Who is the greatest chess player of all time ?? Bobby Fischer ??

But that's Watson, and I think if we're going to qualify computers Deep Blue has long since been surpassed.

another point from someone who isnt me

"In general, I completely I agree that it is easier to pick good moves, with winning chances, against weaker players because, they make more mistakes and don't always play to intentionally limit your options.

However, against someone as strong as Carlsen, in many positions, he is likely only going to give you a few options, once the game gets past a certain point. In evaluating this, it will help a player to see what his options are for certain moves but, they are less likely to completely understand the entire line required, to make a move that is more obvious, be worthwhile. "

One thing though, Fischer also did not really defend his title.

Myriad of reasons but the fact is he didn't.

To me its Kasparov all the way, I even like Fischer better than all of them, But I am not one to confuse Best and Favorite.

Kasparov was beating Karpov before a computer had a snowball's chance against either of them.

That's not just my opinion.

...man.

I really like Mikhail Tal and Bobby Fischer. I also study some Kasparov games though.

Fischer destroyed Taimanov 6-0, then did the same to Larsen, again winning 6-0 in another shortened match.  Finally he beat Petrosian 6.5-2.5.

Although 6 out of the 20 analysed Fischer Candidates 1971 games fail to meet the basic criteria of 20+ non-book moves (and the 4th game against Petrosian was a 20 move draw, so was excluded from analysis) match rates for Fischer are nontheless astonishing:

Houdini 1.5a x64 Hash:512 Time:30s Max Depth:20ply

{ Robert James Fischer (Games: 20) }

{ Top 1 Match: 392/604 ( 64.9% )  Opponents: 331/596 ( 55.5% )

{ Top 2 Match: 492/604 ( 81.5% )  Opponents: 434/596 ( 72.8% )

{ Top 3 Match: 535/604 ( 88.6% )  Opponents: 497/596 ( 83.4% )

{ Top 4 Match: 556/604 ( 92.1% )  Opponents: 522/596 ( 87.6% )

{ Bent Larsen (Games: 6) }

{ Top 1 Match: 94/161 ( 58.4% )  Fischer: 114/163 ( 69.9% )

{ Top 2 Match: 122/161 ( 75.8% )  Fischer: 141/163 ( 86.5% )

{ Top 3 Match: 137/161 ( 85.1% )  Fischer: 151/163 ( 92.6% )

{ Top 4 Match: 139/161 ( 86.3% )  Fischer: 154/163 ( 94.5% )

{ Mark Taimanov (Games: 6) }

{ Top 1 Match: 136/238 ( 57.1% )  Fischer: 153/242 ( 63.2% )

{ Top 2 Match: 173/238 ( 72.7% )  Fischer: 195/242 ( 80.6% )

{ Top 3 Match: 199/238 ( 83.6% )  Fischer: 210/242 ( 86.8% )

{ Top 4 Match: 213/238 ( 89.5% )  Fischer: 222/242 ( 91.7% )

{ Petrosian (Games: 8) }

{ Top 1 Match: 101/197 ( 51.3% )  Fischer: 125/199 ( 62.8% )

{ Top 2 Match: 139/197 ( 70.6% )  Fischer: 156/199 ( 78.4% )

{ Top 3 Match: 161/197 ( 81.7% )  Fischer: 174/199 ( 87.4% )

{ Top 4 Match: 170/197 ( 86.3% )  Fischer: 180/199 ( 90.5% )

{ All Players }

{ Top 1 Match: 723/1200 ( 60.3% )

{ Top 2 Match: 926/1200 ( 77.2% )

{ Top 3 Match: 1032/1200 ( 86.0% )

{ Top 4 Match: 1078/1200 ( 89.8% )

Well, Les, your facts are not quite correct.

In the 1984 FIDE world championship match, under the first to 6 wins format (Fischer's preference), Karpov was leading 5 wins, 3 losses, 40 draws.  Kasparov had won games 47 and 48, when FIDE President Florencio Campomanes suddenly called off the match.  Officially, the match was abandoned without result.

There is considerable speculation, and some evidence, to believe this action was dictated to Campomanes by the KGB and Soviet Chess authorities.  Karpov was tanking.

When a rematch was played in 1985, in Moscow, under the old best of 24 games rule, with a 12-12 tie to the title holder (favoring Karpov, a condition that had been abandoned after Botvinnik). Kasparov won 13-11.

Karpov had also required the right to a rematch in the event he lost, and so they played again in 1986, this time in London and Leningrad.  Kasparov prevailed 12.5-11.5, but not before firing one of his seconds for selling opening preparation to the Karpov camp.

Karpov became the official FIDE challenger for the 1987 title match.  This fourth match in four years ended in a 12-12 tie, though Kasparov had to win the final game for the tie.

Kasparov and Karpov met one more time in 1990 for the title, in New York and Lyon, and Kasparov won another close match 12.5-11.5

So, in reality, Karpov never won a title match fom Kasparov.

@JamieDelarosa: Fischer actually wanted a 10 win match. 

If Halep in a year wins all four Slams without losing a set, and nothing else, would people rank her as greater than Graf, Navratilova, Court, Wills Moody etc in spite of the latter players all winning around 20 Slams or more? Distance to #2 during a short period of time isn't by default the best measure of greatness.

all these top players are amazing in thier own right. To me its not even fair to compare runners across different era's let alone chess players.

That is true.  I stand corrected.

  I was a new USCF member at the time, hanging on every word.  It was the 9 - 9 tie clause that FIDE refused.  If Fischer would have played is anybody's guess. 

I was born during the Eisenhower Administration - I am almost as old as you!  The point is, the abandoned first match had no winner.  Had it continued, Karpov may very well have completely folded.

That's why it was called off!

I would not worry about it too much.  Really.

If you don't think we're improving every couple of generations, you need to take couple year old flu shots come cold season.

We hand knowledge down and build upon it. I will still say Carlsen hasn't passed Kasparov, yet, and don't know if he will. But I like something Spassky said. "Fischer would have won the firsy match but Karpov would come back and win the next one"

Spassky said Karpov would surpass Fischer. And yet Kasparov stands slightly above him.

Too much hero-worshipping in this thread; be your very own self and be the greatest you can be.  To paraphrase an academic journal, the invocation of all these luminaries functions like commercial advertisment.  Just one example, folks in here write that Tal had "unsound" sacks; what a gas, as though they're speaking from experience and not just regurgitating what they've read.   

Les4chess, I offer a counter challenge: 10 games at 3 0 time control. 

The world's best players are playing blitz for serious money (see the Norway Super tournament for details). You and I can play it here, and get it done much more quickly.

Bobby Fischer excelled at blitz time controls. Here's your chance to do the same!