Garry Kasparov responds to Vladimir Kramnik, says his comments are 'bizarre'
Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov has responded to the recent statements by Vladimir Kramnik, in which Kasparov's chess successor suggested that Kasparov might have organized the sanctions imposed on FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. "The bizarre comments by VKramnik attempting to blame me for FIDE president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov's corruption are, if little else, definitive proof that exceptional chess skill does not represent broader intelligence or moral character. The habit in Vladimir Putin's Russia of blaming outside influences for all of the regime's crimes, failures, and blunders appears to be contagious enough to have reached Kramnik at his home in Switzerland. Like anyone who cares about chess, I was saddened when the United States Treasury Department sanctioned Ilyumzhinov in Nov 2015 for aiding and acting for the brutal Syrian regime of Bashar Assad. It was another blow to the reputation of the game I have devoted my life to, one of many Ilyumzhinov has inflicted,” Kasparov said.
