Garry Kasparov ruled the chess world for decades, and his influence reaches far beyond the chessboard. Get a glimpse into Garry's career, his life and his legacy through this series of podcasts recorded during the 2020 and 2021 lockdown.
14-year-old Garry Kasparov was invited to the participate in the 1978 Sokolsky Memorial at the request of the patriarch of Soviet chess, Mikhail Botvinnik. The event was a defining one in Garry’s career as he recorded his first tournament victory in a professional event while earning the master title at the same time.
8 Jun 2021
S1. E15 A Critical Training Game
Having spent a few months working on his weaknesses, Garry arranged a training match against Elmar Magerramov who would later become Azerbaijan’s first chess Grandmaster. His decisive victory in a prepared line of the Queen’s Gambit showed his evolution as a player and is probably the first game to bear the key hallmarks of the style that would later define his career.
1 Jun 2021
S1. E14 A Disappointing Summer
Garry experienced two disappointing results during the summer of 1977 when he played on board 1 for Azerbaijan during the URS U/20 team championships and subsequently as an individual in the World Cadet (U16) championships. Despite earning a bronze medal at the World Cadet’s his results fell far short of his own expectations during this time.
1 Jun 2021
S1. E13 World U/20 Qualification
In April 1977 Garry played in a double round robin qualification tournament in Leningrad which served as a qualifier for both the 1977 World Junior and 1977 World Cadet Championships. His second-place finish behind Artur Yusupov ultimately qualified him to play in the 1977 World Cadet’s championship as the USSR Representative.
25 May 2021
S1. E12 Title Defence
Garry recalls the importance of his relationship with Soviet Master Vladimir Makogonov who played a significant role in guiding his development after his success in the 1976 Soviet U18 championships. He also revisits the key game that saw him successfully defend his title as Soviet U/18 Champion, with a score of 8.5/9 at the age of just 13. This event was his stand-out performance of the year and saw him defeat no less than seven future Grandmasters in this single event.
25 May 2021
S1. E11 Fall of 1977
Garry describes the process and events he played in during the Fall of 1976 to rebuild his confidence following his poor showing in France. He recalls the importance of his excellent game against Smbat Lputian during the 1976 Caucasus Youth Games and the impact this had on his confidence prior to the defence of his title as U/18 Champion of the Soviet union in early 1976.
18 May 2021
S1. E10 Botvinnik’s School of Chess
In this deeply personal episode Garry discusses his relationship with Mikhael Botvinnik and the critical role that the Botvinnik school of chess played in the development of his own chess career.
18 May 2021
S1.E9 Failure in France
Garry recalls his disappointment at a below par performance during the 3rd Cadet World Cup in Wattignies, France. This was the first time he played outside of the Soviet Union and he participated despite the reservations of his trainer Mikhail Botvinnik.
11 May 2021
S1. E7 Junior Success
In January 1976, Garry participated for the second time in the Soviet Under 18 Championships which were held this time in the city of Tbilisi in Georgia. The event would ultimately prove to be a defining moment in his career as he won it at the tender age of twelve to become by far the youngest player ever to do so.
11 May 2021
S1. E8 Botvinnik’s Counsel
Garry recalls the importance of a timely call he received from his trainer and mentor Mikhail Botvinnik following a disastrous start in the 1976 Khalibeyli Memorial in Baku.
5 May 2021
S1.E6 First Contacts
Garry returned to Leningrad in November of 1975 to participate in the Young Pioneers tournament for the second time. This is the tournament where his first encounters against the two leading Russian players, Viktor Korchnoi and Anatoly Karpov took place.
5 May 2021
S1.E5 Baku City Cup
Garry’s first success in a major adult competition came in October of 1975 when he won the Baku City Cup. This was the first event where he appeared under the name Kasparov and his tournament victory included a notable win in the final against tournament favourite Oleg Pavlenko.
28 Apr 2021
S1.E4 Old Ghosts
Garry describes his early work with Alexander Nikitin as well as a game played in Leningrad in 1975 that he considers to be his very first masterpiece. He also describes the circumstances leading up to the decision to adopt his mother’s maiden name.
28 Apr 2021
S1.E3 Soviet Junior Championships
Garry returned to Vilnius in 1975 and participated for the first time in the Soviet Under 18 Championship at the age of 11. In this episode he recalls the trauma of his final round loss to future Grandmaster and two-time US Chess Champion Alexey Yermolinsky which cost him a podium finish in his first outing at the tournament.
14 Apr 2021
Special Issue (2/2): The Queen's Gambit
In this second part of the special segment about the hit Netflix series, Garry talks about the key chess games that play a central part within the story. He describes the personal role he played in selecting the various games and the process he followed to create the game between Beth Harmon and Vassily Borgov which forms a central part of the storyline in the final episode.
14 Apr 2021
Special Issue (1/2): The Queen's Gambit
In this first part of a special segment about the hit Netflix series, Garry describes his first meeting with Scott Frank and how he came to work on the Queen’s Gambit as a consultant. He explores the importance of chess in many other popular films and the phenomenal impact that the Queen’s Gambit has had to help popularize the game of chess amongst an entirely new audience.
14 Apr 2021
S1.E2 First Steps
In this episode, Garry describes his very first steps on the international arena when he participated in the All-Union Youth Games in Vilnius in 1973. His coach and long-time mentor, Alexander Nikitin would later describe his victory against the Latvian Master Edvins Kengus with the following words… “That day I watched Garik's game almost from the very start. My attention was immediately drawn to the board at which two contestants of quite different sizes were playing. A small, punny, dark-haired boy was looking seriously at the board and endlessly fidgeting on his chair. And sitting immobile opposite him was a tall, good-looking Latvian, who when thinking would literally tower over the battlefield. Compared with Garik, Kengis looked not only a giant, but also a highly-experienced fighter, but the events which occurred on the board forced the age difference to be forgotten.”
14 Apr 2021
S1.E1 Welcome to My World
In his very first podcast episode ever, Garry touches briefly on his biography and explains why he has now decided to revisit his career highlights in podcast format.
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