Kasparov in Presidential Gambit

Former world chess champ maneuvering to replace Putin
By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 1, 2007 3:29 AM CDT
Kasparov in Presidential Gambit
Other Russia opposition coalition leaders Eduard Limonov, left, and Garry Kasparov, right, attend a regional meeting of the coalition in Moscow, on Monday, Sept. 24, 2007. Other Russia is holding regional meetings across Russia in an attempt to come up with a single opposition candidate to challenge...   (Associated Press)

Former world chess champion Garry Kasparov has been overwhelmingly chosen by an opposition coalition to run for president of Russia when Vladimir Putin's current term ends next March, reports the Daily Telegraph. His place on the ballot is not guaranteed until he registers, a process likely to be checked by Putin forces.

Kasparov, 44, is one of Putin's most outspoken critics and founded the coalition "Other Russia" in 2005. "I will do everything possible for the ideas of Other Russia to win," he said. "I know that the road will be difficult." Even if he is manages to run, he's not expected to pose a major threat to whichever candidate Putin endorses. (More Garry Kasparov stories.)

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