What the hell is he thinking?

[KettleWhistle]

Kasparov Hit Over Head With Chessboard
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=stor...ess_kasparov_2

MOSCOW - Garry Kasparov, the world's former No. 1 chess player who quit the professional game last month to focus on politics, said he had been hit over the head with a chessboard in a politically motivated attack.
Kasparov, an outspoken critic of President Vladimir Putin, was not injured Friday when he was hit with the chessboard after signing it for a young man at an event in Moscow.

A spokeswoman for Kasparov, Marina Litvinovich, said the assailant told the chess champion: "I admired you as a chess player, but you gave that up for politics."

She said the unidentified attacker — who did not reveal his political allegiance — tried to hit Kasparov again but was hauled away by security guards.

"It was a fairly nasty incident, it was not very pleasant psychologically," Kasparov told the private NTV television Saturday.

The 41-year-old Kasparov, a brilliant and aggressive tactician regarded by many as the greatest chess player of all time, has been ranked No. 1 in the world since 1984.

He retired last month, saying he planned to focus on politics and do "everything in my power to resist Putin's dictatorship." He plays a leading role in the Committee 2008: Free Choice, a group formed by liberal opposition leaders.

Putin has been accused of stifling democratic freedoms by placing national television under effective state control and centralizing power by boosting Kremlin control of parliament and country's regions.

[KettleWhistle]

My response:

What the hell is he doing getting involved in Russian politics? He isn't Russian--one of his parents is Jewish and the other is Armenian. Aren't there enought opportunities for him to participate in either Armenian or Israeli politics, or to work for some Jewish organizations?

He has no business being involved in Russia's affairs.

[Justcurious]

Having met and talked with Anatoly Karpov, the world champion before Kasparov, the description you give of Kasparov is quite different. Karpov was a quiet and polite man, certainly not inclined to politics.

[Womble]

My response:

What the hell is he doing getting involved in Russian politics? He isn't Russian--one of his parents is Jewish and the other is Armenian. Aren't there enought opportunities for him to participate in either Armenian or Israeli politics, or to work for some Jewish organizations?

He has no business being involved in Russia's affairs.

He had done a lot of pro-Israeli work- but come on now. He is a Russian citizen, with all the obligations and attachments that it entails. There's absolutely nothing wrong with him caring for the country he lives in and taking part in Russia's internal politics.

By the way, he pursues very sensible pro-Western policies. And the saner and the more pro-Western Russia becomes, the better for Israel. Russia, after all, is a huge market and just as huge a source of raw materials, not to mention the largest non-Arab oil exporter.

[Mediocrates]

Top of his game @ 41 is incredible. Amazing. Freak of nature amazing. After fighting Deep Blue to a draw I don't suppose he had anything to prove to anyone.


"So Gary what did you do today?"

"Oh I dueled a machine that works 3x10^9 moves into the future, to a stalemate 5 times in a row and I beat it twice. You?"

[KettleWhistle]

He had done a lot of pro-Israeli work- but come on now. He is a Russian citizen, with all the obligations and attachments that it entails. There's absolutely nothing wrong with him caring for the country he lives in and taking part in Russia's internal politics.

By the way, he pursues very sensible pro-Western policies. And the saner and the more pro-Western Russia becomes, the better for Israel. Russia, after all, is a huge market and just as huge a source of raw materials, not to mention the largest non-Arab oil exporter.

I know that he's done plenty of pro-Israeli work, and I have much respect for the man. I am certain his political views are pretty reasonable, but not being a Russian, he shouldn't get involved in their politics. Haven't we had enought of our people being blamed for other countries' woes?

[KettleWhistle]

Having met and talked with Anatoly Karpov, the world champion before Kasparov, the description you give of Kasparov is quite different. Karpov was a quiet and polite man, certainly not inclined to politics.

Karpov was a politically correct brown-noser, who only got where he was because of the politics of the time and the Soviet manipulations of the international chess competitions.

[Justcurious]

Karpov was a politically correct brown-noser, who only got where he was because of the politics of the time and the Soviet manipulations of the international chess competitions.

