'First win from Rae Bareli': Russian chess legend Garry Kasparov's surprise dig at Rahul Gandhi

Recently, the Congress shared a video of Gandhi playing a game of chess on his mobile phone during his Lok Sabha election campaign. In the video, Gandhi mentioned Garry Kasparov as his favourite chess player and drew comparisons between the strategies in chess and politics.

In this context, an X user posted a ‘random thought’ stating Vishwanathan Anand and Garry Kasparov having retired early and not facing the “greatest chess genius of our times.”

Responding to this post, the former World Chess Champion Kasparov said, “Traditional dictates that you should first win from Raebareli before challenging for the top!” followed with a laughter emoji.

In a post on X, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh underscored several reasons behind his party’s decision and one of them was Rahul Gandhi being "an experienced player of politics and chess".

“Remember, he is an experienced player of politics and chess. The party leadership takes its decisions after much discussion and as part of a larger strategy. This single decision has befuddled the BJP, its supporters, and its sycophants. The BJP’s self-proclaimed Chanakya, who used to talk about ‘paramparagat seat’ is now not sure how to respond,” he said.

“This is a long election. There are a few chess moves still left to play. Let’s wait for a bit,” the Congress MP added.

In the video released by Congress, Rahul Gandhi describes 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," he said as he drew parallels between chess and politics.

On Friday, Gandhi submitted his nomination from Rae Bareli in Uttar Pradesh. He is also running for election from Wayanad in Kerala.

Kasparov, a former world number one and world champion, achieved the distinction of becoming the youngest-ever undisputed world champion at the age of 22 in 1985. He retired from competitive chess in 2005.

At present, he is recognized as a political activist. He is a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin and lives in Croatia after fleeing Russia.

The iconic player shares a timeframe with the legendary Indian chess player Viswanathan Anand.

Recently, when 17-year-old D Gukesh surpassed Kasparov's record to become the youngest challenger for the world title, Kasparov expressed his congratulations through a post, referring to Gukesh as "the Indian earthquake".