Kasparov to run for Russian presidency

posted at 2:34 pm on September 30, 2007 by Bryan

Well, it ought to be tough to out-think him.

The former world chess champion Garry Kasparov entered Russia’s presidential race on Sunday, elected overwhelmingly as the candidate for the country’s beleagured opposition coalition.

Kasparov has been a driving force behind the coalition, which has united liberals, leftists and nationalists in opposition to President Vladimir Putin. He received 379 of 498 votes at a national congress held in Moscow by the Other Russia coalition, coalition spokeswoman Lyudmila Mamina told The Associated Press.

Kasparov has become a thorn in Putin’s side to the point that Putin has had him investigated for “extremism.” Of course, Putin does that to just about everyone who opposes him.

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Checkmate!!!

You’re F*cked Putin.

omnipotent on September 30, 2007 at 2:41 PM

So, now we need a leader smart enough to play chess?

oldleprechaun on September 30, 2007 at 2:44 PM

how many days till he’s dead? putin seems to be acing a lot of people these days.

lorien1973 on September 30, 2007 at 2:44 PM

I wonder what sort of “accident” awaits Kasparov, because demonizing him, or throwing him in jail, probably won’t work too well.

Troy Rasmussen on September 30, 2007 at 2:45 PM

not a smart move… the guy will be dead within months

Opinionnation on September 30, 2007 at 2:50 PM

Anybody seen Bobby Fischer lately?
Maybe we could pull him out of hiding when Kasparov wins the election, so at least someone smarter than him strategically could counter his plans, if Kas isn’t labeled “missing” in the near future.

nationspatriotcom on September 30, 2007 at 2:56 PM

Putin ousted by Mr.Chess….yeah right!

Putin doesn’t need to send Clemenza over to talk to him, Tom Hagen will take care of it.

Limerick on September 30, 2007 at 2:58 PM

lorien1973 on September 30, 2007 at 2:44 PM
Troy Rasmussen on September 30, 2007 at 2:45 PM
Opinionnation on September 30, 2007 at 2:50 PM

Not going to happen…. – you heard it here first – Kasparov is too well known, too public of a figure.
…..the revolt would be intolerable.

Besides Kasparov is too smart, to allow this sorta thing to happen…

Mcguyver on September 30, 2007 at 3:02 PM

Besides Kasparov is too smart, to allow this sorta thing to happen…

Mcguyver on September 30, 2007 at 3:02 PM

So are ex-KGB agents (oops), and Russia has lots of polonium.

steveegg on September 30, 2007 at 3:05 PM

Troy Rasmussen on September 30, 2007 at 2:45 PM

maybe he will get the Vince Foster treatment .

Mojack420 on September 30, 2007 at 3:16 PM

Pawn poisons king in 5 moves.

Mojack420 on September 30, 2007 at 3:18 PM

Does anyone know if Kasparov is actually any better than Putin? Or is he just another Commie?

Canerican on September 30, 2007 at 3:23 PM

steveegg on September 30, 2007 at 3:05 PM

Not going to happen…. you heard it here first.

Mcguyver on September 30, 2007 at 3:28 PM

Never watched a chess game, but I’ve read Kasparov’s opinion before. He sure sounds like the breath of fresh air that Russia needs.

frankj on September 30, 2007 at 3:30 PM

Kasparov has become a thorn in Putin’s side to the point that Putin has had him investigated for “extremism.” Of course, Putin does that to just about everyone who opposes him.

Well, at least Putin hasn’t reverted to the old Soviet practice of confining dissidents to mental institutions.

Oh, wait…

flipflop on September 30, 2007 at 3:32 PM

Anybody seen Bobby Fischer lately?
Maybe we could pull him out of hiding when Kasparov wins the election, so at least someone smarter than him strategically could counter his plans, if Kas isn’t labeled “missing” in the near future.

Ummm…yeah. Somehow, I don’t think he’d be an asset.

