LINDSBORG, KS (November 3, 2005) – Kindergarten student Alexander Shultz only wanted to see the Saturday morning parade passing by on the main street in this town of 3,300. He couldn’t have known – or cared – that the man he pushed aside for a view was once leader of the Soviet Union.
Mikhail Gorbachev (shown standing next to Alexander with Anatoly Karpov and Susan Polgar on his right) patted the young Shultz on the head several times and even asked for and got a “high five,” says his father, Clark, who attends the local Evangelical Covenant Church. “It was funny.” 
Gorbachev came to this small Swedish community in Kansas at the invitation of his friend, seven-time world chess champion Anatoly Karpov, who operates a chess school in the town. Karpov asked him to participate in the “Chess for Peace” initiative Karpov has begun. A Chess Parade in downtown Lindsborg was part of the ceremonies. Following the parade, which included Swedish dancers and chess players, Gorbachev was presented with a key to the city.
If his son had no idea who he was giving high fives to, his father does. Shultz says the experience brought back memories. “I couldn’t help but think about all the photos I had seen of him and President Reagan in front of the Statue of Liberty, signing documents, and finally the photo of Gorbachev touching the flag-draped coffin at Reagan’s funeral.”
“It’s interesting seeing someone in person that is such a part of history and someone who has been on TV and in newspapers for the past couple decades,” says Shultz, a Republican state legislator. “Then all of a sudden they’re standing right in front and you have to realize that they are a living breathing person just like everyone else.”
“I saw a nearly 75-year-old man who seemed to be secure in his place in history,” Shultz added.
Gorbachev reflected on that history and the present while speaking Saturday evening at Bethany College’s Presser Hall. He captivated the audience while he chatted and played chess with Alan Murray, assistant managing editor of the Wall Street Journal.
“He said Reagan was like a ‘dinosaur,'” says Ben Friedman, a high school junior who attended the event as part of a class requirement. Friedman says Gorbachev explained that although he didn’t like Reagan at first, he came to see the late president as a caring person, and the two became friends.
Like Karpov, who routinely returns to the community, Gorbachev appeared to have enjoyed his stay. “You could tell he wanted to roam around and experience the town, which he said reminded him of the area where he grew up,” Shultz says.
“He seemed very fond of children, stopping and smiling a lot,” Shultz says. “He almost appeared to enjoy talking to them more than anything.”
During the weekend, Karpov also held a rematch with Susan Polgar, the four-time women’s chess champion.
Karpov says he hopes the Chess for Peace program will foster mutual understanding as students from around the world get to know each other while playing chess – first on the Internet and then in person. Earlier in October, as part of Lindsborg’s Hyllingsfest, several Russian students from Karpov’s school in Siberia traveled to the town for a weekend of matches as part of the program.
Like Gorbachev, Karpov initially came to Lindsborg several years ago at the invitation of a friend. The friend taught at Bethany College and encouraged the champion to come to the town while he prepared for an international match.
The chess master was so impressed by the community and the reception he received, that he chose the town for his only school in the United States.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Copyright © 2011 The Evangelical Covenant Church.
