Chess, human rights, and the self
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. Share
On the Web
Watch Garry Kasparov's Oslo Freedom Forum 2010 talk:
Visit Garry Kasparov's personal website
Read an excerpt of Garry Kasparov's book How Chess Imitates Life
Visit The Other Russia, a news and opinion site co-founded by Garry Kasparov
At the Conference
Garry Kasparov was joined by the following speakers during the session themed A Spark of Change: Up Down