Quotes from Garry Kasparov

I think that it's a vital moment now for Russian democracy to convince people that it's only our actions, our joined actions and protests that could force Kremlin to reconsider its plans to abolish presidential elections.

The only successor to President Putin is President Putin himself and we could of course dream about President Putin stepping down voluntarily and picking out successor which would be probably as bad as him.

Chess was natural for me; I was extremely successful.

I think Russians today have a distorted picture of capitalism, liberal democracy and market economy.

At the end of the day, it's all about money.

A grandmaster needs to retain thousands of games in his head, for games are to him what the words of their mother tongue are to ordinary people, or notes or scores to musicians.

Caissa, the goddess of chess, had punished me for my conservative play, for betraying my nature.

Women, by their nature, are not exceptional chess players: they are not great fighters.

In chess the rules are fixed and the outcome is unpredictable, whereas in Putin's Russia the rules are unpredictable and the outcome is fixed.

It was not about losing my mental power; it's about not feeling good about my contribution to the game.

I have no idea how long Putin will last. The good news is, Putin doesn't know either. It will be sudden and it won't be peaceful. He has burned his bridges.

Next to the intellectual stimulation of chess, the educational value is of great importance. Chess teaches logic, imagination, self-discipline, and determination.

There are many ways of showing your protest and discontent without the actions of Kremlin.

Putin can't afford to leave the office because he will be in real danger of being prosecuted for things he and his people did during their stay in power.

Excelling at chess has long been considered a symbol of more general intelligence. That is an incorrect assumption in my view, as pleasant as it might be.

I learned that fighting on the chess board could also have an impact on the political climate in the country.

In chess, we have styles - like in any other field. There are also fashions in the kinds of systems that people play. So I'm trying to know my opponent as much as possible.

Right, left, Greens, Baathists, whatever: it comes down to grabbing and holding power and using ideology - or religion, race - as a justification.

I've met enough KGB colonels in my life.

I think Russian people are learning that democracy is not an alien thing; it's not a western invention.

I wouldn't overestimate the importance of my popularity in the country and abroad but at the end of the day it's not as important because I believe that my presence here could make some difference and it could encourage people.

I have great energy and I have great tasks ahead of me.

Solving new problems is what keeps us moving forward as individuals and as a society, so don't back down.

It's quite difficult for me to imagine my life without chess.