Garry Kimovich Kasparov, a chess grandmaster

 

Garry Kimovich Kasparov is a chess grandmaster, former World Chess Champion (1985–2000), political activist and writer. His peak FIDE chess rating of 2851, achieved in 1999, was the highest recorded until being surpassed by Magnus Carlsen in 2013. From 1984 until his retirement from regular competitive chess in 2005, Kasparov was ranked world no. 1 for a record 255 months overall. Kasparov also holds records for the most consecutive professional tournament victories  and Chess Oscars 

Nino Vaccarella, an Italian former sports car racing and Formula One driver

Nino Vaccarella (born 4 March 1933 in Palermo, Sicily) is an Italian former sports car racing and Formula One driver.
His principal achievements include winning the 1964 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the Targa Florio in 1965, 1971 and 1975, when it no longer was a World Sportscar Championship event.

Sicily-born Vaccarella was well known for being a Targa Florio specialist. According to Vic Elford "he knew the roads on Sicily like the back of his hand". He was teamed with Umberto Maglioli for the 1960 Targa Florio in a birdcage Maserati, which was owned by the Camoradi team. Maglioli had previously won the race twice; Vaccarella was a schoolteacher in Palermo with a great passion for motorsport. They took the lead in the early afternoon on 8 May and maintained it for three laps until the car broke down. The event was won by Joakim Bonnier and Hans Herrmann in a small silver Porsche.^[1] Vaccarella was paired with Lorenzo Bandini in the 1965 Targa Florio when they won with an average speed of 63.7 miles per hour, finishing in 7 hours and 1 minute. 12.4 seconds.^[2] In 1966 Vaccarella and Bandini led most of the race until their Ferrari 330 ran off the track after seven laps and was too damaged to continue.^[3] While waving his hand to acknowledge the crowd, Vaccarella made eye contact with a retaining wall that carried the inscription Viva Nino.^[4] Maglioli and Vaccarella drove a Ford GT-40 to fifth place in the 1967 12 Hours of Sebring.^[5] The 8 May 1968 edition of Giornale Di Sicilia proclaimed in its headline, Only Vaccarella Can Bring Off The Miracle. The meaning had to do with the Sicilian driver's great task of gaining victory in the Targa Florio in his 2.5-litre Alfa Romeo, called the Tipo 33. He was up against four German competitors who were driving Porsche 910 models. The Porsches had recently swept the endurance races at Daytona and Sebring. Few experts gave the four Alfa Romeos much of a chance against the flawless Porsches, but Sicilians were trusting the skill of Vaccarella's driving.^[4] Vaccarella qualified eighth for the 1970 24 Hours of Daytona in a Ferrari 512S. He also drove the big V12-powered Ferrari 512S in a heroic yet ultimately losing effort in 1970, damaging the car in the final stages. This was one of a series of 11 endurance events held in Europe and North America for the 1970 world manufacturers championship.^[6] Vaccarella and Toine Hezemans won the 1971 Targa Florio in an Alfa Romeo. They crossed the finish line over a minute ahead of Andrea de Adamich and Gijs van Lennep, who also drove an Alfa Romeo. This race ended the dominance of Porsche, which had finished first in the previous five Targa Florio races.^[7] Vaccarella competed in the 1972 12 Hours of Sebring in one of four Alfa Romeo 33/3TT's to be entered in the event. His driving partner was Nanni Galli.^[8] They qualified fifth after another Alfa Romeo of Rolf Stommelen and Peter Revson, who started third.^[9]

Formula One

Vacarella was selected for the 1962 Ferrari Formula One race team by Enzo Ferrari. He was joined by John Surtees, Mike Parkes, Willy Mairesse, Bandini, and Ludovico Scarfiotti. He participated in five World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 10 September 1961. He scored no championship points. He also participated in several non-Championship Formula One races.

