Kasparov

6.10.2022

Chess Grandmaster @Kasparov63 on the Russia-Ukraine war: “I believe Vladimir Putin’s regime is the main threat for global security… I’ve been predicting this war for at least 7 years… we’re witnessing war crimes on an industrial scale… a battle between freedom and tyranny.” pic.twitter.com/iDBbllax5L

— Yahoo Finance (@YahooFinance) June 9, 2022

This article is a reprint. You can read the original at Yahoo Finance.

“Chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov joins Yahoo Finance Live to discuss crypto adoption and NFTs as well as the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Video Transcript

– Well you know him as one of the all time greats in chess, but now Garry Kasparov is taking a hard look at Bitcoin cryptocurrencies and NFTs. And we’ve got Gary himself here on the show today. He is, of course, a vast security ambassador and world chess champion. We’ve also got David Hollerith joining in on the conversation. Gary, it’s great to have you on today.

I want to first– we’re going to talk about your NFT launch from last year. But first I’m just curious how this evolution happened. Because we always hear your name and we think about chess. What piqued your interest in crypto?

GARRY KASPAROV: Technology. I was a pioneer in the game of chess bringing machines to help us with our preparation. As you remember, I even tried to fight the machines with mixed success. Yeah, and I believe that technology is a very important way for us to make all sorts of improvements. And for me, the crypto is a part of this process. It’s inevitable.

We can debate pros and cons, but at the end of the day, the world is turning into digital. And of course, the methods of payments will have to follow.

DAVID HOLLERITH: Hi, Gary Thanks for coming on the show. I know you’re also currently a security ambassador for the software company Avast. And given that, I understand you must be fully aware of the billions of dollars that cryptocurrency investors have lost over the last year through scams and hacks. And so I was sort of curious, you know, how do you think cryptocurrency investors and newcomers should sort of handle this kind of environment?

GARRY KASPAROV: Look, I think the amount of money that has been lost and you just can’t deny it. It’s a drop in the ocean compared to money that had been stolen from big banks through various hacking operations. Unfortunately again, this is us having benefits from new technologies also carrying new risks. And crypto is no different from other traditional, and what we think safe methods of organizing payments.

Every month, if not every week, we read about massive attacks on the most established financial institutions in the world, with millions and millions of accounts being hacked and data being removed. So again, it’s a shield and sword. And I’ve been working with Avast for six years and every new challenge requires new tools and new algorithms to fight back.

And while hackers are using AI, so the defense also is using AI. And I still think that we are ahead in this game. So I would not be too– I would not be panicking about the losses that happen. Again, I’m sorry for those who did it, but maybe just be more aware about the threats. And Avast, as other companies in this area of business, they’re doing absolutely best to offer protection of individual data.

DAVID HOLLERITH: And going back to NFTs, last year you launched an NFT collection. I was just curious in general what’s the value you see in NFTs? There are obviously thousands of projects out there. And do you own any yourself?

GARRY KASPAROV: No, I don’t own any one yet. But it’s just I think, again, it’s a reflection of the new demand of the public. Again, you may say it’s value is fictional, but as everything else, at the end of the day, things have value because we believe these things have value.

And I think that this industry that now is obviously facing setbacks as the whole crypto world, so we’ll come back. Because again, people want to see more and more elements of our life to be– to stay on digital side. And NFT is no exception. And I tried again, with limited success, so it’s more than $1.1 million at that rate was raised for collection of 32 NFTs.

But it was my general attempt to present my life in NFTs and I thought it was well received by the community.

BRIAN CHEUNG: Hey Gary, it’s Brian Cheung here. I mean, some of those images that we were just showing kind of highlight your time in Russia. And I wanted to kind of just shift gears now to what’s been going on in Ukraine. You’ve been a very outspoken critic of the Russian government and how they’ve been going about this invasion. You’re recently just added to a list of foreign agents by the Russian government. What do you think about what we’ve seen in Ukraine, especially now that this has gone on for a few months?

GARRY KASPAROV: Yeah, when the Russian government calls you foreign agent it means enemy of the state. So let’s be very clear about it. But again, I live outside of Russia in exile for almost 10 years. So I basically I don’t care how they call me, because I believe that this regime, Vladimir Putin’s regime, is the main threat for global security.

I’ve been saying it for years. I’ve been predicting this war for at least seven years since the publication of my book “Winter’s Coming” back in 2015. And now we are witnessing war crimes on an industrial scale. And the big problem is that the free world is yet to decide on the strategy.

Yes, Ukraine has been receiving support, vital support. But it’s not enough, not nearly enough for Ukraine to defeat Putin’s invading armies. And I don’t think that the free world should and can accept any other result but Ukrainians unconditional win that will lead to the liberation of Ukraine and the restoration of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Because if God forbid, Putin succeeds, then other countries like Poland or Lithuania could be targets, NATO countries. So it’s more than just fight for saving Ukraine. It’s a battle between front of the battle between freedom and tyranny.

– And Gary, on that front you have been critical of the West’s response, saying that Western leaders should not be, number one, helping Putin or legitimizing him. What should be the response? When you think about the sanctions haven’t been handed down. In the US, Russian oil has been banned. The EU has moved in that direction. What more do you think needs to be done and is ultimately the goal, should that be regime change?

GARRY KASPAROV: Look, I don’t want you to say regime change, because that’s that sounds frightening. But if you make it clear that sanctions will not be lifted until Ukraine is fully liberated and Crimea of course included, and reparations being paid, and we’re talking about hundreds of billions of dollars. Because at least one third of Ukraine has been decimated now.

Russia fired more than 2,500 missiles to Ukraine. This is a war that the world has not seen since World War II. And war criminals brought to justice. That basically equals regime change without saying that. But we don’t see yet political will. Great Britain, Poland, Baltic states, they are doing absolutely the best

France and Germany, they are just way, way behind and they’re trying to work on what they call saving Putin’s face and the United States is somewhere in the middle. Yeah, we hear statements from the White House, but as I recently point out in my Twitter, the American howitzers that been supplied to Ukraine, they didn’t have the most important part of that, which is the advanced electronics. So they are literally blind.

So it seems to me that the Americans and European allies, with the exception of Britain and Poland both, trying to find this balance and I think it’s absolutely unacceptable. Ukraine must be provided every tool, every weapon, every measure that is required for them to win this war.

BRIAN CHEUNG: Yeah, very much a humanitarian issue still developing over there. Garry Kasparov, Avast security ambassador and world chess champion. Thanks so much for taking the time to speak with us. And thanks again to David Hollerith of Yahoo Finance.

GARRY KASPAROV: Thanks for having me.

BRIAN CHEUNG: Appreciate it.”