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'Chess organisers made wrong moves'
Garry Kasparov said that chess failed to cash in on the famous rivalry between him and Anatoly Karpov in the '80s and '90s of the last century to catapult it into a modern and professional sport.
- By M. Satya Narayan, Senior Reporter
- Published: 00:11 May 25, 2008
Abu Dhabi: Garry Kasparov said that chess failed to cash in on the famous rivalry between him and Anatoly Karpov in the '80s and '90s of the last century to catapult it into a modern and professional sport.
"Great rivalries help push sport like the [Mohammad] Ali-Foreman [George] duel in boxing and the [Bjorn] Borg-McEnroe [John] one in tennis. Likewise, there was a momentum in chess during the '80s but the game's organisers failed to use it to spread the game's popularity," Kasparov told Gulf News on the sidelines of a lecture assignment.
"The Fischer-Spassky rivalry presented another chance but unfortunately nothing happened. Today, chess is in a much worse situation as the other sports have all progressed and left this sport far behind," said the man who was rated world number one for almost two decades.
Wish Vishy the best
Vladimir Kramnik, who deposed Kasparov in 2000, is back to challenge current world champion Viswanathan Anand later this October. On the clash, Kasparov said: "Kramnik is a difficult player and is very solid. He never loses and will prove to be a difficult rival to Anand."
Kasparov, who defeated Anand to keep the World Championship title in 1995, said: "I am happy Vishy won the world championship. He always deserved to win it. I will be happy if he keeps it after his match with Kramnik for he deserves it."
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