Kasparov began the serious study of chess after he came across a problem set up by his parents and proposed a solution.Unlimited Challenge, an autobiography by Garry Kasparov with Donald Trelford, When he was seven years old, his father died of leukaemia.Kasparov: The World's Chess Champion , by Anne Kressler, From Azerbaijan International (3.3) Autumn 1995. (Retrieved 31 March 2008) At the age of twelve, Kasparov, upon the request of his mother Klara and with the consent of the family, adopted Klara's surname Kasparov, which was done to avoid possible anti-Semitic tensions common in the USSR at the time.
