of course not

It's a close call

Well duh, he's World Chess Champion!

Really I don't think it's wise to compare chess players of different eras...

Hard to be worse than a dead guy.

Just sayin'

Robert Fischer certainly caused a big stir in the chess world but that was due to his character not just his excellent chess playing ability. If you can make your presence felt celebrity-style by eccentricity as well as having talent then the world will notice you. Once the world sits up and takes notice then your importance becomes inflated out of all proportion to your talent.

An awkward customer is always loved but a talented awkward customer is adored.

I'm pretty sure the stir Fischer caused was overwhelmingly due to his success as a player.  He was known as a gentleman at the board.

His eccentricities made him a pain to organizers and leave us with some stories, but I assure you that's far from the main reason he caused such a stir in the chess world, and certainly not why he's remembered today.

In terms of chess skills, yes Anand is way ahead of Fischer but they are of different times. So comparing is not a wise thing to do. In terms of popularity, no one beats Fischer.

And you know this because you're strong enough to analyze their play and come to conclusions on who is better right?

Fresh out of time machine [old era player] vs [present top 10] is not a fair match whatever names you use.

Baby Fischer and baby [anyone] growing up and competing in their prime?  Also not a fair match lol

Define what is "better"

Is an apple better than a banana?  Is an orange better than sweet lemon?

They are all different varieties of fruit and each has its unique taste etc

Is it not so with all the top chess players?  They are all grand masters and each one has his own style. 

Of course Anand is better.  Fischer is dead.

fischer is better he does not have a coach

They are better in their own time. Fisher last as long as Anand in the chess scene? No. Carlsen better than Kasparov as the all time greatest, not yet. Kasparaov will be the greatest untill Carlsen is world champ some day....... Then again in their own time. There will always be someone come along who is better in time. 

The greatest chess player ever is Fischer!!!!!!!!!!   who started this argument  bullshit????????

In India nothing becomes "popular" except cricket. 

In my neighborhood, there is an ex gymnast who has won some gold / silver medals in a few international events but nobody knows him. That is the state of sport in our country. Grrr...

It seems almost axiomatic that the greatest players of today play better that the great players of yesterday, and the great players of the future will play better than the great players of today. The giants of every generation write the text books for the future. Fischer absorbed everything that Capablanca, Alehine, Steinitz, Rubinstein, and Botvinnik had to teach him. Then he added his own special genius to the mix and advanced the art and sport of chess on step further. So did Kasparov, so did Anand. Isaac Newton once said "If I have seen farther than others, it's because I have stood on the shoulders of giants." And it's the same with chess; every generation stands on the shoulders of their great predecessors.

Paul Gottlieb, very well said. Excellent.

+100 

No-one is a better chess player than Fischer... Anand does not ven enter my top 5! Perhaps not even ten.