Garry Kasparov to visit Uganda

By David Namunyala & James Bakama

Uganda has had its share of visits by international sports celebrities. Right from legends Arthur Ashe and Pele in the seventies, there were also trips by Muhammad Ali and Michael Johnson years later.

Come Monday and the focus will be on board games as someone who is regarded by many as the greatest chess player in the world ever comes to Uganda.

Russian grand master Garry Kasparov is coming to Kampala to promote the game among the youth. This is part of a promotional tour where he will cover a number of African states.

Kasparov was ranked number one chess player in the world for a record 20 years, but retired in 2005. He famously defeated IBM’s Deep Blue supercomputer in a series of matches in 1996.

The 50 year old Russian arrives in Uganda on Monday afternoon. Uganda Chess Federation (UCF) general secretary Christopher Turyahabwe said they plan to make the best of the limited time Kasparov will be in the country.

“He has only about 13 hours here. We are not only honoured to host him but also have plans to make the best use of him,” Turyahabwe said during a press conference at Lugogo yesterday.

A statement from the director of Kasparov Chess Foundation Garham Jurgensen says the purpose of the visit is to help African chess federations to raise awareness regarding the role the game can play as an educational tool.

Kasparov, then 22, became the youngest ever World Chess Champion in 1985 after defeating then champion Anatoly Karpov.

He held the official FIDE world title until 1993, when a dispute with FIDE led him to set up a rival organisation, the Professional Chess Association.

He achieved a peak rating of 2851, the highest recorded until 2013. He was the world No. 1 for 255 months, nearly three times his closest rival, Karpov. He also holds records for consecutive tournament victories and Chess Oscars.

Earlier this year Kasparov met Uganda’s youngest Candidate Master WCM Phiona Mutesi in the US and the two played an exhibition game that has turned as an inspiration to Ugandans.