Retired Chess Politician Beats IM In Rapid Match
In one of the sillier stories in the chess world, Garry Kasparov played a two-game rapid match with Japanese IM and Shogi legend Yoshiharu Habu, and of course won 2-0. The silly part is Kasparov's remark that he had "everything to lose". While it would be a little embarrassing for a player of Kasparov's stature not to win 2-0, there was objectively little chance that it would happen. Further, while his opponent could take justifiable pride in such a result, who would really care about the result of a rapid exhibition match played nine years after Kasparov's retirement from serious chess? Kasparov's place in chess history wouldn't be dented in the least by an accident in such an event. Finally, if there was really everything to lose, then why participate? Perhaps Kasparov should read a book on decision-making before agreeing to any more such events in the future.
Reader Comments (1)
Reminds me of "fight" between Muhammad Ali and Antonio Inoki (Japanese professional wrestler) of about 40 years ago. Kasparov, like Ali, probably made a decent wage for a few hours work and a little traveling. What I find interesting is that the Japanese Shoji association, which maintains very tight control of the sport and its players, is promoting a man vs. machine event. In the past they had expressly forbade their players to compete publicly against computer programs.