After Dinner Speakers: Gary Kasparov, John Bruton, Jeff Bezos

Garry Kasparov was born in Baku, the capital of the Russian republic Azerbaidzhan. His early success at the chessboard earned him an invitation to study under the tutelage of Botvinnik, the World Champion and was considered even then to be one of the USSR's greatest players along side Anatoly Karpov. At age 13 he began entering international competitions, and was the youngest ever-national representative. In 1979, at the age of 16, he was given an opportunity to play in a Yugoslav event that included fourteen strong international grandmasters. Although he had yet to even receive an FIDE rating, Garry won the match by a comfortable margin, and firmly established himself as a serious contender for a future World Championship. At the age of 21, Garry won his first World Championship, a title he has held for 12 consecutive years. Gary Kasparov is a regular guest speaker at international conferences.