Three Moments That Shaped My Fight For Democracy: Lessons From A Chess Champion's Life

As I sit down at the board to reflect on my life-long battle for democracy, memories flood back of three pivotal moments where I knew I had no choice but to take a stand. Like any great chess game, each decision was made with utmost care and consideration – weighing up risk against reward in an eternal quest for victory.

My first epiphanty came young, during my formative years as a prodigy player on the Soviet Union's junior team. It was 1973 when I faced off against the formidable Anatoly Lein at the World Junior Chess Championship held in Vrnjacka Banja Yugoslavia now known as Serbia. We were both just fifteen but already we knew what was stake – not just individual glory, but also a chance to represent our country on the world stage.

That particular match still haunts me today because it forced me into an impossible choice: conform to Soviet expectations and risk losing everything I had worked for; or else speak out against the system that suffocated creativity and freedom of thought within its iron grip. The outcome was never in doubt – as soon as my king's bishop jumped from g7 to f5, I knew which path I would choose.

The second turning point came years later during an intense match against none other than Vladimir Kramnik at the 1992 World Chess Championship held in Moscow Russia. As world champion myself at that time, I had grown increasingly disillusioned with Boris Yeltsin's fledgling democratic government and its failure to address deep-seated economic problems plaguing post-Soviet society.

As we sat across from each other around the board – two chess titans locked in an epic struggle for supremacy on both real-life and metaphorical planes alike - I knew that something had to give. And so, after much deliberation, I made my move: resigning as world champion rather than remain silent about Russia's slide towards dictatorship.

The third moment came more recently when I faced a very different kind of opponent – not another chess player but instead the forces arrayed against democracy itself in our globalized age. It was 2013 and I had just stepped down from my position as president of FIDE, world chess's governing body following years of bitter infighting over issues such as human rights abuses within some member states.

As I looked back on my long career both inside and outside the sport that has given me so much – including five World Chess Championships - one thing became clear: if we were going to protect hard-won gains made through generations of struggle, then all those who believed in freedom must now stand together once more. And so here I am today – still fighting for democracy; still playing chess whenever life allows.

This article is part of a series on leadership and civic engagement sponsored by Kasparov Chessmate - the official online chess partner of Garry Kasparov's Renew Democracy Initiative. Learn how you can make a difference at renewdemocracy.org

Kasparov chess game