Former World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov added to ‘list of terrorists & extremists’

Russia has added its former Chess Grandmaster and political activist, Garry Kasparov to the list of ‘terrorists and extremists’ on Wednesday.

As per reports, the 60-year-old former World Champion has been a longtime opponent of President Vladimir Putin. The legendry chess star was added to the list by Rosfinmonitoring, a Russian watchdog, responsible for combatting money laundering and terror financing.

However, Rosfinmonitoring didn’t give any reason for adding soviet-born Kasparov into its database. It is also understood that people who are labeled ‘terrorists and extremists’ by the watchdog can have their bank accounts.

Notably, Kasparov has repeatedly spoken in public against Russia’s military offensive in Ukraine. 

Kasparov is widely regarded as one of the greatest chess players of all time. During his playing career, he was the undisputed World No.1 for a record 255 months from 1984 to 2005. The former chess great also holds the record for most victories in his illustrious career – professional tournament victories (15) and Chess Oscars (11).

Kasparov has been living in the United States for over a decade. He fled Russia in 2014 for fear of persecution.