Kasparov announces retirement

Linares:

Former Chess world champion Garry Kasparov announced his retirement from the professional game. However, Kasparov said he will play simultaneous games or blitz chess. The 41-yeard-old made the announcement after winning the Linares Super Grandmasters tournament against the current world number three Veselin Topalov. Azerbaijan-born Kasparov became the youngest world champion in chess history at the age of 22. He lost his world title to Russian grandmaster Vladimir Kramnik in 2000, but is still ranked number one by the World Chess Federation (FIDE). FIDE recently announced that it plans to hold an eight-player tournament in October to reunify the world titles, and Kasparov was among the players who would have been invited to participate. (With wire inputs)