On Saturday night (10:00 p.m. NY; 02:00 GMT; 04:00 Paris) Wladimir Klitschko
fights Ray "Merciless" Mercer for the WBO World Heavyweight Title
in Atlantic City, USA. Garry Kasparov will be there as a front-row guest of
Wladimir.
Garry Kasparov with his friends, the Klitschkos. Garry's the little guy in
the middle.
Wladimir was born on March 25, 1976, in Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan, but grew
up in the Ukraine. Today he lives in Hamburg, Germany. He speaks four languages
fluently: Ukrainian, Russian, English and German. Wladimir has earned a doctorate
in physical education from the University of Kiev. Full biographies are available
on the official Klitschko
web site.
Wladimir Klitschko in fighting mode... |
Both Wladimir and his brother Vitali are enthusiastic chess players, as we
discovered in an encounter last year in Leipzig. There the two played a consultation
game against WGM Elisabeth Pähtz (blindfold) and later took part in a simul
given by Garry Kasparov. You can read about this in the multimedia
report of ChessBase Magazine 83 Extra.
Interestingly Wladimir's ultimate opponent, World Champion Lennox Lewis, is
also a chess player (see our news report from 09.06.2002). Klitschko has said
that if he ever fights Lewis he wants to play chess with him just before the
bout, while Garry Kasparov watches. "Never in history have two fighters
played chess before the fight," he said. "Chess is the mental part.
Then we fight. That is the physical part." See the full report "Ukrainian's
eye on Lewis' title" in USA
Today.
... and relaxed with friends in Atlantic City
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