Garry Kasparov hits the comeback trail
The veteran chess grand master has come out of retirement to play at the Rapid and Blitz tournament — and has promised to donate any winnings to Africa
St Louis — Twelve years after trading chess for politics, Garry Kasparov proved Monday that time hadn’t dulled his edge as he battled to a draw three times with a fellow Russian half his age in the opening game of a keenly anticipated comeback. The 54-year-old Kasparov, whose genius has left a wide mark on the history of chess, has briefly come out of retirement "kicking and fighting" to compete this week at the Rapid and Blitz tournament in St. Louis. It remains to be seen whether he can beat a new generation of players or if he will instead pass the torch. In a fitting turn of events, his first encounter against compatriot Sergey Karjakin had shades of Kasparov’s own breakthrough moment in 1985 when, aged 22, he defeated the legendary Russian grand master Anatoli Karpov to become the youngest champion in history. This time around, it was Kasparov who represented the old guard against Karjakin the young pretender, who narrowly lost last year’s world championship to Magnus Carlsen, ...
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