It’s not just chess in Garry Kasparov’s multi-layered comment

It’s not just chess in Garry Kasparov’s multi-layered comment (Photo- Instagram)

Garry Kasparov was known as the fiercest of competitors in chess during his reign in the eighties and nineties. Genius undisputed, his demeanour on the board and his comments were often found intimidating. The Russian world champion was possibly not brusque, but had an unusual way of expressing himself. It worked in his favour that the rest of the world and his opponents found his words and actions unsettling.

At 62 and long retired, Kasparov recently revisited his rivalry with Viswanathan Anand. The event called ‘2025 Clutch Chess: The Legends’ was held in St Louis, USA, to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the World Championship duel between the two at the World Trade Centre in 1995. Kasparov, who had won that match, beat the Indian once again.

That is not the story. After ChessBase India ran an interview of arguably the strongest chess player ever, and saluted him for his unstinted, emotional attachment to chess, Kasparov wrote on his X handle: “If you don’t respect the truth of the game of chess, don’t expect it to reward you for long. I wish ‘life imitates chess’ in this way, but unfortunately, we see every day that dishonesty can be profitable in other pursuits!”

If you don’t respect the truth of the game of chess, don’t expect it to reward you for long. I wish "life imitates chess" in this way, but unfortunately we see every day that dishonesty can be profitable in other pursuits! https://t.co/QSuHqNmsNV

— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) October 11, 2025

This can be interpreted in several ways. An expression of gratitude. A disciple bowing before the game he thinks is bigger than him. Uncharacteristic of Kasparov in his heydays, this is perhaps a sign of a volatile man mellowing with age. Great sportspersons revere their sport. Remember Sachin Tendulkar touching the pitch — like one touches the feet of elders — before walking off the last time? The first part of Kasparov’s post has something to do with this kind of feeling.

The second part is trickier. Of late, player conduct has raised eyebrows. Magnus Carlsen said ‘F*** U’ after FIDE threw him out of the World Blitz Championship for a dress code violation. He banged the table in fury after losing against D Gukesh. Hikaru Nakamura tossed Gukesh’s king into the crowd after beating him in an exhibition match to take ‘the game closer to the masses’. It’s possible that Kasparov was hinting at a fall in the levels of sportsmanship.

There is another possibility. Kasparov has strong political views. He is active in this field. He is anti-establishment and once came close to running for the post of President of Russia. He is vehemently opposed to the war against Ukraine and doesn’t have complimentary things to say about Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump. Saying ‘dishonesty can be profitable in other pursuits’ could well have been a jibe at the world politics Grandmasters!