Garry Kasparov Retires

Thank you Garry.

I's a sad day, but if ever there is a unified world championdhip cycle again, maybe he will have the goal that he lacks now. All involved in the process, FIDE, Kramnik, etc. should bear the responsibility of driving away from chess the man that could still bring media attention to chess, i see a bleak future for the game.

Thanks for all the great chess Garry. Hope you change your mind though. Kramnik will still be around in a couple of years and be happy to play you. :-)

my question for garry would be: if kramnik and a group of finacial backers offered you a match with kramnik under similar conditions as the match with leko was contested, would you consider playing?

Nothing left to accomplish? How about avenging his loss (and tied matches) with the computer? Ex-champ comes out of retirement to show the machine once and for all who’s boss. I’d pay to see that.

Any way, he’s got my vote as the greatest of all time regardless.

This is a very, very sad day for chess! The worst thing that could happen for the game at this point. Garry is the only chessplayer that could get real media attention and get the sponsors. Who would want to pay to see another Kramnik - Leko match (YAWN)? That FIDE has driven the best player in the history of the game to stop just shows how lousy that organisation is.

But anyway, thank you to Garry for the fantastic chess you have given us, and keep up the good work with the writing. I still hope you will change your decision, though!

Maybe now someone will wake up and organize a match between Garry and Kramnik a la the Fischer-Spassky rematch of 92.

Arguably the greatest of all time. Thanks for the magic Garry Kimovich!!!

It is a sad day indeed. It is not only us, chess spectators, who will miss Kasparov and the exciting games he is still undoubtedly capable of producing. Ironically, Anand, Topalov, Leko, Kramnik and others will now have to fight with the great man's shadow to prove their worth.

It took Karpov many years after Fischer's departure from the scene to achieve the universal recognition, but eventually he succeeded. Will anyone from the present crowd be able to fill the void?

I seriously hope he is kidding. He is my favorite player of all time. When I know he is serious, I will probably shed a few tears because he is one of the reasons I ever got passionate about chess. I wanted to play a combination as deep as one by Kasparov (I like to deceive myself that I actually did in a couple of games).

dz, I agree with you: the great man's shadow is always bigger than a great man himself, and I doubt that anyone from the present "tops" can repeat Karpov's accomplishment. A great "thank you" to Garry for woderful chess legacy!

Garry Kasparov tubo un dominio del juego como probablemente nunca veremos de nuevo.

Me quito el sombrero !

Garry Kasparov had such domain over the game as we may never see again.

I take my hat off.

Thank you Garry. You will be missed.

My question: What would you do different if you had your chess career ahead of you again?

It goes without saying that this is a sad day for professional chess. His reasons make a lot of sense. After 20 years as #1, and winning the last two tournaments in which he played, he clearly has nothing left to prove. Except beating Kramnik, that is. Once it became clear that a rematch with Kramnik was surely not happening soon, and quite possibly wouldn't happen at all, it simply made no sense for him to keep himself in fighting shape. With consecutive victories in the Russian Superfinal and Linares, he can say he went out on top. Not many players have been able to do that.

We haven't heard from the Daily-Dirter who despises Kasparav the most, Greg Koster. I'm sure Greg will point out, as he should, that there are a few extremely selfish comments in Kasparov's parting remarks as quoted on Chessbase.com. That is a pity. But the reasons for the timing of Kasparov's retirement are fundamentally sound, and we can only thank him for giving us twenty years, the likes of which the world is not likely to see again anytime soon.

Rockrobinoff asked if Garry would accept a match with Kramnik if it were offered today. Whatever his private thoughts may be, the answer has to be "no." I'm sure, however, that under the right circumstances he'd accept another man-machine match. That probably qualifies under the "playing for fun" exception that he allowed in his parting statement.

