Grand and masterly

For becoming the first man to beat Garry Kasparov in a match, Vladimir Kramnik deserves to be recognised as the world chess champion. Since 1993, when Kasparov broke away from FIDE, the official governing body of the sport, his theory has been that he was world champion, and therefore anyone who beat him would automatically become champion too. It is a system that works in boxing. Kramnik, like the computer Big Blue which defeated Kasparov three years ago, was not affected by Kasparov’s mind games since he was the great man’s protege. But more than the defeat itself — surprising enough since Kasparov did not win a single one of the 16 games — the manner of Kasparov’s surrender has been causing discomfort. Widely regarded as the worst loser in the world, Kasparov was not only gracious, he seemed to be somehow willing himself to lose. His 15-year reign after becoming the youngest world champion at 22 ended with a whimper. Whether it was Father Time or the stress caused by the custody battle over hisseven-year-old son, Kasparov wasn’t focussed on the job. Perhaps finding that his crown was slipping, Kasparov merely took it off and handed it over to his friend.

It is a measure of the confusion in the chess world that FIDE will continue to recognise Kasparov as the world’s No 1. The Braingames Network, which finally came up with the sponsorship for the match, after earlier failed attempts had seen the cancellation of the Kasparov-Anand match and the Kasparov-Shirov match, will in effect control what happens from here. Whetherchess can afford to be a plaything of its biggest sponsor is a question that will have to be addressed soon. With Kasparov out of the way, it is possible to imagine the unification that will bring the sport under a single governing body. Defeated world champions seldom have a say in this.

Whatever the reason for Kasparov’s capitulation, nothing can take away from the fact that he was one of the greatest chess players ever, and one who transcended his sport. He stood alone as the only one with an Elo rating of 2800. Kasparov was more than the sum of his parts. He was both self-made and selfish, and when he overthrew establishment darling Anatoly Karpov in the mid-eighties, he seemed to herald the end of the Soviet Union and the birth of Russia. Great champions discover that they are incapable of making simple gestures and Kasparov was no exception. His attempts to clean up FIDE were seen as a roundabout way of making more money for himself. But it was thanks to him that a sport that did not involve running or chasing a ball or beating the odds in water attracted the kind of sponsorship reserved for those competitions. Grandmasters were paid appearance money thanks to him; he not only raised the profile of the sport, he ensured that its leading players got a share of the pie too. Kasparov is37, and it is unlikely that he will be able to continue as a force without being a champion. He is committed to playing three tournaments next year, but a question mark now hangs over his career. Comebacks are rare in any sport, rarer still in chess. An era has ended.