Garry Kasparov is a Russian politician, dissident, activist and chess grandmaster and former Chess World Champion. Since retiring from chess, Kasparov has devoted his time to writing and politics, as part of the opposition movement to Vladimir putin’s administration and policies. In 2008, he announced an intention to run as a candidate in that year’s Russian presidential race, but withdrew after facing official obstruction. In the wake of the Russian mass protests that began in 2011, he announced in June 2013 that he had left Russia for the immediate future out of fear of persecution. Kasparov is chairman of the Human Rights Foundation and chairs its International Council. In 2017, he founded the Renew Democracy Initiative (RDI), an American political organisation promoting and defending liberal democracy in the U.S. and abroad.