Moves That Matter: The Opposition Moves
Lessons learned from a week of resistance and retreat.
Keeping track of everything is… exhausting. So this weekly roundup will highlight the moves that matter (hence the name!).
The Board is Yours! Congratulations to Our Raffle Winners.
Forty years ago this month—November 1985—Garry Kasparov became World Chess Champion. We recently ran a contest giving subscribers a chance to win a free chess set autographed by Garry. Congratulations to our three winners! Here’s one winner, Mark Brumbaugh, with his prize.
Stay on the lookout for more raffles, plus other opportunities exclusively for paid subscribers!
Your Move
Renew Democracy Initiative Chairman Garry Kasparov responds to your comments! Have a question or comment for Garry or another member of The Next Move team? Reply below and your question could be featured in a future edition of Moves That Matter.
The Annihilated Truth (what a username!) asks:
Is this Substack moving to the right? Or did I miss the purpose of this movement and was it conservative/European liberal from the start?
Garry responds:
This was following some of my criticism of New York City Mayor-Elect Zohran Mamdani. A number of you were shocked by what I had to say: How could I be so clear-eyed on Donald Trump, and—as you saw it—miss the mark on Mamdani?
So I’m glad someone asked this question. I haven’t moved, but you (and all of your other fellow readers) and I are becoming more well acquainted with one another and learning about where we stand on the issues.
I am a democrat (small d)—that’s a belief grounded in an old life under dictatorship and a new life in this most free society, America (although the US shows some troubling signs of moving in a direction that’s all too familiar to me). I am a capitalist—you will find that many of us who experienced the excesses of Soviet communism place a high value on the free market; it is not perfect, but it enables a degree of innovation and abundance that is simply not available under the alternative. We are all products of our experiences, and my analysis is informed by mine.
I am also a moderate, who believes that free markets and political debates should not run amuck. I support a strong political center of gravity and oppose radicalism on the far right and far left with equal vigor—though I also recognize where the greatest threat comes from today
I make a distinction between the social democracies of Western and Northern Europe—where democracy is the noun, and socialism the modifier, and the more radical American democratic socialism, where it’s socialism first, only tempered somewhat by democracy. As I’ve written before, when we talk about radicalism, it is often a question of worldview, not policies—reasonable people can disagree and compromise about individual policies, but it’s much harder to compromise on a person’s fundamental philosophy.
That is my view. You can support my analysis or dissent from it—just remember, I cite my sources! I also want to remind you that I’m not the only one here. The Next Move publishes an array of perspectives, and I am always encouraging readers to consider them all. This would be a boring place if we were on the same exact page about every single candidate or piece of legislation (although there are certainly places on this website you can go for that, if you like). But at The Next Move, let’s disagree, discuss, and engage. We’ll be better for it.
— Garry Kasparov
Chairman, Renew Democracy Initiative
This week, the opposition made their moves—but did they change the game?
The government shutdown came to an end, provoking fresh questions about the opposition’s effectiveness. New details on the Epstein files were released, turning up the pressure on President Donald Trump. And overseas, dissidents showed us what real resistance looks like.
While they were making moves, The Next Move was studying the board—pulling back the curtain, offering strategic insights, and thinking moves ahead.
Thanks, as always, for your readership and support!
— The Next Move team
Concessions at the Capitol
Eight Senate Democrats caved, cutting a deal to end the government shutdown just days after voters punished Republicans for the very standoff. What should have been leverage in their fight became concessions, leaving the opposition little to show for their efforts, and a president emboldened by their retreat.
Democrats Blinked. What Comes After the Shutdown Deal?
RDI’s Garry Kasparov argues that by yielding now, the opposition has ceded more ground to the Trump administration, weakening their position in the next fight. With another potential shutdown battle in January, Garry suggests that chasing immediate relief amounted to strategic folly at the cost of more severe pain down the road.
An Opposition to Take Notes From
Across the globe, dissidents demonstrate what it really takes to stand firm in the face of authoritarian pressure. Through their experiences, they show that meaningful resistance requires strategy and solidarity: lessons Americans could take notes from.
At the World Liberty Congress, Part I
In Berlin, the World Liberty Congress united 180 dissidents from 60 nations. RDI Senior Fellow Jay Nordlinger was there. He takes readers inside of the assembly hall, highlighting the voices of dissidents Garry Kasparov, Masih Alinejad of Iran, and Venezuela’s Leopoldo López. Their message: unity and defiance in the face of dictatorship.
Credit Where Credit is Due…
While President Trump’s opponents retreated on one part of the board, they turned the heat up elsewhere. On Wednesday, House Democrats released new Epstein emails, exposing fresh details about the president’s ties to the infamous predator. On an issue that fractures Trump’s base, Democrats are showing some fight.
The Epstein Files certainly aren’t a pleasant issue to discuss—but this isn’t just partisan mudslinging. RDI CEO Uriel Epshtein (no relation!) reminds us why the files matter in a free society like ours.
Why Do the Epstein Files Matter for Democracy?
A safe and orderly society depends on compliance with laws set by leaders. But what happens when our leaders—particularly the president—are engaged in immoral and illegal conduct themselves? The Epstein files matter because our social contract with leaders is undermined when they break the very laws they tell us to follow—and a healthy democracy depends on holding leaders to account.
Moves That Matter…Less
There’s no question that we’re seeing leaders flooding the zone—dominating headlines with noise to distract you from seeing the moves that mattered.
Each week, we’ll cut through the noise and raise a flag when something looks like a red herring: the cheap moves, shiny side quests, and headline-grabbers that keep you from seeing the whole board.
Trump Stadium? The Donald Dome? Donald J. Trump Freedom Field?
This week, headlines lit up over Trump reportedly wanting the Washington Commanders to name their football stadium after him. Sure, Trump likes to put his name on buildings. But is this scheme really worth the blitz it’s getting?
In the larger fight for democracy and freedom, is this a move that matters? Or just a distraction—a Hail Mary, if you will—to keep you from seeing the whole board?