The 2022 Churchill Conference will feature a lecture by a Russian chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov.
Grandmaster at chess is a prestigious title that is difficult to attain; there were only 1,770 active grandmaster players as of May 2020, according to Chess.com.
Kasparov will deliver the 2022 Enid and R. Crosby Kemper Lecture for the 2022 Churchill Conference, which will take place in Fulton, with activities also happening in Kansas City. The conference will begin with an opening night reception Oct. 6 at the National World War I Museum of the United States in Kansas City.
Attendees of the conference will travel Oct. 7 to Fulton to tour America's National Churchill Museum at Westminster College. Kasparov will give his lecture at the nearby church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury.
As well as being a grandmaster, Kasparov is a former World Chess Champion. He became the youngest champion in 1985, when he was only 22. He is considered one of the best chess players in history, according to the International Churchill Society news release.
In addition to being an expert in chess, Kasparov is an advocate for human rights. He is a member of the Anti-War Committee of Russia, which was created by Russian exiles who oppose Vladimir Putin's war in Ukraine.
Kasparov retired from playing competitive chess in 2005, when he formed the Russian anti-Putin coalition. He is also the chairman of the Human Rights Foundation and the Renew Democracy Initiative.
Even with his retirement, Kasparov has remained active in the chess community. He previously coached both Magnus Carlsen and Hikaru Nakamura, the first- and sixth-highest ranked chess players in the world, according to Chess.com. Kasparov also offers digital chess lessons online.