One Week Left to Win An Autographed Kasparov Chess Set
Introducing Moves That Matter, a new weekly roundup to give you a strategic view on the news.
Welcome to Moves That Matter, a new weekly roundup from The Next Move.
The Next Move is all about a strategy for the pro-democracy community. To be strategic requires taking a wide view—highlighting pieces you may have missed, revisiting yesterday’s analysis to see what we got right and what we got wrong.
Keeping track of everything is… exhausting. So this roundup will highlight just the moves that matter (hence the name!).
Your support makes all of this happen. As a thank you to our premium subscribers, Renew Democracy Initiative Chairman Garry Kasparov is giving away three autographed chess sets. Anyone signed up as a premium subscriber by Friday, October 31 will be automatically entered to win. There’s just one week left—don’t miss out!1
Thanks, as always, for your readership and support!
— The Next Move team
Home Field Advantage
We’re mixing chess and sports metaphors, but we needed to set up the domestic section of this newsletter somehow. Also, the World Series starts tonight. Bear with us!
Trump’s March on Chicago
Many of the Trump administration's National Guard deployments are wrapped up in legal limbo. But Garry Kasparov appeals to Americans to read the president's motives clearly.
Shut It Down?
Government has ground to a halt.
Weeks into the shutdown, we revisit the question: Is closing the government the strategically-sound move to hold the administration accountable?
To answer this, let’s revisit our debate from April when a shutdown was first on the table—and Democratic leadership chose to compromise.
Schumer Was Wrong
Garry Kasparov posits that Schumer’s decision to back Trump’s funding bill and avoid a shutdown was a misstep. Operating as normal is all well and good when everything is… well, normal. But when the president erodes every norm in the book, real leadership demands bold, risky, plays. Was a shutdown the risky move supporters of democratic norms needed to make?
Schumer Was Right
Former Congressman Mickey Edwards disagreed. He argued that Schumer’s decision was a necessary compromise to sustain public trust, essential services, and his party’s long-term strength. Schumer chose strategy over spectacle and survival over short-term wins.
Let us know in the comments: Do you think the shutdown is still the move?
Putin’s Pawn
The crises continue abroad. Trump’s meeting with Putin in Russia-friendly Hungary is off (for now), but the fact that it was even a consideration shows just how much influence Moscow still wields in Washington.
After Zelenskyy and Putin Meetings, What is Trump's Next Move in Ukraine?
Former Treasury Department official Greg Wilson breaks down Trump's missed opportunities—and how he can finally flip the script and deliver peace for Ukraine.
Playing Russia’s Game: When America is Desperate for Deals, Dictators Win
The proposed Budapest summit put Trump’s deference to Putin back in the spotlight. Fatima Abo Alasrar traces a deeper pattern in American engagement with dictators that goes beyond the current president—prioritizing quick transactions over transformation. From Bush to Obama to Trump, presidents have chased quick diplomatic “wins.” Advantage: Moscow.
A Shaky Ceasefire
In the Middle East, initialing a ceasefire deal is only half the battle. With the Israel-Hamas truce already in turmoil, can Trump’s tactics deliver lasting peace?
I Met the Founders of Hamas. Gaza's Terrorist Rulers Can't Surrender.
Will the ceasefire last? Ksenia Svetlova interacted with Hamas leadership firsthand. She argues that the Palestinian terror group accepted the deal out of necessity, not conviction. She traces Hamas’s unprecedented isolation and its plan for the region, dissecting the fragile truce and the unanswered questions of the future of Palestine.
Your Move
Now let’s get to the most important part—what all of you think about what’s going on!
Renew Democracy Initiative Director of Communications Evan Gottesman asked readers about their experiences with the No Kings protests.
Is No Kings making a splash—or is it a bust? Can the opposition counter authoritarianism and control extremism in its own corner? Here’s what you had to say:
Ed P. had a positive experience protesting in Philadelphia—but offered some constructive feedback:
Derrick White chose not to participate:
Made it this far? Then answer our poll and check back next week for the results to check the pulse of the Next Move community.
On the fence about becoming a paid subscriber? We have a special offer to make the decision easier for you: $49 for an annual subscription—a 30% discount—now through November 8. Paid subscribers get exclusive benefits like interactive Zoom calls with Garry Kasparov. Anyone who signs up as a premium subscriber by October 31 will be automatically entered to win a chess set signed by Garry!1
1. Please see full rules and regulations for The Next Move 2025 raffle.
I think the inflatable frogs and other creatures are a brilliant way to stand up to the tyranny and fascism displayed by Trump’s ICE storm troopers. Visually it makes all those brutes in camo and flack vests and masks and guns look really stupid. Ridicule is the way to win the hearts and minds of those just looking on. It is smart, it’s clever and it takes courage. The brutes are the best at intimidation and … well… brutality, which is why they’re there. All that fire power confronting pacifist frogs makes the guys all tricked out for Al Qaeda look really lame. You can’t out-power a brute. But if you give people cause to laugh at them with all their ridiculous over-reaction, then you make your point in a way that creates a lasting image. That is what will win people to the cause of democracy.
Honestly, my take is that Schumer and Jeffries must go; they are terrible leaders, and always ten steps behind MAGA.
I believed Schumer was wrong for going along with Trump’s BBB, and should have nixed it from the get go. This was the time we had leverage. Trump was trying to get his legacy bill passed, and yet, Schumer decided to waive the white flag, even though democrats were never consulted on it, or allowed to make revisions to get their consent.
Instead, he waits six months to announce he will shut down the government. Why didn’t he shout from the roof tops for six months prior, at a time when Trump was refusing to negotiate on healthcare at all, knowing full well we’d be have an issue in October?
Additionally, now we have a shutdown when Trump would have been forced to renegotiate in a month. Seriously, the resolution would have only been in effect for a month; until the actual bill could be passed.
Furthermore, and quite frankly, if we want to win back America, American’s will need to feel pain. If a deal for healthcare is completed, democrats won’t get the credit anyway; it would have been crisis averted: no harm, no foul.
If Americans actually see what healthcare will cost next year, and had to pay it, they’d be pissed at Trump, not the democrats.
Bottom line: this was a bad move, especially since democrats are terrible at messaging, and republicans have an entire media ecosystem dedicated to disseminating lies and misinformation; setting the false narratives on Trump’s behalf.