Chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov in Bucharest: “Putin is a Dictator”

Chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov is in Bucharest these days. He came to Romania for opening the Superbet Chess Classic Romania 2021. The tournament is part of a world tour and the great Russian champion honored all the chess players with his presence.

He also offered short interviews to different Romanian journalists, answering questions from chess to politics. This was the context when one journalist asked him whether he had a message for the Russian president, Vladimir Putin.

The answer of the grandmaster was blunt:

I’m not aware of president Vladimir Putin, I know about Russian dictator. (By) calling him president gives (him) too much credibility in the false political system used in Russia to nominate his clones to certain political positions.

Garry Kasparov answering question at the Superbet Chess Classic Romania 2021 in Bucharest

Also, Kasparov wished for Putin to be brought in front of justice for the crimes he committed.

Besides, Kasparov had a message to the presidents of the free world, especially to the American president Joe Biden. In his opinion, proper actions are needed to counteract the dictatorship and the actions of such regimes.

Kasparov ended his answer by mentioning his admiration for those who protest in Russia. He said that he was aware of the campaign of terror used by Putin to impose his dictatorship over the people and the protests were the only way to weaken his power.

Garry Kasparov was the youngest world chess champion. He won the title at 22, in 1984, after defeating the then-champion Anatoly Karpov. He held the title for all his career, until his retirement in 2005. He lives in New York at the moment, after choosing Croatia as his adoptive country for a few years.