I hope my little joke is not seen as expertise: Kasparov after post on Gandhi goes viral

Russian chess great Garry Kasparov hoped that his “little joke” on Indian politics does not pass for “advocacy or expertise” after his cheeky social media post on Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s love for the game went viral.

Russian chess great Garry Kasparov hoped that his "little joke" on Indian politics does not pass for "advocacy or expertise" after his cheeky social media post on Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's love for the game went viral.

Within hours of asking Mr. Gandhi to "first win Rae Bareli before challenging for the top", the 61-year-old said it was just a joke and should be seen as one.

"I very much hope my little joke does not pass for advocacy or expertise in Indian politics! But as an 'all-seeing monster with 1000 eyes,' as I was once described, I cannot fail to see a politician dabbling in my beloved game!" the former world champion, who retired in 2005, wrote in response to a post by actor Ranvir Shorey.

Mr. Shorey's comment appeared to be a dig at Gandhi's recent assertion that he was the best chess player among all Indian politicians. Mr. Kasparov gave the same reply to a few other accounts which commented on his original post.

The Congress recently shared a video of Mr. Gandhi playing chess on his mobile phone while on the Lok Sabha election campaign trail. The MP from Wayanad named Mr. Kasparov as his favourite chess player and drew parallels between the game and politics.

A user on X made a cheeky comment on his page, which read "feel so relieved that @Kasparov63 and @vishy64theking retired early and didn't have to face the greatest chess genius of our times." Mr. Kasparov, rather unusually, originally responded to that post.

"Traditional (sic) dictates that you should first win from Raebareli before challenging for the top," wrote the fierce critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin who is based in Croatia after fleeing his country.