Garry Kasparov
Early Life
Garry Kasparov was born April 19, 1963 in Baku, Azerbaijan to an Armenian mother and a Jewish father. At the age of 10, he began training at the Mikhail Botvinnik Chess School, and gained much knowledge. At the ripe age of 15, he qualified for the Soviet Chess Championship, making him the youngest to ever do so. Kasparov's career was off to an amazing start, and the chess prodigy would soon become one of the greatest players in the world.
The 1985 World Championship
Kasparov's rise to fame was soon backed by the fact that he became the number two player in the world, ranking only behind World Champion Anatoly Karpov. In 1985, Kasparov successfully challenged Karpov for the throne, and defeated him at the age of 22. He became the youngest world champion in history at this point, beating Mikhail Tal's old record of the age of 23 when he defeated Botvinnik. He held the world's highest FIDE rating from 1986 until is recent retirement in 2005.
Life After Chess
After retiring from chess in 2005, Kasparov became actively involved in Russian politics, and openly opposed President Putin's policies. He felt that Putin misused his powers, and resembled a dictator in this sense. In 2007, Kasparov declared he was a candidate for the President of Russia, but he withdrew late in 2007, since he was not allowed to rent a hall that would hold a rally for his supporters.
Playing Style
Kasparov's playing style is one that is very calculated and deep, and he is a true fighter. His knowledge of the game expands past nearly every other player in history, and he is arguably the greatest player to ever live. Unlike some other top players, Kasparov has used his calculating style to his advantage to draw one of the strongest chess machines in the world, Deep Fritz, a truly amazing feat that brought him extended fame.