Chess grandmaster says whatever Trump's doing, it isn't chess

Retired chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov, whose men's world championship victory at the age of 22 made him the pride of the Soviet Union, claimed anyone looking to write a metaphor about President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin ought to avoid the game of chess altogether.

"When I hear phrases like 'Putin plays chess, Obama plays checkers,' or moreover, 'Trump plays chess,' I feel I have my duty to defend the game that I have been playing for decades," Kasparov said on Politico's Office Message podcast. "The game of chess is a game of strategy; of course, you have many opportunities to show your tactical skills, but foremost, it's about strategy. And also, it's a transparent game. It's 100 percent transparency."

Kasparov added that he isn't even sure Trump knows he's playing a game, much less winning at it. "You can lose the war even if you have [an] overwhelming advantage — militarily, economically, technologically — if you don't recognize you are at war," cautioned Kasparov.

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The theory that Trump is outmaneuvering world leaders in a game of "3D" (and sometime "4D") chess originated with Dilbert comic artist Scott Adams' post, "2D Chess Players Take on a 3D Chess Master," Know Your Meme writes. But a pessimistic Kasparov warned that if Trump is attempting to play chess with Putin, he's doomed to lose.

"Both of them despise playing by the rules, so it's who will cheat first," said Kasparov. "But in any game of wits, I would bet on Putin, unfortunately." Listen to the podcast at Politico here.