nobody seems to mention Kasparov wasn't he nice? just a question.
he may sound hard with his opinions but he is always nice in interviews.
Who are the nicest chess players at the top?
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TheGambitKing wrote:
Savage wrote:
Roma60 wrote:
karpov he a nice person he as won awards all over the world. and everyone in chess repects him.
Karpov is probably the biggest POS ever to play chess; none of the ex-Soviet GMs - who know him best - have a single good word to say about him. Why don't you ask Boris Gulko what he thinks of this communist party stool-pigeon.
Ha ha, Australians... why does this not surprise me? You should watch what Anatoly Karpov said about the death of Bobby Fischer (who I admire greatly, by the way). He had nothing but respect for him! And now, you criticise his politics! Have you ever lived in Russia? Or even in Europe? What gives you the right to say any of this?
TheGreatOogieBoogie wrote:
Even if he's a communist so what? It doesn't make him a bad person. Not everyone can agree with everything and if the entire world were the same it'd be boring. The entire world shouldn't be capitalist after all. Equating capitalism with freedom doesn't even hold water since certain people will never be free to attend college, since it's mostly about how rich your parents are and not how smart you are, and no matter how responsible a poor person is saving up for one class might take a year given that even just one class is ludicrously expensive ($900 in many places). In other words, the gatekeeper to the middle class, college, is doing its job keeping social mobility from happening and defending the class status quo.
This is actually a well-stated argument--congratulations, sir, you have my respect!
He has your respect not because it's a well-stated argument, but because you agree with his policical views, am I right? Also, the comments that you quoted are from the first and second pages of this thread. The discussion has already moved on and gotten back on track. No need to dig up old arguments again.
Curious: does anyone know anything about Lasker's reputation?
Michael Tal. He was modest , had a good humor and was respectfull to every player of any level. He would even play against you or me if there was no-one else available to play. He just wanted to play , play and play. Karpov,Spasski and Seirawan also have my sympathy.
Mandy711 wrote:
Nobody mentions Anand? Anand is the nicest WC. And one of the nicest grandmaster.
Correct. Anand is a really nice guy!
chessmicky schreef:
Mikhak Tal was probably the most beloved grandmaster of the 20th century, both among his peers and with the general public. On the other hand, he consumed an enormous amount of alcohol and smoked around three packs a day, so if you hung out with him, you were likely to get a severe contact high and enough second-hand smoke to take 10 years of your life.
There is a nice photograph taken of Spasski and Tal ,both pissed as hell and barely hanging on to each other. I don't know what year and tournament it was , but I will try to find that picture on the net and post it here.
TheGambitKing schreef:
Botvinnik was a tee-totaller and vegetarian, so I can bet that he and Tal weren't the best of chums...
But still , Tal wrote a nice (and friendly) book about their match.
Among current players, Svidler, Kramnik, Anand and Vachier-Lagrave have all been friendly to amateurs such as myself and seem to have the respect of their peers.
Personally, I like Hikaru Nakamura too. He has matured a great deal in the last few years and still has time to chat with anyone. He will also play just about anyone who has some skill (+2200 in bullet/blitz chess). You don't see that sort of openness from most professional players.
Fabiano Caruana also enjoys analysing with amateurs over on ICC. He seems to be very pleasant, but I don't know what his reputation is among his peers.
matrix76 wrote:
I think it's impossible to reach the top of any sport, game, profession, etc. without being a single minded self driven bastard.
Well you could be mildly autistic like Carlsen or Kasparov and channel all your unusual focus stamina into chess while at the same time knowing nothing about single mindedness or self driven bastardization
Never met the man in person, but from the St. Louis Chess Club videos and their live coverage of the Sinquefield Cup,
GM Yasser Seirawan seems to be a nice and well spoken individual.
I don't think Karpov WAS one of the kinder world champions, communist or not. How about the beef with Korchnoi?
I'm sure they are all real nice after you beat them!
I've heard good things about Anand, and I think Kramnik is a class act.
I have a lot of respect for David Navarra, who offered a draw to Moiseenko in the 2011 World Cup in a winning position, because he had accidently grazed his King earlier in the game (with no intention of moving it) - and Moiseenko had called him on it. Even though the rules appeared to be on his side, that the player only needs to move the piece if he intentionally touches it, Navarra felt honor bound not to take the win, and drew instead.
