Garry returned to Leningrad in November of 1975 to participate in the Young Pioneers tournament for the second time. This is the tournament where his first encounters against the two leading Russian players, Viktor Korchnoi and Anatoly Karpov took place.

Garry’s first success in a major adult competition came in October of 1975 when he won the Baku City Cup. This was the first event where he appeared under the name Kasparov and his tournament victory included a notable win in the final against tournament favourite Oleg Pavlenko.

Garry describes his early work with Alexander Nikitin as well as a game played in Leningrad in 1975 that he considers to be his very first masterpiece. He also describes the circumstances leading up to the decision to adopt his mother’s maiden name.

Garry returned to Vilnius in 1975 and participated for the first time in the Soviet Under 18 Championship at the age of 11. In this episode he recalls the trauma of his final round loss to future Grandmaster and two-time US Chess Champion Alexey Yermolinsky which cost him a podium finish in his first outing at the tournament.