Garry Kasparov has one of the most stacked résumés in chess history — a pile of records, firsts, and famous moments that still shape how we talk about the game. Below are the verified facts and trivia every fan should know, from his record-breaking rating to his showdown with a supercomputer.
The essential facts
- Full name: Garry Kimovich Kasparov — born Garik Weinstein, he later adopted a Russified form of his mother’s surname.
- Born: 13 April 1963 in Baku, then part of the Soviet Union.
- Grandmaster: 1980.
- World Champion: 1985–2000 (undisputed 1985–1993; Classical champion 1993–2000).
- Peak rating: 2851 (1999) — a record that stood until 2013.
- Retired from professional chess: 2005, while still ranked world No. 1.
The records that define him
Youngest undisputed World Champion. When Kasparov beat Anatoly Karpov in 1985 at age 22, he became the youngest undisputed World Chess Champion in history — a record that stood for decades.
A record 255 months at No. 1. Across his career, Kasparov was ranked the world’s top player for 255 months — more than 21 years. It’s one of the most jaw-dropping longevity records in all of sports.
First past 2800. In January 1990, Kasparov became the first player ever to break the 2800 rating barrier, surpassing Bobby Fischer’s old record of 2785.
11 Chess Oscars. He won a record 11 Chess Oscars, the award given to the year’s best player as voted by chess journalists and critics.
15 straight tournament wins. Kasparov also holds the record for the most consecutive professional tournament victories — a streak of 15.
The Karpov rivalry
Kasparov’s career is inseparable from Anatoly Karpov. The two played five World Championship matches between 1984 and 1990 — a staggering series that ran to well over 140 games in total. Their very first match, in 1984–85, became infamous when it was halted without a result after dozens of grueling games. Kasparov won the rematch in 1985 and then successfully defended the title against Karpov again in 1986, 1987, and 1990. No rivalry in chess history has ever matched it for length, intensity, or quality. Read more on Anatoly Karpov’s profile.
Man vs. machine: the Deep Blue matches
Kasparov is the human at the center of chess’s most famous technology story. He played IBM’s supercomputer Deep Blue twice:
- 1996 (Philadelphia): Kasparov won the match 4–2.
- 1997 (New York): After IBM upgraded the machine, Deep Blue won the rematch 3½–2½.
That 1997 result made Kasparov the first reigning World Champion to lose a match to a computer under standard tournament conditions — a landmark moment often described as a turning point for artificial intelligence. Kasparov famously questioned the result at the time, but the match cemented his place in computing history as well as chess history.
The 1993 split
In 1993, at the height of his powers, Kasparov broke away from FIDE, the sport’s governing body, and co-founded a rival organization (the PCA) with challenger Nigel Short to stage their title match. The move split the World Championship into two competing titles — a divide that wasn’t fully reunified until 2006, long after Kasparov had lost his crown. It’s a reminder that Kasparov was as much a chess politician and disruptor as a player.
Life after chess
Kasparov didn’t fade quietly after retiring in 2005. He became a prominent pro-democracy activist and a vocal critic of the Russian government, later chairing the Human Rights Foundation and founding the Renew Democracy Initiative in 2017. He also became a celebrated author, best known for his multi-volume My Great Predecessors series chronicling the history of the World Champions, and he obtained Croatian citizenship in 2014.
Fun trivia
- Kasparov once drew a game against a 13-year-old Magnus Carlsen — the very prodigy who would go on to break his rating record. You can read about that record chase on Magnus Carlsen’s profile.
- His birth name, Weinstein, means his famous surname is actually a chess-world invention — a nod to his mother’s family.
- Despite being the ultimate attacker, he was raised inside the disciplined Soviet school under former World Champion Mikhail Botvinnik, one of the game’s great teachers.
- He is one of only a handful of players to have held the world No. 1 ranking for longer than a decade — a club that basically consists of him and Magnus Carlsen.
FAQ
What is Garry Kasparov famous for? Being one of the greatest chess players ever: World Champion from 1985 to 2000, a record 255 months at world No. 1, the highest rating in history for over a decade (2851), and his historic matches against IBM’s Deep Blue.
Did Kasparov beat Deep Blue? He beat Deep Blue in their first match in 1996, but lost the 1997 rematch 3½–2½, becoming the first world champion to lose a match to a computer under standard conditions.
How old was Kasparov when he became World Champion? Just 22, in 1985 — making him the youngest undisputed World Champion in chess history at the time.
Where was Garry Kasparov born? In Baku, which was then part of the Soviet Union and is today the capital of Azerbaijan. He was born there on 13 April 1963.
What does Kasparov do now? Since retiring from professional chess in 2005, he has worked as a writer and a prominent pro-democracy political activist and human-rights advocate. He has also remained an influential voice in the chess world as a commentator and coach.
Keep exploring
More Kasparov: his best games · his playing style · his openings · his rating history · or the full Garry Kasparov profile.
Written and fact-checked by the Chess Lab Academy Editorial Team · Facts verified against Wikipedia, the Deep Blue match record, and Chess.com, as of July 2026 · Last verified 2026-07-10 · How we verify content.