So, did the leaders tell him what to move next?

I suppose there was a lot of "gambling" also during Bobby Fischer's time.

[KettleWhistle]

The leaders blocked many better qualified players from playing because those were of the wrong ethnicity (mostly Jews, but some others as well,) or because of their political views, or simply because those were out-of-favor at the time.

Regarding the Soviet manipulations:

They had more strong players in most competitions than anyone else. So they would use the numerical advantage to help weaker opposing parties move ahead in the competition, while taking out the stronger ones early on. Basically, they manipulated the system to arrage who would play against whom.

[Ariksan]

KW, My response:

What the hell are you getting involved in US politics? You are not an American -- at least one of your parents is Jewish. Aren't there enough opportunities for you to participate in Israeli politics, or to work for some Jewish organizations?

You have no business being involved in USA's affairs.

[minusthejihad]

Sorry, I had to come back in here to ask if anyone caught ESPN's Sportscenter yesterday or today and saw Jeremy Schapp's interview with Bobby Fischer?

This is a must see, I think it is still replaying right now. Even with a birage of anti-semetic insults to Jeremy and his father (a former ESPN correspondent whom befriended and spent much time with Fischer when he was a kid), Jeremy kept his cool and made Fischer look like the Jew-hating nutcase he has become. The end of the interview is priceless!!!

Fischer: "Your father (whom he called "a tyical Jewish snake") said "there was not a sane bone left in my body" .... "that was very mean"

Jeremy: "Frankly sir, you've said and done nothing here today to disprove anything my father said", turned around and walked out of the interview.

AMAZING! I'd love to congratulate Jeremy on keeping his cool and being very rofessional even in front of a raving anti-semite, self loathing Jew.

[KettleWhistle]

Sorry, doesn't work that way. You have to understand that word "Russian" doesn't describe a Russian citizen/national. It is an exclusively ethnic description, and it is improper to use it to describe people of other ethnic backgrounds.

Russian empire... errr... I mean "federation" is a nation-state of ethnic Russians. People who are not ethnic Russians, and whose native land isn't a part of their country are foreigners there, even if they hold Russian citizenship or were born there. For Jews to be involved in their politics, especially on the matters that do not directly concern the Jewish community makes as much sense as for me, being an American, to decide to involve myself in Japanese politics.

[Ariksan]

I really try to understand, but I don't get it. Correct me if I'm wrong, but last time I checked Russia has dozens of different ethnic groups - most of them are natives to where they live just like the ethnic slavic Russian.

How are the Jews in Russia supposed to be different? They pay taxes, they lived there for generations. They are citizens of the Russian federation - why should they not get involved in Russian politics?

In addition to that, almost every country on this earth has naturalized citizens.

[KettleWhistle]

First of all, there are more Russians there than others, and people of other ethnic backgrounds are often treated as second-class citizens, and are subject to intense russification policies. Russia is the country with politics, policies, and most importantly history being centered exclusively around the slavic ethnic Russians and Russian culture. But that's besides the point.

Jewish homeland is not a part of Russia. If Israel was a Russian province there would've been nothing wrong with Jews being involved in Russian politics. Yes, sure Jews who live there pay their taxes and speak the language, and the law allows them to participate in Russian politics. But that doesn't mean that they are natives of that country or that they should participate in Russian politics. Jews are the people who ended up there by the misfortune of history. But that's not our land and not our country.

[Womble]

The leaders blocked many better qualified players from playing because those were of the wrong ethnicity (mostly Jews, but some others as well,) or because of their political views, or simply because those were out-of-favor at the time.

Regarding the Soviet manipulations:

They had more strong players in most competitions than anyone else. So they would use the numerical advantage to help weaker opposing parties move ahead in the competition, while taking out the stronger ones early on. Basically, they manipulated the system to arrage who would play against whom.

They preferred Karpov over Kasparov because Karpov was an ethnic Russian and from a "proletarian background", while Kasparov was a half-Jew, half-Armenian from a "Soviet middle class" family.