested in chess. At the age of 5, Harry helped his father solve a chess study - then his parents first noticed his talent and enrolled their son in a section at the Palace of Pioneers. Since then, he devoted all his free time to chess. Soon the fame of the child prodigy spread far beyond the borders of Baku. At the age of 12, Kasparov became the USSR champion in chess among youths, and at 17 he already received the title of master of sports. He graduated from school with a gold medal and entered the Baku Pedagogical Institute at the Faculty of Foreign Languages.

In 1970, Garry Kasparov’s father died of lymphosarcoma, and since then his mother devoted herself entirely to her son, resigning from the research institute and focusing on his career. Many said that it was Klara Shagenovna who raised him into a champion. Her influence was undivided, as coach Alexander Nikitin, who worked with the young grandmaster, wrote in his book: “ It would be difficult to imagine a more ideal candidate for such a role than Harry's extremely ambitious mother. This was done gradually and quite subtly. Klara Kasparova's entry into the role was approved by all interested parties. I was glad that she willingly took upon herself the solution of all technical issues related to our training camps and trips, negotiations with local leaders - I had plenty of purely chess problems. I did not take into account that her influence on her son is unlimited. And very soon the gentleness and humanity that had previously been characteristic of her gave way to a decisive, almost bossy, attitude towards coaches».

And Kasparov himself admitted: “ The main thing is that I can be frank with her, like with no one else. In critical moments, you hear a voice that you have been accustomed to believing for many years. Each of us needs someone whom you can trust, to express everything without hiding, calling things by their proper names. And then most often you yourself understand what to do. Mom jokes that she absorbs my stress" For Kasparov, his mother has always been an unquestioned authority. He always listened to her advice, even if personal happiness had to be sacrificed.

This story became known only years later, when the famous actress Marina Neyolova admitted that she was raising a daughter born out of wedlock from Garry Kasparov. When they met, he was 21 years old and she was 37. Their romance was very rapid, but his mother was against a relationship that distracted him from his career. She publicly stated that her son has nothing to do with her daughter Neelova, born in 1987, although Nika’s resemblance to her father has been obvious since childhood. Obeying the will of his mother, Kasparov never acknowledged his paternity. And 2 years later, Neelova married diplomat Kirill Gevorgyan, who replaced Nike’s own father.

Years later, Kasparov wrote: “ Our close communication with Marina Neelova lasted more than two years. She was 16 years older than me, like all my friends at that time. Partly because I matured very quickly. But much more due to the fact that women of the same age, as a rule, wanted to get married as soon as possible. Of course, I couldn’t even think about this, as I was preparing for my first world championship match. Marina suited me because she didn’t want to get married. She understood the true nature of my struggle and provided me with support and encouragement. ... But in 1986 I was very preoccupied with preparations for the rematch... I almost stopped seeing Marina. Parting became inevitable. Therefore, I was completely sure that the child she was carrying could not be mine. Each of us already had a separate personal life. I tried to put it all out of my mind and focused on chess».

Meanwhile, victories came one after another in the chess player’s career. In 1985, Garry Kasparov beat Anatoly Karpov to become the 13th chess king and the youngest world champion (22.5 years old). He single-handedly headed the FIDE rating for 21 years (from 1985 to 2006). Kasparov won about fifty victories in tournaments of various difficulty levels, became an 8-time champion of chess Olympiads and an 11-time winner of chess Oscars. The British included Kasparov in the list of 100 world geniuses, where he took 25th place. It is interesting that there were only 2 chess players on this list - Garry Kasparov and Bobby Fischer. Today Kasparov is called one of the greatest chess players in the world.

The grandmaster found personal happiness only in his third marriage. His first marriage to translator Maria Arapova broke up after 9 years, although their relationship had cracked 2 years before that. The divorce was painful, the couple communicated only through lawyers, and Kasparov did not see his daughter Polina for a long time. In 1996, the 33-year-old chess player married 18-year-old student Yulia Vovk, whose marriage also lasted 9 years. The couple had a son, Vadim. In 2005, immediately after the divorce was finalized, Kasparov married Daria Tarasova, who was 20 years younger than him. A year later, their daughter Aida was born, and in 2015, his wife gave him a son, Nikolai.

In 2005, Garry Kasparov became involved in political activities. He stated that he was leaving professional sports for politics, since in his career he had already achieved everything he wanted. He took an openly critical position towards the current government, participated in many protests, and created the opposition democratic movement “Solidarity”. Because of his activities, Kasparov was repeatedly detained by the police. In 2013, he decided to leave Russia for America and continue his struggle at the international level.

Kasparov says about his life today: “ I don’t participate in tournaments, but sometimes in the evenings for my own pleasure I play on the Internet under a pseudonym. For me this is an important element of spiritual relaxation. I publish books and give 20-25 lectures a year all over the world.».

