meee!!!
who is the greatest chess player of all time?
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MORPHY--- it speaks for itself.....:"Morphy was probably the greatest genius of them all". - Bobby Fischer
Tamil Mameluk
Rashid Nezhmetdinov
with a ruler
It's either me, Carlsen, ilikeflags, or someone I don't know.
I'd like to see Carlsen play Fischer at his peak. Alas!
I like to do puzzles and when I see that I am seeking Alekhine's winning move, I feel more excited. I am also excited by Tal. I rarely encounter Carlsen.
This question sounds like asking "who is the best runner of all time in 100 m". Some would say Carl Lewis, Jesse Owens, Ben Johnson, Maurice Greene, Asafa Powel but the without question Usain Bolt is the best.
Ok, he has the support of technology that runners 30 years ago didn't have, but he runs faster than anyone, as his records indicate.
The answer to the chess question is therefore obvious: Magnus Carlsen.
Aug 5, 2014
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#33
If the question was "Who was the greatest chess player relative to his contemporaries?", the choice might boil down to Morphy or Fischer.
We'll never know, because not everyone plays chess, and no one forces everyone else to, so somewhere out there, there probably may have been the greatest player of all time, but we'll never know. (cheek < tongue)
i think garry kasparov
blueemu wrote:
If the question was "Who was the greatest chess player relative to his contemporaries?"
It should have been. Arguments ensue every day about who was better playing (name game or sport).
Fischer will not play Carlsen.
Babe Ruth never faced Nolan Ryan.
The best anyone can do is play and beat the competition. Comparing those from different eras is usually futile, 'cause there is no "correct" answer.
AlCzervik wrote:
blueemu wrote:
If the question was "Who was the greatest chess player relative to his contemporaries?"
It should have been. Arguments ensue every day about who was better playing (name game or sport).
Fischer will not play Carlsen.
Babe Ruth never faced Nolan Ryan.
The best anyone can do is play and beat the competition. Comparing those from different eras is usually futile, 'cause there is no "correct" answer.
you and batgirl are correct.
That said imho the ones head and shoulders are Morphy, Capablanca, Fischer, and Kasparov.
Honorable mention to Tal for clearly being a genius.
Aug 5, 2014
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#38
Another thing that people commonly overlook in these "who was the greatest?" cross-time comparisons is that if someone from the past (Morphy, Lasker, Capa) were brought forward to our time, they would start absorbing the modern knowledge and techniques. Who can guess how strong they might be, after a few years of catching up?
It's pointless to speculate.
Fischer was strong, but not on par with Kasparov. He would have to get over his daddy issues to reach his full potential, but he never did.
Aug 5, 2014
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#40
Superqueen500 wrote:
Fischer was strong, but not on par with Kasparov. He would have to get over his daddy issues to reach his full potential, but he never did.
On the other hand, Kasparov never reached nearly the dominance over his contemporaries (+170 rating points?) that Fischer did. Not even close.
There are several different metrics for measuring "greatest player of all time". Nobody places clear first by all the metrics.
Ron Weasley.