World chess champion Garry Kasparov made a subtle jibe at Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who is contesting from the Raebareli Lok Sabha seat in addition to the Wayanad. The announcement of Congress leader contesting from Raebareli was made on Friday after weeks of suspense.
In a social media post, the Russian Grandmaster said, "Traditional (sic) dictates that you should first win from Raebareli before challenging for the top."
Kasparov's reply came as a response to a tweet in which the user said he was "so relieved" that the Russian world chess champion and Grandmaster Vishwanathan Anand "retired early and didn’t have to face the greatest chess genius of our times".
The post was referring to a recent video of Rahul Gandhi where he calls Kasparov as his favourite chess player, saying he considered him a "non-linear thinker".
"...once you get slightly better at it, the opponent's pieces actually operate almost like your own," the Congress leader said, drawing comparison between chess and politics.
Kasparov also responded to actor Ranvir Shorey's tweet in which he posted a video of Rahul Gandhi and said, "Nice one... but can you handle this move?"
To this, Kasparov said, "I very much hope my little joke does not pass for advocacy or expertise in Indian politics! But as an "all-seeing monster with 1000 eyes," as I was once described, I cannot fail to see a politician dabbling in my beloved game!"
A former world number one and world champion, Kasparov became the youngest-ever undisputed world champion at the age of 22 in 1985 and is a political activist now. The iconic player is a contemporary of Indian great Viswanathan Anand.
