The Final Solution: Stalemate

  Gary Kasparov at Dissenters March in 2007 (GoWest at ru.wikipedia)                                            

“Seeking chess champion for major political position, no previous experience required.” There seems to be a distinct shortage of candidates to challenge the Republicans in 2020. So why not advertise outside the normal channels, keeping in mind the complexity of our current geo-politics. Real estate has not necessarily turned out to be the best place to recruit presidents, primarily because strategic and tactical thinking as opposed to salesmanship are what is required on the international front. If Assad is removed, a huge opening for ISIS remains, not to speak of risking an upping of the hostility with regard not only to Russia, for whom Assad had been a major client, but the Shiite backers of the deposed dictator, Iran and the Hezbollah. Reprisals against Kim Jong-un endanger South Korea and Japan, but also put the United States at loggerheads with China who, despite its aversion to the leader of their client state, can’t afford to allow a pro-Western alliance to gain hegemony in the region. And what to do if and when the Russians attempt to annex new territories in the Ukraine or elsewhere? The world has turned into a gigantic chessboard. The attack against the air base as reprisal for the Assad regime's use of chemical weapons is the equivalent of taking a pawn. But what is the next move? As in a game of chess, using more powerful pieces has the negative effect of making the aggressor more vulnerable. What would a grandmaster do in the current situation?