I remember Sosonko writing in Schaakbulletin (the precursor to NewInChess) about a great new Russian talent, Harry (as Sosonko wrote his name at the time) Kasparov, in the late seventies. How right Sosonko was, and what a career we have been lucky to witness. Has there ever been a match like the first one with Karpov in terms of sheer determination not to give in? He was Fischer like in his willingness to fight every time. As Karpov wrote after Linares 1994: ``the good news that I would get Kasparov's opponents one round later. That is good, because he gives them a hard time.'' Indeed, and he will be sorely missed for it! It is fitting that he is now writing the greatest set of chess books ever. There will be no need for a post-Kasparov edition. I'm cancelling my subscriptions to chessmagazines.

I'm saddened but am also happy that Garry is going to be doing bigger things now. Thank you Garry for your games. And am looking forward to the completion of your series of books.

"I think Kasparov is better at politics and writing than Jordan was at baseball, so we'll see." --- I think my view on this matter could hinge on a critique of his historical revisionism. Though I've been impressed by the eloquence and humanitarianism of his editorials, I'm concerned that his view of history might turn out to be a bit kooky. Can you ask him to what extent he believes his thesis about history could be true, Mig?

It's not his thesis, just something he's very interested in. I also think it's kooky in some ways, but most of it is about saying "prove it" and "how do you know?" to the traditional chronology, which really is largely based on assumptions and centuries of believing what the other guy said. The wilder conclusions by some of the New Chronology's exponents (including Garry) get the publicity, but it's not as if they are insane ravings. He brings quite a lot of facts to the table. It's certainly far from the most important thing in his life.

ask if he intends now to contribute more to the general chess knowledge. more teaching dvd's from kasparov, along the lines of the queens gambit release. or live commentary from kasparov on playchess.com during super tournaments. if he really wanted to continue his legacy, he could choose an upcomming prodigy to mentor. or write detailed top level books on positional strategy/openings that could only be written once one fully gives up competition, and is willing to part with their more guarded secrets. he could be a paid consultant for one of the engine developers. these are the directions i would be thinking about taking my career, if i were him.

Too bad us non-citizen fans won't be able to do much to support Kasparov 2008.

Garry for president. When they write his biography, all the chess--as wonderful as it is--will be an afterthought.

I'd ask Gary if now that he is retired, if he will be able to just 'play' the game and enjoy it more now that the pressure is off?

Maybe now he can get a real job instead of just playing games for the last 30 years. ;-)

I recall 1982, when I was understanding what chess is about. I remember that I saw two Kasparov games in an old Leonard Barden book, and I almost quit chess then - I thought I could never play like that. And it was back in 1982!!

During all this years, many times I disagreed with Gary's opinions, and sometimes i just disliked him or his personality. But, inside the board, he was my permanent idol.

As someone said, he had been the number one for longer than the age of some of the top players today. An editor could produce a great book on chess mastepieces using only Kasparov games.

I will miss you, Gary. Hope that you find the incentive to return in the future.

Of course the big question is what he'll do next. Seems to me that since his "My Great Predecessors" series could wind up being his greatest legacy, he might choose to throw himself into it, to make it without question the standard history of the game.

So I would ask: does Garry have any plans to seriously rework the series, not only to incorporate published comments, but to work with a western chess historian, who could bring additional sources, expertise, and historical rigor to bear?

Maybe New Chronology is the most important thing in Garry's life, he just won't tell you.
It's certainly winning me over the more I read about it....

Mig, I appreciate your response regarding the new chronology. If you find the time, I hope you will ask him more about his views on the new chronology and how certain he is that there exists a large gap of time unaccounted for between classic and modern times, suggesting that our history is quite a bit shorter than commonly thought. Myself, I will probably say more about this to you later.

One thing that surprised me in his chessbase interview today was the comment: "But I never heard a voice of concern or a voice of support for Garry Kasparov." Just on the surface, it seems overly self-pitying since Kasparov has lots of fans, lots of supporters, many of them have been quite vocal. You have been someone who has seemed like a voice of concern and support for Kasparov, albeit from an unbiased but not unsympathetic journalistic perspective.

