Chess Grandmaster Kasparov Versus President Putin

An anonymous reader writes "The Times of London has an article on how Garry Kasparov, former world chess champion, is using his fame and intellect in an attempt to defeat President Putin at the presidential elections in March 2008. Kasparov believes that Putin is virtually a dictator who is dismantling democracy and returning Russia to an authoritarian regime. Some high-profile Putin critics, such as Alexander Litvinenko, have been the victims of unsolved murders, and Kasparov is aware of the dangers: 'I can calculate the possibilities as a chess player and I have to be honest and say that our chances are not high. But I take this as a moral duty, and when you do something out of moral duty, then who cares?'" From the article: "[Kasparov] will not be a contender for the presidency but [his political umbrella group] The Other Russia aims to create the conditions under which an anti-Putin candidate can win. It appears, however, to be an uneven contest against a man who enjoys 80 per cent approval ratings. Most Russians want Mr. Putin to overturn a constitutional bar on a third term in office. Many will back whomever Mr. Putin endorses to succeed him."

Dear Kasparov

[neuro.slug]

In Soviet Russia, Putin checkmates you!

Slippery slope

[bigdavex]

If he wins, Deep Blue will run in the next election.

Comment removed

[account_deleted]

Comment removed based on user account deletion

There's only one way to counter this threat..

[TastyCakes]

Deep Blue for 2008!

Will Kasparov see this coming?

[staticdaze]

Kasparov vs Putin

1. f3 e5
2. g4

Putin to move

Re:Good luck!

[TastyCakes]

I love the wandering line of thought of some slashdot responses. Chess player runs for president of Russia ... Fucking Chinese!

Start a trend

[Joebert]

If this goes well, you can count on seeing George Bush in a Rap Battle with Eminem in the near future.

Re:melodrama

[TheSuperlative]

Actually, it's spelled with an entirely different alphabet.

A simple precaution

[Anonymous Coward]

Advice to Kasparov:
When eating out, bring Geiger counter.

Re:"news relevant to United States politics"

[RealGrouchy]

How the hell does Kasparove vs. Putin chess match relate to US politics?

Because Kasparov is showing Bush how to *really* spread democracy.

- RG>

Here's a lesson for you US democrats

[Anonymous Coward]

In 2004, you should have gone with Sargon II instead of Kerry. It would have easily defeated Bush, running on a (Apple) Pro-DOS platform.

Re:melodrama

[langelgjm]

Right. Because the KGB is reading Slashdot

Whether he's justified in his paranoia or not, I'm pretty sure the KGB isn't reading Slashdot, since it ceased to exist in 1991.

Re:melodrama

[nacturation]

I'm pretty sure the KGB isn't reading Slashdot, since it ceased to exist in 1991.

So then what the hell site are we posting these comments on?
 

Re:Slippery slope

[jaakkeli]

The world will be in big trouble if Russian nukes are controlled by the greatest chess genius ever while American nukes are controlled by George Bush.

There's only one solution: the Americans should get the most advanced artificial intelligence system ever built and let it take complete control over their nuclear arsenal.

Ayn Rand's "Open Letter"

[Garrett Fox]

It's interesting to see a chessmaster involved in this situation. Long ago, Ayn Rand wrote an essay titled "An Open Letter To Boris Spassky," who was then a chess champion. She denounced him for being a pawn of the Soviet state, turning his intellectual abilities to a pointless logic game because he wasn't willing to change the rules of his country's "game."

After-Game News.....

[IHC Navistar]

"In other news tonight, famous chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov was dragged into Red Square and shot earlier this evening after he beat Russian President Vladimir "The Impaler" Putin. Phone calls to the Kasparov residence went eerily unanswered. President Putin denies allegations that he had any part in Kasparov's death, and states that the truth will clear his name when his new book, If I Killed Garry Kasparov, This Is How I Would Do It, is released later this week."

Next Up: PETA activists set fire to Donals Trump's hairpiece. PETA issued a statement saying that thousands of animals are murdured every year to be made into hairpieces. Trump states that the hairpiece was ".....humanely scraped off his limousine's fender after his driver hit a deer while traveling on the New Jersey Turnpike". "It didn't feel a thing", says the driver.