Chess champ is out of presidential race

Garry Kasparov said President Vladimir Putin is behind his disqualification.

MOSCOW (AP) — The Kremlin appears to have checkmated chess genius Garry Kasparov, eliminating the internationally known figure from the presidential race.

Kasparov said Thursday his bid collapsed because supporters were blocked from renting a meeting hall to nominate him — part of President Vladimir Putin’s campaign, he said, to snuff out any viable opposition and turn Russia’s March 2 ballot into a virtual one-man contest.

The move makes it impossible for Kasparov to challenge Putin’s chosen successor as a candidate. But even if his supporters had nominated him, Kasparov would have faced formidable barriers, such as a Putin-era law forcing independent candidates to gather 2 million signatures — nearly one out of 50 Russian voters — for a spot on the ballot.

Kasparov has said that requirement would be impossible to fulfill.

“We all knew I wasn’t running ... because we don’t have an election,” Kasparov told The Associated Press on Thursday.

“It just shows that this game is fake at each stage.”

The former chess champion, dressed in a dark suit, looked exhausted but determined as he stood between two burly bodyguards.

Under Russian law, independent candidates can run for president only if a group of at least 500 supporters meets formally to vote on the nomination.

Thursday was the deadline for notifying the Central Election Commission of such a meeting.

Members of the Other Russia coalition, which Kasparov helps lead, say the managers of meeting halls and auditoriums refused to rent to them.

Kasparov said he believed the managers were ordered not to let the meeting take place.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told the AP the accusations were absurd.

“The Kremlin isn’t involved in renting out halls, and blaming the Kremlin in any way in this case would be considered illegitimate,” he said.