Another reaction I have to Kasparov's retirement is that it may be the very thing that prompts a large sponsor to come out of the woodwork and offer a very large financial sum to get Kasparov to come back out of retirement. If such an opportunity emerges, let's see if Kasparov bites the bait. With his continuing work on Great Predecessors, he might not get that rusty.

Curiously, chesspro.ru does not take Kasparov's retirement seriously, to say the least. Shipov just mentions it briefly in his review of Linares 14 round and the site editor adds his skeptical comment - comparing Garry's retirement declaration with that of Morozevich's (a while ago.)

Mig, you must know that crowd well from your kasparovchess.com days, any idea what that could mean? Wishful thinking, perhaps? Or maybe it is conspiracy theories time - how about an elaborate attempt to entice a rich sponsor as Jeremy Good suggests up above?

Damn...

OK, things are getting even more interesting. The chesspro site has been updated, the Morozevich comment is gone...

Wow, what a sad state of affairs when the greatest player in the history of the game retires, not because he's acheived everthing he wants to, but because he's too tired of the "politics".
If nothing else, I hope Gary's descision makes a few people 'wake up' and bring the chess world back into some order. Or maybe now Kasparov's gone, the back-biting and political wrangling will find a new point of focus...

The best player in the game, ever. Amazing that he is still only 40. I think it will be many many years - if ever - until somebody matches his accomplishments.

I think the best description of his play that somebody made was something in the style of "He somehow makes the pieces just a bit more valuable". Like a football trainer squeezing just that little extra edge out of his players which elevates the team from great to outstanding.

To be honest, I think he'll be back one day :) But until then, this is indeed the end of an era - and a hello to a chess world which is sadly going to become even more boring (though perhaps the lack of a clear #1 will make some of the others shine in a way they haven't yet).

So far, I will consider myself lucky to have been a contemporary of the player who I'm sure in the future will outshine all his predecessors.

It didn't freak me out, but it brought it home when the world #3, Topalov, who just beat Garry, said in an interview, as if it were an obvious assumption to make, that "none of us will match Kasparov's accomplishments, that is clear." It is obvious, but somehow that is tragic. Congratulations to all of us for living through the Kasparov era. I wonder how many people realized how lucky they were back in Morphy's day.

I cannot belive that Kasparov's last game will be a loss. He has to change that....time will tell.

Mig, ask Garry whether he'll be interested in the post of FIDE President and arrange all the chaos to get the chess world back where it belongs.

Duncan

I have lots of questions:

1. Will he publish the contents of his laptop? The games, the analysis, the secret opening preps, player profiles, etc?

2. Will he discuss the details of his preparation for the US Women's Olympiad team to Calvia?

3. Will he release the preparations of his match with IBM's Deep Blue?

4. Will he tell us what really went on during the negotiations for the aborted Kasparov-Shirov match? Or name the mysterious Silicon Valley company who withdrew sponsorship?

5. Is the King's Indian really suspect or is it just not in vogue?

And jokingly, when he becomes President of Russia, will he publish the contents of KGB files on chessplayers around the world? Or name the KGB agents who accompanied the Soviet players overseas during the '60s era?

Next, I don't blame GK for Unification troubles as he only requested special conditions which all the World Champions before him also did. And it is understandable because a WC playing in the elimination rounds has significant chances of being eliminated, in addition to the drain in energy.

Lastly, while I and millions naturally wish him well and wish him luck in his future endeavours, I don't understand why he must retire. He is the greatest of all time and that will never change no matter how many zeroes he scores. The burden of carrying "The Greatest" title is only a self-imposed stress. Karpov has earned legendary status and he still plays, last drawing an active match with Susan Polgar. No one begrudges Karpov's legendary status. Can he not still play in Linares 2006 for fun?

Bye Garry!

