In early October, at the newly-renovated Saint Louis Chess Club, two former World Chess Champions participated in the first Clutch Chess: The Legends. They played Chess960, a variant where the pieces on the back rank are scrambled, in the same way, for White and Black. For example, White’s queen might begin on a1, and Black’s queen might begin on a8. GM Garry Kasparov defeated GM Viswanathan Anand in a three-day showdown that captivated fans around the world.
Photos with Kasparov and Anand
As a chess fan, I love getting photos alongside World Chess Champions. On October 26, 2024, just before his keynote address at the Saint Louis Chess Conference, my sister Sarah Rudolph Cole took a photo of me with Kasparov.
When I was the FIDE press officer for the FIDE World Team Championship 2022, I snapped a selfie in the commentary room. In background of the November 25 photo are commentators Anand and IM Almira Skripchenko.
Photos with Karpov, Carlsen, and Gukesh D.
On June 25, 1994, former World Chess Champion GM Anatoly Karpov gave a simultaneous chess exhibition in Austin, Texas. My daughter Clarissa and I got a photo with Karpov.
When I worked for Chessable, I attended the Chess.com meetup in Cancun, Mexico. One of the meetup’s special guests was former World Chess Champion GM Magnus Carlsen, who participated in a blitz tournament there. On October 22, 2024, a professional photographer took this photo of me with Carlsen.
At Checkmate: USA vs India, October 4, 2025, I got a selfie with World Chess Champion GM Gukesh Dommaraju.
Your Stories and Photos
Have you ever met a World Chess Champion? Do you have a story or a photo from your meeting? Let SparkChess know in the comments!
