Garry Kasparov is an outspoken advocate for human rights and democracy in Russia. Widely considered the world’s greatest chess player of all time, he holds records for the all-time highest chess rating, the most consecutive chess tournament victories, the most Chess Oscars, and the longest time as the #1 rated chess player in world history. In 2004, Kasparov founded the Committee 2008: Free Choice, a group of Russian freedom advocates whose aim was to work for fair, democratic elections in Russia in 2008. He retired from chess in 2005 to devote himself full-time to writing and human rights activism. An ardent critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin, Kasparov created the United Civil Front, a social movement with the mission of preventing Russia from returning to totalitarianism. He cofounded The Other Russia, a pro-democracy collation opposing Putin, and was a candidate in the 2008 Russian presidential race. He is a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and various other news publications.