Wellcome Fischer!

:)

Guess you'll still be number 1 inactive for few years as there is nobody in the list who can catch you!! So, Anand overcomes his nightmare at last as well. He would have been number 1 for years if Garry wasn't around. I am sure with the comment "I still remember me and Vishy with black hair", he is reminding Anand his age as well.
Have a good one Garry!! Hope to see you Russian number 1 in politics in few years!! :)

Fischer was the greatest! The king is dead! Long live the new king, Kasparov! There is nothing to argue about - Garry was the greatest player ever!

To a Great King,

I bid you farewell. Thank you Garry Kasparov for years of really great chess games & for being a
really Great World Champion! I really hope future champions will follow in your footsteps.

You were a Chess Champion that at least played chess and did not sit on your title. You like Karpov before you proved to the would why you should be called WORLD CHESS CHAMPION.

As for my question, it is this:

Thanks to Fischer there came Big Money to Professional Chess. Karpov, Kortchnoi, Kasparov, Short, Anand, & Kramnik were able to benefit from it. Now with Kasparov gone will any of the remaining Chess Professionals be able to draw such
high wages?

Thanks Again Garry, you will be missed...

This brings to mind the Sports Illustrated cover of Jordan's 1st retirement with the headline "Why?" Why indeed? Garry could still produce many great games for the next 3-5 years.
In a way, I feel the same sense of loss for chess & chess history as must have been felt when Morphy and Fischer quit at their peak. Ok, Garry played for 20 yrs but he is still very much the dominant force over the board! Does he not owe it to chess and the very history of the game he is writing about to keep playing as long as he is able to produce masterpieces? As least Mozart had a legitimate excuse for not continuing...he died. Imagine if Wolfgang said after a few years of composing "Well, that's enough symphonies-- now I will devote my talent to crossword puzzles." To have such singular talent and electively stop makes us mortals shake our collective heads in frustration.
Of course, I would not want him to continue playing until I could take him-- nobody wants to replay the sad sight of Ali being pummeled by Holmes-- but he is still at the top and can give chess a few more years of his unique talent.
Garry stated he lacked any support for achieving his further goals but has he forgotten about the millions of chess fans world wide!?

It is indeed hard to believe this is final, and whatever it would be that brought Garry back to chess, i would welcome it with open arms.

i am so deeply saddened by his retirement that i've not been able to take my mind off from it for a minute today.

Unification? Any imaginations on WC cycle/match now seem ridiculous to me, as the most likely conquerer of the throne is out of the game... the rest, right now, seem like kids on a sandbox quarreling.

i understand he has no more worlds to conquer, but as he loves chess he should recognise his worth in the field, even with all the nay-sayers around him. Of course, i respect his decision, but according to a russian proverb, hope is the last to die..

sacateca

After having given Chess Twenty Years of your Life, Garry Kasparov owes Chess or the Chess Players one cent.

After having given Chess Twenty Years of your Life, Garry Kasparov does not owes Chess or the Chess Players one cent.

If that's meant to be a reply to what i said, please read with a little more understanding. i didn't want to imply that he owes anyone anything, au contraire...just wanted to express my sincere hope that he would still come back. He loves chess, and that i see as the only reason he ever would...and i wouldn't measure his love for chess in cents. Cents are worthless...

But if it's truly time to move on for him, then i wish him the best of luck in anything he chooses to do.

First of all I want to say to Garry that I hope he changes his mind. I couldn´t belive it when I heard the news that he will retire. Why?, when he still proves that he is the best. Garry you are just 41 you can´t stop now. If you retires the chess will no longer be as interesting as it has been since I begun follow it. I don´t no who I will follow in the top if you stops. The rest of the players in the top is just boring chessplayers without a special character.

1. I also want to say that I think you did a misstake when you didn´t play Shirov. I don´t no all the facts about it, regarding money-issuses and things like that. But for me Shirov had deserved this shot at the title and you should have done all that was in your power to make that match happen, Kramnik had nothing to do with a world-championmatch at this time around. I hope you will comment on this.