Pablo on September 30, 2007 at 3:37 PM

A good backgrounder on Kasparov and “The Other Russia” party here. (kinda longish)

billy on September 30, 2007 at 3:39 PM

billy, thanks. Here’s the key excerpt from that link:

Pachulia, like the majority of Russians, would prefer to see Putin remain President for at least another four years. To elect anyone else, he said, even one of Putin’s handpicked protégés, would be a risk that the country could ill afford. “Russia is gigantic and needs a strong hand,” he said. Kasparov’s politics and language were too foreign, and it made the players at the club dubious not only about his capacities as a politician but even about his loyalty to the Russian state. “The West needs someone to run Russia for them, someone to order around as their instrument, and they want to do that with Garry Kasparov,” Pachulia said. “The West is worried about the strength of Vladimir Putin.”

Some prefer a form of dictatorship, unfortunately. Russia’s history is a strange one, to say the least…

Entelechy on September 30, 2007 at 4:01 PM

Putin in trouble? Call MoveOn.

petefrt on September 30, 2007 at 4:18 PM

So, now we need a leader smart enough to play chess?

oldleprechaun on September 30, 2007 at 2:44 PM

Perhaps, indeed, Gary Kasparov is working for George W. Bush.

Just maybe George is playing chess.

News2Use on September 30, 2007 at 4:20 PM

First actors, now a guy who plays chess… sure beats lawyers as leaders.

T J Green on September 30, 2007 at 4:26 PM

Kasparov has been a driving force behind the coalition, which has united liberals, leftists and nationalists in opposition to President Vladimir Putin.

Proof that intellect does not overcome idiotic ideologies.

dougless on September 30, 2007 at 4:35 PM

Anti-extremism laws? Not sure how I feel about that one. In this country a large number of the population would be jailed. lol Putin has gone a little nuts I think. The more I read the more I wonder if he’s becoming mentally ill.

jeanie on September 30, 2007 at 4:43 PM

I suspect Kasparov is smart enough to have spent the last several years building up an immunity to iocane powder.

It could be conceivable.

Dave Shay on September 30, 2007 at 4:46 PM

Putin will not relinquish power, period.

mimi1220 on September 30, 2007 at 4:48 PM

Politics is more like Judo then Chess.

Putin is a Judo black belt.

purpleslog on September 30, 2007 at 4:54 PM

Russia faces East. Always has. Despot wanted and needed. Russia without a Putin is Iraq without Saddam, on steroids. Watch out what you wish for.

JiangxiDad on September 30, 2007 at 4:59 PM

Kasparov has become a thorn in Putin’s side to the point that Putin has had him investigated for “extremism.” Of course, Putin does that to just about everyone who opposes him.

Yeah, Putin doesn’t know anything about extremism. Now, please excuse him while he goes to polish his iron fist, I mean, glove.

BKennedy on September 30, 2007 at 5:13 PM

Does he think Putin cannot make him disappear, just because he is well known. He may be intelligent but no common sense. Accidents can and do happen.

abinitioadinfinitum on September 30, 2007 at 5:42 PM

Accidents can and do happen.

abinitioadinfinitum on September 30, 2007 at 5:42 PM

Indeed.

IrishEi on September 30, 2007 at 6:04 PM

Anybody seen Bobby Fischer lately?
Maybe we could pull him out of hiding when Kasparov wins the election, so at least someone smarter than him strategically could counter his plans, if Kas isn’t labeled “missing” in the near future.

nationspatriotcom on September 30, 2007 at 2:56 PM

He may be our chess hero, but he’s not better than Kasparov. Kasparov held the world title for longer than anyone and only a few years ago lost the title.

Fischer can’t even compete these days since going nuts.

Esthier on September 30, 2007 at 7:05 PM

If Kasparov is a leftist and anti-Putin, and Putin is anti-American, would that make Kasparov then a pro-American leftist? Does such a thing exist?

jihadwatcher on September 30, 2007 at 7:33 PM

Joseph Stalin’s real name was Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, but changed it to Stalin, which in Russian, means steel, Stal – combined with the -in from Lenin. He wanted to be a tough guy, so he gave himself something akin to a wrestler’s alias, “Joe Steel”.

Here’s another tidbit:

Putin’s real name is Viktor Suvorov, but he changed it to Putin by taking the atomic symbol for Plutonium, PU, that used in nuclear bombs, and adding TIN from from the tin soldiers he played with as a boy.

If Russian past is prologue, Putin will be trouble.

