Garry Kasparov: The chess player who broke all records
What's the story
Considered by many as the greatest chess player who ever lived, Garry Kasparov is a genius par excellence. He defeated another legend, Anatoly Karpov, to become the world champion. Kasparov has been a part of some of the best matches in the history of sport. His reign as the number one player lasted for 225 months. Here we look at the extraordinary champion!
Young Kasparov
The young Kasparov who created ripples across Russia
Kasparov qualified for the Soviet Chess Championship at 15, the youngest competitor at that time. While still unrated by FIDE, Kasparov participated in a 1979 Grandmaster tournament as a replacement but ended up winning it. He emerged with a rating of 2,595 and immediately became number 15 in the world chess rankings. In 1980, he won the Junior Chess Championship in Dortmund.
Candidates Champion
His rise to the top
Kasparov was still a teenager when he became joint-first at the USSR Chess Championship. Kasparov qualified for the Candidates Tournament when he was just 19. He became the second youngest player to do so after Bobby Fischer (15). Kasparov, ranked number 2, won it without suffering a single loss, thus qualifying to play for the World Championship title against then-champion Anatoly Karpov.
World Champion
Kasparov becomes World Champion
1984 FIDE Chess Championship was and still is the only world championship which ended without a result since a winner could not be determined after 48 games. However, Kasparov got the better of Karpov in the rematch in 1985 and became the world champion. The two legends met again in 1987 when Karpov qualified through the Candidates Tournament, but Kasparov prevailed again.
Records
Kasparov's amazing world records
In 1985, Kasparov became the youngest ever world champion, winning the championship when he was 22. He spent the longest time as world number 1, as his reign lasted for 225 months. He holds the record for the most number of consecutive professional tournament victories, being placed first or joint first in 15 tournaments from 1981 to 1990. A GOAT of epic proportions indeed!