For more than 30 years he's courted controversy with a string of sweeping statements about women.

But, having once believed female players should stick to having children, chess great Garry Kasparov may have finally turned over a new leaf.

"It was a long time ago, and I was always speaking my mind so that's why," said the famously belligerent Kasparov.

"I don't believe that now," he continued, before adding that a female world champion is, at least theoretically, possible.

Kasparov is in the UK for the London Chess Classic, the final leg of the Grand Chess Tour, and to throw his weight behind the charity Chess in Schools and Communities.

On Friday he took part in the Pro-Biz Cup, an event held at Google HQ in King's Cross to raise money for CSC, which seeks to inspire young boys and girls to get involved in the game.

It is a cause he is deeply passionate about.