Eric Thompson, a British motor racing driver, book dealer and insurance broker. He participated in sports car racing between 1949 and 1955

Eric David Thompson (4 November 1919 – 22 August 2015) was a British motor racing driver, book dealer and insurance broker. He participated in sports car racing between 1949 and 1955 taking his greatest success by finishing third in the 1951 Les 24 Heures
du Mans and took part in the 1952 RAC British Grand Prix.
Thompson worked as a broker for Lloyd's of London. His racing career started in 1948, racing cars for HRG. He won the 1.5-litre class in the Les 24 Heures du Mans in 1949 and drove for Aston Martin driving a DB2 to third place in the 1951 24 Hours of Le Mans. He also drove in Formula Libre, RAC Tourist Trophy and Formula Two achieving minor success. He took part in his only Formula One race in the 1952 RAC British Grand Prix finishing fifth, and later spent more time working at Lloyd's. He retired from motor racing at the end of 1955. Thompson resigned from Lloyd's in the 1980s and became a dealer of rare books on motorsport.
After the war ended Thompson decided to pursue his passion of motor racing. He began his racing career in 1948 at the age of 28 and was well funded. Thompson continued to work at Lloyd's of London and was entitled to two weeks of holiday, with every third weekend off, when he raced.^[3] His first race was the 12 Heures de Paris held at the Autodrome de Linas-Montlhéry in a shared drive with Robin Richards driving an HRG, finishing fourth in the 1.5-litre class and 17th overall.^[4]
In 1949 Thompson made his debut in the Les 24 Heures du Mans with HRG sharing his drive with Jack Fairman. The pairing won the 1.5-litre class and finished eighth overall.^[4] They later entered the 24 Hours of Belgium, at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps where he clinched victory in their class.^[3] Thompson also won two handicap races at Goodwood.^[5] Thompson later took a class win in the Silverstone International Trophy and finished sixth in his class in the Prescott Hillclimb. In 1950 he joined Aston Martin and gave support to three drivers: Reg Parnell, Peter Collins and Roy Salvadori.^[3]
 
Thompson's first race for Aston Martin was a one-hour race held at Silverstone where he finished fourth in his class and 14th overall. He also took part in the 1950 24 Heures du Mans sharing an Aston Martin DB2 with John Gordon but was forced out after nine laps due to engine failure.^[3] Thompson also raced with HRG and secured a class win finishing second overall at Blandford, third in a Goodwood Handicap and clinched a class win at the Cambridge University Sprint at Bedwell Hey. In the same year Thompson made his debut in Formula Three driving a Cooper-Vincent at Castle Combe where he retired.^[3]
 
In 1951 Thompson competed prominently in open-wheel racing. He competed in the Goodwood Lavant Cup in a Cooper finishing fifth and finished in the same position in a Bugatti Type 51 in a Boreham Libre event. He later competed in an ERA/Delage and Delahaye and other Libre races, and took part in sports car events with an Aston Martin DB2 in the RAC Tourist Trophy where he finished third in his class and eighth overall.^[3] For the works team, Thompson shared a DB2 with Lance Macklin in the Les 24 Heures du Mans where the pair clinched victory in the 3-litre class and finished third overall.^[6]
 
In 1952 Thompson took part in his third Les 24 Heures du Mans driving an Aston Martin DB3 alongside Parnell but retired from transmission problems. The pair suffered a further retirement from the Goodwood Nine Hours when, during the race, the car being driven by Thompson entered the pitlane with smoke coming out of the car and Parnell was not prepared to take over the seat. Parnell grabbed Thompson by the arm and dragged him out before the car caught fire.^[3] Throughout the year he drove a DB2 entered by Peter Walker, clinching two victories in handicap events at Goodwood and one at Snetterton with a seventh and eighth at the same circuit. He later took third in class at the CUAC Bottisham Sprint. Thompson took second, seventh and tenth in races at Snetterton, third at Boreham and Castle Combe driving an ERA/Delage and fifth in a private ERA at the British Grand Prix Libre event.




Thompson entered a works Connaught for the 1952 RAC British Grand Prix with a Lea-Francis engine and qualified the car ninth on the grid.^[7] In the race he made up a position when Gordini driver Robert Manzon was forced to retire with a clutch problem. He managed to finish in fifth place, three laps behind race winner Alberto Ascari and ahead of 1950 World Drivers' Champion Giuseppe Farina, and behind teammate Dennis Poore.