Garry Kasparov: ‘Why become a martyr? I can do much more outside Russia’

The chess grandmaster on speaking out against Vladimir Putin and why he cannot choose the best player ever

I haven't stopped my fight against the regime," says Garry Kasparov, his words bristling with defiance and quiet rage. I'm not lowering my voice. Putin is not just a Russian imperialist. He has a much bigger agenda. He is an existential threat to the free world."

It would have been easy for the greatest chess player in history to stay quiet after fleeing Russia in 2013 amid a crackdown on prominent opposition figures. Kasparov, after all, is a successful businessman, an expert on artificial intelligence and cyber security, and has just launched a new website, Kasparovchess.com. But that has never been his style. Not now. Not ever.