2. Then I must ask you to comment on this statement: "But I never heard a voice of concern or a voice of support for Garry Kasparov." This is all wrong and maybe it is true about FIDE and ACP but you should appreciate the millions of big fans you have all over the world and that supports you in every game you play. Is it just the big organisations that shout hardest that is important to you?. Hope to see some excuses here Garry.

Finally, I hope you change your mind regarding the retirement but if you don´t do I just want to say that for me you have always been the best and I think the results speak for themselves.

Definitely mixed feelings upon Kasparov's retirement. Sure did want to see a rematch with Kramnik (isn't that something left to accomplish?) and will miss his powerful presence in any tournament he's in. I remember a stretch in the late 90's when he dominated Corus, Dortmund, Linares, one after the other, one tournament winning repeatedly with black against the best of the rest. I also have to give him credit for taking on the silicon beasts even as I was horrified that he got psyched out by a computer and lost--it still generated more coverage of chess than anything else. I won't miss the politics of unification his presences complicated but of course we'll all miss the chess, that game against Adams was thrilling with most commentators predicting Adams winning for quite a while so till the last Garry was surprising us. I second the comments about being lucky to have watched his era and I hope his involvement in chess continues with teaching and writing. I agree the chess world will suffer from his absence and it will be interesting to see who, if anyone, will generate as much attention to the game as he has.
Let's toast his career and play another game....

Just like Botvinnik, 1044 years later. Grin.

Hi Mig,

Can you verify the authenticity of this:

http://www.world-mysteries.com/garrykasparov.htm

The site contains Kasparov's questions regarding the Roman Empire and the idea that history was somehow expanded by a 1000 years!

If the site is authentic, I have this question: radioactive dating (carbon, uranium, etc) would contradict the 1000 year expansion assertion?

Nothing to play for? How about the greatest tournament player for all time - never to be matched?

As a fan and player, I admit that my views are selfish and GK (as was Bobby) a private individual with no "contractual" obligations to history. They can choose to play or not, regardless of the joy they bring to millions around the world and successive generations.
However, I keep thinking of Borg in tennis. He left the game at his peak with the same perceptions...but when he wanted to return a few years later he was unable to recapture the magic. But it was too late. I hope Garry will not have the same regrets...

BOY, I mentioned the history stuff above. You should ask someone who knows more about the New Chronology and/or believes in it. Like any good semi-conspiracy theorists they seem to have all the answers! But I believe that carbon dating is of limited use when determining the age of objects.

My take on Kasparov's announcement is that it marks a sad stage in the history of chess, but that at the same time it is an astute PR "sacrifice" that puts him in a perfect position to one day reclaim his title.

Kasparov has a unique place in the history of chess. Not only is he probably the best (most rounded) player ever, but he is/was an ambassador and a symbol of the game like no other champion before him. I will always respect him for that, his narcissist antics notwithstanding.

Kaspy is doing the wise thing. He obviously is losing motivation (no reason not to believe him on that). He needs to take some distance from the game to look seriously at his options: writing books, entering a political career, anything that would sufficiently challenge him to be worth his while. At the same time, the option to come back (à la Michael Jordan) will always be open, and the potential rewards of coming back will never stop to increase (public demand, money, place in history). My prediction is that in 2-3 years a sponsor will be found for a direct challenge of the then-champion by Kasparov, and win-it or lose-it Garry will have spared himself the possible embarrassment of defeat in a Candidates' cycle (isn't that what he has been trying to avoid the whole time ?!), something his ego could not stand.

Thanks for everything, Garry. Good luck to you, although we know this is not the last we hear about your "professional chess career".

