September 4, 2022

World Chess Champion Garry Kasparov Will Address 2022 Churchill Conference

Russian Chess Grandmaster Garry Kasparov will deliver the 2022 Enid and R. Crosby Kemper Lecture at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri on Friday, 7 October as part of the 2022 International Churchill Conference. An active member of the Anti-War Committee of Russia, created by Russian exiles in opposition to Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine, Mr. Kasparov will bring historic resonance to the site where Winston Churchill delivered his famous “Iron Curtain” speech in 1946. For details about the conference, please CLICK HERE.

Widely considered history’s greatest chess player, Kasparov is also an outspoken advocate for human rights and democracy. He retired from competitive chess in 2005 to form the Russian anti-Putin coalition. Forced into exile by Putin’s crackdowns in 2013, he now lives with his family in New York City. He is a frequent contributor to major publications including The Wall Street Journal and The New York Daily News and appears regularly on news programs around the world. In 2015, Kasparov published his prescient book Winter Is Coming: Why Vladimir Putin and the Enemies of the Free World Must Be Stopped. He is the chairman of the Human Rights Foundation (HRF) and the Renew Democracy Initiative (RDI).

The 2022 Churchill conference will take place 6–8 October in Kansas City and Fulton, Missouri. On Thursday, October 6, there will be an opening night reception at the National World War I Museum of the United States in Kansas City. On Friday, October 7, attendees will travel by luxury coach to Fulton, where the day will include a tour of America’s National Churchill Museum on the campus of Westminster College. Mr. Kasparov’s lecture will then take place in the historic church of St. Mary the Virgin, Aldermanbury, which was designed by Sir Christopher Wren. This will be followed by lunch in the gymnasium where Winston Churchill delivered his “Iron Curtain” speech in 1946. We will then return to Kansas City in the afternoon.

Events on Saturday, October 8 will take place at the National World War I Museum and Memorial. Speakers will include Tim Bouverie, who will deliver the 2022 Stephen and Jane Poss Distinguished Churchill Lecture. This year’s Keynote Speech will be delivered by Professor Angela Stent, a world-renowned expert on Vladimir Putin, who will be speaking on the war in Ukraine. The conference will conclude in the evening with our traditional gala dinner. Please be sure to join us for what promises to be a timely lesson about the continuing relevance of Churchill’s example in facing the challenges of today!