In the strange, fascinating and outmoded world of chess, Garry Kasparov is still the brightest star. Ten years ago, to the general surprise and while he was still the undisputed number 1, he was putting an end to his professional career. Yet the former world champion of this cerebral sport with infinite possibilities remains the incarnation and continues to enjoy the media interest. Much more than the brilliant Norwegian Magnus Carlsen, the current world champion, whose notoriety struggles to surpass the circle of lovers of the noble game, despite his youth (24 years) and his modernity. Garry Kasparov exploded this invisible frontier between his failures in the real world and his debut in the 1970s, before becoming the undisputed major figure in the 1980s and his Until the beginning of the twenty-first century.
King of the sport king in the USSR, the champion born in 1963 in Baku (Azerbaijan) took advantage of the historical and geopolitical circumstances of the time. Rebellious in spirit, it has become a symbol of change by accompanying the upheavals that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union. The history of the failures of the past 40 years has been intimately linked to the march of the world, between cold war and perestroika, a Soviet system at the end of the race and a Russian revival. Garry Kasparov played a symbolic role, but he printed the memories in the West. In a changing political setting, he was able to spread all his stature, as a prodigy of the game first, then as a hindrance to turn in circles, before finally making a springboard to other ambitions, other battles. Today, if it is always in the capacity of "former world champion" that he expresses himself in his writings and in the media, the king whom he intends to bring down is no longer a piece of high wood A few centimeters, but Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, who for years has denounced the autocratic drifts with a systematic determination. This battle, far more uncertain than the Chess tournaments, now occupies most of its existence. "I always attacked because it was the only thing I knew how to do. Now I attack because I know this is what works best, "he replies to his despisers who describe him as obsessive. In the next few days, Winter is coming, his new book, entirely devoted to his struggle against Vladimir Putin. With its title, reference to the hit series Game of thrones, this book seals, if need be, the incredible destiny of the old wooden pusher who, from an early age, made his life a fight. Bigger than life, Garry Kasparov deserved to be met to try to understand what motivated him to don this suit of Don Quixote today against one of the most powerful men on the planet.
It's a hard job to get the man to get in. Between the highly paid conferences that he has made his business and which he dispenses all over the world, the television sets of American news channels where he is omnipresent as soon as it comes to address the Russian question , Through his regular interventions in the Wall Street Journal, and an assiduous presence on the social networks where he distils his stories and comments on the news, Garry Kasparov is elusive. At the rate of 90 flights per year, one every four days on average, difficult to know under what latitude it is, at what time zone it obeys. His best friends have also given up calling him, for fear of waking him up in the middle of his night. But the most faithful know that he will not forget them on their birthday. It's already that.
