Garry Kimovich Kasparov (Russian: Га́рри Ки́мович Каспа́ров]; born Garik Kimovich Weinstein, 13 April 1963) is a Russian writer, former world chess champion, chess grandmaster, and political activist, who many consider to be the greatest chess player of all time. From 1986 until his retirement in 2005, Kasparov was ranked worlds No. 1 for 225 out of 228 months. His peak rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by Magnus Carlsen in 2013. Kasparov also holds records for consecutive professional tournament victories (15) and Chess Oscars (11).