Just a short comment about the New Chronology "semi-conspiracy" (?) theory. Carbon 14 would help date a lot of "objects", but its margin of error is often too big when it comes to antiquity or medieval dating. However there is now another well-respected method called dendrochronology that operates through the dating of wooden objects (e.g. building structures such as poles or beams). It's accuracy (in the right conditions) generally is +- 1 year. I don't know if any archeologist has ever cared to try and refute New Chronology theories this way, but my guess is it would not be that hard to do... ;-)

Mig,

I read of the exchange between you and Jeremy Good above but didn't know of what you two were talking about.

Anyway, I'm thankful of discovering this other side of Kasparov.

The greatest chessplayer, so far, and a great ambassador for our wonderful game. I will miss following his exploits. But, it's a smart move. Not every remarkable sportsman has the courage to leave when he or she is at the top.

Best wishes to Garry Kimovich!

While I do agree that Kaspy is the best of the best, I question whether there are no more accomplishments for him to make (Reunified Tournament excluded). For instance, winning 22 straight games wouldn't be a bad place to start...

Duif,
Your objections are not valid for dendrochronology, which works backwards from present. The method is basically to study the patterns of growth rings in tree trunks, which vary obviously according to season and climate. Simplifying: if you gather enough evidence on a particular place, you can chart time curves for each historical period and later place the wood evidence in its chronological place.
A simple google search will give you more information, if you should want it ;-).

Well, the news is indeed a bomb.

I turned on the radio this morning and to my total astonishment, the sports commentators gave the news of Kasparov´s retiring. This is the first, ever, news on chess I have heard on radio in my country.

Regards,
Francisco

Please take the New Chronology discussion to the message board of your choice. The 65th square Ninja board, for example. I'll be deleting all of the New Chron discussion not pertaining to Kasparov shortly, so if you want to preserve your deathless debate, copy it now.

As one Russian chess fan mentioned, Garry should apply for Icelandic passport first before diving into Russian politics ;-)

I can understand Kasparov, he´s 42 and has been a top player for a very long time, number one for i don´t know how many years. I think if he wanted to keep on being number one he would have to spend a lot of time and energy. So maybe he wants to do other things, like writing about chess and enjoy life. He´s no perfect guy, i mean appears to be quite savage some times, but he´s a character. I don´t think Kramnik and Leko are going to give the ordinary chess enthusiast as much enjoyment and satisfaction, their style is too perfect and sterile, while Kasparov is wild and creative, his style is full of blood and will. I hope Kasparov will continue to give the chess-enthusiasts more gifts like books, multi-media stuff and a lot of inspiration.

Mig,

Funny, discovered this site a few months ago and never realised there was an active message board. I'm sure there are a bunch of other stuff on this site I'm not aware of.

I'm not really interested in the New Chronology thingy, just interested in Kasparov's writings about it, so I'm not interested in taking the discussion any furhter. Sorry to go off topic.

Is there any other non-chess writings by Kasparov, aside of politics, do you know of? Where can I find them?

Just to add some Kasparov content, I know Kasparov can take care of himself but he is a wealthy man and this New Chronology thing does spook me a little that someone may have gotten to him. Social Engineering can trick the best of us. I'm concerned that some may exploit Kasparov like how some have exploited Fischer. I'm also concerned that his entering politics may mean political enemies are already laying the ground work for future discrediting campaigns. Of course I have no evidence, just a concern.

Serves the chess world right, Garry leaving. I wonder if this is his way of giving the world a reality check - see how much interest in chess and chess sponsorship there is out there when 'the man' isn't part of the equation. I'm one of those that thinks he can be lured back, but only if there is a clear, unified champ and the money is in the bank. After all, won't that make the greatest chess story of all time, when GK comes back seven or eight years from now and does what Fischer couldn't or wouldn't - lay the smack down on whoever is champ at the moment after a lay-off of over half a decade? That would put the Garry vs Bobby debate to bed forever, eh?

Artie.

