Genius – Politician - Businessman – Humanitarian
Author – National Hero |
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The Drug, Chemical & Associated Technologies Association takes great pleasure in announcing Chess Grandmaster and Co-Founder of The Other Russia, Garry Kasparov, as special guest and keynote speaker for the 82nd DCAT Annual Dinner on March 13 during DCAT Week ’08.
Winning world fame when he defeated, and then lost to an IBM computer, Garry Kasparov was considered the greatest chess player in the world for more than 20 years. Now retired from competitive chess, he has turned his competitive spirit toward the tumultuous world of Russian politics. |
In 2007, his call for a return to democracy in Russia, and his pursuit of the Russian presidency set against his harsh criticism of Vladimir Putin, catapulted him back into spotlight and onto the world stage. Although Time Magazine named Putin its 2007 Man of Year, many media outlets and leaders declared Garry Kasparov the REAL “Man of the Year.”
Members and guests attending the Annual Dinner will hear his insightful and inspiring message about business, politics and winning - not only in chess, but also in life. Read more about this fascinating man...
The World’s Greatest Grand Master and Deep Blue
Russian Politics and a Run at the Presidency
His Advice for Business Strategies
Humanitarian and World Citizen
Author and Contributor
A Brief Biographical Sketch
The World’s Greatest Grand Master and Deep Blue
Garry Kasparov is arguably the greatest chess player that has ever lived. In 1988, a computer program was devised to analyze a vast collection of chess statistics, in order to create a ranking of the all-time chess greats. At the top of the list, above such greats as Casablanca, Karpov, and Fischer was Garry Kasparov - then 25 years old. He remained the World Champion until his retirement from chess in 2005.
In February of 1996, the IBM Corporation developed a computer program called “Deep Blue” to challenge Kasparov’s chess skills. He defeated the computer with three wins and two draws. In 1997, IBM updated the software calling it “Deeper Blue” and challenged Kasparov again. In a highly publicized six-game event, the Grandmaster was defeated by a score of 3.5 to 2.5. The controversy that grew out of Kasparov’s loss to the computer, resulted in release of a documentary film “Game Over: Kasparov and the Machine” which explores the psychological aspects of the game, and suspicions that have arisen around IBM's true tactics.
Russian Politics and a Run at the Presidency
Always interested and involved in politics, an outspoken Kasparov drew the attention of the world during 2007. In September, Kasparov entered the Russian presidential race, receiving 379 of 498 votes at a congress held by his party. In October, vowing to fight for a democratic Russia, he announced his bid for the Russian presidency. Constantly targeted for protests against the electoral commission and Putin’s government, Kasparov was jailed in November. Eventually released, he was forced to withdraw from the election as a result of his government’s pressure and stringent rules for candidates. He continues to spread his message of democracy, however, through his organization, The Other Russia, an umbrella group (theotherrussia.org) for people whose voices are not heard or who have been excluded from the political process.
His Advice for Business Strategies
Garry Kasparov, as a reigning chess champion and since his retirement, has put strategic thinking to work in both his business and politics. He believes that reliance on one’s own instincts can guide an individual through the most difficult challenges. He is a strong believer that increased trust in one’s instincts leads to a person becoming more intuitive and urges people to forget perfection, to trust their instincts and to be decisive. He has said that it is too easy to blame faulty decisions on imperfect information, largely because information is always limited in some fashion.
Humanitarian and World Citizen
In order to bring the many educational benefits of chess to children throughout the United States, Garry Kasparov founded the organization that bears his name. His foundation, by providing a complete chess curriculum and enrichment programs, promotes the study of chess as a cognitive learning tool in curricular classes and offers after-school programs for elementary, middle and high schools, both in the public and private school sectors.
He is also the founder of the Kasparov Chess Academy, which is a testimony to the caring, generous nature of the World Champion. Recently the KCA opened in the Sol & Sissy Mark Centre, near the campus of Tel Aviv University. This majestic building is rapidly becoming the world’s most advanced center for the advancement of chess. Garry also expends a great deal of energy promoting Chess in Schools and visiting government ministers around the world.
Author and Contributor
Garry Kasparov is the author of several books including his latest How Life Imitates Chess, an examination of the parallels between decision-making in chess and in the business world. In March of 2007, he also published
Revolution in the 70’s, which is the first book in a new series called Modern Chess Series. The series covers his chess matches with Karpov and other selected games. He is a regular contributor to the Wall Street Journal. He has also contributed to Time Magazine and Forbes ASAP. He has been a guest on several television shows in the US including CNN, Bill Maher and the Chris Matthews show.
A Brief Biographical Sketch
Garry Kasparov was born in 1963 in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, then part of the USSR. He began playing chess at age 5 and by the age of 7, was a child chess prodigy. He became the youngest player in history to win the Soviet Junior (under 18) Championship, first when he was 12 years of age and then again at age 13. In 1979 he entered a foreign adult tournament and finished first - ahead of fourteen Grandmasters. In 1980, at the age of 17, he achieved Grandmaster status. By age 22, Garry had become the number one ranked player in the world and remained at that level for over a decade. Those close to Garry know his unrestrained contagious laugh, his kindness and caring and see him as a multi-faceted and unique person.
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