(Okay, I made up the one about Putin, but the one about Stalin is true.)

jihadwatcher on September 30, 2007 at 7:49 PM

would that make Kasparov then a pro-American leftist? Does such a thing exist?
jihadwatcher on September 30, 2007 at 7:33 PM

Surprise! Surprise! It sure can! Anything is possible.

(Okay, I made up the one about Putin, but the one about Stalin is true.)
jihadwatcher on September 30, 2007 at 7:49 PM

Pootie poot on you!

Mcguyver on September 30, 2007 at 8:22 PM

He’s gonna need a food taster, like quick!

TheSitRep on September 30, 2007 at 8:56 PM

I’m curious…
in Russia, what constitutes liberals, leftists and nationalists?
I’ll bet they have little in common with st.Cindy and Michael Moore.

edgehead on September 30, 2007 at 9:40 PM

I’ll bet they have little in common with st.Cindy and Michael Moore.

Well…… since Michael Moore’s health care Docucraptery flunked that may change after he goes to Russia…. for his next attempt at a Docucraptery.

Mcguyver on September 30, 2007 at 10:19 PM

I would reccomend that Kasparov avoid sushi.

Mike Honcho on September 30, 2007 at 10:27 PM

Canerican on September 30, 2007 at 3:23 PM

Who would you rather have win the US presidency, George Clooney or David Duke? I’d vote for Clooney.

Putin is very popular in Russia among the common people and I think his successor will win. Ultra nationalism is not that popular but anti-corruption wins it for Putin.

Bill C on September 30, 2007 at 10:34 PM

Hmmmmm…a chess player vs a KGB thug…I predict that the chess player soon comes down with a serious case of the Kremlin sniffles…from which few recover…

landlines on September 30, 2007 at 11:05 PM

How sad that that a likely-Chechin terrorist explosion killed Kasparov.

Oh, wait, that headline isn’t due for a month or two!

Forget you read that.

Spasibo!

profitsbeard on October 1, 2007 at 12:32 AM

In 1997, Kasparov lost to Big Blue.

For the third time, the computer chess community was privileged to witness a match between the human world chess champion, Garry Kasparov, and IBM’s Deep Blue chess machine. In 1989, Kasparov easily defeated the program — then named ‘Deep Thought’ — in a two-game, fast-play match. The Deep Blue team spent seven long years preparing for a return match with Kasparov, which they eventually got in 1996.

Last year’s Kasparov – Deep Blue match was played in Philadelphia in February. The six-game match, played under tournament conditions, was contested for a prize fund of $500,000. The very first game produced a stunning surprise, as Kasparov stumbled in an unbalanced position and went on to a historic defeat. For the first time under tournament conditions, the world chess champion had lost to a computer.

Waiting for Big Blue to announce its own Presidential Bid in…01001000100001. :P

kiakjones on October 1, 2007 at 6:12 AM

has united liberals, leftists and nationalists

So the guy is really smart…He’s still wrong. I wouldn’t get excited about this.

p.s. If someone has already posted with this train of thought, forgive the repetition. I did not read all of the above postings.

samuelrylander on October 1, 2007 at 10:22 AM

Who would you rather have win the US presidency, George Clooney or David Duke? I’d vote for Clooney.

Why? What’s wrong with David Duke?

samuelrylander on October 1, 2007 at 10:26 AM

Dead man walking.

PRCalDude on October 1, 2007 at 11:17 AM

Waiting for Big Blue to announce its own Presidential Bid in…01001000100001. :P

kiakjones on October 1, 2007 at 6:12 AM

That would more properly be expressed as “0101, 0100, 0011, 0010, 0001″. Or, “5, 4, 3, 2, 1″ to us puny humans. :-)

flipflop on October 1, 2007 at 12:54 PM

So, now we need a leader smart enough to play chess?

oldleprechaun on September 30, 2007 at 2:44 PM

Never happen…our leaders don’t get their kicks above the waistline, sunshine.

James on October 1, 2007 at 1:11 PM

James-

.

..our leaders don’t get their kicks above the waistline…

“I did not have sexual relations with that Deep Blue.”

Although I’m sure he would have tried if he could have found the right adaptor.

profitsbeard on October 1, 2007 at 10:41 PM