Good move by Garry!
He clearly stated that the only professional chess he can be interested in, is WC match with Kramnik.
Fischer and Spassky got 5 million a decade ago, and now we can wait for an offer both Kasparov and Kramnik just can't refuse.
And if the match will not start before the end of 2006, I'll be really surprised.
Good move by Garry.
He just shows us an example on the subject of his new book "How Life Imitates Chess" to appear by the end of the year.

GK is right, he doesn't have anything left to prove. But if a bank guarantee with the FIDE WC imprimatur somehow materializes out of very thin air, I bet he wouldn't ignore it.

BoredOfYou,
I can assure you that New Chronology is not a sect or some kind of kooky outfit. Those guys are serious scientists and they don't need Garry to promote them. In short, Garry won't get brainwashed and ripped off like Bobby did.
If you have any interest in the subject, I could recommend some books (in English) that may help you out.

You will be missed, Garry. Fischer will always be second to you. Thanks for all the years of your great chess, they were fun to watch.

Garry is most interesting in that he is both inhuman (i.e. superhuman in his playing ability) and also, at the same time, so human. His study and capitalization in re: game psychology and individual opponent preparation -- along with his obvious emotions -- show his humanside.

When he was younger, he was viewed as perversely egocentric, if nothing else. Today, there is a true appreciation for his talents and his steadfastness in viewpoint. Maybe we should all step back and learn something using this perspective.

A great champion and contributor to the game.

davek

I was happy to play Garry in a simul game on Faroes Island back in june 2001. Of course he beat me fair and square with a smile on his face. I came to love and respect him on that visit to our humble islands. So Mig, could you say thx for everything from Faroes Island! Hope he will change his mind for some reason or another. He IS the best.

Mig, please ask Garry if he thinks that narrowing the world of the gifted children, such as Carlsen and Karjakin, exclusively to chess is the fair thing to the children, society, and chess? Would he be the same Kasparov if he had spent all hours of his childhood studying chess? The way young talents are being steered, the world will see only Kramnik types (who does not have or does not know how to express his views on anything else but his own achievements in chess).

> Kramnik types (who does not have or does not know > how to express his views on anything else but his > own achievements in chess)

I beg to differ: Kramnik is by far the most eloquent among chessplayers, his interviews are always a joy to read as he expresses himself very well. And I bet at this stage in his life does not care to express his views on non-chess related issues.

And Carlsen is the wrong example to chose if you want to speak about "narrowed world" chess prodigy... ;-)

Indeed these guys are simply geniuses, so they cannot help but having an open mind. Kramnik is obviously like this, always litters his speech with references to art(I don't mean the painter) or Russian writers. He has more artistic interests, whereas Garry Kasparov is more interested in history. I think that this comes out in their play as well. Kramnik the artist and Garry the legend, killer or whatever. Carlsen is also an obvious genius. Of the past masters, I would say maybe Spassky was like Kramnik. Lasker was a mathematician and so was Euwe, Botvinnik was an engineer. On the other hand, guys like Anand, Topalov, and Leko seem to be content just to simply play their chess exclusively and this is also fine. Fischer also seem to have been this way and I don't know much about Petrosian as a person. Of the current prodigies, I think there may be this tendency, but I don't know enough about them as people and perhaps their personalities are not so defined. Could anyone shed light on the personalities of Nakamura, Radjabov or Karjakin? I know the basics and have even spoken to Nakamura a couple of times when he was younger, but do you know about whether they are fitting into the "narrowed world" category or whether they are more well rounded ?

Whether one dedicates his life to chess completely or not, it's hardly for other people to make judgments on his choise. If someone is content in the world of chess, leave him alone. You may not like him or admire him, but that is your headache alone.

Hard to believe that we are coming up on five years since Garry Kimovich retired. It certainly hasn't been boring, but I really miss his play in the big tournaments! I'm glad that we were treated to his level of play for as long as we were. Thanks again Garry!

We shall not see his like again...