During the summer of 1991, Mikhail Gorbachev noticed that several high-ranking Soviet colleagues were meeting regularly “to play chess.” But the players, led by KGB chief Vladimir Kryuchkov, had other things on their mind — the military coup that overthrew Gorbachev 20 years ago today and led a few months later to the collapse of the USSR.

“Chess was just the cover story for their meetings,” Gorby said in an interview for the WhyChess Web site.

Gorbachev recalled that he was an avid player himself and played “nonstop” as a teen. But “chess demands a great deal of time,” he said, adding that, like Vladimir Lenin, he gave it up for politics.

During the interview, Gorbachev, 80, played a casual game with world chess federation president Kirsan Ilyumzhinov. Despite his bizarre opening (1 e4 e5 2 f3?) — and thanks to Black’s generous play — Gorby was about to deliver mate when a diplomatic draw was agreed upon.

Gorbachev’s tenure in the Kremlin coincided with the bitter world championship rivalry of Anatoly Karpov and Garry Kasparov. He said he rooted for Karpov, and today he doesn’t like Kasparov’s politics: “He’s too radical, in my view — the radical right.”