Scottrf wrote:
Yeah we know that.
But if anyone says that other players held the title for much longer (and actually defended it), you consider that irrelevant.
You see Karpov's many dozens of top level tournament wins as superflous.
In short your criteria for being a good chess player is whatever Fischer did. So naturally you will rate him highest.
+1, well put Scottrf. "Thou shalt have no God before Fischer."
If you can't spell something, try to google it. Google auto-spells various things as offerings for you to pick from.
As for that Fischer-Kasparov stuff...no one will ever know, so the question itself is kind of bogus: a Rorschach test for whether you find one or the other more disagreeable.
thank you very much. i just googled Rorschach and from now on i will never write anything again.
I don't see anything wrong with the image results other than some guy in a trench coat and angels with their palms facing each other standing on some bell.
It seems that every new generation thinks their world champion is the strongest. Everyone has their favorite but 3 names are being tossed around more than any other: Fischer, Karpov, and Kasparov.
Since it is impossible to organize a Kasparov or Karpov vs. Fischer match, it would seem that the answer to the question "Who is the strongest chess player of all time?" will forever be a matter of personal opinion. And it is, of course, but I believe there is a way one can investigate the matter fairly intelligently and objectively: By comparing how Karpov and Kasparov have fared against the same opponents Fischer has played.
Case study #1: Mark Taimanov
In 1971 Taimanov was Fischer's first opponent in his candidate's matches for the world championship. Fischer beat him 6 - 0. Taimanov couldn't even achieve a single draw against Fischer.
In 1973, Karpov played 4 games against Taimanov, all ending in a draw. Karpov couldn't beat Taimanov a single time. Karpov played 2 more games against Taimanov after that. Once in 1977, when Karpov had been world champion for 2 years already. That time Taimanov, at 51 years old, beat Karpov. Their final game was in 1983, when Karpov won.
Case study #2: Bent Larsen
Larsen was Fischer's second opponent in the candidate's matches, also in 1971. Larsen, too, lost all his games to Fischer with a final result of 6 - 0 for Fischer.
From 1972 - 1981, Karpov played 14 games against Larsen. Result: 8 draws, 4 wins for Karpov, and 2 for Larsen. True, after 1981, Karpov was able to beat the aging Larsen more convincingly, but let's also remember that, like Taimanov, Larsen, who was born in 1935, was declining in strength as a player, while Karpov was getting stronger.
Case study #3: Tigran Petrosian
Petrosian was Fischer's third and final opponent in the candidate's matches, again in 1971. Unlike Fischer's first two opponents, Petrosian was a former world champion. Fischer beat him 6.5 - 2.5, with 5 wins for Fischer, one for Petrosian, and 3 draws.
From 1971 - 1983 Karpov played Petrosian 15 times. Result: 13 draws and one win each. They never played each other again after 1983. Again, Petrosian, who was born in 1929, was declining in strength during his encounters with Karpov.
Case study #4: Viktor Korchnoi
Viktor Korchnoi is generally considered to be the strongest chess player never to have become world champion. Fischer has never played a match against Korchnoi but they have played against each other 10 times in various tournaments. Result: 4 draws, with 3 wins each. However, 6 of their games were played when Fischer was between the ages of 17 - 19 and nowhere near his prime, while Korchnoi, being 12 years older than Fischer was definitely closer to his.
In 1978, Korchnoi, at the age of 47, now past his prime, played against Karpov for the world championship. Karpov, 27 at that time, was only 2 years younger than Fischer was in 1972 against Spassky. Result: 21 draws, with 5 wins for Korchnoi, and 6 wins for Karpov. Obviously Karpov was no better than equal in strength to the aging Korchnoi.
It is obvious that Fischer was far stronger than Karpov and, had he not retired from competitive chess, would have had little trouble defeating Karpov in 1975 and 1978.
And what about Kasparov? Kasparov became world champion in 1985 by defeating Karpov. We cannot compare Kasparov to Fischer by looking at opponents they both played, since they were far too old by then, or never played against Kasparov. However, it is noteworthy that Kasparov has played against Spassky 8 times between 1981 - 1990, with Spassky obviously long past his prime. Result: 4 draws and 2 wins each.
We can also compare Kasparov with Karpov. Their lifetime match score is 73 - 71 in Kasparov's favor. A paltry 2 point difference. Even though they have very different playing styles, they're obviously equal in playing strength.
These comparisons speak for themselves. Clearly, Fischer was far stronger than Karpov or Kasparov.
If you can't spell something, try to google it. Google auto-spells various things as offerings for you to pick from.
As for that Fischer-Kasparov stuff...no one will ever know, so the question itself is kind of bogus: a Rorschach test for whether you find one or the other more disagreeable.
thank you very much. i just googled Rorschach and from now on i will never write anything again.