Saturday, March 10, 2007

Chess and Politics in the News

Former world champ Garry Kasparov is once again featured in the NYT. Steven Lee Myers writes:

He has not let up since. He rails against Mr. Putin’s foreign policy, accusing him of intimidating former Soviet republics that should be close allies, while fostering ties with Iran, North Korea and China. He accuses Mr. Putin of having neutered the news media, stifled political opponents and independent businesspeople, and undercut the essential institution of democracy: free and fair elections.

HIS biggest challenge may be being ignored. The state’s control of television ensures that his views never reach the public en masse. News reports of the St. Petersburg march on national channels described the protesters generally, not Mr. Kasparov specifically, as “all manner of radicals, from fascists to lefties.”

More in "Kasparov, Building Opposition to Putin". I've said it before but I just hope that Kaspy doesn't get himself killed. Putin himself appears very determined to leave his mark and I don't think he's about to let the likes of a former chess champion get in his way.

Across in Armenia, the 2006 Olympiad winning team, led by Levon Aronian, have expressed support for Serzh Sargsyan, the Defense Minister and Chess Federation President, as well as for Prime Minister Andranik Margaryan in the upcoming parliamentary elections. From Armenia Now.

On a slightly different note, Bulgarian news service SNA is reporting that Spanish police searched Veselin Topalov's car for bombs and drugs! Nothing was found.

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