Supposedly, Adolf Anderssen was a real class act against Paul Morphy when he lost. Max Euwe showed a lot of class when he offered a Alekhine a rematch in the World Championship after winning a major upset victory against him in 1935. Paul Keres, despite being the world's best player for many years, and never quite managing a chance at the title, didn't complain about formats or make excuses, he just said that the results of the candidates matches/tournaments he played in (finishing in 2nd place 5 times), were fair, and that good luck and bad luck evened out in the end.
At the risk of starting another Fischer war, I'll mention that I think Spassky showed a lot of grace in losing to Fischer, having to play with all the circus antics that Fischer brought to the match. He always spoke well of his opponent, and never seemed to make excuses or hold ill-will for the 1972 match.
I have to say that I need to include Judit Polgar in my list, for several reasons: first, her cordial relationship with Garry Kasparov after some of his remarks toward her (and Linares 1994) shows a good deal of grace and class. In the recent Death Match here on chess.com vs. Nigel Short, she offered a draw after Short made what appeared to be a mouse slip (Short, to his credit, didn't accept, later confessing it wasn't a mouse slip).
But what really trumps all that for me was a personal experience. Some time ago, I was sent an autographed copy of her book, "How I beat Fischer's Record" following my vocal support of her chess through Facebook. It was completely unsolicited; in a discussion about her book's release, I mentioned that I hadn't received my copy of her book yet (the distribution channel I had ordered through was taking a long time, for some reason), and afterwards I got a message through FB asking if I could provide her my mailing address. A few months later, an autographed copy of her book (personalized to me) arrived at my home, postmarked from Hungary! It was a generous and classy gesture that she took time to do for an active fan, and it was much appreciated and (further) cemented my status as a life-long Judit Polgar fan!
"It was a generous and classy gesture that she took time to do for an active fan, and it was much appreciated and (further) cemented my status as a life-long Judit Polgar fan!"
Indeed, a very nice gesture. She is a fascinating woman.
In my experience as just an overserver and fan, it may be easier to phrase the question differently: Who of the top players really misbehaves? And the answer would probably be "Nobody".
Seriously, I find it quite astonishing how easy they go about winning and especially losing. Some who strike me as particularly graceful are: Anand, Kramnik, Giri, Peter Leko.
Bobby Fischer was so insecure his fragile ego made him contemptuous of almost all other people. Calling them "weakies" was one of his terms of endearment. One by one he alienated almost everyone who ever helped him and acted towards him with respect. His behavior back was inevitably worse to witness than George Costanza at a cocktail party. The ranting mooncalf he eventually became summed up what qualities he was lacking most of his public life.
I don't know what the problem is with Karpov, the political machine that supported him was none of his doing and he has always seemed to be very polite and mild mannered in interviews I have seen. Kasparov didn't hate the man but the system that he was perceived to represent, I think they get on OK now.
I can only judge on the rare snippets of interviews and broadcasts I have heard but Svidler seems like a relatively well balanced person with a nice line in self deprecating humour. Its hard to judge what most top GM's are like because when do you ever read or hear anything about their personal lives outside of chess? Personally I like Nigel Short for his brutal honesty and bizarre sense of humour but I admit he comes across as a bit arrogant or just downright strange sometimes.
It seems like the guys with minimal ego and placid natures only ever reached a level below World Championship level, although Schlecter and Bronstein (to name but two) came stunningly close and Michael Adams in the present day just plods on in his own sweet way to a 2750 rating 
has anyone mentioned Tal " All world champions are admired but Michael Tal was truly loved by the world of chess"Hans Ree
"I couldnt make myself dislike him " Botvinnik
"there is no other grandmaster who can so entrance the spectators or inspire them to understand the hiddensecrets of the game.Tals own unbounded love for chess induces a similar feeling towards himself on the part of those who hold the game in high esteem "Alexander Kotov Soviet GM
"Tal not only loves chess ,but what is no less important ,he loves the chess spectator"David Bronstein
final quote
"I met Misha Tal for the first time when i visited the world cup tournament in Brussels 1988 .He was the most popular player by far, captivating everyone with his personality and brilliant chess "Vishy Anand
with such recommendations spanning 30+ years of top level chess i personnally believe Michael Tal truly was the nicest chess player ever
Gufeld, Matulovic, Nimzowitsch, Fischer, Gormally, Short, Azmaiparashvili.
You forgot Korchnoi