Since then, he has received a lot of criticism, and he has twice as many opponents as supporters. The attitude of his compatriots towards Garry Kasparov today cannot be called unambiguous: some still call him the greatest chess player in the world and the smartest man of the twentieth century, while others condemn him for going into politics and moving to the USA. One thing is certain: he still leaves no one indifferent. Just like its American counterpart.

Name: Harry Kasparov
Date of Birth: April 13, 1963
Zodiac sign: Aries
Age: 56 years old
Place of Birth: Baku
Height: 174 cm
Weight: 80 kg
Activity: chess player
Family status: married

Biography of Garry Kasparov

The greatest chess player, Garry Kasparov, whom the most titled athletes were afraid to meet, was truly great. He became a champion 13 times, and received an Oscar for playing chess 11 times. When he decided to devote himself to politics, Garry Kimovich was already a seasoned player, so he was never afraid to express and defend his opinion.

Childhood and youth

The real name of the brilliant chess player was Weinstein. He was born in Baku. The family was very intelligent: both parents were engineers and were themselves fond of playing chess. It is absolutely clear why their son’s biography turned out this way. According to his father, the boy’s nationality is Jewish, and according to his mother, he is Armenian. The boy became interested in chess from the age of 5. Seeing this child’s passion, the parents placed their son in the hands of a professional athlete and chess coach.

The boy was not interested in ordinary toys or playing in the yard. For Harry, chess was of great importance. Apart from analyzing game games, the only hobby of the future chess luminary was reading books and newspapers. The seriousness of the guy’s passion for chess led to the fact that he already had a champion title at the age of 12. At the age of 17, the young man received the title of Master of Sports in chess. After graduation high school the young man received a gold medal.

Chess career

Garry Kasparov decided to enroll in a pedagogical institute and applied to the Faculty of Foreign Languages. The young man only had to pass one entrance exam with an “excellent” mark, and he was immediately enrolled as a student at the institute. It can be considered that the received titles of “grandmaster” and “chess king of the world” became a successful beginning of his entire chess biography.

His son was trained by his own mother, Klara (Aida) Shagenovna. By this time, her husband had died, and she devoted herself entirely to the career of her only son. At the same time, important changes took place in his life; Harry officially acquired the surname Kasparov, who by nationality began to write everywhere that he was Armenian.

Kasparov has many titles, awards and titles. He is not only an Honored Master of Sports since 1985 and an International Grandmaster, he has become a champion of various categories many times. Harry resisted another famous titled chess player, Anatoly Karpov, for a very long time.

Due to reprisals against Armenian nationality, the chess player left Baku and moved to the capital of Russia. Garry Kasparov created the “Professional Chess Association”, 3 years later the “Kasparov Club” was created virtually, in which he played many games. This fascinating spectacle captured almost three million people. This lasted 4 months.

Policy

Since 2005, Kasparov decided to leave professional sports. He said he achieved what he wanted. Now he wanted to add intelligence to Russian politics. No one argues that a brilliant chess player comes up with ideas worthy of state attention, but in most cases, Garry Kimovich satisfies his political desires. He himself created and became the head of the opposition movement “United Civil Front”.

The most important thing in his policy was opposition to the existing government in Russia. Kasparov openly opposed Putin, carrying out demarches, and was imprisoned more than once. Now Harry had a different status; he no longer arranged his pieces in a checkerboard pattern. The great chess player could not calm down why no one takes his opinions into account. He goes further, he organized a new Solidarity movement.

Personal life

The biography of the athlete’s personal life was just as stormy as his career in chess and politics. He was married three times. For the first time, Garry Kasparov married guide-translator Maria Arapova. The woman had no ambitions and did everything for her illustrious husband. Maria gave birth to a daughter, Polina, and suddenly the grandmaster came up with an initiative for divorce. The whole process took a year and a half. The first wife and daughter moved to America.

For the second time, Garry Kasparov led student Yulia Vovk, who had just turned 18, to the altar. After the birth of their son Vadim, nine years later this marriage also cracked, just like the first. Harry was not a free divorced man for long. He immediately found solace in his relationship with socialite Daria Tarasova. The age difference was twenty years.

But Garry Kasparov married a young girl, who gave birth to a girl, Aida. After 10 years, Daria gave her husband an heir, son Nikolai. These marriages were all absolutely legal. His civil marriages are known. For some time, the chess player and actress Marina Neyolova lived together, the result of their relationship was their daughter Nika. The father does not recognize his illegitimate daughter. Currently, both the artist and her daughter live in California.

Garry Kasparov now

Garry Kimovich Kasparov now continues to live in politics. On Twitter, he actively expresses all his thoughts about who is right and who is wrong. The great chess player follows all political processes in the country. In fact, an oppositionist always speaks out against government policy. It's a shame that such a refined mind of an international grandmaster is clouded and misdirected.