ABC Person of the Week: Garry Kasparov

by ChessBase
3/19/2005 – During a visit to New York explained the reasons for his sudden retirement from the game last week. You can watch the report on ABC's "on demand" service ($4.95) or read about it on their news site. Or you can see what it looked like behind the cameras in our behind the scenes report!

ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024 ChessBase 17 - Mega package - Edition 2024

It is the program of choice for anyone who loves the game and wants to know more about it. Start your personal success story with ChessBase and enjoy the game even more.

More...

Person of the Week:
Garry Kasparov

Chess Champion Retires, Follows Political Ambitions

March 18, 2005 — Garry Kasparov has been the most successful chess player in the world for 20 years. But at age 41, he is suddenly retiring from professional competition.

Kasparov is leaving competitive chess for the very competitive world of Russian politics. He says that Russian democracy needs defending and it's being damaged by current President Vladimir Putin.

"I'm sad at the end of the day, but for me it's not a retirement," he said. "At 41, I'm not part of the Social Security debate yet. And I would rather see it as a transition. I did a lot — probably more than anyone else at the chess board — and I feel that all this experience, all the knowledge that had been accumulated over 30 years should be used more effectively somewhere else. I think my presence in Russian political life could make a difference for millions of people."

  • Full ABC report and video
    To watch the news report filed by Peter Jennings you have to subscribe to the ABC News on Demand service, which costs $4.95 a month or $39.95 a year. There is also a free 14-day trial.
  • NPR Radio interview audio. All Things Considered, March 18, 2005 – Gary Kasparov won the world chess championship at 22. Now 41, he announced his retirement last week after winning a tournament in Spain for the ninth time. He tells Robert Siegel he's interested in playing a role in pushing Russia toward democracy.

We saved our five bucks by being behind the cameras while Kasparov was in front of them! But it took a while to get to the ABC News studios on the west side of Manhattan even though they had sent a car to Kasparov's hotel. Traffic was blocked up and we had to go miles up and around to get past the annual St. Patrick's Day parade that was going down 5th Avenue!

At last the ex-chessplayer arrived to the studio, and it was time for make-up. No one would appear on TV without it. Otherwise your face shines and reflects the bright lights, not a good look.

Then the board had to be positioned just right. There was a box and a book under it to get it at the right height. They decided to remove the book because the pieces were too high. The book? Chess for Dummies! The producer had been doing some homework. (We made sure not to get any photos of Kasparov handling it..) We did our part by swapping the black king and queen to their correct positions before filming started. At least they had the white square in the right corner. (They had run out and rented two sets for the filming.)

Then it was time for action. We had to stop taking pictures during the 25-minute interview. Of course only a few minutes of it was used during the show the next day, but they will archive the material to use on other programs. They asked Kasparov many questions about how he maintained his motivation for so long, and also about his childhood. We'll be bringing you our own long interview with the world's highest-rated retiree in the next few days. Meanwhile, there will be a long Kasparov profile in the New York Times next week. On Monday he will appear on the prestigious Charlie Rose interview program.

After the interview, the autographs. But this one wasn't for a fan. They used his signature as part of the spectacular graphics that were included in the profile when it ran. Really a top-notch production.


Reports about chess: tournaments, championships, portraits, interviews, World Championships, product launches and more.

Discuss

Rules for reader comments

 
 

Not registered yet? Register