I see variations of this topic every other week.
I'll choose Botvinnik.
Most dominant world champ
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Steinitz, if you include the "unofficial wc" years.
He dominated.
Lasker
Honestly, Morphy was the most dominant player in history (I think that is enough to consider him a champ, right?) Morphy followed by Fischer, Lasker and Capablanca is my line-up. If you counting how large the gap between the player and the rest of the world (not just one player or anything) at any amount of time, then put Kasparov right after Fischer and Tal right after Lasker.
Dec 5, 2009
0
#7
definitely NOT Bobby Fischer.
He won the title once and never defended again.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Boris Spassky (USSR) |
1 | 1 | 0 | ½ | 0 | 0 | ½ | 0 | ½ | 0 | 1 | ½ | 0 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 0 | 8½ |
 Bobby Fischer (USA) |
0 | - | 1 | ½ | 1 | 1 | ½ | 1 | ½ | 1 | 0 | ½ | 1 | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | ½ | 1 | 12½ |
The most dominant were probably Kasparov or Botvinik (kept on coming back and back and back!)
Why do people keep saying Botvinnik was a dominant champion? He himself admitted he was first among equals. He did not dominate at all.
Once again Tal is being ignored, even though he had that incredible run in
those Chess Olympiads, all under great pressure and against the best competition,
something that has never been equaled.
Tournaments - Fischer, Karpov, Kasparov, Capablanca, Alekhine,Tal
Matches - Lasker, Botvinnik, Kasparov, Fischer, Alekhine
Crazychessplaya wrote:
Tournaments - Fischer, Karpov, Kasparov, Capablanca, Alekhine,Tal
Matches - Lasker, Botvinnik, Kasparov, Fischer, Alekhine
What matches did Botvinnik dominate?
I'd say Morphy. He wasn't an 'offical' champion, but he was definitely the best in his time. Undisputed.
ghostofmaroczy wrote:
Crazychessplaya wrote:
Tournaments - Fischer, Karpov, Kasparov, Capablanca, Alekhine,Tal
Matches - Lasker, Botvinnik, Kasparov, Fischer, Alekhine
What matches did Botvinnik dominate?
He beat Tal pretty soundly in their return match.
1948 was a match-tournament...if that counts. It was a great performance.
ghostofmaroczy wrote:
Crazychessplaya wrote:
Tournaments - Fischer, Karpov, Kasparov, Capablanca, Alekhine,Tal
Matches - Lasker, Botvinnik, Kasparov, Fischer, Alekhine
What matches did Botvinnik dominate?
IMO he was unsurpassed in match preparation - Bronstein, Smyslov, and Tal all tried and failed to wrest the crown from him.
I'm not totally up on my Chess history, I was however under the impression that Kasparov was the most prolific champion of all time. No?
DMX21x1 wrote:
I'm not totally up on my Chess history, I was however under the impression that Kasparov was the most prolific champion of all time. No?
I don't think so. Karpov has the most tournament victories, anyway (160+), and he's still playing while Kasparov has already retired.
Scarblac wrote:
DMX21x1 wrote:
I'm not totally up on my Chess history, I was however under the impression that Kasparov was the most prolific champion of all time. No?
I don't think so. Karpov has the most tournament victories, anyway (160+), and he's still playing while Kasparov has already retired.
It's also interesting to note that if you total all Kasparov vs Karpov match games, you'll find Kasparov only scored 51% -- that is, sometimes I forget what an incredibly strong player Karpov is.
Okay, who do you think is the most dominant world champ while he was? The most popular choices are Kasparov, Capablanca, Lasker, Alekhine, and Fischer.