Garry Kasparov was reportedly among the targets of a Russian assassination plot in the United States, bringing a new threat to one of chess’s most recognisable figures and a longstanding critic of Vladimir Putin. Spanish newspaper El Mundo reported that American authorities warned him during the summer of 2026.
A warning after years in exile
US authorities subsequently provided Kasparov with protection, according to El Mundo’s reporting, summarised by Meduza. Sources close to the former champion said it was the first time he had received such protection since moving to New York in 2013. The newspaper also identified former Russian lawmaker Ilya Ponomarev as an intended target, reporting that preparations to kill him were further advanced.
The reported warning adds a personal dimension to a wider American investigation into an alleged network working for Russian intelligence. However, the public US Justice Department announcement does not name Kasparov. The information identifying him as a target, and describing the protection he received, comes from El Mundo’s reporting.
Five suspects and a separate $40,000 offer
According to a US Justice Department announcement, charges against five alleged members of the network were unsealed on September 15. Prosecutors accuse the group of recruiting people to conduct surveillance, murder Russian dissidents and attack infrastructure in countries supporting Ukraine.
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“These defendants allegedly operated as part of a global assassination network that reached into the United States,” Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said. The defendants include a former Russian intelligence colonel and his son, whom prosecutors identify as an officer in Russia’s Federal Security Service.
Prosecutors allege that a US resident photographed locations associated with an unnamed dissident after being promised between $1,000 and $1,500. He was then offered $40,000 to kill the target. When he refused, recruiters asked whether he knew someone else who could carry out the killing. El Mundo linked that plot to Ponomarev; the payment should therefore not be presented as an offer to assassinate Kasparov. All five defendants remained at large when the charges were announced and are presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
From world champion to Kremlin critic
Kasparov’s political prominence followed an extraordinary chess career. As described in his official biography, he became world champion in 1985 at 22 and defended his title five times. His rivalry with Anatoly Karpov and matches against IBM’s Deep Blue made him famous far beyond the game.
He retired from professional chess in 2005, while still the world’s top-rated player, to concentrate on Russia’s pro-democracy movement. Facing the threat of arrest during Putin’s crackdown, he moved to New York in 2013. More than a decade later, the reported American warning suggests that leaving Russia has not ended the threats surrounding his opposition to the Kremlin.
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