Word: kasparov
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Dates: during 2000-2009
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...Playing Politics Garry Kasparov, one of the greatest chess masters, continues to attract world attention with whatever moves he makes, and his challenging of Russian President Vladimir Putin is no different [April 9]. But real-life politics is not as simple as predicting your opponent's moves. In trying to wade through muddy and turbulent waters, Kasparov may get quite wet if not submerge completely. After all, he will be dealing with the darkest impulses of human beings, which don't yield easily predicted moves. It may be more meaningful for Kasparov to keep igniting the interest of young chess...
...Kasparov and some other dissidents, the original sin of the new Russia was the 1996 presidential election, in which--with the help of massive injections of funds from business oligarchs--Boris Yeltsin won re-election over Gennady Zyuganov, the Communists' leader. Kasparov now says that he and other liberals made a "horrible mistake when we endorsed Yeltsin and looked the other way out of fear for a communist comeback. We missed the whole point that democracy is not about results. Democracy is about upholding regulations and having a legitimate transfer of power...
...Putin, Kasparov insists, is getting weaker by the day, as oil prices fall and his entourage starts to look for the protection they will need when he is gone. The Other Russia has brought together a number of groups, from the old nationalist left to the liberal right. All have agreed on a program of fundamental political reform, including a reduction of presidential power, more authority for the parliament and a delegation of authority to the regions. The group's members hope to coalesce around a single presidential candidate...
...that seems unlikely to be Kasparov. He says he is merely a "moderator" between left and right. But he isn't taking chances. In a Russia where crusading journalists like Anna Politkovskaya have been shot, he travels with bodyguards. Russians must take responsibility for change, he says. All he wants from the West is an unequivocal message to the Russian ruling élite that "there will be consequences if they don't play by the rules...
...grayer, with less of that shock of black hair that once marked him, but as intense as ever, the onetime child prodigy won't be returning to chess. "I don't want to look back," says Kasparov. "I have a new life...