Even though chess grandmaster Garry Kasparov‘s business book HOW LIFE IMITATES CHESS is due to be published in 22 countries – including the United States – by the end of the year, Russia is holding off. And that has Kasparov, according to the AFP, steaming mad. “It is clear this is in Kremlin hands and the decision was taken under Kremlin pressure,” Marina Litvinovich, a close advisor to chess legend Kasparov, told AFP by telephone. “They are delaying publication of the book by 12 months,” she said, adding “by that time parliamentary and presidential elections [slated for March 2008] will have passed.”
The planned publisher of the Russian edition, Eksmo, cited “technical reasons” for its decision to delay publication. “We are surprised Mr Kasparov decided to make a political issue of this technicality and think maybe he is using it for his own purposes,” Eksmo spokeswoman Maria Markova said in a statement. She said Eksmo was still prepared to publish Kasparov’s book but added this would require the signing of a new contract.