Garry Kasparov is a Russian chess player.
Garry Kimovich Kasparov ( Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров , [ ˈɡarʲɪ ˈkʲiməvʲɪtɕ kɐˈsparəf ] ; born Garik Kimovich Weinstein , 13 April 1963 ) is a Russian chess grandmaster , former World Chess Champion , writer , and political activist , whom many consider to be the greatest chess player of all time . He continued to hold the `` Classical '' World Chess Championship until his defeat by Vladimir Kramnik in 2000 . The Professional Chess Association ( PCA ) , which existed between 1993 and 1996 , was a rival organisation to FIDE , the international chess organization . The World Chess Championship ( sometimes abbreviated as WCC ) is played to determine the World Champion in chess .