Child Of Change

I read the autobiography of an exceptional man, Garry Kasparov. He was born in Baku, on the Caspian Sea, of an Armenian mother and a Jewish father. Kasparov is a name that you will continue to hear for decades to come. He was twenty-two years old when he won the World Chess Championship. His autobiography, Child of Change, was written with the help of Donald Trelford, two years later.

The story that is told in this autobiography is both informative and inspirational. Garry talks about the personal qualities that a champion must possess. He talks about the political intrigue that lurks in the chess world, as it does everywhere else. He introduces us to the past Grand Masters and to his more contemporary rivals, particularly Anatoly Karpov. Kasparov explains that the best chess players have very different ways of playing the game. There is a Swedish player, for example, who is a master at defense. He can thwart any attempt to attack, but never initiates an attack himself. His opponents invariably, lose the game due to their own accrued mistakes.

Karpov's style is to play without making any bad moves. As soon as his opponent makes the slightest error, Karpov crushes him. In contrast to this, Garry is a combatant who always advances aggressively, attacking and thrusting. He is also able to adjust to the constantly changing situation on the board. Josh Waitzkin (Searching for Bobby Fisher) plays in this style.

After I read Garry's book, I began to perceive the difference between him and Bobby Fisher. It is similar to the difference between Karpov and Kasparov. Fisher was totally absorbed with chess. He had no interest in anything else. This is an unbalanced approach to life. Karpov is very similar to Fisher. Karpov's lack of physical training is a weakness which can easily be exploited. Garry swam, played soccer and he played tennis. He also pursued academic subjects, in addition to chess. I believe his physical superiority and balanced lifestyle helped Garry defeat Karpov during the championship of Feb. 1985.

It was the longest chess competition in history. Karpov was soon mentally and physically drained, so he wanted to halt and resume the contest at a later date. Filipino, Florencio Campomanes, then President of FIDE, intervened on behalf of Karpov. Kasparov protested that decision and created the Professional Chess Association. Later, he played a series of games against Deep Blue, the chess super-computer. Garry will do anything to promote chess and whether or not you are a student of chess, you will find much of value and interest in Child of Change.

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